Monday Musings

Today I am rewarding myself by writing a post…

Yep, I enjoy just typing and letting the words flow…

No agenda…no specific subject…just typing

Monday musings…

I have gathered quotes for as long as I can remember.

I was the geek who had them on index cards and filed by subject…

I get to use quotes when I do my blog…it gives me such a sense of peace and inspiration.  I don’t share things if they don’t speak to me.  I NEVER (crap, nothing is never or always) type this blog with a finger pointed toward anyone specifically, but INSTEAD, firmly pointed at the LOGS in my eyes.  It is a way for me to sort through my feelings.  I REALLY need to take Mother’s advice not to share EVERYTHING I KNOW…

So WHAT did I do to get rewarded?

Well, I tell you, Yesterday, I got 2 patterns written and loaded on ETSY.  Patterns that have been sitting around for about 2 years, I think…maybe longer…maybe not so long!  Luckily, both of these projects HAD already made it to “the book” and out of a stack.  As a matter of fact, I am down to ONE stack that must find another home besides on the floor. Oh, and I created 2 treasuries on etsy!  WHOOP, there it is...

The green notebook is about one year of patterns...The white notebook holds ideas and my color charts from DecoArt

Step Back, folks, the hands are flying as I pat myself on the back…I don’t want anyone to get hurt!

This is making some of you shiver in fright, but I emptied 2 Artist Club Boxes of sketches, notes, ideas…things that needed to COOK before they were served…I have made some progress and that can’t be a bad thing!

Unless, as I look at these pages, I start making OTHER pages…sigh

It is the name of the game and a hazard of having ideas stomping on top of other ideas in this ole brain of mine!  Yes, I understand why that frightens you!

I have no rhyme or reason as to how I design.  Sometimes I find a surface and start painting.  Sometimes it ends up as I envisioned it…sometimes not…it is good at times…it is horrid other times…One thing that remains consistent, is that I will quickly draw a sketch on ANYTHING that is within reach, and that reminds me, I have a sketch inside one of the books I was looking through the other day…now, where did I put THAT book…

I have tried to be more disciplined by actually drawing a pattern before I start painting.  It works at times…it is an epic failure at times!

Hmmmmmmm….it sounds a lot like life, doesn’t it!  =)

The one thing I know for sure, I must generate more than my fair share of dead trees with all the paper I use.  The BEE KIND pattern alone, used 11 sheets of paper just for the line drawing!!  AND for some, sick reason, I feel a need to keep them all, so into a paper sleeve they go and into a notebook to make themselves at home~~Eventually…When the stack of paper sleeves start to slide, it really is time to put them into the notebook!

11 pages!!  And this was only for the line drawing!  LOL

Until this happens…they find themselves living in a nice big pile…PhD~~Piled Higher and Deeper…or would that be PhD~~Projects Half Done??!!

I am positive, I shall NEVER EVER run out of things to laugh at as long as I exist!  I am a big ole pile of silly!

PLEASE don’t take any of this as a complaint.  I am trying to JUSTIFY to you and to me WHY I am so messy and don’t think for one moment that I do not love it, for I DO!!  To be able to possibly encourage someone or to inspire someone makes my soul sing!!

I really hate admitting that I have become my mother…Not the good parts, but the parts that DROVE ME CRAZY…

Reminds me that she often told me that WHEN we don’t like something in someone else, it is because it USUALLY in within us, and we don’t want to admit it…

DANGIT!  I hate when people prove me right about things I don’t want to admit…heaviest sigh yet…

Hello Kettle—You’re BLACK!  (Big Smile)

Gosh, my brain went WAY off course.  I meant to share some food thoughts since on FOOD Friday, I was up to my elbows in trying to get ahead of a deadline, because, after giving myself a good “talking to”, I decided that it is absolutely unnecessary and rude to wait until the last moment to get something finished that could EASILY have been done weeks ago.  I told ME that I should NOT start something else until the PREVIOUS project was complete… (giggles and grins have broken out on my face and I am just about to really, laugh out loud!) 

Oh, good grief, HOW would that possibly fit into my life as a procrastinator?!  NOW, who is afraid!  WHAT??!! To lose a part of me that is so deeply ingrained into my psyche!!  Oh, NO~~that cannot happen.

Now, you might understand why a project for June was finished a few weeks ago, yet the project due for August 1^st was only finished on Saturday!  Ok—Let’s just take a moment for you to roll your eyes in amazement! (Jeopardy theme will be hummed as you compose yourself after laughing AT me…)

The good news is EVERYTHING that is due through December, is finished and submitted!!  Happy Dance.

In watching the news today, I found GREAT EXCITEMENT to see that the temps will only be 88 for two days!! 2 days!!  I also found myself excited to see that the Titans report to training camp on Friday!  This is the time of year when I find myself Hopeful that we can return to a winning season~~Yes, I understand that this is unrealistic, but HOPE is sometimes all I have!

I HOPE that I have given you a few moments to forget about your troubles and to see, in me, you can find silliness and a reason to laugh.

I have been blessed with many gifts.  Laughter is probably at the top of my list as my favorite.  There was a time I didn’t think I would ever laugh again.  Life was dark…hopeless…HARD!  There was little joy…little to find humorous.  It was a time, while I did NOT want to die, but if I had died, I really didn’t care!  It was a time that taught me NOT to judge people who commit suicide so harshly, because, at that moment in my life, I UNDERSTOOD hopelessness and I remember having a conversation with a friend that while I DID really want to live, sadly, I KNEW the depression of finding nothingness.  I was in a situation that I did NOT understand and I did not deserve, but you know what, SOMETIMES we GET stuff we do not deserve~~good or bad! Funny how life is like that…SOMETIMES we have to walk in someone’s shoes before we can understand.

