Category Archives: You Can Do It!

Mixed Media with Chrissie B #1

Good evening!

I am so happy to report that I have a new art journaling video up out on YouTube. I will not lie to you, this is the longest video I have every done! WHEW!!! Watching this is more like watching a free art journaling background class!!! I am pretty happy with it!

As promised, here is a list of supplies that I used during this video:

  • Dina Wakley Media Stiff Bristle 1 inch paint brush
  • Dina Wakley Heavy Body Acrylic Paints: Lime, Magenta, Ocean, Tangerine, Lemon, Turquoise, Fuchsia, Night, White
  • Book Pages – I used pages from a small dictionary
  • Golden’s Matte Medium
  • Liquitex white gesso
  • Palette knife – mine was plastic
  • 3 mini Tim Holtz Stencils, Plus Signs, Dot Fade, and Schoolhouse
  • Ryan Reaveley Dylusions Journaling Block
  • Ranger Archival Ink pads: Manganese Blue, Deep Purple, Fern Green
  • Dina Wakley Media Stamps: Textures
  • Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamps: Mixed Media 2, Bitty Grunge

I hope you enjoyed this video!! There will be many more to come! 🙂

Here is to have a Beautiful Creative life!

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If you want a different life, you have to choose differently!

Today I Choose!

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Quote taken from the movie, The Answer Man:

Kris Lucas: Why can’t I do the things I want to do? There’s so much I know I’m capable of that I never actually do. Why is that?
Arlen Faber: The trick is to realize that you’re always doing what you want to do… always. Nobody’s making you do anything. Once you get that, you see that you’re free and that life is really just a series of choices. Nothing happens to you. You choose.
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Where you are standing in your life right now, is a direct result of all of the choices you have made over the entirety of your life.

You choose.

You may not have chosen events that have happened around you, what family you were born into, what your financial status was, or other events that may have directly happened to you, pain or suffering that others may have caused you, people who may have come, or those who may have left you. You may not have chosen those events, but you chose, either consciously or subconsciously how you responded to those events. You gave those events meaning, and you chose which path you would then travel after those events.

You chose.

You chose then, and you choose now.

The choices that you have made were innocently made. They were meant to keep you safe, to keep you feeling whole, to keep you free from pain, and to keep you alive. But since when is safe, whole, pain-free, and alive enough. What about having life in your life? Where is the joy? The connection? The adventure? The passion? The creativity? The wonder? The abundance? Where is the thing that makes you so excited to wake up every morning and go take on your life?

Every single day you have the ability to choose something new.

A different viewpoint, a different attitude, a different emotion, a different meaning, or a different path.

You choose.

That change happens in an instant, but you still have to choose.

If you do not choose, someone else will choose for you. You will not be happy. Your soul will feel unsettled, as if something is not quite right, and you may not even be able to put your finger on what is the matter, but your soul will know. You will feel like your skin is itchy, or a little too big, or maybe your skin is too small, but your soul knows that you were not meant for this. Your world will feel as if there is something missing, or lacking, or lost, or sad. You may not know what that something is, but your soul will know. You might find yourself repeatedly asking yourself, “is there more to life than this?” “Is this it?” “Is this all there is?”

Your soul will start to send you messages, small, quiet whisper, to try to nudge you to choose differently, to live differently, to be authentic. To live the life that you and your soul were meant to live. To do the thing that only you and your unique, awesome, supah-powah self could do. The longer you stay away from that path, the sadder your soul will become. It will start to get louder, more persistent. It wants so desperately to get you to where it knows you are supposed to be.

The path that only you can walk.

The adventure that only you can take.

We will start to hear it, your soul, even if we do not yet understand it. Our soul’s voice may sound so foreign, that we will ignore it as not possibly being our voice because we are so unfamiliar with it’s sound. But there it will remain, no longer whispering, but now whining, and persistent, clinging to your leg as you try to walk on someone else’s path, holding on, like a child afraid of their mama leaving, desperate for your attention, yearning for your time, crying out for it’s need to be fulfilled.

You might find a moment of clarity, when you look around, in your life, and you do not recognize this life that you have created. How have you gotten here? You don’t recognize yourself in your surroundings. It is as if you let yourself be lead on autopilot to some unknown destination where the language is foreign, the food tastes off, and the room is always a bit too cold.

