Mindfulness Art Journal and a Product Review

Hi guys!  I'm going on  virtually no sleep, so forgive any bad grammar and misspellings.  Anyway....recently my artist friend Amber was kind enough to gift me a set of her groovy printables (yay!)   She did it just 'cuz she's a sweetie.  I had the idea to make something with them and then write a blog post about it.  So...I did not get compensated for this review-the product was a gift because we are friends and the creator had no idea I would choose to review it like this.

I decided to make a quick art journal.  I think making the book and decorating all the pages...whole project was maybe 2 hours.  All my art journaling friends will appreciate how super mega FAST that is!  Before I get started on telling you about the book.  Amber's Etsy shop where she sells her original art, etc can be found HERE and her shop at Scrapbookgraphics (this is where you can buy the kit I am using) is HERE.  Specifically I am using the  Namaste Printable Art Collage Sheet Background and Namaste Printable Mini Art Journal Kit.  You can get both kits for a total of under $6.  So, yeah...just go ahead and get 'em.  You can print them out as many times as you like, so it's a great deal!!

I made my book by using her backgrounds for my pages.  I took two of her background pages which I had printed out and put them together with right sides facing out.  Then I stitched around the edges with my sewing machine.   I left some of the threads hanging long because I like the look.  I repeated until I had all pages ready to bind.  To bind my book I simply used my sewing machine to stitch right down the center of my stack of pages.  I folded in half along the stitch line and then got busy decorating my pages.  Oh...and I used two lengths of ribbon to close the book...one stiched to the front cover and one to the back. Now I'll add a little bit of description to each of the pics.

The pic below is the front cover.  All images are Amber's but the scraps of papers under the girl and under the words.

This spread features a photocopy of a girl from one of my other art journals. I added a spot for journaling on the upper right of the right side.  The "life is unpredictable" card is a project life card.  I decorated it with scraps of pretty paper from Amber's kit.

This page features plenty of my own art.  The eye is a stamp that I carved myself, the OM is a stencil I made and the flower is a stencil I made as well.  I stenciled the flower in black and then doodled over it with paint pens.  And...another Project Life card which has a photocopy of some of my art underneath. I tried to leave some room on most of the pages to do further artwork and written journaling.

This page has some of my favorite elements from her kit.  The scalloped painted edge on the left and the scribbly rainbow come with the kit.  I then added some of her words to a Project Life card along with a photocopy of some of my art.  Lots of room to add to this page, which I love.

 
This might be my favorite page(s) in the book.  The girl is a photocopy of a work I recently did.  The triangle on her forehead is from the kit as well as the words.  The left page has  a large Project Life card as a fold out "page".  I added a copy of one of my artworks to it.

 I went very simple with the last spread.  I wanted LOTS of room to do art and writing here.  Just a Project Life card and some words from the kit.

Finally...the most important remind of all...to breathe  I used another stencil I made myself and one of my favorite techniques of doodling over my stenciled image.

I hope you like the project and please do check out Amber's shops if you feel moved to do so.  xo

Update on Coloring Contest (Another Prize!!)

Just a quick post to let you all know that I'm adding a second prize to the coloring contest!  This will be the "kid prize".  After a dear friend's daughter entered I thought, "A painting probably isn't a super fun prize for a kid.  We need something fun for kids".  So...the prize for the winning kid will be one of my matchbox bear sets!! WooHoo!!  These little guys are "famous" (okay using the term very very loosely-lol!)   ...they are featured in the book "Microcrafts" in which I was a contributing author.  I sewed this little guy by hand and even knit him an itsy bitsy blanket!  So...if you have kids in your life be sure to invite them to join the contest!  You can download your printable coloring page HERE.  See contest rules, how to enter,  and the "grown up prize" in the post below. xo

And do check out Microcrafts if you get a chance.  It's a really cool book-and I'm not just saying that because I contributed projects to the book I promise!  Check out Microcrafts now.

Coloring Contest and Bunny's Super Mega Happy Fun Group

(coloring contest is closed!)

Hello friends!  I want to let you know that I'm creating a Facebook group to go along with my blog. It's called Bunny's Super Mega Happy Fun Group.  I will be using the group for all sorts of fun things (stay tuned for future fun!),  a space for us all to share how we use my printables, and lots more. So, I invite you to join me there.

The first fun thing we will do in the group is have a coloring contest!!  I am working on creating a coloring book.  The coloring book is in the (very) early stages, but I couldn't wait to share one of the pages with you.  You can get your FREE copy HERE.  The prize is an original mixed media painting titled "Mermaid at Midnight" (fits nicely in a 5x7 frame, image is slightly larger than 5x7 inches).  Please do download and color your copy even if you don't wish to enter the contest.  Personal use only please!!

Winner gets this original artwork:

COLORING CONTEST RULES AND INFORMATION:
* Contest is open to everyone (including international participants).
* To enter you MUST post a photo of my above coloring page which you have colored in my Facebook group Bunny's Super Mega Happy Fun Group  and/or the  G+ event page HERE (use any medium you wish to color it!)   I will check both groups for entries before selecting the winner(s)
* Contest ends August 31, 2015 at midnight
* One winner will be chosen at random to receive the above prize (but you never know...I might end up offering more than one prize if the mood strikes)

Thank you so much for joining in! I cannot wait to see everyone's coloring work!! xoxo

Gratitude Freebie-Yay!

