Today’s Creative Endeavors

Today was spent working.  I have made delightful paper candycorn beads, found on The Frugal Crafter.  I made many, many shabby chic fabric flowers.  I also made some Christmas items.

While that doesn’t sound like much, it took me all day.  I hope to make several more holiday items tomorrow.  But before I can do that I have two appointments to keep.

Maybe it’s just me, but when I get in the “zone” and I’m working like crazy, I don’t want to interrupt that.  I saw the appointments on the calendar and I resented it…Like they were there just to mess with me…

Even though I made them both last month and having them on the same day seemed like a good idea at the time, life has happened and I need to be creative.  All those hours in the hospital and now at the rehab center with my MIL and family has caused me to crave the peace and quiet of my workroom.  I want to immerse myself in painting, crafting and creating.  Just to refuel my batteries.

DIY Planner

I made this wonderful DIY planner based upon the tutorial I found from Lindsay, The Frugal Crafter.

The pockets were made from heavy cardstock from my stash and tape found at Dollar Tree.  The large paper clips and the sticky note packages were also from Dollar Tree.  The three ring Avery binder came from Walmart.

I made the dashboards (dividers) from printed cardstock.  Lindsay uses a laminator, but I don’t have one.  I realize they won’t wear very well, but this is a “trial run” planner for me as I’ve never used one before.  If I find that I really like it and want to continue using it, I’ll buy a machine to laminate my papers.

The cost of the binder at Walmart was $3.50, I think.  There were paper package inserts for these mini binders, but they were $2.65 each.  No way.

I went home and cut printer paper in half, punched three holes in them and added several pages to each section.  If you wanted, you could do the same thing with lined paper.  Although I haven’t yet, I will be printing month at a glance pages and possibly a few others.

It didn’t take very long to put it together.  I realize it’s not as cute as many, but it has everything I think I will need to organize my everyday life.  The thing has to work, as well as look good.  There is no sense in having a planner if you never use it, so why spend a fortune on one before you know if you’ll even like it?  Silly.

Although I spent more on my planner than the brilliant Lindsay, it was still very inexpensive compared to most.  I didn’t count the cost of what I had in my stash, as that was here already, but the rest of it cost right around $7 bucks.  With the cost of printing free organizational papers from the internet, let’s just say it will be $8.00 in total.

That’s downright impressive, if you ask me.  And the beauty is, you can decorate this binder any way you like and with whatever materials you have on hand.  I made several more pockets, which don’t fit into the binder, from old file folders.  You could use old book pages as your paper inserts.  You could add a ribbon and tie a pretty bow to keep your binder closed.  (I am using elastic headbands from Dollar Tree.)  You could change out the covers with the seasons or your mood.  These little planners can be both personal and  specific to your needs.

Surgery, Moving and the Loss of a Good Man

My mother-in-law had surgery on both her right arm and right ankle.  She has been in the hospital since the accident and was moved to the rehab center this afternoon.  If all goes well, she should be back home by Christmas.

A good man, Jon Lindh, passed away recently.  Although he was an average man in the eyes of some, in my life he was extraordinary.  Jon believed in me at a time when my life was in shambles, my health was failing and I had lost my way.  He was a mentor and a friend when life slammed me into the ground.

Jon was a devoted family man and married the love of his life, Wynonna.  Together they raised two boys and an alligator named Petey.  Theirs was a beautiful love story.  Jon saw Wynonna from across the room and said to his companions, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry.”

And he did.

Jon was a great big man.  6’6″, if I remember correctly, and he had a belly laugh that was a delight to hear.  He lead an interesting life. From having an exotic pet store and an indoor race track to working at Sears, the man made the most of every job and every opportunity.  He was a consummate salesman and utterly charming.  Jon was also an accomplished artist and helped design my dragon.

Jon won’t be remembered in history books as a person who changed the world.

But for those of us who had the great privilege of knowing him, and calling him friend, he changed our world.  Jon made our lives better because he was in it.  I loved him and will miss him.