You realize that are uncomfortable. How long has this been going on?

This is a moment where your soul has finally gotten your attention, and you get to see this world you have created , through your entire history of choices. You finally see your world without the lie filters of “normalcy” and “settling” and “status quo” and “fitting in” that we have a tendency to look at the world through. At this moment, you have a choice to make. Do you decide to do what is safe, and slide those glasses back on, and keep on living the benign life that the world has laid out for you? Or do you choose something different? Do you choose to leave those glasses of lies, sitting on a shelf behind you; knowing full well, that at any time, if you really need to you, can always rush back to your shelf and put your glasses back on?

Choose.

You choose glasses free, and now glasses free, you take one step forward into your world, that world you have created. At first your world may frighten you, and make you sad, it may make you angry, it may make you feel resentful, this place that you have created. You might feel that where you are is not quite fair, that you deserve better than this. You see others who appear to be doing so much better than you, and it fills you with sadness, and maybe a bit of despair.

I am here to remind you that you choose. By making one choice at a time.

Make one choice.

Close your eyes. Breathe deeply, slowly, on purpose. In. Out. In. Out. Do this again and again, and think of nothing but that breath. Feel your heartbeat; consciously climb deep down into who you are. In. Out. In. Out. Move around in your subconscious. What do you see? Are there cobwebs? Clutter? Chaos? Do you need a deep cleaning? Start the process of cleaning your soul up, one choice at a time. Hug yourself tightly, be loving, and gentle, forgive, and be kind. Know that you are going to be okay. This process can be painful, slow, and lonely.

Choose to slough off one thing that doesn’t fit you, serve you, or fill you with joy! Be gentle with yourself, this is a process, but you must make the choice. You must take the action. After you have taken the action, sit with this new, fresh, clear space for a moment.

Close your eyes, and let that feeling fill you up. That feeling of, it was only one thing, but that one thing felt so authentically honoring to your soul, that you have a moment of clarity and peace. Your world is by no means perfect, and you may still not know where you are going, or even where you will end up. You know you still have such a long way to go, but you recognize that feeling of peace. It is a feeling that calls to you. It is a feeling your soul was born for.

As you start taking stock and cleaning up what needs to be cleaned, and you do the process of sloughing off one thing, and then another, and then another, you will start to notice that there will be rays of sunlight breaking through, here and there, and slowly but surely these rays will start filling your soul house with love, joy, recognition, and enthusiasm for what really has been in there all along, but hidden from mismanagement and neglect.

Soon, you will start to recognize your soul, as the powerful goddess that she is. She will no longer be a whining, child, hanging as a dead weight on your leg, dying to get your attention, but she will stand tall, and proud, and strong. The amazing Amazonian warrior that she is, and she will be standing right beside you, hand-in-hand. You will have empowered her to watch out for new and exciting paths for you and her to travel on.

You are a soul. You have a body. You only have this one vessel. You need to take care of her, and love her, and treat her like a sacred space. Feed her good, real, and whole foods. Provide her plenty of delicious, and refreshing water. Let her play in the sunshine, and dance in the rain. Give her opportunities to run, jump, swim, stretch, climb, swing, and twirl, every single day. Let her rest. Let her get quite and reenergize. Let her sleep, a deep, quality, and restful, healing sleep. Let her ask for help, and share her story. Let her connect with other soul sisters on a deep and meaningful level. You and she will be so much happier this way. You and she will be stronger, and have more energy, and you will have such a better ability to live the life that you were put on this earth to live.

What is your soul trying to tell you today? I dare you to stop, close your yes, breathe deeply and just listen for her whispers. She may need a hug, you may need to be extra especially gentle with yourself today, you may need a nap. Do one thing that moves in the direction of peace. That direction that leads you to healing, to wholeness, and to authentic you-ness. Only you can know what that is for you. You choose.

What will you choose today?

Here is to consciously choosing a Beautiful Creative Life!! 🙂

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If you want to have a different life, choose differently!

Cuppa Chat #4: Starting a Revolution!

Good morning, my Beautiful Creatives!!