Compassion is slowly becoming a part of my life.

It is a lesson I have needed to learn.  I have always said what I thought, but from watching people and hearing people talking about ME, I understand that I do NOT want to be like them or to be as they see me…

…SO the process continues AND I shall laugh…

AND sort stacks of papers!

I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡

Oh, Happy Merry Christmas in July!
Only 5 months until Christmas in December!

Technique Tuesday

I have to admit defeat sometimes…

This isn’t going where I wanted it to go…

BUT I can share some things NOT to do…

I discovered that I need some smaller alpha/number stencils.

STRANGE how we NEVER have enough and seldom do we have what we think we need~~LOL

As I look at this, I fear someone will think I am a hold out from the old days, still sporting the number 23 in support of Michael Jordan…

OR someone will wonder why I am doing a project of “Public School #23” 

ROFL~~I crack me up!!

I honestly do not know if I will even be able to list all of the things that I have used, because I grabbed a tote of my Mixed Media that seldom gets used because it is in a different tote from the Media Fluid Acrylics, but I will make an attempt to list what I have used.

I hope this long list of products will not make you not want to try a Mixed Media project.  USE WHAT YOU HAVE!!  There is no right or wrong.  Art is a reflection of YOU, so I will try to give you a step by step of what I did, so you will know to turn and go a different direction… =)

I used DecoArt Products.  I am so proud to be a part of their Helping Artist Program.  I get some products for free, but I buy most of them with a great discount!  I have used DecoArt products for about 20 years~~long before I became a Helping Artist, so obviously, I love these products!

I painted the 16 x 20 canvas BLACK…This should have just been painted with White Gesso so that the tissue paper would have shown.

I used Decou-Page for Napkins to glue the tissue onto the Canvas Board.

On top of that, I had stamped “The Lord is My Shepherd” on Deli Paper, and had printed Psalm 23 and made a copy of the dictionary page for “Shepherd ”…I glued these on with Decou-Page Satin.

Using DecoArt Turquoise Shimmer Mister, I sprayed it along the top of the canvas, and then sprayed this with water to make it run.  I worked with this a few minutes until it was streaked down the canvas.

I repeated this process with DecoArt Media Yellow Green Mister.

I laid the canvas flat to dry.  There was a lot of drying time for this piece.

I then stenciled PS 23 and SHEPERD with Camel and a little bit of Honey Brown.  I used the DecoArt Personally Yours~~Between the Lines and Americana Olde World Numbers.

Back into the tote to pull out Media Raw Umber Antiquing Cream and I rubbed it onto the WHITE paper with my finger and a little bit onto the letters.

I used a Black Americana Writer to write: Comfort, Shepherd, mercy, I will fear no evil…When it was dry, I added DecoArt Majestic Purple Metallic Lustre on top of the lettering.  I used a damp cloth to wipe some of it off.

Back into the tote to pull out Patina Green Antiquing Cream and spread some on the paper, and then I added a “stream of still water” with this also.  I just did this with my finger…and then applied some Media Fluid Acrylics Interference Blue on top….very cool!!

I put some of the Yellow Green Mister onto my pallet and added grass around the water.

“Still Waters” was written on the water with DecoArt Aqua Glass Stain.

Using the pallet knife, I sprayed Primary Cyan Mister on my pallet, and used my pallet knife to put this along the border of the water, and smeared it with my finger.

Again, putting Primary yellow Mister on my pallet, I used the pallet knife to put along the top of the water as a highlight.

Cobalt Turquoise Hue media Fluid Acrylics was squirted on the pallet knife and spread onto the canvas.

A Fudeball Ink Pen was used to outline the lettering, because I really do like the lettering.

NOW…to decide on a sheep to put by the water…we will all be surprised to see it!!  LOL

AND NOW, MORE problems…The sheep is a white blob…So more to be done…YIKES

Here is the line drawing I used for the sheep.  You can see all the eraser marks!  See what  a mess I make trying to create?!  Right Click on your computer to save to your Computer.  You may resize it as you wish.  I think  the size I used was about 3.25 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide. Use this as you wish,  Just don't claim it as your own drawing, because, well, that just isn't very nice...

SO, I decided to start writing the scripture in White all around…ok…getting better, but that scripture square is really bugging me…

Oh, wait, I will add the scripture in stripes, antique it with Raw Umber outline in with the fudeball pen and YES…much much better…

Hey, I think I can live with this.

A helpful hint is IF you have an ink-jet printer, spritz your paper with Krylon Fixative before trying to glue it.  This will set your ink.  I also do this with the stamps I have, because they don’t seem to be waterproof.  Easy solution!!  Also, the Antiquing creams and fudeball markers are activated with water, so use the Fixative spray on them once you get them as you like them. This way, you can work without removing what you just added.

Well, I hope you have learned something by watching my mess!  If ever I can answer any questions, I will do my best.

I changed the settings on my comments, so EVERYBODY should be able to leave a comment if you wish.  As soon as I get a message, I will post it and if you have a question, I will do my best to answer it.

I hope that the Lord is YOUR Shepherd.  I sure don’t know what I would do without Him.  Grab all those wonderful things that He has provided for you!  I am simply blessed to create~charlotte♡