Trust in yourself and listen to your heart

Hello everyone

Thanks for visiting my little blog and leaving such lovely comments. I appreciate them very much.

I have been busy getting back to work and then packing for a week's holiday at the beach next week. I have also signed up for Louise Gale's online ecourse called Big Dreams, Small Wonders . I joined a bit late but hoping to catch up while I am sitting on the beach relaxing. From what I have read so far I just love what it is about and can't wait to get right into Dreaming Big. 

In all of that I did find time to fit in some art getting some pages base coated ready for me to doodle when I am away and finishing another journal page that was basecoated ages ago waiting for inspiration to strike.

I started with a plain base of Jo Sonja Linen

Then stipple through a lemon bag with Jo Sonja Opal. I splayed it out a bit so it looked like it was coming out from one place.

 Then I stippled on some butterflies. These are the left over pieces of vellum that I used to make my butterflies for a card in a previous post here. The colour I used this time was Jo Sonja Smoked Pearl.

 This is the result so far. I liked the softness these colours gave. As you know I am sort of a heavy handed painter, using bright bold colours, not really being able to achieve soft pastel colours in my paintings so this was the challenge for me.

 I also wanted to recycle things on this page so I found a piece of plastic that was part of a container that my new pens came in and I kept this bit of it because it looked like a good stamping pattern. I painted it with Jo Sonja Raindrop and then stamped down the pages in stripes.

 Next was a little plastic dot thingy. I don't know where it came from but I remind you that I am a hoarder and now particularly since I started doing art journals, I keep anything that I could use in the future. Anyway i dipped this in Opal and randomly dotted the pages.

 Next came a brush cleaner that I was given ages ago and it has a neat little heart pattern on the back of it.  I painted it with Jo Sonja Lilac and stamped away

Another bit of leftover paper that I had punched for another page that I will show you when I get back and this too became a stencil. I am loving this recycling!

So here it is so far with the stamping and stenciling.

 If you look on the right hand side near the bottom, there is a bit of colour that has bled through from the following page. I liked it and thought I would incorporate it on this page in a different way. It is Jo Sonja Rich Gold. With my finger I tapped into the Rich Gold and then in the Lilac and rubbed it on the pages in rough lines. I do like to get my hands in the paint. I end up with it everywhere after a painting session.

Now these were the new pens I told you about before. They are Staedtler triplus fineliner in multi colours and it says they can write on anything so I tested it out. I also used a White Inkssentials pen to do the journaling.

So here is the finished page. i journaled about why I am so drawn to butterflies at the moment and what they symbolise to me.

I have a few more journal pages to show you but haven't had the time to get them organised on my computer so until then here is a sneak peak at them.

My quote today comes from a book that arrived in the mail today by Julia Cameron called "Blessings" In it is a quote from Sonia Choquette about enthusiasm. Julia asks the reader to respond to life with lively interest, joy and delight. She adds that enthusiasm is the fuel for her endeavours. So are you enthusiastic about your endeavours, creativity, life?

Enthusiasm means "of the Gods". When you have an enthusiastic heart, all the heavens can flow through it.

Sonia Choquette

Well I must get back to the packing so I will bid you goodbye for a week. I hope you have a great weekend and to all my Aussie friends I hope you all have a fantastic Australia Day next Wednesday celebrating everything Australia. I will be celebrating with you and being grateful for every day in this great southern land.

Namaste

Lee

A time of reflection......

I am a bit behind in posting as I have been glued to the television watching the devastation unfold in Queensland and now in my state of Victoria. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. I have been shell-shocked by what I have seen and it is another reminder that material possessions can be replaced but lives cannot. Live and love every day like it is your last, life is precious.  Please keep these communities in your prayers, and if you are in Australia please donate to the Flood Appeal here, every dollar helps..

 I am sure you have seen the news coverage but thought I would share just a couple of pictures of the wildlife that is also affected. Yes that is a frog hitching a ride on the back of a python in the flood waters. There is also a video of this snake further down the river coiled up on a piece of Styrofoam, with the frog still there.

Please keep these communities in your prayers as the full extent of this disaster will be felt for many years to come.

 I did do a couple of journal pages before the floods dominated the news. Here is the first of them. It was a page that I started a long time ago but stopped as it wasn't doing anything for me. I got a sudden urge to finish it the other night.