I am just so FREAKIN’ JAZZED about this week’s Cuppa Chat video!!

I can BARELY CONTAIN MY EXCITMENT!! 

Hoo! Hoo! Hee! Hoo! Hoo! Hee!!

Ok, I am feeling a little bit better now!!

This week’s Cuppa Chat was in response to me going back to last week’s Cuppa Chat video, video #3, and not liking what I saw in myself! I have a tendency to wear a mask when I am scared, or about to be raw and vulnerable! To find out more about what I am talking about, grab a “Cuppa” of something DELISH, and pull up chair…

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/lnKpOMTKfbY” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

How do you feel about starting your own PERSONAL REVOLUTION!!

Here is to our Beautiful Creative REVOLUTIONS!! 🙂

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If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Cuppa Chat #2: 10 Things for a Level 10 Day!

Good morning, my beautiful friends!!

I am so happy to announce that my latest video in my Cuppa Chat series has been posted out on YouTube!

I know you cannot always control what the world throws at you on a day to day basis, but you can do things to help make your day a PHENOMENAL day, AKA a Level 10 Day! In this Cuppa Chat, I share with you my 10 favorite things to incorporate into my days so that, no matter what, I can have a level 10 day whenever I choose to!! 🙂

If you like what you see, please subscribe, so you don’t miss a thing!! 🙂

Here is to a Beautiful Creative life! 🙂

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If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Goodbye to 38 by 38 Hello to 39 by 39!

CrownGood afternoon!

Yep! You have heard correctly, yesterday was my birthday so I am officially 38!! WHOO! HOO!! 😉

As some of you may already know, I every year I put together a X by X list. A # of objects by number of years I will have been alive by the time I finish this goal list! Two years ago was my 37 by 37 list, this past year was my 38 by 38 list, and starting today, I will be actively working on my 39 by 39 list. This is the list where I take 39 things from my master Life List and schedule the 39 things that I want to do before my birthday this next year!

Before I show you my 39 by 39 list, I thought I would start out by showing you how my 38 by 38 turned out!! 🙂

Here is my 38 by 38 list:

  1. Put $1,000 into a mini emergency fund – DONE!
  2. Pay off all of my non-mortgage debt – Almost there, almost about $4000 to go!! WHEW!!!
  3. Regularly tithe 10% of our household income – I did better on this one that I expected, but I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be.
  4. Downsize our belongings so that everything we own fit into our 2-bedroom, 1 car garage condo – DONE!
  5. Jog a mile – DONE!
  6. Take the train
  7. Go camping – DONE!
  8. Blow bubbles out of the car window while on a road trip – DONE!
  9. Clean out the garage – DONE!
  10. Hike the longest trail at Silver Creek Falls – DONE!
  11. Go on a walking tour of downtown Salem – I get a great deal on this from Groupon! I just have to schedule this before it expires and it will be done!!
  12. Take a cooking class
  13. Host a slumber party – DONE!
  14. Create a new line of inspiring art pieces of at least 12 designs
  15. Start my own company – DONE!
  16. Redesign my blog to make it a reflection of my personal style – DONE!
  17. Invest in blog/career business cards – DONE!
  18. Launch an interview series on my blog
  19. Send fifty handwritten handwritten notes (1 of 50)
  20. Lose an accumulative 100 pounds (105 of 100) – DONE!
  21. Volunteer in a cause that is near and dear to my heart
  22. Ride my bike for an hour straight
  23. Have a weekend vacation at the coast – DONE!
  24. Sell my entire collection of Pink Paisley Boutique jewelry (LET IT GO!)
  25. Host a movie-themed party
  26. Inspire someone to write a list of their own – DONE!
  27. Be featured in a creative publication
  28. Try at least 12 new recipes (12 of 12) – DONE!
  29. Prepare a meal using fresh ingredients from the Farmer’s Market
  30. Use re-usable shopping bags for all grocery shopping for an entire month
  31. Read every Jane Austen novel (1 of 5) – I read Pride and Prejudice
  32. Get a facial
  33. Revitalize 5 old pieces of furniture
  34. Teach an online class
  35. Read my Flying Lessons class book
  36. Wear bright red lipstick out in public for a day – DONE!
  37. Have at least 48 artist dates (35 of 48) – I did WAAAAAY better on this than I thought I would! So, I am going to consider this a win!!! 😉
  38. Have fresh flowers in the house every week for at least 10 weeks (6 of 10) – This was harder and more expensive than I thought, but I may try this one again!! 😉

As usual, I got a lot more accomplished than I thought I was going to, but there were actually a few things I was able to mark off of my master Life List that I wasn’t planning on. Here are those things:

  1. Fly first class – I did this on the spur of the moment on my last business trip!! First class was soooo worth the extra moola spent!!! 😉
  2. Learn to hula hoop – My friend, Jamie, inspired me to give this a try. I went out and bought a hula hoop, much to the chagrin of my sweetie, and I did, right there in my living room – almost breaking a lamp, but having a BLAST just the same!!! 😉
  3. Run a mile – I thought I would NEVER be able to do this!!
  4. Run a 5k – I thought either I was going to die doing this, or I was going to kill my sweetie for making me! But, in the end I was soooo happy I did this!!!
  5. Cross my legs – Who knew???? One day, I looked down, and realized, ‘Hey! I’m crossing my legs!!!’ It might as well have been free tickets to Paris! Yes, I was truly THAT excited!!! 😉
  6. Touch my toes with knees unbent – this was another one that I thought I would never be able to, but my sweetie insisted that I tried it. When I realized I could actually touch my toes, I wanted to sit in that position FOREVER!!
  7. Be able to do a complete Sun Salutation – Another shocker!! I am sure I don’t do it as gracefully as the ladies online do, but who cares???? I CAN DO THIS!!! Good morning, Sun!!! 😉
  8. Buy Jason a truck – Yep! I was VERY happy to be able to do this for my sweetie!!
  9. Create & post a video on YouTube – I am not sure why I thought this was such a scary thing!?? Easy peasy!!
  10. Do an entire cross stitch pattern – Another easy peasy goal!!
  11. Draw a piece of art that I am happy with – After I finished this particular piece I was surprised that it actually came out of me!!
  12. Go to a counselor – this was a requirement of the bariatric surgery, but it was still on my list so I am counting it!!
  13. Hire a nutritionist – same as 12!
  14. Hike the longest trail at Silver Creek Falls (10.4 miles) – This might have been the hardest 4 hours of my life!! UGH!!!
  15. Learn how to manage money – Thank you, Mr. Dave Ramsey!!!
  16. Learn how to purl – I did this, hated it, crossed it off of my list anyways!!
  17. Learn how to walk in heels – YEAH!! I’m a girl! I’m a girl!!
  18. Live without eating out for one month – bariatric surgery made this one easy!
  19. Live without junk food for one week – Same for this one!!
  20. Love my entire wardrobe – This is easy to do when you are down to two pairs of pants, a blazer, denim jacket, 3 dresses, and a few miscellaneous tops!
  21. Weigh less than 300 pounds – I will NEVER GO BACK!!
  22. Weigh less than 275 pounds – This was a little less than what I weighed when my mom died!
  23. Weigh less than 250 pounds – My goal is getting so close, I can almost feel it!!
  24. Weigh less than 225 pounds – This is so much harder than I expected!!! Keep going!!! 😉
  25. Eat at doughnut at Voodoo Donuts in Portland, OR – Such a LOOOOONG wait in a LOOOOOOON line, for an ok donut, but so much fun spending some silly time with my sweetie!!

WHEW!! I have been busy!! 😉

NOW, what do I want to see on my 39 by 39 list????

