The Big 20/20 Event: Day 8: Make Your Own Dreamcatcher

Welcome back to “The Big 20/20 Event” - I am so glad you’re joining us! We will be sharing 20 fantastic tutorials from a host of awesome contributors, for 20 days.
If you enjoy the tutorials, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, as all my newsletter subscribers will receive a beautiful PDF eBook at the end of the event, showcasing all 20 tutorial projects to keep and peruse at their leisure!
Here we go with our Day 8 tutorial.

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Make Your Own Dreamcatcher

 

 

This post is brought to you by the lovely Sierra.

Hello beautiful soul.

Today we are making dream catchers. As you can tell by the pictures, this is NOT a traditional Native American dream catcher. Because they are meditative in a way to make, I like to call it dream weaving when I make one. I think of something I want to manifest in my life and as I make one I meditate on that and how I can bring it about. These are super easy to make and I'm excited to share it with you. First you need to gather your materials:

• Yarn
• Metal Ring (in the US you can find these in gold and silver in craft shops like Joann's and Michael's)
• Embroidery floss (optional) in a different color from the yarn
• Feathers
• Beads (I used pony beads, but you can use any kind of bead that the embroidery floss goes through)
• Scissors

There are some variations to these materials. Instead of the metal ring you can use a round embroidery hoop. Instead of using embroidery floss you can just use the yarn for the whole thing. I highly suggest getting a ring that's large enough that the skein of yarn can go through, this makes things a heck of a lot easier.

First thing to do is start your knot on the metal ring. So take a long piece of yarn from the yarn skien (don't cut it off of the skien) and tie it to the ring. Make the tail long so you can come back and tie it again to make a loop. Do not cut anything in this step!

 

Now that you have your loop, start to wrap the yarn around the ring (keeping the loop free, the loop is how you hang it). I suggest 2 ways of wrapping. Don't cut the yarn from the skein and just take the skien around and around. OR pull out a lot of yarn (enough to cover the ring...you'll have to guestimate) cut it, and start wrapping without having to use the whole skein, ball, however you have your yarn.

 

 

Get the yarn all the way around! When you get to the loop part just tie the end around the metal ring, or tie it to the loop, however you want to secure it will be fine. Heck if you even want to get some glue in there, go right ahead, just make sure it dries clear!

When you are done wrapping the yarn and have tied the end off, grab your embroidery floss tie it anywhere on the ring and start making your design. If you decided against using the floss then take a piece of your yarn and make your design. The floss makes the dream catcher look more polished.

 

 

Now your design is done. Go on and cut some different lengths of the floss and tie them to the bottom of the dream catcher, add your beads, then tie on the feathers, and push the beads over the feather ends to finish it off.

 

And wa-la you have a wonderful dream catcher! :D

 

 

What inspires you? Depends on the day ;) sometimes the random thoughts in my head, sometimes nature, other people, books, stories, adventures.

 

Where do you get your ideas from for tutorials/products? Haha...this tutorial was from Girl Scouts. Recently I taught how to make these in my women's circle and I remember how much I loved making them as a kid.

 

How long have you been a creating your products? Different products off and on for years. Most of the time for fun, some of the time for sell.

 

What is your biggest dream for your future? Sooo many dreams for the future! Too many to name! I don't think I have a biggest dream.

 

 

Sierra writes at The Spirituality Seeker and Reiki Playground. She and Reiki are best buds. Since it showed up in her life she’s been more loving to herself and has grown by leaps and bounds as an individual. She credits Reiki to helping manage her past anger at herself and to get over the “little things” much faster. Her motto is “It’s all good” and she loves injecting humor into her life in anyway she can.

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The Big 20/20 Event: Day 7: Sew Your Own Pincushion

Welcome back to “The Big 20/20 Event” - I am so glad you’re joining us! We will be sharing 20 fantastic tutorials from a host of awesome contributors, for 20 days.

If you enjoy the tutorials, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, as all my newsletter subscribers will receive a beautiful PDF eBook at the end of the event, showcasing all 20 tutorial projects to keep and peruse at their leisure!!

