Journey to the Heart:Just Be and See What Happens

“I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel."
(Audrey Hepburn: Many-Sided Charmer, LIFE Magazine, December 7, 1953)” 


One of the best ways I know to get to the Heart of my Heart is to spend time by myself. Not only is it a time of peace and relaxation but also one of restoration. A time to reflect, to dream, to contemplate on our life. Today's challenge will help you in those ways while having lots of fun, too!

Today's Challenge 

Let's face it...we don't always have time to finish a project. We may go into our studio's, our bedrooms, our kitchen tables...with every intention of working on a project from start to finish. But through the years I have learned that for me, I work best when I have several different projects going at once. And there are many times when I feel creative but don't necessarily want to work on anything tedious like journaling or even putting pages together...I simply want to get messy and let go.

That's where today's Challenge comes from...that idea of just SIMPLY being in your space, favorite tunes on (or not) paint brush in hand....creating.

Circles were make using a shish-ka-bob wooden stick.

We are going to have FUN creating backgrounds in our journals. I have at least three journals going at all times...so on my background days I gesso, paint, stamp at least 2 pages in each book.

Don't you just LOVE all that texture?! It looks so old and beat up! Again I used the shish-ka-bob wooden stick to scrape shapes into the gesso before it dries.

Before you get started you will need....

gesso (if you don't use already you are missing out! Gesso adds strength to your pages and allows lots           of texture!!!)
acrylic paint (just pick a few favorite colors)
stamps
paint brushes (various sizes)
plastic fork
pipe cleaners
bottle caps
palette knife
spray ink
alcohol ink
wooden shish-ka-bob picks or toothpicks
old credit card or motel keys (to spread the gesso and add marks)
water
*anything else that adds texture!


My process is like this...

cover page in gesso using old credit card/motel key
take wooden stick to make marks (circles, lines, zig-zags)
stamp into the gesso with my favorite word or shape stamps

For this page I applied the gesso on thick then stamped Beautiful You into it while still wet.

Before applying gesso to this page I sprayed blue Dylusions ink to page (one squirt) then poured gesso on top of that. Next I took an old motel key and spread the gesso through the ink. I really like how the gesso turned a light blue. Then I stamped into it with a diamond foam stamp (look at top left). I also wrote a few words in the gesso with wooden pick. The orange stencil was already sprayed on page before I started.

Not sure what I will end up doing with this page but I like it!

This page was a mess up at first. But after looking at it awhile I realized it had potential.  I stamped gold acrylic onto the page using an old foam stamp of mine.

During the creating of these backgrounds I let my mind wander. I thought about my goals, ways to better implement them AND I came up with a Big Dream Goal that had been stirring in my heart but I had been too busy to hear!! AMAZING what can happen when you just let go....

Other Things

Last week one of our Face Book girls asked what the best way was to use her new vintage images she received for Christmas. She said they were just too pretty to cut up/use. Kassity this post is for you and anyone else that LOVES vintage images like I do!! I hope these ideas inspire you to start creating!

I bought these LOVELY cards at my local Hobby Lobby...they are from Tim Holtz  I was just like Kassity and could not use them. They are very think first of all, like a card AND the fact I could see myself using them again again...I just couldn't bring myself to use them! So I took the cards that really spoke to me, taped them lightly to a piece of copy paper and made copies...that way I can re-use them over and over!

Here are a few pages to show you what I did with them....You will notice I usually cut the girl out of the background...

And my fave girl...

You can embellish them, color their outfits with water color, add crowns, words...so many uses!!

I use vintage girls in almost all of my art and have found some gorgeous photos! This next set is from Reminscince Magazine. I was fortunate to find dozens of them at a yard sale...all for under a DOLLAR! I took the images I loved, cut them out, put on copy paper and re-use them in everything!

Here are some pages...
 This little peanut reminds me to live with JOY!

How cook is that she just happens to be holding a heart?:)

I also use images from the internet. This one is a girl I found from Woodstock.

There are SOOO many ways you can incorporate these girls into your art! I hope you have enjoyed!!