Create a Beautiful, Artful Life

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” 
― Neil Gaiman



So the past few months have been BUSY! And by busy I mean...little time for ART. The one thing in my life that calms me down, puts my life in perspective and allows me to be me. 

Sometimes with ART though...I find myself being too picky. Not creating for me but rather for someone else. Well, not actually for someone else...but in my mind I am comparing and telling myself that what I am imagining, what it is I like isn't enough.

*sigh*

I realize that my very favorite thing to create is backgrounds... I LOVE them!

One of my favorites in my Documented Life journal

I could quite possibly create backgrounds every single day, all day long. And for some reason I think that's "not right".

A background in progress...I LOVE stars!!

Honestly...what's not "right" about it?? It's MY ART for goodness sake! I am supposed to be doing this FOR ME!!!

Right??

Work in progress...I don't like this one yet but know after adding more and more layers I will:)

Two of my FAVORITE artists are Dina Wakely and Julie Fei Fan Balzer. What I ADORE most about these two women is there passion and color and how they EMBRACE their ART. They EMBRACE it!! They aren't afraid to create, let loose and LOVE their work!!! These two women inspire me like no other!!

More stencil/ink love...not finished quite yet

That "doily" stencil is one of my very favorites from the AMAZING Christy Tomlison...another of my FAVES!!


Gotta show you a close-up....

What I LOVE most about this background is the Dina Wakely inspired cursive writing. When I write on my backgrounds this way I know I can write with abandon...not caring what I say, knowing full well no one but me will see it:)

  Yesterday when I was creating all these I put on my favorite iHeart radio station, gathered my spray inks, my stencils and a few cut-out girl images then went to TOWN.

My DLP book inspired by Julie Fai-Fan Balzer

I was creating and letting go and ENJOYING the process.

It was magical.

And I thought...what keeps me from doing this every single day??

One of my favorite images to use in my journal pages are silhouettes of women.

I cut these images out of my daughter's TEEN magazine.

Don't you LOVE it?? Not sure how I will finish this one...but I have a great start!


What I learned yesterday is that the only person I ever really have to create for is ME. When I do that...my heart opens and spills out into my ART.

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” 
― George Bernard Shaw

Girls...spend this summer "making mistakes". Who cares if you aren't the perfect, amazing artist you think you "should" be!! Let's promise ourselves right this very minute we will make something every day. That we will let our muse out to play and inspire and do what FILLS our hearts with all that we love.  Create a beautiful life filled with ART.