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Sew Your Own Pincushion

 

 

This post is brought to you by the lovely Dita.

 

When you see me sewing, you will see a jelly beans tin right by me. You might think, “Oh Dita, you must really like to snack when you sew!” Well, I wish that tin was filled with jelly beans goodness. How disappointed will you be when I show you what’s inside the tin?

 

 

This actually works really well, it keeps all the pins in one place. However, I want a pin cushion! Well, I guess a solution for that is to make one. Let’s make a pin cushion with me!

 

You will need:

Paper

Pencil

Scissors

A sewing machine

Thread

At least one print of fabric

Polyfil (or you can use cotton balls!)

A button (optional)

 

 

In this tutorial I am going to make a pin cushion in circular shape, the pin cushion will fit in a ramekin so I can put the pins in there too. But, this is simple enough that you can make the pin cushion in any shape and size that you want. Just follow along and modify as you go.

First of all, I want to make a pattern by drawing a shape on the paper. I grabbed one of my bowls and draw around it to make a perfect circle! This is the step where you modify the shape that you want. If you want a heart-shaped pin cushion, draw a heart on your paper! We have 1/4 in seam allowance so you would want to add it after you draw your shape.

Now is the time you decide whether you want the top and bottom pieces to be the same fabric or not. If you want a different print on each side, then cut 1 pattern on each fabric. I want it to be the same so I just fold my fabric before I cut. You can either pin the pattern on the fabric or draw the pattern on the fabric using a fabric chalk. Use this as guidance for cutting.

 

 

I end up with two circles!

 

 

Now, are you happy with this, or would you like to decorate it a little? If you’re happy with how your fabric looks right now, skip this step. I am going to add a bit of patchwork on one side (which will be the top side) of the pin cushion.

To make the patchwork, you simply want to lay the fabric on top of the base fabric and figure where you want it. Then you would want to flip it so the right side of fabrics will face each other. After that you sew them together with 1/4 in seam allowance.

 

 

Then you need to trim the extra fabric, use your pattern as guidance. After that, remember to press the seams!

 

 

If you want, repeat it a few times until you are happy with how it looks!

 

 

When you are happy with how it looks, just lay the two fabric pieces, right sides together. Sew around it, leaving about 1 to 2 inches opening.

 

 

If you have curves, you might need to cut notches for outer curves, or trim the seam allowance in half for inner curves. Turn the right side out by pulling through the opening. Stuff with polyfil then sew the opening shut with invisible stitch. (I forgot to take pics, that's why the fabric is different)

 

 

That's it, you just made a pin cushion!

I put the pins in a ramekin and put the pin cushion on top of it. I love it!

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone, my name is Dita. I'm the girl behind Buzz of the Bees. I am twenty-something-year-old girl who lived most of her life in Jakarta, Indonesia before moving to Washington state and married my loving husband. I dream to be a chemical engineer in the future. Other than loving chemistry, physics, and math, I love to crochet, knit, and sew! When I’m not doing any of the above, you can find me playing my ukulele.

What inspires you to create?

Creating is something that I find to be an amazing activity. It’s just perplexing how we can change something into another thing that is (hopefully) more useful or more beautiful. I feel powerful when I create, muahahaha (evil laugh). On a serious note, creating boost my confidence, it makes me feel good! If you have ever made something (which I know you must have!), you'd understand what I mean :)

 

Where do you get your ideas from for tutorials/products?

A lot of the ideas comes from needing something. When I need something, I think of a way to make it if I can. Though I don't have to be in need of something to come up with ideas. There are a lot of things around us that just kinda pokes your mind into wanting to make something along with that theme. I love the nature, I love how beautiful things are, they really inspire me.

 

How long have you been a creative?

I have always been attracted to creative things. I remember when I was in kindergarten I just really enjoyed it when we were making things. My classmates probably did better, but I enjoyed it nevertheless (kids don't care anyway). My parents have also helped me and motivated me to create and be creative. They would helped me as I come up with crazy project ideas.

 

What is your biggest dream for your creativity?

