Videos

Video: Warm Up Art Journal Process “It’s Your Road”

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Happy Monday!

I am sitting in the studio-a fresh cuppa has just brewed and I have another art journaling process to share with you all.

At the time I am writing this I haven’t quite finished the page. I needed to let things dry a bit so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to have another cup, sit in the cozy chair, and write to all of you.

How is your week starting off? I hope it’s going well, that it’s gentle but fulfilling for you. And if your day is less than how you would like it then I hope sitting here with me for a bit, over a cup of your favorite, offers you a respite. A little oasis for you to come to, relax, take care of yourself and recharge.

My week is starting off well-if not exactly how I planned. Schedules have been moved a bit at home and it seems I will get some early morning studio time each week. It’s a really nice addition and a dream I have been having for years now. I am meeting a friend for breakfast a little later but having the early morning to be a time for me to get my work done is really exciting for me. I had hoped to wake early and go to the gym alas I didn’t drag myself out of bed in time. There is always next week to try again.

My hope is to get up, gym, studio and then back home for homeschool and all things family. The really exciting part is that I can, starting next week, offer my creative coaching sessions during the day-something I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to manage. So if you have been looking to schedule a day session you can visit the scheduling page today and see the new available hours.

So now, in the midst of journal pages drying I thought it would be fun to tell you a bit about what I was doing in my warm up journal.

First I should say I have never had a warm up journal before. I created this journal last year and the idea of having a place where I could start off my studio sessions was appealing to me. I wanted something that would give me a place to lay down some color or journal a few words and not feel pressured to make anything. If I am honest, most of my art journals are becoming a space where I have freed myself from the need to make anything in particular. Where I can just create in a free way that feels like me.

Even though I have given myself permission to not make amazing art-I do like a theme for my journals. I love a container that holds the plans, dreams, fears and intentions I have around a certain project or area of my life.

(This concept is something I have learned mainly from Andrea Schroeder at The Creative Dream Incubator-if you would like to learn more you can click here to see her work-tell her Michele says “hi!’ 🙂

Right now I have a home journal, a business journal, my word of the year journal and my warm up journal. Each one is a place where I come to dream, plant seeds and work out what may be holding me back from taking next steps. I am a believer that these sessions don’t need to take long and I often plop down at my desk at home for 2 or 3 minutes to add color or collage to a page before going back to whatever I was doing. Letting the ideas mull over in the back of my mind as I go about the day.

My warm-up journal is where I start when I come to the studio. Today I got to the studio and realized I forgot my planner-then realized I left all my memory cards at home-so back off I went. I was trying to not add to the frustration with the thoughts of, “and you didn’t do the gym like you planned….” and realized I was feeling rushed and as if I was falling behind-and it wasn’t even 9am yet!

So I made my coffee (the first thing I do when I get to the studio) and decided to play in my warm up journal as today’s video.

I had no plan. I was going to start off with my tempura paint sticks (have I ever told you how much I love these?) but then I saw some colors in my Neo Color II that I wanted to play with so I just started scribbling.

My first scribble started to look like a heart so I decided to just go with it and make it a heart. This brought me back to being a kid where I would doodle hearts and stars all over my notebooks so I decided to add a star.

From there I was pulling colors I liked. I did grab my tempura paint sticks and use the peachy color-one of my favorites-to start tying things together. I added some tissue paper as collage and just kept going. I was looking for some neat paper to draw on thinking I wanted to cut it out and add it to the page but found a quote I decided to add instead. Then I noticed the scribbles at the bottom left looked a bit like a river going through a field so I played with some loose scribbles to enhance what I was seeing.

I took a break to start this blog post and then I went back and it’s always fun to see how differently things appear when you come back to a page. I decided to use one of my small rough brushes to add a pathway representing my own road. Then I added lots of trees to either side because if it’s my road-it needs to be lined with trees.Surrounded by them I would say.

I tried to apply this last layer in a way that would allow the previous textures and colors to come through but I always get heavy handed when I start to feel like I am coloring. Learning restraint in art making is still a skill I am developing.

Or maybe not.

I added some sky and enhanced the look of the river and embankment I saw earlier. I loved the sketchy look it had where you just had the illusion of it being there but it didn’t go with the other page so I added some paint. I think I will be exploring some sketchy type scenery in the future though.

So that is my video share for you this week. I hope you are able to take a few minutes today to do something fun for yourself. Regardless of your creative medium just 5 minutes can really help improve your mood or give you a new look on things. If you would like to take some time now-why not join me? You can see my process emerge on screen by watching the video below and play along. If you do create along with me-comment below and share what you made-I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Music by Saint Stephen – 50’s Milkshake – https://thmatc.co/?l=352EAE2D

Music by You ME and the Piano – Merry-Go-Round – https://thmatc.co/?l=4B20EFD1

Video: Studio Art Journaling Session

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How is your midweek going? Mine feels productive but if I were to be honest I am itching for some people time. I feel as if I am working up towards some real shifts in my life-good shifts-but I am getting a bit impatient.

It can be hard to move towards something new while still sitting with the old on a daily basis and it is in the times of feeling uncomfortable or anxious or worried that I do two things: pray and art journal.

Of course that may look different for everyone but when I create in my art journal it allows me to connect sometimes in a more meaningful way. It clears out the noisy thoughts and reminds me to be a bit more aware of what is. And I don’t know about you but it’s much easier for me to focus on what is when there are colorful paints and collage materials around me.

Would you like to have a little midweek creative time with me? You don’t have to work in your journal but maybe 5 minutes with your favorite creative outlet will help you through your day or to unwind from it. I created a little video for you to watch below. If you do join me please comment I would love to hear what you created during our time together!

 

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Music by You ME and the Piano – Merry-Go-Round – https://thmatc.co/?l=4B20EFD1

Music by Julia Pauletti – Yesterday – https://thmatc.co/?l=06E3D048

Video: Playing with Watercolors-Create with Me!

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You can watch the video by scrolling to the bottom of the blog post.

Today I wanted to play with my watercolors.

I thought it would be fun to create some images on smaller sheets of paper but really just play with the supplies and see what came about.

Over the weekend I was sketching outside by my marigolds. I was inspired by Anne Butera’s sketchbook class where she showed a snippet of her creating in her garden. The whole family was outside playing over the weekend so I set up a picnic style blanket and plopped on the ground beside my marigolds (dogs clamoring for snuggles).

Initially I started out swatching colors while thinking about the marigolds. Then I tried to create some similar to how I had done in my sketchbook. I learned quickly that my tendency to overwork things lead to more of a circle rather than a flower shape.

Still, I had fun. I was a little bummed that the marigolds lost their shape so I popped over to my favorite color while thinking for flowers. Not any flower in particular I just held the idea in my head and moved my brush around to see what happened.

I used this same technique for some lavender and purple shapes as well.

Lastly I decided to swatch some fall colors and then I made some marks while thinking about leaves-and stopping myself before I could overwork them too much!

Then it seemed fitting to try a pile of fallen leaves. It wasn’t looking like what I imagined but when I let go and just started playing again the colors started to blend and I was very happy with my abstract pile of fallen leaves.

And the tree they fell off of.

I hope you will give your favorite media a try. Perhaps without trying to create anything you just let your media and movements dance and see what they create.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Making Our Popcorn Journals: No Sew/No Special Tools

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Happy Monday!

As you read that we are officially back to home school. Right now I am probably picking up pencils off the floor and trying to keep my now 4 year-old occupied without going through all the special homeschool items I purchased for this purpose. With any luck I was able to get some nice photos of the first day and the kids are excited about some new surprise goodies that the moaning and groaning is at a minimum.

The Michele who writes this is full of hope 🙂

If you remember a few weeks back I shared the idea of a “popcorn journal.” (If not you can read and watch the video here).

The idea was that on those nights when we want to crash on the couch and binge watch our favorite show that we could make a tiny bit of art in the 2 minutes it takes to pop our popcorn.

