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Mini Mobile Studio

Painting & Homemade Fall Decor

September 8, 2021      Leave a Comment

My hands are covered in paint.

This isn’t unusual however today they are covered with wall paint as we are working to finish my 3 year-olds bedroom by Friday.

So far we have filled the holes with the first coat of filler and I have started painting up to the trim on almost all of the walls and rolled 2 of them with color. They will need a second coat as the yellow isn’t fully covering the light green underneath but otherwise it’s moving along. We have a bookshelf left to empty but I think the painting should all be done tomorrow.

We are planning a trip to pick up some more paint tonight and I’m hoping to find a few storage containers to organize her toys.

On the crafting desk I am working on a fall garland for the kitchen. It’s a pattern I purchased last year but never got around to making. It’s really sweet and I’m enjoying working on it. I have 2 of the 4 houses completed and they really come together quickly.

I also completed another garland but this one was for my mobile art studio. Originally I was going to make one for the studio and one for my daughters room so I will have to see how it looks once I put it into the van. The garlands are really fun and my first time working with wool felt shapes. I really like them and think I will be learning a new hobby once my 30 day Creative Detox is over.

Another item I purchased and I have on my list of things to make this week are some clothespin dolls for our first day of home school. I have only made peg dolls before but I think these are going to be fun and I will be sure to share finished photos when they are done.

I have been picking up my journal more as well which is always a good thing. I have been needing that connection and the release of the words on paper has been very healing for me.

So that’s what is on my desk this week. I would love to hear what you are making so please do share your links below. If the link party has closed, feel free to comment below so I can stop by and say hello.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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Click here to enter


Hermione, Journal Making, Moving Rooms and What I’m Working on Wednesday

August 25, 2021      Leave a Comment

Welcome to another WIWOW! I have really been enjoying this series. It’s nice to look back and be reminded of some of the projects I am working on.

You may remember my little felt Harry Potter doll I made for my daughter’s friend. Well, I had an idea on how to improve him a bit so I thought I would make a second doll for the gift. In the end we all decided the original was the best one and so he is still going off to his new home this weekend. The second Harry went to my son who had been admiring it. He was quite happy when I offered it to him.

I also started Hermione and finished her up today. she really came out cute and I am so happy I was able to get her all done and I have Mr. Ron Weasel all cut out waiting to be stitched. So these 3 cuties will be off to their new home soon and I will definitely be making another set one of these days for my own collection. And I imagine for my kids as well.

I finished the anniversary journal for my husband’s parents that I mentioned in an earlier post. I am really happy with how the cover turned out and I did something different with the inside. I covered 2 pieces of cardboard in coordinating fabric to match the spine and then adhered them on the inside. I love how it looks and it adds some nice weight to the book. I also tried out a new binding technique I found on The Paper Outpost’s channel. It worked great and I think it’s going to be my new go-to binding technique.

If you remember we decided that instead of filling the album with photos from the last 50 years we are going to make it a bit of a challenge journal. My husband came up with the idea inspired by my daughter’s love for her Wreck this Journal by Kerri Smith. His idea was to add challenges for his parents to complete such as taking a photo in front of a mountain or a photo with a stranger.

I love the idea since any of the photos we would be adding to the album they already have and have seen a million times. We are going to include some photos of them and the family but only about 6 or so and then let them enjoy filling it up. They love to travel so I think it will be fun for them. Plus I thought we could have all the guests at their anniversary party add a photo prompt for them. So now it’s a photo album but also a memory book.

Another project I am working on is a cardinal sculpture. I have made it out of Paper Clay and I love the shape and the color but I am not as in love with the eyes. I am may try some dimensional eyes instead of painting them on to give it a bit more interest. I was able to sculpt some feet and I decided I really wanted him to be whimsical like my Self-Care doll so I added some decoupaged old book pages. I am also on the hunt for some fallen branch that I can use to attach him to. I am  enjoying sculptures specifically whimsical mixed media type pieces and they give me a lot of joy when I see them in my home.

Last week I finished painting our bedroom and we moved in over the weekend. We have quite a bit of stuff moved in (my creative corner is almost completely set up and I am already using it) but still have some things to move down or decide to let go of completely. I like how contained everything feels now and I am finding having my creative space on the first floor is working so well. I can come in and work for little snippets of time throughout the day. It’s also turned into everyone’s favorite hangout which makes getting in some creative time that much easier. With any luck we will be completely moved out of the old room and ready to paint it for my youngest daughter next week.