I’ve heard this from someone, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Well, that quite describes me. I do a lot of things. For example I like to crochet, knit, and sew. Though I can do each of those things, I am not great at it. I would love it if I can spend more time and master at least one thing. In the future perhaps I can do something that I love and get paid for it! That's everyone's dream though, isn't it?

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The Big 20/20 Event: Day 6: Make Your Own Chicken Pad Thai

Welcome back to “The Big 20/20 Event” - I am so glad you’re joining us! We will be sharing 20 fantastic tutorials from a host of awesome contributors, for 20 days.
If you enjoy the tutorials, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, as all my newsletter subscribers will receive a beautiful PDF eBook at the end of the event, showcasing all 20 tutorial projects to keep and peruse at their leisure!
Here we go with our Day 6 tutorial.

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Make Your Own Chicken Pad Thai

 

 

Hi! My name is Jacquie and I blog over at Confessions Of A College Angel. I am so happy to be a part of The Big 20/20 event!!

 

My how to is really yummy, How to make Chicken Pad Thai--- now this isn’t COMPLETELY the traditional version of Pad Thai, although I do LOVE that kind as well, this was made for a super picky eater, my fiancée Kensei and his even more picky of an eater Dad. I really hope you like this and give it a try!

 

What you will need:

• Pad Thai Noodles, (I found mine in the organic/gluten free isle of my local Kroger)
• 1 cup to 1 lb. of chopped chicken breast
• (I also added 4 gluten free all chicken organic chicken and pineapple sausages)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 a white onion or 3-5 green onions
• 1 egg per person eating
• carrots, bean sprouts, corn, broccoli any veggie you know that you  and your family will eat. (we used shredded carrots, bean sprouts and fire roasted corn)
• Roughly chopped peanuts (I put mine in a Ziploc bag and smacked them with a mason jar.)

For the sauce you will need--

• The Juice of 1 lime
• 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce (from  Kroger’s Asian isle or your local Asian market)
• 4 tablespoons white sugar (I used 2 white and 2 brown)
• Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

So what do you do?

Start by cooking your rice noodles until they are almost done! I boiled some water, turned it off and let the noodles soak for 5 min)

 

 

Then Pour out the water and let the noodle's drain, you might want to run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

 

 

While the noodles are draining, start chopping and cooking your meat--- when you cook the meat add 1 tablespoon of peanut or veg oil to the pan.

 

 

While the meat is cooking mix the sauce and set aside.

Once the meat is all cooked remove from the pan, add 1 more tablespoon oil, scramble eggs and cook until fluffy and broken up.

 

 

Remove egg from pan, add 1 more tablespoon oil and cook garlic, onions and veggies until slightly softened, then add the meat, scrambled eggs and noodles to pan, before pouring sauce over everything and stir frying for 2-3 min. If it looks dry you can add water, or I used a little Orange Juice for extra bright flavor.

 

 

Now you can eat!! I plated everyone up a small bowl topped with crushed peanuts and 3 wedges of limes for squeezing on top ( I love the flavor of lime in this dish!) What is your favorite Asian food? do you have a make at home recipe? I would love to know! Also if you try this please leave me a comment and let me know what you liked about it!!

A little more about Jacquie:

What inspires me

a. I am inspired by the little things in life, a good day, a hug or kiss from someone I love things like that. I have found there is just to many negative things to not pay attention and be inspired by all the small things!

Where do I get my ideas from?

a. I tend to find something I like and want to recreate it at home. I have a lot of trial and error but somethings urn out better than what I had in mind to start.

What is my biggest dream for my future?

a. Currently getting married and starting a family.

 

Jacquie's Bio:

I am Jacquie and I blog over at Confessions Of A College Angel. My blog is all about life through my eyes as a full time college student with a full time job, who just recently moved to a new city transferred universities and lives with her boyfriend. I am a little bit of a dork, a geek and a nerd, I love photography, in fact, that is my major. I also love to read and cook. My blog is a little bit about everything! I hope you come and check it out!!

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The Big 20/20 Event: Day 5: Creating Texture With Gesso & Stamps

Welcome back to “The Big 20/20 Event” - I am so glad you’re joining us! We will be sharing 20 fantastic tutorials from a host of awesome contributors, for 20 days.