I started with a base of Jo Sonja Antique Green. Then sponge flowers with a stencil, sponge and Warm White.

I then used Jo Sonja Naples Yellow Hue and dragged it down the page with a credit card to distress it.

I then stuck a piece of a serviette in places on both pages and then stenciled a couple of swirls with texture paste mixed with Aqua. This is where I left it for a couple of months.

 I used my Impress dye pad in Indigo Blue to stamp a couple of birds and squares over the pages

 I smudged it with my finger to make it softer.

 I then used Jo Sonja Warm White mixed with Atelier Liquefying Medium to paint some words and then outline with a credit card dipped in this mix. I also shaded around the lettering, outlined with with a pen and then highlighted it again.

 I then used Jo Sonja Storm Blue and my finger to rub around the edges of the pages to make a border. I also rubbed this colour over the page to tie it all together.

 I finished it with some doodling about our perception of how free we are and the choices we have.

I also doodled a bit on a page I painted a while ago with my leftover paint. I did journal on here but it is in gold pen so you can't see it very well.

I am trying to get around and visit my favourite blogs but have not caught up with everyone yet.

I wish you all a peaceful and safe weekend. Keep your loved ones in your hearts.........

Namaste

Lee

New Year, new goals

 Hi everyone, I hope you have all recovered from New Years Eve. I had a lovely quiet night with loved ones.  From our house we had a good view of the fireworks that are let off around the surroundings suburbs. 

 I borrowed my son's whizz bang camera and had a play. I need a few lessons but you get the idea. It was a great show.

Now onto my journal. I am sharing with you a page I did a couple of days ago while trying to work out what my word for 2011 will be.

So I started with Jo Sonja Prussian Blue Hue and Aqua and a credit card. Blended the colours to cover the pages.

 then I painted over it with White and while still wet I rubbed circles in it with my fingers.

















When this was dry I grabbed a crayon and wrote some words.

I then wiped off the excess white to reveal the words with a baby wipe.

 

I grabbed some Jo Sonja Harbour Blue and Aqua and dipped a really wet sponge brush in the paints and dripped them down the page.

 When dry I grabbed my trusty bubble wrap and Jo Sonja colour in Tiger Lily and stamped randomly over the page.

 

 I added some splodges of white and spread criss cross with my credit card and scribbled in it with the end of a paintbrush.

 

Sprayed with with water and dabbed it off with my paper towel. Then grabbed a paper stencil and my 2 background colours and used a sponge roller to stencil the pattern over the top of the last layer.

You can faintly see the words peaking through where the crayon is resisting the paint.

When this was dry I noticed the sun was shining outside so I took my pens and pencils and sat outside and doodled to finished the page. I didn't take any photos because I was so caught up in what I was doing but I just used pencils to shade and highlight the words and then I used my silver pen to doodle inside the letters and then journalled around each word. I also doodled around the edge of the page to give it a frame and also used a red pencil to highlight each corner.

 I actually like the batik looking pattern I achieved after stenciled the blue over the red/orange layer and will use this again.

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I sat with this page and contemplated what word I needed to bring this all together for me and I came up with 'Connection' and so I doodled about that today.

 I started with Jo Sonja Blue Violet and Brilliant Violet and blended them with a brush in a criss cross fashion.

  The Souffle pens came to the rescue again  and I used the purple, green and blue.

 I tend not to make resolutions now because they are always broken so I have goals instead that I can work towards and one of these is being more connected to everything inside and outside me. To be fully present in each moment of the day and to organise my time efficiently so I can achieve this. Another part of this organisation for me is to de-clutter my life. I have been trying to do this for years now but I finally tired of the weight of it so this will be a year long journey of lightening my load in all areas of my life so that I can spend more quality time doing the things I like doing - like spending time with family and friends, creating on a more regular basis, meditating on a more regular basis and having more time to relax and re-charge.

My quote today comes from one of my favourite authors Caroline Myss. In her latest salon newsletter she talks about personal freedom, joy, bliss and choice.

"Inner Freedom and bliss is a lifestyle choice, a living, breathing way of interacting with the world that is your life....... you are the engine of happiness, joy, and bliss...... You have to be willing to make the types of choices that make enchantment and bliss happen."

Here's to a wonderful creative year for all of us, making those choices to follow our bliss and make the enchantment happen.

Namaste

Lee