I did have a play on Monday with my acrylic inks-the first project I worked on in my new creative corner. It was for last week’s challenge (you can see it here) and I had so much fun! Initially I didn’t think much of the piece-just something fun I made that had a nice childlike quality but the more I see it the more I really like it and I think I will be working more with black and white inks.

The last little item on my desk is a mixed media piece I started Thursday during my Artist Date in My Mobile Art Studio.  I have been doing and re-doing this piece a lot over the past week and a half. I just can’t seem to get the face right and I am thinking of leaving it off completely. I originally was thinking of her as a bit of a self-portrait so I made her blonde but I decided today to change her hair color and it seems to work better. For now I’m going to call her done and make her the first piece for my new cardboard journal.

If you are interested in learning more about My Mobile Art Studio and my cardboard journal I am going to be blogging about them over on my other site The Creative Spiritualist. That site is also going to hold all my art journaling, journal making and energy art so if you are interested please stop by and say hello.

Well that’s about everything I have going on now. I hope this post finds you well and able to get in some creative time. I will see you all again on Monday with our weekly challenge. Are you taking part? You can join in all the challenge fun here.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Resource Section

The Paper Outpost: This is where I learned the hidden spine binding technique for the journal.

Baul de la Malinka: This is the Etsy shop where I purchased my Harry Potter felt doll patterns. There is a 3 pack that includes Harry, Ron & Hermione that I opted for.

*Note: All of the items listed above are being shared for your convenience. I purchased any and all materials with my own money and have not be paid or sponsored in any way for sharing these items. I share them because I like them and I love supporting small business. I hope you find them useful!

The Making of a Mobile Art Studio & Weekly Challenge #4

August 16, 2021      Leave a Comment

I am sitting in my writing spot on a gorgeous Sunday. If I am being honest, I should be making dinner but instead I am enjoying some crafting time and catching up on my blog writing.

It feels so good to me when I make time for my creativity. It can be 10 minutes or 2 hours but carving out time each day to do something, make something, paint something or sketch something makes all the difference in not only my well-being but in the way I perceive and interact with the world. It’s always wonderful to be reminded that the better I take care of myself the more love and light I can share with those around me.

This week I got back into my weekly Artist Dates. If you are unfamiliar with the concept it comes from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist Way where she talks about going out on your own to refill your creative well with something that you love or inspires you. For me it’s usually a drive, maybe a visit to a local garden center, or my latest creation-my Mobile Art Studio. I am just working on editing together some videos and sharing my weekly adventures but if you are interested you may want to check out my new site The Creative Spiritualist where I will be share the whole adventure. (Don’t worry I am still keeping this site going!).

One of the things I have been having a lot of fun with this week is playing with clay. I shared my Self-Care Doll in this post (and every time I look at her through out the day I smile so she really is a bit of magic) and I am delving more and more into the world of Paperclay. If you haven’t tried it you may want to as it is so much fun. You can also use Air Dry Clay which I used for completing last week’s challenge.

You may remember I let my oldest daughter pick our challenge for last week and she chose cupcakes. I knew right away that I wanted to make something out of clay so I pulled out the air dry clay and had some fun. I was inspired by this video where she made a cupcake trinket box. Her box was large and required a few days to dry and as I waited until the weekend for this challenge I didn’t have the time. Instead I made a mini version and I couldn’t be happier with them!

Sure they are wonky and lopsided but to be honest that is something I love out of clay pieces. I don’t know if it makes me feel like a kid again but when I see whimsical, bumpy, lopsided clay pieces I just always smile-and these little guys really made me grin!

I painted the bases in different colors-each one is one of my kids favorite colors and then for sprinkles I used all 3 colors to give it a bit of uniform look and have it feel more like a set. It was a lot of fun and because of their size the clay dried overnight and the paint dried almost immediately so I was able to go through and paint all 3 in about an hour. I finished them all off with a gloss varnish. I did notice when I was taking photos a few spots that need touch up that I will take care of but otherwise they are done and super cute!

Their mini size makes me think of storing something really magical inside. My daughter suggested glitter but I am almost thinking a secret treasure of some kind. I even have some mini crystals that would be perfect for inside.

I hope you had fun with last week’s challenge. For this week we are leaving the food theme behind and going to something a little more cuddly.

This week’s challenge is: Cats.

I cannot wait to see what you make!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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