Creative Because I Wanna Be

A Break Through- In which I finally Create because I WANT to...

Hey Everyone!  When last we talked I had made a Major Organizational Score in my new Paint Storage/Kids Toy Shelf!  Woohoo! 

  

Before- I had my Paint up on a shelf- which was OK- but I ended up having Baskets of Paint all over the place and could never find the one I wanted.  AND- I was very tempted to just leave them here and there while I used them.

Now It's SO Much easier- and having all my Ink etc all in one Place makes things Faster and Less Stressful.

So Speaking of Stress- Since the whole Craft Fair/Christmas Gift/Get the Etsy Shop stocked Saga began I've had a bit of a Block creatively- I just, well, stopped creating new things.  I think it was because I felt like I had to be 'Doing something that fit in one of those Catagories' or I wasn't being 'Productive'. 

This always Snowballs for me into a bit of a 'Creative Paralysis' and I end up not Creating just for Fun and for Relaxation.   Which continues the Cycle of Stress...

  

So finally...after Sophie staged an Intervention and said Point Blank-

"Girl- what you doin?- Ain't nobody got time for that!"

I took a Big Breath- drew on all the Caffeine fueled Memories of my time with my Honey in Sedona...

And just got in there and 'Got 'er done'!

I got the Paints all organized, grabbed a Thrift Shop Rescue Board and started Working on something I've had in my head for awhile.

I had just read Somerset Workshop Autumn 2013 Edition and was really inspired by Junelle Jacobsen's work.   She has a project called "Camera Canvas"- its an  Awesome Mixed Media Tutorial and I decided her Techniques would help get this 'out of my head' and into the real world.

Here are some ways you can find her:

Her Awesome Blog 

Her Website

and this Great Blog Post about her!

So first I primed the 'Previously used' board with Turquoise and then used my Fave Collage materials- Old Books, Music, Hand painted and Ready Made Collage papers and arranged them in Heart shapes and Mod Podged them down. 

 

Then I covered it with Black and added more Bright Paint here and there...loved the colors!

I added even more 'stuff' on top- Sophie said to call it  'Ephemera' but I'm not feeling quite that 'Fancy' today:)

Then I added some Doodling and shading and more fun stuff like Buttons, wire and a Cute little Clothespin....

I was a little intimidated about the Wire thingee- but it turned our really fun and easy!  That is until I tried to trim it and cut the Wrong Wire and the whole thing fell apart...:)  This is the Second Try..

Buttons Buttons Buttons!!!!  I love them!

 And here it is!  Not sure whether it will be a Gift or in the Etsy shop:)

Since then I've Burst into Happy Random Creating- Sketching, Painting, Collaging...Ahhhhh....it's good to be Back in the 'Swing of things'...

How are you doing with the Holiday Hectic-ness?  Are you creating just for the Love and the Joy of it?  Do you need to Sequester yourself away for a bit and just Play?

Let me know!

 Sophie says...Okay-  she fell asleep... The Diva is down for a nap...

Love to all!

Paint Storage Organization- Finally!

My New Paint Storage Unit!

Hello All!  I am so grateful that My Love and I got to escape for the weekend.   Sedona has such a way of Recharging your Batteries- giving you an Incredible sense of the Wonder of the Creator and just really Sending you back ready to Jump in again:)

I couldn't even Wait a few Hours to get my new Paint Storage Unit all filled up and ready to go!

Here she is at the Thrift Shop- just waiting Patiently for me...

And Voila!!!  Here she is all full!  Please disregard the Mess that surrounds her...I tend to make things Worse before I make things better:)

I am Really excited to be able to See all the colors at once.  This is going to save a lot of "Where the Heck is that Color" Time.  I also separated out my different Acrylics.

Ahhh.....I love the 'Rainbow-y-Goodness':)

I added my Stamp Pads, Spray Inks and Oil Pastels so I could just Grab a Bin when I needed it.  The Bins are really Heavy Duty Plastic- those are hard to find anymore.  Way worth the $19 bucks I stole it for!!

AND!!!  I can just lift this Sucker up by the side handles and move it wherever I'm working...Yessss!

Here she is in her 'Somewhat-Permament-Home'. 