If you enjoy the tutorials, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, as all my newsletter subscribers will receive a beautiful PDF eBook at the end of the event, showcasing all 20 tutorial projects to keep and peruse at their leisure!!

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Creating Texture With Gesso & Stamps

 

Following my post about Gesso Stenciling and creating texture and interest with the puffy gesso method, I am now sharing another favorite method of mine to use Gesso to create texture for your journaling pages, paintings or other mixed media projects .

 

 

In my first gesso tutorial, we were scraping the gesso through a stencil to create texture, this time we’ll be making impressions in the gesso by stamping and drawing into the gesso.

You will need:

• A fairly thick type of Gesso.
• a piece of paper
• stamps of choice
• An optional array of: Spray inks, distress stamp pads, distress stain daubers, shimmer mists, Gilders paste, water colors, etc.
• Optional: Heat Tool/Gun - if not heat gun, then patience!
• Means to clean your stamps pretty much immediately. (Spray bottle with water & rag or bowl full of water to submerge stamp in, or easy access to a sink, etc.)

Before we get started, a few words on stamp choice and clean-up.

Cleaning your stamps:

Do make sure you have means of cleaning your stamps ready before you start. Once the gesso dries on your stamp, especially on more detailed stamps, you will have a really hard time cleaning them. So do make sure you clean your stamp straight after you pull it off the gesso, or at least soak it until you can deal with it.

Larger, less detailed stamps will obviously be easier to clean than others, but I’ve found that for myself, the quickest and easiest way to not ruin my stamps, but also not interrupt my flow, is to have a spray bottle of water and a rag handy. After I pull the stamp up, I wipe it, spray it generously with water, wipe again and that usually does it!

Choice of stamps:

Pretty much any stamp will work - in theory! There will be some experimenting involved though!

Larger, deeper stamps tend to work better when the gesso is applied thicker, while the more shallow type of stamp works somewhat better on a thinner application of gesso. I have found that fine writing type of stamps don’t tend to work very well. They do create texture, simply by being pulled up from the gesso, but they don’t tend to leave much of a writing impression. Larger ones, of course, will work fine!

Here is an example of a fairly fine and detailed stamp used on a thin layer of Gesso.

 

You don’t actually need any particular stamps. You would simply use any object you can press into the gesso and experiment with texture that way. Even a flat piece of rubber or the back of a stamp, when pressed into the gesso and then pulled up, will leave a pretty cool impression with little pulled peaks.

 

 

If you don’t want to use your rubber stamps, you can make your own. For example, wrapping rubber bands around a wood block or other solid shape, makes some cool linear patterns when stamped into the gesso.

 

You can also use any object you desire, to scribble into the gesso, as you will see later in the tutorial.

 

I would like to apologize in advance for the odd lighting in some of my step-by-step pictures. It’s quite hard to photograph white on white with any kind of clarity, and when you add shimmer anything to it, it can get a little tricky.

But now, without further ado, here is how we do it!

 

1.) Spread a layer of thick gesso on your desired area of the paper/canvas/painting. I like to use a large flat brush for this, as it tends to gives a more even spread of gesso, but you can also use an old gift card, foam brush or spatula too.

 

 

You need to work relatively quickly here, especially if you want to use more than one stamp, as the gesso dries fairly quickly, depending on your level of thickness.

 

2.) Press your chosen stamp into the wet gesso, then pull it back up.

 

 

 

3.) Then, as mentioned above, wipe your stamp and if that didn’t remove all the gesso, spray it with some water, or soak in a bowl of water until you are ready to clean it properly.

 

Stamp on the right sprayed with water, awaiting it’s clean-up later.

 

4.) Proceed with as many more stamps you would like to use.

 

 

5.) Let it dry. Now, in essence, the texturing is done! If you have a preferred method of coloring your textured backgrounds, go ahead and do that now. I will show you my favorite ways to bring out the texture and highlight it in the following steps.

Again, it is important that the gesso is completely dry for the next steps. You can either let it air dry, or if you’re impatient like me, you can use your heat tool to speed up the process. If you are using the heat tool, you could even go and puff the gesso up in some places by holding the heat gun closer and longer to those areas and combine two methods.