  1. Go to Brave Girls’ Camp
  2. Weigh less than 220 pounds
  3. Weigh less than 215 pounds
  4. Weigh less than 210 pounds
  5. Weigh less than 205 pounds
  6. Weigh less than 200 pounds
  7. Publish my own e-book
  8. Start my creative business’ website
  9. Start my creative business’ blog
  10. Watch a baby being born (my nephew – Liam)
  11. Become a life coach
  12. Be a mentor to someone else
  13. Be a spokesperson for something positive
  14. Beat Jason at a game of chess
  15. Read all of Jane Austen’s novels (1 of 5)
  16. Become a motivational speaker
  17. Become a plus-sized model for a day
  18. Build a loom
  19. Learn how to use a loom
  20. Grow a vegetable garden
  21. Carve a piece of art
  22. Build a piñata from scratch
  23. Climb a rock wall
  24. Cook an entire meal for Jason’s family
  25. Contact a distant family member & start communicating
  26. Share my art-making-process via a YouTube channel
  27. Purchase a professional camera
  28. Learn how to use it
  29. Create a time capsule
  30. Take a road trip down the Pacific Coast Highway
  31. Do a backbend
  32. Do a cartwheel
  33. Do a flip off a diving board
  34. Do a handstand
  35. Gather a group of people to blow bubbles in a public space
  36. Get a life coach
  37. Get a passport
  38. Get a pen-pal from a different country
  39. Get paid to do what you love
  40. Go kayaking
  41. Grocery shop using only reusable bags for an entire month
  42. Hang laundry in the sun to dry
  43. Pay off all non-mortgage debt
  44. Have 3 – 6 months expenses in an emergency savings account
  45. Have a prayer alter in my home with stair-stepped candles
  46. Knit a scarf
  47. Learn French
  48. Learn HTML
  49. Learn the basic ballet steps
  50. Learn the proper way to open a coconut
  51. Learn to can food
  52. Learn to create a frame to stretch canvas over
  53. Learn to make a book from scratch
  54. Learn to make ambrosia
  55. Learn to make doughnuts
  56. Leave $100 for a haggard waitress
  57. Make & send my own Christmas cards
  58. Make a loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country through http://www.kiva.com
  59. Milk a cow
  60. Organize a large family picture
  61. Own a pair of fabulous fitting walking knee-high boots
  62. Own an income producing blog
  63. Perform 100 sit-ups in one sitting
  64. Sell all of my jewelry from my old jewelry business
  65. Start a book club
  66. Take a cooking class
  67. Take a nature walk & press the wild flowers you collect
  68. Take a painting class
  69. Take a photography class
  70. Take a weekend vacation by myself
  71. Teach an online art class
  72. Type up great-great grandma’s recipe book for the family
  73. Volunteer in a homeless shelter
  74. Wear a size 14 pant

 

Ok, so I can TOTALLY see that there are WAAAAAAY more than 39 things on this list!! I think, at least for right this moment, I am going to keep the list extra long like this, and shoot to complete at least 39 items off of this list!! It is my perogative to change my mind at any moment in time to completely rehash this list or to completely start it over. As it stands right now, this list really makes me happy, and the idea of removing anything from it, honestly, really makes me sad! SO, to heck with it!! THIS WILL BE MY NEW 39 by 39 List!!

Here is to a FABULOUSLY productive, artsy, and memorable year!!! 😉

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If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!

1-Year Post Bariatric Surgery Update!

This is me as a happy girl today!! ;-)

This is me as a happy girl today!! 😉

Good evening!

Yep! That’s right! As of today, it has been exactly one year since I had my gastric bypass surgery, and I thought it might be the perfect time to give you my weight loss update!

As of today, I have officially lost 99 point something pounds since April 2012, and 59 of those pounds have been since my gastric bypass surgery on September 4th, 2012. I say 99 point something, because I actually can’t remember the exact number that my surgeon said! All I remember hearing was 99 pounds. YEAH! ME!!! 😉

I have been reminded by my nutritionist that I am still eating waaaaay to many carbs, and I am almost 40 grams of protein short every day. OUCH!!

I also know that getting in 64 ounces of liquid a day has been the bane of my existence, and I am not sure I have EVER been able to get that much water in since my surgery. When your stomach is the size of 2 or 3 ounces, and you can’t drink within 30 minutes of eating, it really limits how effectively you can get your fluids in!

I also really need to step up my exercise routine!! I just need to push myself harder, and spend less time sitting on my keister!! 😉

SOOOOOO…

long story short, I have got A LOT of room for improvement!!

They also showed me a chart that proves that I am losing on the slooooooow track. and for some reason my physician thinks I am having a love affair with pizza – I really am not, but the last two times I had seen her, I had just happened to have pizza the previous evenings!! Which just also happens to be the only two times I have had pizza in the past three months! Sheesh!!

To say I left my appointment today feeling a bit defeated is an understatement, but I was reminded by my girl friends, and my sweetie that I have still come a LOOOOOONG way baby!! and I know it is true, but to put it out to the universe in writing, I decided to share a list that I had created months before surgery.

This is a list of all of the physical goals I had written to myself in May of 2012. Basically, this is the if-I-could-do-anything-after-weight-loss-surgery-this-would-be-my-dream-list:

  1. Jog a mile non-stop – DONE!
  2. Cross my legs – DONE!
  3. Touch my toes with knees unbent – DONE!
  4. Ride my bike for a half an hour straight
  5. Run up two flights of stairs without getting winded – DONE!
  6. Wear high heels without pain – DONE!
  7. Run a 5k – DONE!
  8. Fit into a bathtub – DONE!
  9. Sit Indian-style in a movie theatre seat – DONE!
  10. Be able to sit with my knees up against my chest – DONE!
  11. Be able to use the chair-tables in the auditorium – DONE!
  12. Be able to fit into a restaurant booth – DONE!
  13. Hike the longest trail at Silver Creek Falls – DONE!
  14. Weigh less than when I first met Jason, when I was 18 – DONE!
  15. Slip into a size-14 again – DONE!
  16. Not be the first one tired on an all-day shopping excursion – DONE!
  17. Get rid of the dreaded C-pap machine – DONE!
  18. Be able to ride cowgirl-style in my favorite evening activity! 😉 – DONE!

 

I actually hadn’t remember that I had written that list, but I have to tell you once I found it and realized that I have done EVERY SINGLE thing on this list except one (only because I haven’t tried it yet), and that was #4 Ride my bike for a half an hour straight, and I am sure at this point, I could TOTALLY do it!! 🙂

So, I am going to consider this a success thus far!!

Starting tomorrow, I am back on the straight and narrow, and my goal is to lose 30 more pounds within the next 6 months! WOULDN’T THAT BE AWESOME???? But the reality is, that if I never lost another single ounce from today, my life and my future is ALREADY better than it would have been 100 pounds ago!!! 😉 I have to keep in mind how good life is right this minute!! 😉

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

Signature Line

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!

Getting Unstuck!

Let Go!Good evening!

Do you ever feel stuck???

I do, and have been struggling with this nagging feeling of being stuck for quite some time.

Today, while I was listening to some positivity, it hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard the speaker talk about getting unstuck. He said,

“Are you really stuck, or are you just afraid to let go??”

WOW!!! That really hit home for me, and reminded me of something I had heard earlier last week,

“You have to let go of who you are to become who you were meant to be!”

Ok, I am listening, God!! I think I hear what you are telling me!! 😉

I have known for some time that I have been needing to take some brave steps to get from where I am to get to where my soul is wanting to be. If you were to read my morning page entries for the past few months, you would see that there is a recurring theme!!

I want more.
I want to be an artist.
I want to live creatively.
I want to make a difference.
I want to be free.I want more. Oh wait – I said that already!! 😉

Well, it is true! I want more. I don’t want to sit in a cubicle day in and day out, doing what others would have me do with my life. I’m stuck!! Or at least that is what I had been telling myself, until today!! 😉

I am holding on.

That is the reality of my situation!

I am holding on out of fear.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of what people might think.

Fear of failure.

Fear of falling apart.

Fear of hanging out on the ledge all by my little lonesome!!

But you know what, today is a new day! and I am determined to take those baby steps to get to where I want to be. No matter how long it takes. No matter how many do-overs I will need to take. No matter how many comments I may have to ignore, or how many shoulders I may have to lean on along the way.

My life, my dreams, my aspirations, and I am worth it.

and you know what???

SO ARE YOU!!!

What might you be holding on to out of fear! Isn’t today the day for us to get unstuck together!!

Let’s do this!!! What action(s) can you take today to get unstuck?? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!! 😉

My Take Action Challenge: I am going to get my information packet together for an art studio here in town that is looking for new artists to instruct classes. WISH ME LUCK!!! 😉

Here is to a FABULOUS ARTSY evening!

Signature Line

If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!

 

Tutorial Tuesday: Convert a Book Into an Art Journal

Good evening!

