Creating Goodness on the Bad Days

A lot of my life is a challenge. With 2 kids and their father on the Autism Spectrum, life isn't easy. Most days I can say "compared to others, it's not that bad. There are days that my blinders go up and all I can see is my worlds and the grey clouds fly in and there is no helping me.
These are the days I find art journalling very important. It is the way my psyche has of getting out everything I need to get out. Some times its through the colours, all dark blues or angry reds. Others through the layer upon layer upon layer of something I make and then destroy then make then destroy again as if nothing can ease my mind.

I spend these days with Cherie, my bestie, my sister from another mister, my soul friend and my ground. We laugh together, cry together and destroy paint sponges together. I inspire her, she inspires me. We understand each other and don't have to even talk to get this understanding.
I urge you all to find yourself a "Cherie" and get messy together and do something that makes the grey clouds move.

Breaking the Chains

Recently I have been in contact with some people who have taken a huge burden of my shoulders when it comes to taking care of my two boys. I wanted to proclaim my happiness to the world. I art journalled instead.

I started with a blank page in my Dylusions Art Journal and painted stripes of Dylusions ink to make a rainbow pattern. A good shower of water helped the colours dribble. I got a handy dandy bread and butter plate (I had just eaten a finger bun off) and drew a circle shape around it.




Now the thing to remember about Dylusions Inks is they reactivate when wet so I had to apply 4 coats of white paint. The final coat had a coarse texture paste made by Reeves mixed through it. Once the white paint was dry, I used modelling paste to create texture under where I was placing the butterfly. Then black Gesso and some stencils were used to add contrast and interest. I sprayed the page with Dylusions Teal Mica Spray, added chain and the quote and VIOLA!

Weekends

My favorite part of the week because my boys are home to play with me. Its the simple things in life.

With both my boys on the Autism Spectrum, my weekdays are usually spent making phone calls, driving to appointments and dealing with post school meltdowns. Weekends are our time to hide from the world and explore our crafty sides. I found that art is not only good therapy for me, its also good therapy for them.

Mr 8 drew this the other day. I love the childlike innocence of his drawings.
         

That's all I have to share today. Oh and mummies whose 3yo 's won't pick up a pencil for anything... that was Mr8. Now i have to pry them from his sleepy fingers xx

Arty Farty Me

Last year, I uncovered the AMAZING world of mixed media. I have since rediscovered my passion for art, drawing and making a mess. During the retreat I attended recently, I had the pleasure of getting a few tips from my current art muses. Retreats are good like that, you can meet people you draw inspiration from and their passion rubs off.

I have taken to art journalling. I find my moods expressed in my creations and Pinterest is great for getting ideas.

This was the cutest idea ever! Mr 8 drew me a frog ( I LOVE frogs). He asked me to put it in my special art book. I marched myself down to the local newsagency and purchased some carbon paper. I transferred the cutie to my journal then added some ink and paint and modelling paste and he came to life <3 p="">

Plasterers tape is a quick and easy way to add texture to a page. It's self adhesive and can be painted on, inked on and you can paste over the top of it with texture paste and still it can be seen (and felt) in the background. I used an image from Pinterest for inspiration, but I adapted it to fit my style.

I picked up my pencil one day, while watching the leaves flit past on the breeze, this beauty came to me. Those impromptu art lessons I got helped with the shading of her face.

Once I drew one girl, I saw this on Pinterest and thought "I can do that!"

My days are predominately filled with taking care of my boys but I do something crafty every day to keep the blues away. I hope you do to xx

Welcome

My boys are getting older and I am finding I have more time to dedicate to doing things I enjoy. Recently, I went on a crafty retreat with the amazing crew from Scrapbooking From Scratch. Peta, Bev and Nat are the most amazing retreat hosts you'll ever meet. It helps not to be sensitive to some taboos.

Between all the fun and shenanigans,  I managed to work on a few scrapbook layouts. I'll share them with you.

First layout of the weekend was done using a sketch given to us. I used a Basic Grey range. This shows my youngest getting his long locks chopped off.

I love a layout where I can use scraps from many different ranges. You'll find some Kaiser, Bo Bunny and no-brand space papers in there. Scitech is a science ant technology museum in Western Australia. If you have kids and you visit WA, you MUST see this place.

Again, using up some scraps. "Come fly with me, lets fly, lets fly away".

Most of the cards, embellies and the beautiful flair were a prize I won from Studio Fourteen 40. 

To say it was a productive weekend is an understatement. I'll be sharing some of my art journal entries tomorrow. Until then xx