 

6.) Onto the coloring.

I love to use sprays for these first few steps. I tend to dilute ink sprays a fair bit, then spray it onto the texture. You can spray generously, let it drip, run into each other etc., but don’t overdo it on the wetness factor. Also be aware that the gesso with soften just a bit with all that watery spray on top of it, so don’t do anything that would require a lot of hard wiping or blotting, as you may end up wiping some of your texture off.

When I don’t use sprays, I like to apply water colors with big wet brushes, randomly across the page and let it do it’s thing. Let the excess run off, so the gesso doesn’t get too soggy.

 

I really love to use shimmer mists at this stage too. They have the tendency to connect with the color and run into all the groves and collect in lovely shimmery puddles, giving quite unique outlines.

 

 

Let everything dry completely again.

 

7.) Distress it. As you may have noticed, if you’ve followed my blog, I’m a big fan of the distress ink line. The pads, the daubers, I even use the reinkers to make my own spray inks in the mini misters at different depth of color.

 

 

Well, they are also my favorite for this! They give us color, but mostly just a hint, allowing us to build up many layers. My other favorite are chalk ink pads - they also give a lovely, soft color without being too stark.

I just take one of the distress ink pads and lightly run it over all the texture. If  you get too much of it in one place, either just use your finger to smear/smudge it and fan it out some, or take a small wet brush, add a tad of water and gently wipe it off.

 

8.) Keep on layering color.

I also love to use the distress ink daubers for this. Again, much like with the pads, I run them lightly in areas of the texture, then use my finger to smudge and soften it. You can also just dab a little on your finger and smudge that into the areas you want colored, giving you even more control.

 

 

Make sure you let everything dry between layers, so you don’t end up with muddy areas where everything mixed too much!

I sometimes also use a dotted or script stamp with a Stazon ink pad (water proof,) to stamp lightly over the texture, like I did in the example below. Then I just carry on layering over the top of it to integrate the stamping. Because you continue to layer on top of it, make sure you use a water proof stamp pad, otherwise you end up with smudged stamps and muddy colors.

 

 

Let it dry between each step.

 

9.) As a last step, I often run a metallic stamp pad or my finger tip full of gilding paste along the top peaks of the textured area. This further brings our some of the peaks and valleys of the texture, while lending it a distressed kind of shimmer.

And that’s it!

 

 

Here are some examples where I used this method in my art work.

 

 

I used the stamped gesso texture on my background for this mini canvas, before painting the rest.

 

 

I used the same swirl stamp in this art journaling page as the background.  This is the page I showed you earlier in the tutorial in a close up.

 

 

In this painting, I used both the puffy gesso method, as well as the stamping method, to create the top part of the wing.

 

I hope this has given you some ideas and inspired you to go and experiment with gesso textures yourself! I would love to see and hear about what you are creating!

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The Big 20/20 Event: Day 4: How To Paint From The Soul

Welcome back to “The Big 20/20 Event” - I am so glad you’re joining us! We will be sharing 20 fantastic tutorials from a host of awesome contributors, for 20 days.
If you enjoy the tutorials, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, as all my newsletter subscribers will receive a beautiful PDF eBook at the end of the event, showcasing all 20 tutorial projects to keep and peruse at their leisure!

Here we go with our Day 4 tutorial.

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The Big 20/20 Event: Day 4: How To Paint From The Soul

 

 

This post is brought to you by the lovely Jeanette.

Here is my tutorial using directions and photographs to guide you to create a beautiful painting using your own beautiful creativity and some simple directions. I am going to give you an overview that you can use to access your own creative Source. In essence, painting to me is all bout getting out of my ego, connecting to Source (just being open to what may come) and playing.

There may be some struggles and self talk along the way, that tells you "you are silly", "you can't paint", "this isn't working" and so on. I want you to try and temper this with the patience of a saint. Sooth that inner voice with reassurance. Tell her you are just playing and give her permission to not put too much pressure into what comes out of all of this. I remember years ago reading a quote in Julia Cameron's, The Artist's Way, that said, "In order to paint something well, we must first be willing to paint something poorly". I am pretty sure that no one has ever picked up a paint brush for the first time and painted like Picasso!