At the time I had planned to use an actual popcorn box for this purpose but I seemed to misplace it when it came to make the video.

I also realized that I had brought all my book binding tools back home to the Creative Corner and had very limited items here at the studio.

My first instinct was to just do it another time but I had no idea what to film for today. So I took a moment and was guided to just make what I could make with what I had on hand.

Years ago I used to make some “Use What You’ve Got” videos on my YT channel. As much as I love an art supply and I love it even more when creators share links to what they are using I really want to be mindful of what I share. I never want anyone to think you need a specific tool or a specific paint color to create. I think it’s so important to encourage everyone to create where they are at with what they have.

And that’s just what I did in this video.

The journal is no sew, uses a box from the recycling bin and printer paper to construct the cover. You just need some PVA glue or Mod Podge, printer paper and then whatever you want to create with to decorate the cover.

It’s that easy.

You can add a little reinforcement with some painters tape or masking tape but it’s definitely not necessary. You could do the same with some paper bag, magazine pages or more printer paper. You could even leave it as is.

As I was making (and figuring out) this journal what really stood out what how much fun I was having making it. I wasn’t worried about it looking perfect but rather I was just enjoying making a journal.

This isn’t the best way to make an art journal. It’s not going to give you a polished look but it will be an expression of your creativity. It will give you some time with your materials to have fun. I also think that when the journal isn’t picture perfect and pristine, it’s easier to just dig in and start putting some color on the pages. It doesn’t feel so precious this way.

I really hope you have fun and even make yourself a “popcorn journal.” If you do please comment below or on the video I would love to hear!

I am thinking that my journal is going to hold pages for the zines that are bouncing around in my head. I have really wanted to make a zine for a long time now and I just seem to get blocked each time. I am hoping this journal will spark the creative spirit and get me going.

Are you ready to make your journal? You can watch the video below.

I also plan to share some quick videos of my 2 minute art making both here on the blog and my YT channel so you can do the whole subscribe to the newsletter channel thing if you want. Or just stop in and look around from time to time.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Creating without a Plan

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I sat down to create without a plan.

Don’t you just love doing that?

I wasn’t sure what to create so I picked a journal I hadn’t worked in for a while and one of my most fun materials-Tempura Paint Sticks. The paper is black and it was fun to see how the paint sticks showed up. Initially I was just putting color on the paper and deciding to try and blend it a bit. From there a whole magical scene emerged.

Would you like to play? Even if you don’t know what to make-you can always make a mark. Let me be your studio buddy as we play in our journals and listen to what the muses are guiding us to make. You can watch the full video below.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Making Collage Papers Together

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I am excited to share another create with me session. I am planning to make these, or some version of them weekly and next week I am planning on sharing an art journaling practice with you. This week I am making some more painted papers that I plan to use in collage.

If you want to get creative but maybe you don’t know exactly what to make, painted pages can be so much fun! If you don’t like collage and think you don’t have a use for painted pages you can do the same thing in your art journal to get ride of white space and then create over top of them.

Some other uses for painted pages:

  • Homemade wrapping paper: You could use a roll of kraft paper to make marks and paint splatters or even copier paper to wrap smaller presents.
  • Fold them into homemade gifts bags
  • Homemade gift tags
  • Turn them into envelopes for happy mail
  • Use sturdier paper and then bind them together to make a journal
  • Cut the paper down to make homemade greeting cards or postcards.
  • Use as backgrounds for photos in memory keeping
  • Cut them up and use them in your planner
  • Make tabs for your planner or journals
  • Use in your Rainbow Glue Book

The possibilities are really endless! If you have some ideas please share in the comments-and be sure to link your blog so I can stop by and say hello!

In addition to making painted pages I am having a chat about an upcoming popcorn journal video, Bob Ross and making mud.

Mentioned in the Video:

Last Week’s Create with Me:

Jennibellie’s Video on Making a Journal from a Cereal Box

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante