Inviting in a Thief to Steal My Joy

Step-by-step stencil play with paints in an art journal by Carolyn Dube

Do you ever suddenly feel disappointed with your art journaling? Perfect is what causes that to happen to me. Perfect is a thief I invite in to rob me of my joys. Not only do I invite Perfect in…it seems I send out engraved invitations some days…

1700s building stencil by Carolyn Dube for StencilGirl Products

I started playing with my 1700s Stencil with only one goal, to use up some leftover paints from my palette. The only pressure I felt was to use up that paint.

buildings stencil play in an art journal by Carolyn Dube

By pulling out parts of the stencil randomly here and there I created a new building to fit onto the page in a new way. Then I added some color here and there.

I began to wonder if I was just making a big mess. Perfect was knocking on the door trying to get in and take the fun out of my play.

I didn’t open the door for Perfect by reminding myself I was just playing with no expectations.

Step-by-step buildings stencil play with washi tape in an art journal by Carolyn Dube

Added some subway map washi tape near the top and more paint.

I got lost in the fun of playing with color.

Sparked by the circles in the subway tape I put black circles in threes. A bit of Golden High Flow paint for some scribble writing. Still just playing. Little did I know Perfect was still there, lurking right outside my door…

When the Thief Shows Up to Steal Your Joy

While adding an Eiffel Tower with a rubber stamp I suddenly became tentative. Before I realized it, I was being critical. Harshly critical. I had rolled out the red carpet and invited Perfect right in…

The tightness, the hesitation, the fear I feel when Perfect is there is extremely uncomfortable. That discomfort reminded me that if I invited Perfect in, I can send Perfect right back out!

How did I do it? By asking that thief a few questions. Who said this has to be perfect? Who decides if it is perfect? What makes perfect so perfect?

There is no answer that is remotely believable, plausible, or reasonable to those questions. Perfect was escorted right back outside.

Does Perfect ever show up for you? How do you handle it?

Sharing with my friends at Paint Party Friday, Creative Every Day, Inspire Me Monday, Make It Monday, and Mandarin Orange Monday.

{ 41 comments }

A Colorful Gelli Print Party Using Burlap

Join me for a Colorful Gelli Print Party!

A knit hat inspired this month’s Colorful Gelli Print Party video. I don’t knit but I can appreciate the beauty of it. Just ask my daughter who tried to teach me… But I just kept thinking about Dawn Mlodoch’s handmade, hand-dyed hat with circles of color. You can see it here.

Sharing Inspiration

This is a big reason why I created A Colorful Playground, a place to share all types of creativity and art. A place to be inspired and to inspire. A place for beginners and masters. A place to find encouragement and to encourage.

I hope you’ll share what you are creating with us over at A Colorful Playground. If you’re new to Google+, I have a short video showing you an over view of how it works.

Watch A Colorful Playground Google+ community on YouTube.

Now on to this months’ video using burlap on the Gelli Plate!

Watch Using burlap on a round Gelli plate on YouTube.

Video using burlap on the Gelli Plate by Carolyn Dube for March's Colorful Gelli Print Party

The first print. Lots of paint, lots of color, lots of burlap texture.

The burlap itself is also full of great color too.

The 2nd print is usually my favorite and today is no exception! Love the partial burlap texture and the loose feeling of the circles!

A rich ghost print for the 3rd pull from the plate. Love the random feeling of the circles here.

Supplies Used:

Thanks for joining me for March’s Party! If you’ve missed any of the previous parties you can find then all at the Gelli Print Party Page.

Looking forward to seeing what you create over at the Colorful Playground!

{ 11 comments }

Heading to Arizona

I am ordering supplies and starting to gather the goodies for my in-person workshop in Mesa, Arizona coming up on April 12th! I’ve found a great deal on the supplies so that means I am adding even more surprises to the day!

What do I have up my sleeve? It’s a surprise that I am very very very excited about. It has something big to do with letting go and playing but that is all I am going to say…

I’m gathering piles of goodies to bring but you only need to bring a few things for an all day class! How sweet is that!

Gel medium
4 stenciling brushes
2 foam brushes
Water spray bottle
Craft grade heat gun or blow dryer (optional)

Click here to find out more about Artspiration Studio and registration.

Here’s a quick video about the workshop.

Watch Stenciled Journal Workshop at Artspiration Studio on YouTube.

Here’s the official description of the workshop:

Stencils are a tremendous creative tool that are versatile and playful at the same time! I’ll be sharing the “rules” about stenciling and then how I break them during this workshop!

The journey of your journal will begin as a stack of various papers including my 100+ year old ledger paper and favorite dictionary papers. As we build the patterns and colors on the pages you’ll learn my top 10 techniques for stenciling. In addition to the techniques, I will share with you my tips and tricks for keeping colors from getting muddy, how to get a variety of looks from one stencil, how to make a stencil reflect who you are, how to use every drop of paint on a stencil, and how to handle an oops or two.

These papers will be sewn into a journal, the quick and easy way. No measuring. No complex stitching. A quick and simple way to bind your papers into a journal.

Then it is time to use stencils as focal images. I’ll share with you the hows, the whens, and the whys as we add the big images to the pages in our journals.

Just $99 for a full day of exploring and journal making. No supply fees! Click here to register.

See you in April at the Artspiration Studio for some colorful play!

{ 7 comments }

Next Posts Previous Posts

Search My Blog

Search by Category

The Fine Print