In this painting I used acrylic, full bodied and liquid, stamps, ink pads, bits of old writing, found objects, I use matte medium for gluing as well as to make my paint more moist when it dries out as I go, a selection of small brushes and anything I feel inspired to throw into the mix. In this first picture you can see the bin that I have some of my stuff in. I drag it out and put it away each time because I live on a boat. I can tell you a lot about how you do this painting, but I can't convey the hours of painting I have done on other paintings to get to this point! You must be willing to play.

You will learn little tricks along the way that will make the next painting more interesting! The most important factor is for you to know you are indeed an "artist". It is your birth right! Just hold that intention in your beautiful heart and begin. I suggest painting on art board to start. It is small and you can do lots and still store them! I did many this way! You may think that they won't be as important if they are on board, but I am here to tell you that I sold some of my early pieces to a very enthusiastic fan, who framed them and has since put them up on a wall in his beautiful home.

Here Is what he has to say:

Jeanette, Your work has made quite an impression on the owner of the White Rock Art Gallery. She came out and said, 'Bruce, you're not going to believe this..' (And I'm not even going to try to tell you!) But after the three had wrapped it all up she said, 'Shoot!' 'We need pictures!' 'Did we get pictures for our site?' Hehe.. I mean, they have $20,000+ paintings in their gallery but had never been quite so impressed with the pairing of art and frame!  Although she doubted whether a picture could do justice to just how incredibly beautiful they are, she made me promise to try and get one of my photographer friends to give it a try. Jeanette, Jeanette, Jeanette.. how fortunate we are to have discovered the brilliant, happy shine of your artistic expression. Glory, glory.. Hallelujah! When the sun lights up the pink room I will try and get us all a good shot! Meanwhile, it's Lindy's face that's really lit up! Thanks, eh!

You have no idea how much this makes my heart sing...woo hoo! And the beautiful part is you can do this too! xo. So don't under-estimate the possibilities of these early pieces! Art is all about believing you can paint and having fun!

 

 

STEP 1

As you can see I started with a blank white canvas this time. I want to mess it up as quick as possible and get over that inclination to keep it all pretty and the "p" word....perfect. For me this isn't too much of a problem...I am a messier girl! I like color and texture so much better than obtrusive white.

Backgrounds are an opportunity to try new things for me. In this painting, I used some Golden Acrylic paints and Stevensons' (a Canadian brand) as well. I work with a matte medium for collage and glue. It is just a polymer like they use in paint without any colour. I have collected bits and pieces, letters, and pictures to use in my painting. I often use magazines and rip and tear and cut, but this time I never used any magazines.

 

STEP 2

Usually I drag out books I have of other artists works that I admire and I even bring out my old paintings. I will not be copying them, but they help me get out of myself and give me inspiration. I am pretty sure everyone does this. Or I look on the web for ideas to get my creative juices going. It really helps! Then I just take the plunge and spread some paint around!

 

STEP 3

I start with a rudimentary sketch of the subject matter. In this case I drew a couple little cuties. It gives me a direction to go in. Creating art is really all about opening up to take risks and not getting too attached to what you put down in the first few layers!

So have fun with it! I used a little tiny spray bottle with water in it, to get the acrylic paint to run in drips. I wanted to try this and thought I could have incorporated it into the piece. This makes for an interesting background. Art is what happens when your busy making other plans. Turns out I didn't really use it, but it did become part of the whole!

 

 

STEP 4

I used a white acrylic pen to draw on the faces. I find white blends easier. You could use a white water color pencil as well. Then I start using a skin colored paint to build up the face. By the time I  feel satisfied with the face, I have put down a lot of paint. I like where the face is going but still not sure about the eyes.

Something wasn't feeling right about the eyes on the right, so I colored it in and stuck some print over it. I did this with both of their mouths. I wasn't loving something about them, the position or shape or whatever...but I like some writing on my faces coming through so I don't get too worked up over it! Remember not to get too upset that things don't go where you think they should the first time, the second time...and so on.

