I loved the background that started today’s play.  Loved it so much I wouldn’t use it.  That love kept me stuck.  I didn’t want to ruin it so I wouldn’t use it.  Enough was enough. We had to break up. The affair was over. The love had to end.  But how?

I threw the entire studio at the canvas.   Scraps of paper on my counter, bits of ribbon, glitters, pico embellishers, paint, paint, and more paint all added with abandon.

If it was within reach it was fair game…including the kitchen sink.   Well, that is just because I actually knocked it into the sink. Turns out when you let things pile up on the counters it is really easy to knock things over.

But after adding all that, the canvas called for more.  So I added bits of stenciling here and there with stencils like Mixed Media Mail.

The relationship with this canvas had been going on for a long time.  So long that I don’t remember when I made that green background.  All the time it has been in my studio means we had a lot of history together.

Now that I’ve changed it, this canvas and I are getting to know each other again.  A whole new affair, this time with more colors and glitter too!

Is it finished now?  Nope!  There is still plenty of fun and layers to come for this canvas!

One of my favorite ways to let myself play is to act like a kid. After all, kids are the masters of play so it is no surprise that they are the inspiration for this month’s Let’s Play theme.

This miscellaneous box of inexpensive oil pastels created a scribbled background in my art journal.  The scribbling was loads of fun, but it’s how I held the oil pastels that really brought out the kid in me.

What is Let’s Play?  It’s all about rediscovering the ability to play. Each month I share a specific strategy that helped me recapture the freedom and fun of play.  This month’s theme is act like a kid. You can see more of the Let’s Play series here.

Watch How I Scribble and Stencil in my Art Journal on YouTube.

This is not gallery hanging, museum-filling fine art.  This is play.  Fun.  Freedom.

The grown up mind might start asking, “What do you do with that?”  The playful mind might say, “Let’s see where it goes”.  Bet you can guess which one I listened to…

As I looked at it, there was just one word that came through loud and clear to me.   Play.  So I grabbed some alphabet stencils, the bigger the better, and stenciled it with black acrylic paint.

In the video, I share why I didn’t start with the first letter as I used my Vintage Typewriter Alphabet stencils.

After seeing the play, right at the top of the page, a scribbly creative manifesto appeared.  I started with a couple of words from my Uplifting Words stencil, then used a Pico embellisher to add some scribble journaling.

And of course, I had to sign such an official document!  Naturally, there was an OOPS or two in here.  They fit right in to the finished page!

Now you’ve seen my play, let’s see yours!  Share what you’re creating with us all in the Facebook group and be inspired by what others are creating!

Want to see more Let’s Play videos? You can find all the weekly posts here.

Sharing your play:   I, and a whole bunch of others, would love to see what you’re creating!  We’re sharing it in the Facebook group called A Colorful Place to Play. Why Facebook?  I’ve listened to your feedback about how and where you’d like to share your play instead of the link parties.

Monthly giveaways:  Leave comment on any (and all for more chances) of the weekly Let’s Play blog posts to be entered and one winner each month will be chosen by random.org.  Want more chances to win a $50 gift certificate to DickBlick.com?  Pin any of the images from the page or share about it on Facebook- then come back and leave a comment telling me what you did and you can have more chances to win! Giveaway closes the Sunday, September 4th at 11 pm EST and the winner will announced on the blog the following Monday.

Congrats to Kristiina, last month’s winner!