Welcome to my very first ever tutorial Tuesday!!

YEAH!! WHOO!! HOOOO!!!! APPLAUSE!!!! 😉

If you saw yesterday’s post, you would have seen that I am in the habit of writing Morning Pages every morning. I do those Morning Pages in a leather bound book, that has grid-lined paper inside of it. I like the fact that it is not just regular boring lines, in case I want to doodle or draw in my journal, I feel like the grid-lines support me in thinking outside of the box.

However, I am also a big fan of art journals, and today I want to show you how to convert any regular book into an easy and inexpensive art journal of your very own.

What you will need:

  • A book – I have found that hard covers hold up the best

TT - Book to Journal 1

  • Paper tape – this could be any kind, but what I enjoy using is the paper tape that you find in the first aid section of most any pharmacy
Paper tape found in first aid section of pharmacy

Paper tape found in first aid section of pharmacy

  • Scissors (optional)
  • White gesso

TT - Book to Journal 3

  • A wide paint brush to use with the gesso

To convert your book into an art journal:

The first thing you will have to do is to create room in your art journal so that all of the fun elements that you might want to use to decorate your art pages, such as decorative papers, buttons, beads, lace, fabric, broken jewelry, pictures,  etc,  have space to go.

To do this, count the first three pages of the book, then count the next three pages of the book. Tear out the second set of 3 pages. Otherwise leave in pages 1, 2, and 3, and carefully tear out pages 4, 5, and 6. You will want to tear the pages out as closely, and as carefully to the spine as you can get, but remember  perfection is not necessary.

Count three pages, to skip.

Count three pages, to skip.

Tear out the next 3 pages.

Tear out the next 3 pages.

You will keep repeating this step over and over again until every other set of three pages have been removed.

Once you have torn out every other set of three pages, you will then want to reinforce the remaining sets of 3 pages that you have left.

To do this, you will go back to the beginning of your book, and gather the first set of three pages. Using your paper tape, you will want to either tear, or cut a piece of tape that measures the width of your page.

Once you have the correct length of tape, carefully lay it across the bottom edge of the book, with half the tape hanging off of the edge

Cover bottom of page, with tape letting 1/2 of the tape hang over the edge

Cover bottom edge of page, with tape letting 1/2 of the tape hang over the edge

Once that has been smoothed into place, turn your set of three pages (treating as if they are now one page, because they essentially will be), and then fold the overhang of tape up and over the back side of your new page.

Turn 3-page set, and fold up the remaining tape to create one new page out of your original three pages.

Turn 3-page set, and fold up the remaining tape to create one new page out of your original three pages.

Do this to all three sides of your new page: bottom, top, and side.

Do this to the bottom edge, the top edge, and the side edge of your new page.

Do this to the bottom edge, the top edge, and the side edge of your new page.

Each set of three individual pages will now become one thick page per taped bundle.  This reinforces your pages, and makes them sturdier for any kind of media or technique that you might want to use to decorate your journal pages with.

Repeat these taping steps for all of your sets of three pages.

Once you have your pages reinforced, you are now ready to prep your pages for arting on!  WHEW!!! 😉

To do this, you will want to use your paint brush and apply a thin layer or two over each page of your new art journal.

Apply a thin coat or two of gesso to each page and let thoroughly dry, so your pages don't stick together. As you can see I don't mind some words showing through.

Apply a thin coat or two of gesso to each page and let thoroughly dry, so your pages don’t stick together. As you can see I don’t mind some words showing through.

If you are impatient like me, you may want to use a hair dryer, or a embossing heat gun to speed up the drying process. Please note, if you do use an embossing heat gun to dry your pages (like I do) make sure not to leave the gun pointing at one spot for too long, you do not want to accidentally burn your gesso. Not fun, and kinda smelly!!

Once your pages are gesso’ed you are ready to get arting and customizing your new art journal in any way you would like!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments section of this post! I am always happy to help!

Keep an eye out for more tutorials in the future, including many ideas and techniques on how you can decorate your new art journal! I can’t wait!

If you haven’t already, please follow This Artsy Life by hitting the “Subscribe” button on the right. I would really appreciate it!

Here is to a FABULOUS evening creating!! 😉

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If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!!