Holiday Punch

In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, sometimes it is nice to enjoy a quiet golden moment or two…

And some holiday punch!

The simplicity of punching circles of various sizes, colors and patterns…and cutting circles around the punched circles with scissors was very relaxing for me.

Arranging them into my art journal in a pleasing pattern was fun too:

How do YOU relax and get into the spirit during the holidays?  I hope you share it with me!

Cheers! 🙂

A Hand-Made Paper Wreath

Remember this “handala” mandala from last week?

Well, I finished it this week…

I used a flower stencil, a black Micron .01 pen and a new 2-inch circle punch:

Creating a Hand-made Paper Wreath:

And I used hand-painted papers for my circles…

I encourage you to try your “hand” at making a paper wreath!

Cheers! 🙂

A Smiley Face

When someone smiles at me, I can’t help but return a smile, how about you?

I didn’t know that Harvey Ross Ball was the creator of THE smiley face, did you?

Amazing how such a simple image can bring so much sunshine to others! 🙂

I created this circle fun in my art journal in January and was saving it for the right time to post it…

Today seems like a perfect day!

Cheers! 🙂

 

A Square Idea

This collage was very therapeutic for me to make!

Perhaps it was cutting the squares and circles from my stash of hand-painted papers…

Or the act of glueing them to a piece of 9×12 inch paper?

I discovered that having the right tools made a big difference:

Cutter Bee scissors, may be small in size but they are SHARP!  And making cutting paper a breeze!

I recently discovered Elmers, EXTRA STRENGTH glue sticks at Staples Office Supply store.  I purchased a case of 12 to save money.  I find they do have that little something EXTRA to glue the heavier papers. 🙂

I enjoyed the process of balancing color and patterns as I filled my paper.  Some of the squares hung over the paper but I kind of liked that it wasn’t perfectly square.

I enjoyed adding circles that weren’t perfectly round and taking my time to fill each circle with color:

I finished it by adding some smaller circles on top of the larger ones:

It reminds me of decorating the house for Christmas…

Wishing you a JOY filled day – Cheers! 🙂

P.S.  This is a fun way to use up some paper scraps from other projects.

Watercolor Doodles

Lately, I have been inspired by Sharon, Make Art Magic Happens who has been creating some wonderful patterns in watercolor…

To create my colorful doodle in watercolor and watercolor pencils:

Thank you, Sharon for your daily inspiration!! 🙂

If you aren’t familiar with Sharon’s art, I do hope you check out her blog!

Happy Friday!

Cheers! 🙂

The Surfer Bird

The Surfer Bird has become extinct and is now known as a shore bird…

Perhaps you have seen a Surfer Bird dude hanging out near your favorite beach with the shore birds!

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Hang-Ten Friends! 🙂

Circles Of Joy

If I was to describe my art journey in seven words today… I’d say; “Creating art with JOY makes me happy!”  🙂

How would you describe your creative journey in seven words?   And if it isn’t where you want it to be in your life – maybe write it as YOU envision it!!

Cheers!  🙂

Circle Of Friends

Remember the paper circles that I recently posted?  If not, you can find it here.

Well, one of the reasons I was cutting out circles was to make these 3 minute postcards:

An assignment from Carla Sonheim recently in her year-long online class was to create a quick postcard with these 5 perimeters:

1.  Use a round piece of collage
2.  Add a drawing that interacts with your circle collage
3.  Add a splash of watercolor paint
4.  Add a word or two – I used rubber stamps
5. Add the color, orange

And here are a few more postcards I did:

Some days it’s fun to give yourself perimeters to create art!  And postcards are great because you can send them to a friend and say, hello!  🙂

I hope you take time to play and create something fun for you today…

And maybe put a stamp on it and send it to a friend!!

Cheers!! 🙂

Poking Holes

It is interesting to me how one art experiment often leads me to another…

In this case, poking holes in my paper, led to playing with circles – first with Tombow markers:

Then cutting circle shapes from a variety of papers and stamping acrylic paint with a wine cork and adding a little glitter:

And using the holes from the previous page to add an interesting layer:

I’d love to hear how an recent art experiment led you to an unexpected outcome!

Cheers!  🙂

Raining Buttons

It has been raining most of the weekend here in the Pacific Northwest.  I find doodling in the evening keeps my hands busy and I enjoy creating patterns and playing with color.

I created these two pages of circle patterns recently in my new art journal and they remind me of buttons:

I found this quote on the internet:

“I cannot count my day complete, ‘Til needle, thread and fabric meet.” – Author Unknown  I used to find joy in cross-stitch, then beading and now mixed media art…

For me today, “I cannot count my day complete, ‘Til pen or brush and sketchbook meet!”

Wishing you a Sunny Sunday, Friends…

“In the crazy quilt of life, I’m glad you are in my block of friends!”  – Author Unknown

Cheers!  🙂