Rest well, my dear friend.  You’ve earned it.

 

Another Day, Another Catastrophe…

My mother-in-law fell down the stairs at church this morning.  She hit her head, broke her ankle in two places and broke her arm severely.  The break is between the shoulder and elbow, but the arm has rotated 180 degrees.  The hand now points in the wrong direction.  Upside down and with the thumb pointing outward.  The elbow is against the side of her body.  It is the most disturbing looking thing I’ve seen in a long time.  Like something from a horror movie…

She’s been admitted to the hospital and will be having surgery on the arm.  We haven’t heard yet if she’ll need surgery on the ankle too.

 

Long Day of Creating

I have spent the day working in my work room.  I have painted 4 paintings, worked on an art journal, worked on my color wheel, and now will begin the process of making what I need for my next project.  My acrylic skins have been drying and soon I will be using them as well.

I think I’ll grab what I need and sit in front of the TV watching a mindless movie…In my P.J.’s drinking a cup of hot chocolate.  Perfect way to end the day.

Strength

 

“Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength.”
― Napoléon Bonaparte

Livin’ Small

My husband has decided he would like to sell our home and build a large barn with a tiny house in it.

This is a lovely idea, in my opinion, because we actually use very little of our house.  He spends his time in the garage, working on cars and projects.  I spend my time in my own work room, which as you know if you’ve read my blog, is a bit snug.

So I have been sketching plans for this barn idea of his.  My current plan is shaped like the barn above.  The center portion would be our house, with kitchen, laundry room, great room and would include the loft master bedroom and master bath. There will be a fireplace, large closet and pantry off the kitchen as well.  I drew the kitchen as a U shape with the shortest piece holding the sink and dishwasher, with the front part of that countertop elevated to be a bar for our dining area.  This divides the kitchen/laundry area from the livingroom space.  There is a wider than normal stairway up to the loft area. Should I lose my ability to get up and down steps, we will be able to add one of those haul-your-butt-up-stairs chairs.

The section on the left, which would be open to the living space, will be my studio.  It will include a full bathroom with a large slop sink, two sliders (or French Doors) to the deck outside, a place for my paints and easels, storage cupboards and countertops, a desk/computer area, two large closets, a drying/display area for my canvases, and dedicated space for my most often used tools and projects.  I have included two rolling tables which can be opened up on the ends and pushed together to seat 14 people.  This will double as work tables/classroom space and seating for our family when we all get together for dinner or holidays.

To the right of the living space will be the family garage.  I designed it so it is long, one car will drive in from the front of it, the second garage door will open from the side of the garage, so the cars will be parked like a “T”.  There is a door from the garage into the house.  At the end of the garage is a door which opens into the dream garage for Scott.  It can be as large as he wants it to be, going back hundreds of feet for all I care.  The space directly behind my studio will hold our woodshop, as we both do some woodworking and need the space.  There is also a very large storage closet and an area for my canvases and paper.

Because the barn is tall in the center section, there will also be a great deal of storage up there in the garage section of the barn.  Scott could use it for an office, we could put in a studio apartment, the options are endless.  But the whole point of this is to create a space perfect for his needs and mine as well.

Since property is cheaper with a small house already on it, our plan is to purchase the property with the house, live in the house while we build the barn/house, then have Erin and the kids live in the house when we move to the barn.  This gives her space and yet we are very close by, should she need anything.

That’s the plan anyway.  We will have to see how it comes together.

Art Materials Haul!!

Well, it’s like Christmas morning here today!  My orders from both Jerry’s and Blick’s just arrived.

Jerry’s also sent a Jerry’s everywhere light with my order.  It has two settings for LED light, is light weight and portable.  It plugs in but will also take batteries for Plein Air painting adventures…This is a really handy little light and gives just what I need at my work table.