Scrap Cat both Observed and Approved of the new Arrival from her Perch on my Worktable...

Sophie, however, after a Hard Day of Napping and chewing on things....was Less impressed...

And I was So inspired by all the Energizing and Relax-I-cising in Sedona that I worked on my latest project...here's a Sneak peek...:)

So how are you doing on the whole Christmas is Coming Madness thing? Has panic set in yet?:)

Love to All!

Words as Texture- Mixed Media Art Journal Techniques

Linda Arandas' Lettering as Art

My Friend Linda Arandas Just got Published!!!

Woohoo!

I remember chatting with Linda quite a bit back and we were both talking about our Goals and Things we would Love to Do some day...

I was working on actually figuring out this thing called "Twitter" and She dreamed of getting her work Published.  

Ya- guess who made it!?!

Click HERE to go check it out on her awesome Blog!

So, when I saw what Technique she was using I was SO Excited!!! I have always been a Huge-Stalker-Fan of her Lettering Skills.  She is Crazy Good!! And now she was using it as Background, as Structure, as the Stroke Lines for Amazing Focal Pieces- it's Fantastic!

Cool right?!

I've always LOVED lettering.  And I am always Shocked now when I scribble out a Name Tag and someone actually admires my Hand writing...
If they only knew!

(Warning: Flashback in Progress)

 Being Both the Princess AND Spokesperson for the Dyslexic,  Cursive Handwriting and I were NOT friends.  Mine was Awful! 

 And I tried so Hard!   I Seriously Practiced Every Stinking Day.

In 7th Grade I remember sobbing over my paper because all my friends had this big Beautiful Curvy Handwriting with Hearts and Bows everywhere and mine literally looked like Tiny Chickens had Stepped in Ink and run amok.

Ya, this is, like, my Very Best Cursive

I was never diagnosed- and it wasn't til I had my own boys that I realized that when I write in Cursive- there is a Big Floating Hole in the middle of the paper!!  No Joke Folks!

 And.. all of the Lines are Moving and Fading in and out.  Yep- that's what we actually see...I even get 'Sea Sick' writing a whole page of Cursive.  

Ever read my Stuff and wonder "Why the heck can't this girl write a whole Paragraph??  And what's with the CraZy rAndoM Capitols??

We Dyslexic/ADDs don't like big Blocks of Text...Also, if I have Capitals sprinkled in- It's much easier for me to track the text...And- it is just a very 'Real' visual Representation of the way my Brain works:)

Anyway!

In 7th Grade I finally found the answer....ITALICS!!!  As soon as I disconnected those Horrific Cursive Creatures- everything was fine! It was great!  I could actually write 'Caligraphy' and I was fine- as long as I didn't connect the letters.  

Freaky I know- but if you've loved a Dyslexic you know what I'm talkin' about:)

So- ya, Rabbit Trail there!  Where were we?

 Oh Ya!  Lettering!  Love it!

So Back to Linda's Lettering!!!

I decided to give it a try.  I had a LOT of pent up energy to Journal and so I used my Writing as a Background and just kept turning the page to change the angle.

I know- No way as Elegant as Linda's but it's mine:)

It's a good way to Journal but still have a little 'Camouflauge' with what you write:)

 Linda Suggested we try Prismacolor Markers with the Brush Tip on one side and the Fine Tip on the other.  

I smell a Trip to Hobby Lobby!

So jump over to Dandelion Ink Studios and then grab a marker and Start Experimenting with Lettering!  And then send us some pics!

Love to all!

A Place for my Mail Art

A Place for My Mail Art Treasures

So, I've been SO Excited about getting some of my First Mail Art Beauties- I just really needed some place to keep them Safe and Loved.

Here are my Betty Franks Creations...

and my Julie Gibbons Lovelies....

I love to keep them Out for Inspiration, but I'm so stinkin' messy sometimes I am terrified I'm going to get paint on them- so I 'Dipped my Toe' into the Mad World of Mail Art...

and Painted on a Mailing Envelope.

 So, I dreamed of this Color Scheme- The Purple with the Yellow Base and Bright Blue Hearts...

It kind of ended up having an 80's Vibe- so I just grabbed my Hair Spray and My Shoulder Pads and went for it..

