Art Journaling Saved Me

"Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order."  -Anne Wilson Schaef


An interesting discussion has been on-going in my Facebook group Mind.Body.Soul. It started out with this quote...

 Our theme for July has been Freedom...freeing ourselves from addictions, negative self-talk, etc. When I posted this the other day I didn't realize how much it would resonate with so many of you.

I am a people pleaser...no doubt about that. I try to please my kids, my husband, my Mom, my friends, complete strangers...you get the idea. I never want to step on anyone's toes or make them feel bad...even though I can be shriveling up and dying inside. From most of the comments it seems like many of you feel the same way.

One comment in particular broke my heart..."I can never create beautiful art so why try?"
Ugh...this crushes me. I mean this one comment makes me soooooo sad.

AS a child I LOVED to create!! I colored everyday. It made me so happy!! I looked forward to art class in school and even though I wasn't very good at drawing...I loved the paint and getting messy part! All that changed one day in 8th grade though. Our lesson was to draw a self-portrait. This made me so nervous...I knew drawing just wasn't my thing...but I gave it my best shot, even adding details of my heart shaped locket I wore nearly everyday. And then....it happened. My art teacher was walking around the room, assessing our work. Nervously I showed her my drawing. She looked at it, eyes squinting, mouth turned down she spoke five words I that would live with me for the next 35 years...."YOU ARE NOT AN ARTIST!"

Then she walked off.

That one comment convinced me that I was not creative.

It would be over 30 years before I attempted any kind of creating again.

"Inside you there's an artist you don't know about...Say YES quickly, if you know, if you've known it from before the beginning of the universe."  -Jalai Ud-Din Rumi

One of my early pages...I have learned so much since then!

My journey to art journaling and mixed-media art began about 6 years ago. Prior to that I was a scrapbooker and LOVED the creative outlet it gave me. Scrapbooking helped me realize that art took on many forms.

A Brave Art piece from nearly 5 years ago

 The more I collaged images and words and put paint on paper the more I knew I had found something I really loved!

An early piece using a notecard and a butterfly punch

Quickly my journals were filling up and I was selling my canvas's in local craft fairs.

Still a favorite journal page of mine

 I found the BRILLIANT Melody Ross during my scrapbooking days and was OVERJOYED when she began Brave Girls Club. It was her class "Soul Restoration" that really spoke to my heart and made me realize that maybe...just maybe I was an artist.

A page from a Brave Girl's Class I took

 Through her soul-searching classes and amazing mixed-media techniques I began experimenting with texture and paint like never before...

Another BGC inspired page

A WHOLE NEW world had opened up for me!!!

 "Perhaps loving something is the only starting place there is for making your life your own."  -Alice Koller

Art has saved me.

Art journaling has made me realize that I AM an artist.

YOU are an artist.

WE are ALL artists.

The more you create...the more creative you become...there is not a truer statement out there! It's by trial and error my art has ME written all over!

A recent page...one of my faves!

 When I finally just let go and put what speaks to me on my pages...ME shines through every single time.

a page from my faith journal

 I discovered early on that vintage images spoke to me. I use "my girls" on almost every piece of art I create!

I ADORE them!!

A canvas from ArtBeach 2014

I used to compare my art to EVERYONE. Social media can be such a blessing but also such a curse! With everyone posting their work...it's easy for us to compare ourselves to one another.

Please STOP THAT!

Comparing does nothing but damage our hearts...our spirits.

BE YOU!

Experiment with paint and stencils and glue and images and words.

What speaks to you may not be what inspires me....

and that's ok!

I love using old maps and quotes in my work

Surround yourself with your favorite colors, quotes, magazine clippings, art...whatever inspires YOU. Take 10 minutes a day to create. Even if all you are doing is looking at a favorite art blog or magazine...all those things add up and will help you on your artistic journey.

Houses and hearts show up in my art a lot, too:)

"Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live."  -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

My favorite canvas 

I encourage you to CREATE! Stop making excuses. Stop telling yourself that you can't create beautiful things. Take TODAY, make a list of all the whispers in your Heart.

Listen to them.

Your Heart knows the TRUTH. 

Make something beautiful just for YOU.

Here are some of my favorite places to gather inspiration...

Brave Girls Club
Art Journaling Magazine
Kelly Rae Roberts
Dina Wakely

LOVE these books!!

Art Journal Courage
Art Journal Freedom
Art Saves
Brave Intuitive Painting

Embrace Your Day 15

We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.” ~John Lennon

Read more at:http://skinnyartist.com/150-amazing-quotes-to-feed-your-creative-soul/

This is me today.
I am feeling pure Joy here.

Not gonna lie...
Joy is not something I have had a lot of lately.

I stress.
I worry.
I run from here to there for everyone
but
Me.

I
have
a
heart
full
of
DREAMS.

Today I decided to start living them.
To EMBRACE each day as is.
Even if I AM running from here
to
there
for everyone
but
me.

I decided TODAY
to EMBRACE the time I
DO have
and
give
my
all
to my
dreams.

To celebrate my Awakening Today I am issuing a CHALLENGE to YOU. This month on my FB group Mind.Body.Soul we are celebrating FREEDOM...Freedom from our addictions, our abusive words, behaviors, toxic people, etc. To go along with this months Challenge (and the months ahead) I encourage YOU to start EMBRACING your day and SHARING it with me on Instagram. You can follow me at @scrapwordsgirl and use the hashtag #embraceyourday15 . Feel free to share in our Facebook group as well!!

Anything YOU do to take control of YOUR day that's POSITIVE and says..."Today I WILL take charge of my time no matter what and EMBRACE my day!!!" Snap a photo and post away!! Be sure and tag me @scrapwordsgirl and use the hashtag #embraceyourday15.

Looking forward to your photos!!!
Here's to a NEW day!!!

My Creative Planner

“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.” 
― J.M. Barrie, The Little Minister


It's been so very long (over a month) since I last blogged! YIKES! All is good though...I mean after all I was in FRANCE:) What a WONDERFUL Mother/Daughter trip it was...just everything I had hoped for. We are so blessed!

This photo was taken in front of the

Arc de Triomphe .

We had been up nearly 24 hours here...I was soooo exhausted but LOVING every minute of it!

You can tell I am rested here...lol This is a beautiful castle somewhere in the French countryside. We saw so many I can't remember all their names!

It's been nice easing myself back into life. I say easing because two after we made it home from France we went to Minnesota fishing for a week with the family and finished the month with three day trips to Kansas City. Whew! It's GOOD to be HOME and back in the groove of painting, cutting and gluing in my art journal and on canvas.

Today I want to share an obsession I have had since high school...planning! Oh how HAPPY I have been with all the planning craziness that's been on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and blogs. Have you seen all the gorgeous planners and stickers and dashboards and lists and classes and more that are out there nowadays??!

Throughout my life I have had cheap old Wal-Mart planners, very expensive Franklin Covey planners and everything in between. I have had planners for working out, goals, keeping memories and planning my day to day activities. As of TODAY I have one of the latest spiral bound planners from Me and My Big Ideas...

 I found it at Hobby Lobby and LOVE it!! Along with the planner I purchased these super fun and colorful accessories...

 Inspiration cards that I placed throughout my planner to brighten my day and inspire me. I put this one on the first page as a beautiful daily reminder.

These DARLING puffy stickers...they are teeny tiny and I adore them:)

I can't wait to use these little beauties...

Now I don't think it will be so hard to get things done and schedule appointments with these To Do stickers...

There are envelopes, sticky notes and so many other very important planner goodies to purchase...I look forward to more shopping in the coming weeks! I mean who doesn't right??

Here is  what I have done so far...

What's so awesome about this planner is the calendar pages for each month. It's nice to see what my commitments are so I don't double book or forget.

I don't have a lot going on in July so for now it's pretty bare (knowing me that will change pretty quick!)

Following the calendar pages are 8-10 pages for each week. I really love how they they break the days down into three parts...Morning, Afternoon and Evening.

Really digging that quote on the lower right side, too. EVERY page has a different quote! NICE!

Here is what I did with this week so far...a bit of Washi Tape, painted notebook paper, my favorite vintage girl image of the moment and a few other treasures. I am REALLY going to LOVE this!!

Want to know more about this planner? Go here.

Currently I am taking a class with Christy Tomlinson and Cori Spieker aka The Reset Girl. If you love planning, want to know more, be inspired, etc go here to learn more.

Check out these awesome planner boards on Pinterest

Have you checked out my Facebook Group Mind.Body.Soul? This month join our "Let Freedom Ring" art journaling challenge to FREE yourself from negativity, bad self image, mean people...whatever is holding you down! We would LOVE to have you!!!