Is creating always easy for me?  Does it always go well?  Do I always feel happy about what I create?  Is it always easy to say Oops?  Heavens NO!  Here is what happened in my art journal on a particularly challenging day.  Nothing serious or anything, just one of those days when everyday stress collided with getting up on the wrong side of the bed.  And boy, did it show in my art play.

This art journal page felt like a failure many layers ago.  It was colors that just didn’t work with images that just didn’t work in layers that just didn’t work.  I didn’t even take photos.  I didn’t want to take photos…thanks to an angsty inner teenager having a big pout about the whole thing but really, these are just layers of Oopsies.  Oh the drama in my head.

I just couldn’t seem to say OOPS.  I felt so frustrated it clouded my thinking.  And lives were hanging in the balance because of this art journal page.  This paper and paint was apparently the last piece of paper in the world and I was ruining it.   What did I do?  I gave myself a time out just to make myself  stop and get off the crazy train in my head.   I took a deep breath, okay,  it was twenty five of them.  I was then ready to accept that these failures were a gift.  Mistakes are always gifts.  They are just Oopsies and this is just paper.

With a clearer head I realized a big part of the problem was that these weren’t my usual colors.  Now that was probably obvious to you, but to me it wasn’t because of that crazy train in my head.  There was a definite brown vibe happening.  I needed some color.  I grabbed some gesso and covered up most of the mess. I added a subtle yellow layer with Eddy Rose.  Then I brought in a brighter color with the blue thanks to some spray inks on the appropriately titled stencil, Just Breathe.  The title was done using oil pastels through my Vintage typewriter stencil.  How did I do that?  You can see the technique in a video here.

Then I noticed a scrap of book text on my table. Shall I try again?  Yes!  This incredibly small scrap was a reminder from the muse to pause (and take a deep breath) when things aren’t going well so that I can remember it is all just an Oops.  And keep adding more layers until I like it because this is play and not a world peace summit.

Here are the supplies I used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you are helping me keep this blog and my videos ad free! Thank you- I don’t like ads any more than you do!

color bloom cobalt	oil pastels	Art Journal	Just Breathe
Vintage Typewriter Alphabet Stencil	Eddy Rose

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I love creating big pieces of color and play.  It’s my happy time when I am  just letting the pattern and color build up.  But what do I do with all those papers?  One thing I do is die cut them.

Here’s the paper I made with paints and spray inks and my Connected Eyes Layer Me stencil and Pebbles Layer Me stencil.  There was no rhyme or reason here, just art play.

The colors fit just perfectly with a messy art journal page I started while using rubber stamps with the Gelli Plate® and also cleaning off my brayer.

Here’s where the art play paper comes into it…I die cut a couple of sizes of butterflies and glued them down with gel medium.  Those solid areas of color were just what the busy butterflies needed.

It’s not like there was enough color for me so I added yellow here and there.

The last little touch for me is the scribble writing where I capture whatever is running through my head at the time.

Colorful die cuts work well on cards, in scrapbook pages, art journals, on ATC’s, on art retreat trades, in paper jewelry…the list is endless because they work any where you would use a die cut!

Here are the supplies I used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you are helping me keep this blog and my videos ad free! Thank you- I don’t like ads any more than you do!

Pebbles Stencil	Butterfly die	Butterfly duo die
Spray Ink	Heavy Body Paint	Dylusions Journal Large
Sharpie White Pen	Connected Eyes Stencil	Gel Medium
Canson watercolor paper

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