Starting A Summer Scrapbook

This month I've been enjoying the new sunshine that has blessed us recently, and allowing those brighter days to inspire me in a multitude of ways. One of those ways is my new scrapbook! Yes, I've started a scrapbook and I wanted to share some of it with you guys today.
I hope to update this and keep it going for the rest of the year, but for now I thought I'd start it off with a kick of sunshine and Summer fun! My first few pages stick to the Summer theme, and it's been really cheering up my mood to work on this and feel like I'm embracing the upcoming season early. 
I've been reminiscing over past Summers, my favourite holidays, memories and thoughts, to fuse them into something inspiring to decorate onto my first few pages. A scrapbook can be a wonderful way to explore your creative side and keep cherished memories, and I've also found it has helped me relax to work on this.

I concentrated on layering different images, collecting trinkets/flowers, using colourful pens and tapes, adding glitter, buttons, and of course writing down some of my memories and thoughts to go along with everything. You don't need to be an Artist to make a beautiful scrapbook, and because it's a personal project; it becomes meaningful to you as you create it.

My only tips for making a scrapbook would be;
1. Try to keep each page/section to a theme: It will flow naturally then and you'll have more ideas on how to represent this one single theme.
2. Layer, layer... then layer some more!: Don't be scared to get messy here. Adding different materials, colours and elements will only strengthen your pages.
3. Don't be afraid to look at other scrapbooks: It's okay to see how others have done theirs and get ideas from it, because your personal memories cannot be copied anyway! Find what makes theirs beautiful, and try to emulate that in your own work. Do they make good use of space? Do they stick to one particular colour? Do they use text as imagery? Find inspiration!

Starting this scrapbook is one of my favourite creative projects I've done this year, and I'll be sure to keep it up. I hope it will become something wonderful to look back on when the year is over, and maybe I'll start another for January 1st! Fingers crossed.
Even Luna enjoyed helping me with this project!

Have you ever made a scrapbook?



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An Artist Is An Explorer

Henri Matisse was the creative behind the quote; "An artist is an explorer", and I think he had something quite right there. To make Art is to explore different themes, emotions, tools, challenges and most of all imagination. By exploring through all of these things, we find out more about ourselves than ever before. I truly believe Art frees you and allows you to escape into another world, of your own creation. A world where everything can be as perfect or imperfect as you like, as strange and wonderful as you need and as unique as each dream running through your mind in the dead of night. 
I've always been one to cheer people on to be creative in any way possible, but probably more so now since I've started blogging. I've seen how using this creative outlet has helped so many girls I've talked to (and men sorry! Just a lot less of you!) and how expressing themselves through blogging has changed so much about them. I'd like to encourage a few of you to think the same now about Art. Art doesn't have to be this scary, intimidating, brilliant painting that you could never compete with. It doesn't have to be pencils or ink strewn across paper. Art doesn't have to be pretentious, hard, beautiful or public. It can be something you create today, right now, for yourself. And I encourage this is any way possible because it can be one of the most therapeutic and inspiring things you do for yourself. 
A lot of you already know I keep Art journals, I like to create all sorts of DIY's, I love to collage and I can often be found covered in paint. So when I discovered Cass Art had sent me the most beautiful package filled with water colour paints, exquisite brushes and the highest quality of paper; honestly I did a little squeal. You know how some girls would lust after MAC lipsticks and jump for joy if they got some for free? I basically had this reaction. Okay, I would too over some MAC but that's beside the point guys.

I received a little message from Cass Art saying they simply wanted to know what I thought of their products, as they pride themselves on affordable, quality art supplies; encouraging people to explore their creative side. I must say, I was impressed. 
I've been using the products all this past week, 'testing the water' you could say. If you have me on Instagram you've probably seen me playing with my beautiful new toys, trying to make the most of them. I can't even do them justice by telling you how exquisite they are; a true joy to own.

I'll be honest with you, I'm terrible using watercolour paints. I'm much more at home and comfortable with acrylics. But pushing and forcing and even dragging myself out of that comfort zone is totally what I need. I feel like this beautiful gift is giving me the opportunity to practise, learn and grow. So for the month of March, watercolour is my focus. I usually have some sort of plan for my 12 Projects ideas, I can at least see what the endgame is gonna look like over the horizon. March however? Nah.. this one's different. 
"An Artist is an Explorer" - and I intend to explore. I can't say if I'll have much to show at the end of the month, or if there'll be a structure to it. But I can say I'll have tried something. 

What will you try?





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12 Projects: February Summary

Wanna know more about 12 Projects?
This month's project was a little different, not very dramatic, but hella needed for this month. I decided a reflective project was on the agenda, and began a journal. The aim for February was to write something every single day, whatever happened. It could be a diary entry, a to-do list, a short story, a poem, random thoughts or feelings. Just get it down on paper and put it out there into the world. This idea was small and personal enough to connect me deeply to it, but open to enough interpretation that it was freeing, and felt intensely creative.
So how did I do? Pretty well actually. I wrote a lot of diary entries, which felt really nice. Knowing nobody would be reading those words could have felt pointless since I'm used to blogging, but it didn't at all. It really made me reflect back on each day, and how I was doing. Plus I noticed that even just taking five minutes 'me time' to reflect, improved my thought process each night and helped me come up with some of my most creative ideas lately. I took stock of my day, and what had gone well/not so well. I honestly think this made me a more positive person this month!
I also wrote a little more for a fictional fantasy story I've been working on and off of, for the past year. I wrote small scenes, character backgrounds and developed the plot a little more. Since I was a little girl, my dream has been to write my own book, and this story is just bursting out of me sometimes. It'll take me years to finish I've no doubt, but it feels so wonderful to work on it when I can.
And then I've wrote some other things. I don't even know what to call it. Poetry sounds so lame and pompous to me, a little. And that weren't the purpose anyway. I wanted various writing to accompany some Artwork I'm creating, and this seemed pretty perfect. I've shared a little below, and I may share the finished Art when I eventually get around to it.
To be honest I realise that this project isn't impressive at all to the outside; you guys peering in at my monthly creativity bubble. But it's been so gloriously beneficial to me and I've thoroughly enjoyed it, so I definitely see it as a successful month. But fear not if this is not your thing, I already have March's project planned and oh my.. It's very DIY/kitschy/hopefully Pinterest-y. You'll love it ;)
Let me know what creative things you've all been up to this month? :)
* * * * *
Tall, dark, and persuasive, a glint in your eye,

Walking through these streets, a child of the night,

Anticipating the pain, so hard to let go,

Somebody save me, I’m getting pulled in deep.

Festering, fire breathing, fucking hatred on my skin,

Crawling through the moonlight, where do I begin,

I’ll follow you still, dragging me down again,

Barely breathing, my heart’s a raging traitor.

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January Challenge

I think if I had to sum up January with one word, it would be 'UNDERESTIMATED'. I basically underestimated how little time I would have for anything, and these days any 'free time' is planned out and executed methodically. Sounds fun huh? I kind of thrive on to-do lists and plans though to be honest, so it (sort of) works for me. I've been working full time for the first time in about a year, and this has been a huge adjustment. I love it, but I seriously didn't think about how much time I would have to myself when I came up with the 12 Projects Challenge. 
If you've read my previous post on this, you'll know I actually changed my mind about what I wanted January's challenge to be, half way through the month. Bad idea. It meant I had only two weeks to complete a new idea, which was to be a painting in the end. Two weeks sounds a lot, but when you're working full time, trying to find time with your boyfriend even though you work opposite schedules, planning trips and attempting to keep up blog posts - it all becomes a holy shitstorm of stress, pardon my French, haha. 
This means the images you see above are my painting SO FAR. I'm still counting this as a completed challenge for January by all means, but I really want to do so much more to this. I feel like it's only half way through. And to be honest, I have some paintings from a year or two ago that I still go back to and work on, so for me to be 100% honest with you I can't say that this is a completed piece. But I consider this a successful challenge completed for January - I set out do create something and learn something; which I have. I have learned I'll need to plan each project better, maybe not be as ambitious, and learn to enjoy whatever creative challenge unfolds.
Here's to February!





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'It's a process'...

So at the very start of the month I revealed to you all in this post, that I'd be doing a '12 Projects Challenge' this year. Meaning I'd be attempting to explore/complete one creative adventure a month, in whatever form that may take. I have to say, I've really gotten into it!  Having a specific challenge for my blog has always been intimidating for me, because I never seem to finish anything. I'm one of those people who never finishes a journal, never sees a project through to the end, or even finishes a film sometimes. You know the type. Maybe you're one. I do think I'm creative, and very inspired often. But my attention span always wavers, and finds something more interesting. So this challenge? Yeah, ..it is a challenge.

And this is the part where I tell the truth with you all about how it's been going. After all, that was my aim with this whole thing. To experience it, learn, report back, repeat. So here's the good, the bad, and the honest. The good; I've learned something new and useful about myself. I can only work on something I'm 100% interested in. If it wavers slightly, or wasn't there to begin with; I'm not gonna force it. This means whatever else happens throughout this project this year, I will only work on things that interest/inspire me. The bad; You see these photographs of me sewing away with pretty fabric? Yeah, they aren't quite relevant anymore. I began with a sewing project (by hand!), but discovered it was much too hard to do what I had planned without a sewing machine. Which meant I could either leave this project until I got a sewing machine, or persevere through; not quite enjoying it as much, or getting the most out of it. As you may have guessed, I decided to save this idea for another month. The honest; So this means I'm left with only two weeks now to complete something brand new. This is going to be difficult, I know. But I've chosen something much more 'doable' and that I know I'll enjoy. I really appreciate what I've learned about myself and this challenge though already. I hope you guys check back at the end of the month to see how this project turns out. You'll either witness me cheering over a success turnaround, or sobbing over my inability to do anything good EVER. In the meantime, I'm not gonna freak out. It's a process, and guess I need to enjoy every second of it.

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