The Masterson Sta-Wet paint palette seems to be the perfect answer for my paint problem.  I create a lot of art work and often have to stop during the process for a family/kid thing.  I have lost paint from the natural drying process which occurs.  My goal is to prevent the drying out of my paints for as long as possible.  This palette has reviews which said the paints stays moist and usable for 7 days.  I doubt I will need them to remain usable for 7 days, as I cannot imagine what would keep me from working for that length of time, but it’s nice to know.

Many mediums arrived in the mail and I am creating a board, like the ones you see at Hobby Lobby and Micheals, with examples of the mediums and how they blend with paint.  I want to know exactly what my materials will do and how to make them work for my particular art practice.

Due to some emergency kidney stone issues this morning, I haven’t been able to create a painting with my really cool new stuff.  I hope to paint tonight.

This has been a delightful day, other than that kidney stone thing, and I am so excited to use these supplies.  The absorbent ground is the one I am most looking forward to using…Apparently you can create some really fun techniques with this particular ground on your canvases.

I will be sharing my art adventures with you…

Daily Art Practice

I have a daily art practice.  What that means is I create something each and every day.  Whether that is an acrylic painting, a watercolor, art journal pages, something is created every day.

And there are days I am incredibly creative and productive, and there are days I have to force myself to create something.

Anything.

Just do it.

Today was a challenging day for me.  Nevertheless, I have created a fun cat painting, I put all my information and materials into my Big Art Quest book, I have been working on art journal covers, I made some more acrylic skins, and finished up some UFO’s (unfinished objects).

Today’s surprise was my early morning start.  I began painting at 2:30 this morning.  4 hours of sleep and I’ve been working since then.

Now I’m having a serious problem with the vast amounts of work I am producing.  Where on earth am I going to store this stuff?  I have stacks of finished paintings, portfolios filled with my watercolor art, and canvases drying everywhere.

And, of course, I just thought of a fantastic idea for a painting…It’s a multi-media piece, and one which will take a substantial amount of time to complete, due to the complexity of the design and the actual materials used.  But the finished piece will be amazing-at least it is in my minds eye…and the thing will be huge!

My point of this post is this:  sometimes when you push through a tough day with creating, you will reach an idea or project you would never have thought of any other way.  Had I not been forcing myself to finish up some UFO’s today, I would never have had those diverse things on my work table.  Which is what gave me the idea for the next project.  After the skins project.  Which comes after the huge watercolor painting I’m starting, once I’ve stretched the paper…

Make a list of projects and ideas for yourself.  Have them close by and when an idea crosses your mind, write it down.  This is an invaluable resource for those times when inspiration is gone and you need to do something.  I also encourage you to begin a daily art practice.  Create something every single day, even if it’s just a small sketch or doodle.  Creating gives us the mental health boost that is so important in this stressful world.  Think of it as a vitamin for your soul.

If anyone has suggestions or ideas for storing completed art work, please share them.  I am really becoming overwhelmed with my paintings.  Acrylics can stick together, so I am varnishing all of the paintings I want to keep or possibly sell.  I’m gessoing others to re-use the canvas, but I am still drowning in the sea of paintings.

This is a down side to having a daily art practice and being a very fast painter.  But the positives far out weigh the negatives.  My art has improved tremendously in the few months since I began the daily art practice, and my heart is happier by the use of creativity.  Please give the daily art practice thing a try.  I think you will find it incredibly helpful in so many ways.

Things are Arriving!

Four 20 x 20 canvases just arrived from Jerry’s Artarama.  I am surprised at the speed in which they showed up.  My experience with ordering from Jerry’s has been quite a lengthy wait from order date to delivery.  This could be because of the distance from my home to their shipping warehouse.  Blick’s is much closer to my home and I often get my order the day after placing it.

The canvases arrived in great condition, well packaged and without problem.  I have never ordered canvasses on line before, but now that I know the care in which they are packaged for shipment, I will be doing this more often.  These particular canvasses were so inexpensive, I was willing to take the chance with shipment.

Thank you Jerry’s Artarama.  I am very pleased.