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

Weekly Round Up for the 3rd Week of August 2022

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This week started off slow and then I couldn’t believe we had reached the end today! Time is funny like that I suppose.

I hope your week was wonderful and that you had some creative time. If you missed any of the goings-on with all things Dilettante here is what happened this week:

I Uploaded a YouTube Video!
I am still unsure how I feel about all things YouTube but I am going to try and upload there weekly Create with Me videos and see how it goes. In this video we have a chat and then spend about 20 minutes making painted papers. If you want to watch the video on YT you can do that here or check out the blog post & video on the site here.

This Week in Flowers
The flowers are slowing down a bit and I am hoping to get out in the garden this weekend to plant some more zinnias, beans, peas and my lettuce for fall. I’m also planning a good clean out of what’s expired (harvesting some poppy seed heads hopefully) and of course, bringing in some more cut flowers. You can see this week in flowers post right here.

New Podcast Uploaded
I also uploaded this week’s podcast which you can listen to here. I am thinking about adding it to podcast players and found one site that can do that but if you have a particular player you prefer let me know and I’ll see about setting that up.

Letters for Creatives
I also sent out my “Letter to Creatives” today. If you would like a weekly dose of inspiration delivered to your inbox about weekly you can sign up for that here.

So that is all I have for this week. I am hoping, as I mentioned, to spend some time in the garden this week. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately and I would love to get some clean up done and prepare for the fall garden. Are you planting anything? I would love to hear what!

As always, I wish you a lovely day and I will chat with you next week.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

This Week in Flowers: The 3rd Week of August

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“My Faith is larger than the Hills-So when the Hills decay-My Faith must take the Purple Wheel To show the Sun the way-‘Tis first He steps upon the Vane-And then-upon the Hill-And then abroad the World He go To do His Golden Will-And if His Yellow feet should miss-The Bird would not arise-The Flowers would slumber on their Stems-No Bells have Paradise-How dare I, therefore, stint a faith On which so vast depends-Lest Firmament should fail for me-The Rivet in the Bands”

-Emily Dickinson

My flowers are wanting for water so I gave them a drink today. Some are slowing down in production and I am thinking of sowing some more zinnias-if I think they can bloom before the frost. Still, they make such a beautiful bouquet

 

The sunflowers are still growing wild and have even been attracting a beautiful yellow bird who has been enjoying the seeds. I am hoping he leaves me so that I can save them for next year.

 

I think these sunflowers are one of my favorites. This bloom is technically from last week’s bouquet but I am sharing it here because I am pressing it in my flower press to see how it turns out.

 

Wishing you a week of flowers.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Creative Company-Let’s Make Painted Papers

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Sometimes I don’t know what to do when I am sitting down to creative time. Other times I am so full of ideas but I just can’t seem to get them from my head into tangible form. Other times I am not even sure I want to be creative at all but I’m making time for it anyway.

In these moments, usually the best thing I can do is to not try and make anything specific and to stick with what I always love and find fun-putting paper on paper or gluing pieces of paper to other pieces of paper. I know my heart lies with collage and I have been focusing on creating my own collage papers. It’s been a fun process and something that I can always go to when I feel stuck with my creativity.

Today I am sharing another Create With Me video and it’s all about making painted papers. I am using inexpensive paper whatever supplies I had to hand and having a play covering paper with paint.

I also chat a bit and share some of my favorite artists with you. If it sounds interesting or you would like some company in your creative space today why not join me?

I would love to hear about what you end up creating so please comment below.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Reference Section

Some things mentioned in the video:

Visual Journal Studio YouTube Channel

Etsy Shop for Rainbow Brite Mug

My Studio Tour

Michael Nobbs

Jennibellie’s YouTube Channel

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

 

Weekly Round Up for the 2nd Week of August 2022

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How is your August going? I have been feeling good, if not a bit antsy from time to time. Do you ever feel like you are supposed to be somewhere doing something but you don’t know where or what? I have been feeling that way a bit this past week so I’m trying to spend more time doing and less time lost in my head.

Here’s a bit of what I have been doing:

My First Create with Me Art Journaling Session

I had so much fun playing in my art journal with no goal in mind other than to play in my art journal. If you would like some virtual company to have a play with your journal you can watch the video and read the blog post here.

This Week in Flowers (and Pumpkins)
I am so grateful for the bouquets that I am still able to cut from the garden. I also share with you my pride and joy-PUMPKINS! Something I have been trying to successfully grow for years. You can see all the photos in the blog post here.

Weekly Podcasts
I also recorded a new podcast for this week where I am chatting about creative living. If you fancy a chat for about 20 minutes or so why not make your self a cup of your favorite beverage (iced tea? I love unsweetened iced tea this time of year) and join me here.

Letters for Creatives
I am also sending out my letters to creatives today. If you like the idea of a weekly email meant only to be inspiring to my fellow creatives you can sign up here.

Book Club
I decided to make my Book Club posts monthly and plan to share them the first week of every month. I wasn’t reading fast enough so I thought I might not have enough content to share each week. Unless of course I shared with you all the books I have added to my TBR (To Be Read) list! Of course after deciding that I finished 2 books this week so maybe I would have had something to share. Still, I’ll stick with once a month and see how it goes.

Not shared specifically on the blog but I have a fun video with painted papers coming on my YouTube channel on Monday. I admit to being nervous and excited to get my channel going again. I am taking small steps and will be sharing weekly there but every video that goes on YouTube can also be found on Dilettante TV here on the site so no worries if you aren’t hanging out on YT.

I finished painting an old sofa table for the studio. I started it last Friday and was able to give it a second coat this week and set it all up Wednesday. I am so happy with how it looks (you can see the before and after below) along with how my vintage typewriter looks on it.

    

I have a piece going in my art journal about birds. I was inspired after watching this video
on Sandi Hester’s YT channel (thank you Laura Bray for sharing her channel with me!). I just loved how she painted her birds (and the automotive brushes she was using-so I had to order some!)

I have been working off and on with birds the past few months and on Saturday we took a trip to our local used book store and I picked up an Encyclopedia on birds (along with some other books I’m hoping to use in collage). The page is sitting on my desk in my studio and as I came in to work today I was inspired to add some collage to it so that’s just what I did. It’s still a work in progress but I’ll be sure to share it with you when it’s all done.

I do hope you have had some time for your creativity this week. Please let me know what you have been working on-I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

This Week in Flowers: 2nd Week in August 2022

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The bouquets keep coming and for this I am truly grateful

Zinnias, I do believe I could have acres of them and never grow tired.

And my sunflowers this year have been utterly amazing. Towering over the garden so they are visible from the second floor landing. They are in an assortment of colors and I am going to be diligently working on collecting seed (and savings many for the birds) so I can grow them again next year.

This bouquet is in the foyer so it greets you when you walk in the door.

Not flowers I know but I had to share my pumpkins. I have been on a mission for years to grow our pumpkins for Halloween. I have been successful with one maybe a year but this year? Oh this year I have counted 5 pumpkins! 3 are huge, one is mid size and one is itty bitty yet. This one looks ready to harvest and I just had to snap a photo to share. They are growing outside of the fencing so I am keeping an eye out for nibblers.

Another large pumpkin that still has some ripening up to do

Another large one looking very orange and full of fall spirit.

This is a smaller one but I am excited to see how it goes. My goal was a pumpkin for each member of the family and if the baby one I didn’t photograph grows up a bit I will have reached my goal.

Wishing you sun tea in the garden.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante