So, it is Friday, and we have challenges galore, but first we will speak of the art.  I have started to listen to audio books while I paint and paper piece instead of the television filling the silence.  I am not a person who likes silence.  Silence allows  me to think and in the thinking I get distracted from the art.  So I thought, why not an audio book to lock my brain down so I can blur out and create.

Yes, I like to blur out and not think.  When I think I over work pieces or become too literal with card challenges.  Don’t get me wrong I’m thinking, but not thinking too hard.  Not over analyzing.  Not second guessing myself.  So I fill the silence with noise.  And I have found that playing a book out loud, I really can just sink into the art.  I can just let go and allow myself to do.

That, and I am an avid reader.  When I have spare time or down time it is often a debate to either read or paint.  I end up doing it about fifty/fifty.  And I read anything I can get my hands on.  There isn’t a genre I won’t read.  I’m not a huge self help reader, but there are self help book I enjoy.  I’m not a big medical science reader, but cause of my kid who loves science and medicine, I read it.  I could probably live without poetry, and yet I love Shakespeare sonnets.

But of all the genres, the one I love the most is young adult books.  Sure they do not have the greatest literary merit, but in my opinion they often have the best stories.  So, this is what I have been doing all week.  Listening to books while painting.  And boy, have I got lost in the paint.  Two full canvases this week and several small watercolors.  (needless to say, my house needs vacuumed, because that has been forsaken)  I thought I would just throw this out there for anyone who also gets clouded and over thinks things.  Or for anyone who has to choose between reading and creating, maybe you too can do both.

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First challenge up this week is from the designers over at The Paper Players.  This week they have given us a very layered and detail sketch to inspire our work.  I struggle often with the layering of papers, so I enjoy the moments where I get to really challenge myself.  I am working on layering paper that doesn’t actually match, but yet coordinates.  Small goal I guess, but goals none the less.

So I pulled a bunch of different papers and figured out how to coordinate them.  I snagged a sheet of brown card stock and embossed it.  I stamped out a sentiment, die cut a couple of hearts out, and layered all the different pieces together.  I am not sure it all works, but I also don’t think it doesn’t.  I enjoy these exercises where I get to push the boundaries of what I can do.

 

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Up next we have a color challenge from the sleuths over at Can You Case it.  This week they are challenging us to use the colors white, yellow, and turquoise.  It is a fun grouping of color and really allows any possibilities.

I pulled out a piece of card stock and a stencil and sprayed some London blue Dylusion spray through the stencil.  I then proceeded to turn the card stock into the back ground of a shaker card and die cut the face of the shaker.  I then embossed a balloon stamp and colored it in yellow with some watercolor makers.  I attached them to the top of the shaker and assembled the card.  I know the shade of turquoise is wrong, but I like the card.  It makes me smile cause the card feels happy.

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Up next we have our little piece of internet dessert with the designers over at Cupcake Inspirations.  This week they have given us a theme challenge of princess.  And if you want to see some really cute princess images, you have to head over and look at the work the designers did.  Super cute.  I on the other hand do not have a princess image

or even a crown (why do I not have a crown, I should totally have a crown).

Anyway, I figured princesses come from fairy tales and often in those fairy tells I they have dragons, and I have the cutest little dragon stamp (he has a prince in that stamp set to, but I left the prince out) from Darcie’s Heart & Soul.  Why I put the dragon in a mason jar, not certain, except I felt that putting a wee dragon in a mason jar might make it just indignant enough that the sentiment from Art Impressions would make since.  I know this really isn’t a princess card, but with the pretty pink and cream papers in the back ground plus the fairytale aspect with my dragon friend, I figured I was on the right track.

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Finally today we have a masculine inspiration challenge from the gals over at Always Playing with Paper‘s The Challenge.  I love the map in the back ground of the inspiration photo and knew I wanted to include that in my card.  I am also a big fan of the rug that is grounding the couch and the trunk in the photo, so I leaned towards the burlap colors while constructing my card.

I pulled out a piece of corrugated cardboard and trimmed it down to fit the card.  I added this really old sheet of map print card stock (seriously it is like 7-10 years old).  I stamped out the little bottle of ink in Distress Ink frayed burlap and added a hint of shadow to it.  I cut a piece of burlap and piece of twin and assembled the card.  Finally with some cobalt blue Archival Ink I stamped in the sentiment.  For once I think I nailed the masculine side of a card.

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That is all for today.  Hope your weekend is filled with fun and you get to spend some time not only with the people you love, but doing something you love.