Today I wanted to quickly share a gratitude printable I made.  You can get your copy HERE.  Print as many copies as you want (personal use only please).  I left these black and white so that you can color them as you like.

You can use these in a number of ways.  Use them in pocket letters or other snail mail, use them in your art or written journal, fill one out daily and tape it to your fridge, carry a different card in your pocket every day, or use them in any other way you like.  I'm sure there are loads more ways you could use these...I would love to hear your ideas!! Maybe you can collaborate with a child in your life...he/she does the coloring and you do the writing.  However you end up using these, the main thing is to stay focused on gratitude.  Taking time daily to think about what you are grateful for can really help you to feel happier and more capable of handling the difficulties that so often arise in life.

I hope you have enjoyed this free printable!  I have another in the works, so check back soon!  Wishing you all an abundance of gratitude, happiness, and peace.  Of course these gratitude cards are totally free and you are under no obligation, but...if you feel moved to support me in my art making you can make donations via the donate button to the right.  Any amount is appreciated and useful. Again-donations are totally optional so please enjoy this gift whether whether you contribute or not.  Thank you and best wishes!! xoxo

Time to Catch Up

Hello Friends!  Here's a pic of me and Buggle over the holiday weekend. Buggle is so funny...notice his "sleepy eyes"?  He was napping when I started taking my  daily selfie (well, almost daily).  As soon as he heard me snapping pics he woke up so that he could be included.  I swear-if he sees me taking self portraits he cries until I pick him up and include him.  Seriously!  He'll even get up from a nap to be in the pics!  He is such a character!!

***New "DONATE" button!!!***  I added a donate button for anyone who wants to support my art making.  Donations are totally optional, so please feel no obligation to contribute.  However, if you do wish to support my art...you can donate any amount.  Believe me every little bit helps-even a dollar can buy something-like a bottle of craft paint for example.  So, if you wish to help-know that any amount is appreciated and will be put to good use.  The donate button will allow you to make donations via PayPal.

Here's a pic of me at Mt. Soledad over the weekend.  I hadn't been in years.  It is such a beautiful panoramic view of San Diego.  By the way...I sewed the skirt myself and even dyed the fabric!  Is 40 too old for a giant hair bow?  LOL   I actually don't care about such things.  I remember awhile back someone on Facebook took the time to post about "woman who wear pj bottoms to Starbucks".  It made me sad to read it and all the responses...so judgmental.  Why does it matter what a woman wears to Starbucks?!?  Who gets to decide all these "rules" about what kind of clothing makes a woman "acceptable".  Wouldn't our energy be better spent working on accepting others and focusing on what really matters...kindness, respect, good manners, etc?  Why do some people feel the need to pick apart others like that?  A lot of people say it's what is on the inside that matters, well-if that's true then why are we hearing so much of this judgmental crap?  Why do so few people practice not "judging a book by it's cover"?  I could continue this rant all day, but that's not a good use of my time or energy.  So...back to happy things!

Next on our list of things to catch up on...the sculpture!!   I started this sculpture a few months ago.  I recently finished the sculpting part of the project and am very pleased with the result!!  The sculpture is made of paper mache with a couple of layers of a handmade "clay" over the top.  I started with a clay recipe I found online, but ended up coming up with my own recipe to suit my needs. This was my first time trying this process.  It was far more time consuming than I anticipated, but the result was well  worth it.  The sculpture is "life size", almost 3 feet tall and very solid.  It weighs at least 25 lbs.  I managed to get a nice smooth surface (which is what I wanted) but it took a lot of doing.  I will definitely continue working with this medium and have lots more ideas to bring to life.   Here are a few pics of the finished sculpture before I started the painting part of the project. 

 And here are the early stages of the painting part of the sculpture.  I am painting with acrylics and working in layers.  This is the first few layers of paint.  In the end the sculpture will be covered in flowers and leaves-a wild colorful garden.  I am soooooo excited to get going on the next layer!! Twice a year the San Diego Watercolor Society has an "experimental" show.  Normally there are strict rules as to which surfaces are allowed, etc.  During experimental shows the rules are less strict.  So...I'm hoping to finish by the end of August so that I can enter the sculpture in the September gallery show.  So far as I know, no one has ever entered anything like this.  It will be a lot of fun to bring something so different to the gallery!!  I have a few other projects going with deadlines, so it's going to be a VERY busy couple of months.  Wish me luck on staying on track!!

 And finally...a recent art journal page.  With the start of the MBSR course-mindfulness has been on my mind.  I painted a Buddha as a reminder to be mindful.  Unfortunately I did terribly with keeping up with the course for the first week...in fact, so bad that I decided to start over with the course this week.  Last week was a holiday week and very very busy, so I think the timing was bad.  I could carry on with week two, but I think I'll get more out of it if I get a more solid footing to begin with.  And with my "30 Days of Getting Shit Done"-same thing, didn't accomplish anywhere near what I'd hoped.  So...getting back on course with that today as well.  It's "okay" to "fail", but important not to give up simply because something is difficult.