Entertain the possibility that it can go somewhere way better than you have in mind, if you remain open to it!  I talk to myself all the way through the painting. I say things like, "it will work out" and "don't give up"! And you know what? It always does! You will feel so good that you worked through all this inner self sabotage and got to that sacred place where your creativity lives!. And the more layers the better. Just keep that in mind.

 

 

STEP 5

So, now you can see that I have worked through the issue with the eyes and mouth and see the print coming through! I have added some hair color. I am often drawn to characters of this coloring because my sister and I are like this! She is a brunette with brown eyes and I am (was) a blonde with blue eyes! I have added some cheek color as well.

 

 

STEP 6

The faces are becoming more defined in this shot. I have added more color to the hair and slimmed the faces down using the hair . You can see I added big wings which I later changed. I do like them but I wasn't being inspired to do something with them. I don't worry about changes. I know it will add more interest in the long run. I stand back away from the piece I am working on often to gain perspective and allow the painting to tell me where it wants to go. It wanted to have little butterfly wings and flowers...so off in that direction I went!

 

 

STEP 7

I have added a bit of interest to the background using a big brush dipped in white paint and made three swirling circles...ooooh I like! and used an ink blotter to add some polka dots. I used my finger to make the black circles and surrounded them with white. I like this effect.

Even though it got covered up, I may try this technique in another piece! Notice the lettering I was using. I tried it out and did not like it. I have some stamps with letters that I stamped onto paper and cut out in squares that I ended up using. I am going to go buy some archival ink pads, because they are water proof. I sprayed the letters with hairspray. to protect them from matte medium making them run. I also played with some stamping techniques for the background. so, you can see there is a lot of experimenting going on! I am becoming more skilled and knowledgeable with each piece! You can too...just get painting!

 

 

STEP 8

I decided to make the letters for this piece using my stamps. I am building a collection of stamps and a knowledge base about them. I have to tell you that this part really has my attention. I am going to learn more and incorporate it into my work. I LOVE stamps!

 

 

STEP 9

Getting closer to the final product! I have made some flowers , glued down clocks. As I go I start getting a message about what this all about. This time I was hearing. Tick tock, what are you waiting for.

Originally I had tick tock on the big wings, with those big letters. It was too much so the it morphed a little into this. Now it has "Dear Hearts, What Are You Waiting For" on it. I was kind of wondering about why we don't just start somewhere right now Because, if we wait for the perfect opportunity, it will never arrive and we won't ever follow our hearts and passions!

 

 

STEP 10

The finished product has the background a bit more subdued and soft. I don't like thinks too stark. I am learning this about myself. I was drawn to create a more soft and serene feeling. When things are too hard I am left feeling uninspired. I like gentleness and the midnight blue, red and teal background was causing me to feel cold. The letters are better.

I wanted to work them in without being too fussy. I know that I can be inclined to make things too "just so". I am working on this and giving myself permission to be a bit more free. This is the attributes of other creatives I am really drawn too. But I express myself from where I am and that is just fine! I really have to love myself where I am at. This is the gift I choose to give myself, and that is what makes it okay for me to paint!

I have a collection of odds and sods and among them was that tiny pewter frame. At the last minute I had this intense desire to glue it down on this piece! I found the key that has "Secret" written on it! This is perfect, because, I believe,  the key to manifestation is to begin! To hold that beautiful intention in your heart and take steps into the unknown. To have faith that if you leap the net will indeed appear!

 

 

If you have enjoyed my little tutorial, please feel free to send me a little testimonial to info@jeanettemacdonaldart.com.

I am thinking about creating an online course or e-book and would so love to be able to use your feedback and testimonials if you feel called to contribute this to my work!

It has been my pleasure to write this. I have had many of my soul sisters, and fans ask me what my process is. So this is my gift to you for being interested in who I am! I hope it helps you on your quest for creativity. And be assured there will be lots of inspiration coming in my future blogs! Thanks for signing up today and I am excited to share the creative journey together! 

Lots of love to you all! xo Jeanette

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