I really just wanted an excuse to splash Outrageous Colors around with my Fingers...Ok, that's really my Basic Art Philosophy in a nut shell....

The Hearts were from some Phone Book Pages I had painted on and my New Cool Alphabet/Texture stamps from Scarlet Lime.  Then I used some Left Over Words from another project and finally some Oil Pastels for outlines....So Scrumptiously Messy!

Later on I messed around with the Same Color Scheme only 'Lighter'...I'm sure there is a more Technical Term for it- but 

"Pastel-i-er" didn't Sound right...

Not sure what this is going to be yet...but I am working on 'Subtelty'....

Ya- I know, I'm about as Subtle as a Bull in a China Shop...but a Girl can Dream!

So, my Focus for this week will be to Remember to Keep it Simple and do...

Love to all!

Baby Owl Delivery! Mixed Media Canvases

Hoot if you Love Baby Owls!!!

Here's a Sneak Peek at the New Deliveries- Soon to be in my Etsy Shop Molly Lolly Loo:)

Many of you know of my Owl Obsession- If you have ever been on my Pinterest Boards you will Quickly Realize that I tend to Stalk Anyone who shows an interest in the Little Creatures!

It's been dreaming of making Little Baby Owls out of my 6 x 6 Canvases that I got from Blick.  

So, after weeks of trying to get Time to get to them...then fussing over the Design...fussing over the Colors-- then just plain FUSSING...they are Finally Done!!!  Five new Canvas Baby Owls-and Five new Wooden Ones....  I think I'm in Love...:)

Here they are in Progress- I did a Late Night "The Hobbit" Showing and made a mess while everyone was in bed...that way I could clean it up and have a "Ta Da" in the Morning...

So here are the other Little Guys...

Each one has Different Colors and Little Quotes..

I Collaged the background with old Book Papers and Music.

This one needs a stem and a Phrase still:)

So I haven't decided whether to Give them Feet yet....Your thoughts?

I will get them in my Etsy Shop as soon as possible.  I may steal some for the Craft Fair.

I'm finishing up Photo-ing the Wood based ones....I'll try to have them up tomorrow:)

Love to All!

Keep Crafting through the Chaos!

 I'm Crafting Right on through the Chaos! 

Happy ADD/ADHD Awareness Week! Well I think it's just on one day this week.   I was reading about it- but then I saw something shiny...

If you ever wondered what it's like to have ADD/ADHD...allow me to present this Visual Representation..

So here's what My 'To Do' List looks like to everyone else...

This is my "To Do" list as I see it in my head. 

Now- Pick it up and Spin it around while Flipping to other pages randomly and add in bursts of music that change every 20 seconds under a disco ball.....and you're getting close:)

So folks- next time you see that little guy running around the Grocery store driving his Mom and everyone else nuts...remember me....I just did that to my Mom last week...

I know that as the Weather Changes and we all start Hoarding Candy Corn Oreos for Spring, we all feel that ' Ever present Looming Fear'...."Will I have enough __________ to sell at the Craft fair? " "Will Aunt _________ever get that hand knit sweater made of Cat hair?"  "Will I be able to make 27 dozen Christmas Cookies for little Tommy's class without eating half of them?"

 I'm not sure about you, but this is what my Studio looks like during Pre-Craft Fair/Etsy/Chirstmas Prep

Sophie, like me,  is not quite sure where to start...

Believe it or not- it spilled over to my Extra Bathroom...which I like to call- the "Room we pretend isn't there"...

 "Seriously Mom?" -Sophie

But Remember!  "Creativity is Messy- and I am VERY Creative"....

Progress was made:)  Here's one of my Altered Frames with 'Handmade-Burlap-Flower-Bottle-cappy-Buttony' Goodness.

This is a Rescued Awesome Box all 'Collaged and Antiqu-i-fied'...

And here are a few more of the Soon to be Craft-Faired Goodies:)

So- it's time to fess up...  Stop pretending your Studio still looks like the pics you took 2 months ago when you had all the time in the world to organize it:)....

Where my Messies at?!  

If you Craft in Chaos- Stand Proud my Sister!

Send in your Worst Messy 'Christmas Prep' pics and we will all feel just a little better abour ourselves:)

Mollylollyloo@gmail.com

Love to All!