March13
Yay – i finally have the video up!
In this video I show you how to organize yourself especially if you have ADHD and need to see your projects at a glance in order to not forget about them. I paint a chalkboard wall and then mod podge clipboards to pretty them up. Later I write on the chalkboard wall to denote the contents of the clipboard. I’m pretty jazzed at how it all has come together. The disorganized part of me is very happy to have added this new tool! I hope you enjoy it too! If you like it why not Pin it to your Organization or art board? Thank you!
Love, Violette xo
August15
As you can see i was influenced by Sunny Carvalho’s whimsical mixed media pieces. I have always created my pretty ladies this way but not my little whimsical people. So thank you Sunny for the inspiration! This mixed media piece is for the White Rock Outside the Box Fibre exhibition – it’s a juried show. Usually i don’t enter juried shows but i thought this was good motivation for me to spend several blissful hours creating!
This is how i started out – as you can see i used a print of one of my fav journal pages as well as napkins and words to collage the background. The face is created separately.
I painted on top of the collaged background – it sure was difficult painting over that face 
! A bit of drippage was in order too!
Another process picture. It’s funny but as I’m creating and lost in the process I am having a running dialogue with the piece. It’s telling me what to do next. Sometimes it changes it’s mind and tells me to paint blue eyes and then the next thing you know they become green. At this point i had no idea what the words would be.
Can you imagine my surprise when a 3D balloon appeared? I had absolutely no idea about that one!
The balloon and the star on the girls head are glittered. The hair is yarn and the balloon string is embroidery floss – i had to add a bit of fibre into it didn’t i?
My original sketch had a pair of arms, legs and a head on it but as the piece progressed i wasn’t feeling the vibe for a head or legs. I kept staring and staring at the piece with the arms glued on trying to decide whether or not i was disturbed by arms on their own like that. I have never been into the macabre or into disturbing things….they just…….how shall i say this……DISTURB ME! Ha!
The words came to me when i asked “what do you want to say?”
So as I was pondering whether or not to rip the arms off I took down a wooden flying heart from the wall that Mr. G had made for me. I was going to hang the little Dreamer in it’s place to get a feel for it. Before i did that though i had placed the new piece on top of the wooden heart (accidentally) – and there perfectly aligned was the pieces arms on top of the wings. I almost shouted “That’s IT!!! like Charlie Brown did when he was being analysed by Lucy! I thought – she’s flying, she’s flying – the little Dreamer is flying! So i decided to keep the doll hands on the piece! By flying i mean when children put out their arms at their sides and pretend they are flying?
Anyways – she’s done – the entry is due today! Wish me luck!
I hope you are having a gorgeous day – it’s gonna be a hot one here!
Love, Violette xo
August8
Remember on yesterday’s post i talked about creating a driftwood hanging made from the bits and pieces i gathered on the beaches of the Sunshine Coast? Well i lined up the pieces of driftwood and put shells in between for a pleasing composition. Then we had a fantastic thunderstorm and it poured like crazy so i had to quickly bring the entire thing in the house which messed up the composition – perfectly fine in my world 
.
To make this driftwood hanging you’ll need some fishing line……..
I used a big wooden bead for the end cap but you can use any bead which will fit through the wire. Make sure you create a good strong knot on the end.
Begin feeding the shells and driftwood pieces onto the string (the wooden bead is covered up by a clamshell). It’s going to be super heavy by the end of the stringing session – make sure your wire is strong!
Voila! I now have a gorgeous driftwood hanging to remind me of the coast!
I was tempted to put shiny colourful beads in between the driftwood and shells but decided to leave it as natural as possible! There’s enough colour in the backyard don’t you think?
I hope you like it!
Love, Violette xo
August7
Here are some oyster shells i gathered while i was away on holidays. They come from Okeover Inlet which is the Oyster capital of Canada. There are millions of oyster shells along the beaches so i didn’t mind taking a few as a memento of our Sunshine Coast holiday.
Some driftwood pieces harvested from various beaches on the Sunshine Coast.
I decided rather than buy souvenirs from our trip I would create something more meaningful and enduring – like a driftwood and shell hanging which will act as a constant reminder of our lovely trip. Looking at the driftwood hanging will also impress on my mind the desire to move to the Sunshine Coast. It will be part of my Law of Attraction plan – just like the zine I am creating and the short movie full of affirmations, positive images and music. You are more apt to manifest your dreams if you surround yourself and your senses with images, feelings, smells and sounds of your desires!
In the above photo I’m drilling a piece of driftwood. You need mason drill bits to drill holes in the shells and of course wood drill bits for the wood.
I have been checking Pinterest out for a bit of driftwood inspiration!
Tomorrow I’ll show you what i came up with!
Love, Violette xo
July13
Finally the art journal page is completed! I hope you like it – i made it for Juliana – the winner of my Gemini Birthday Contest giveaway. The face in this video was created in a previous youtube video so do check it out as well. In this video i create a small shrink art charm to add to the journal page. I hope you like it!
Okay so I’m off on holidays however i will be periodically posting blogs and photos for you to see! I’ll be kayaking, hiking, soaking in the sun and enjoying the quiet of the Sunshine Coast! Back in two weeks!
Take care – have a great weekend.
Love, Violette xo
July12
I liked the art journal page i created yesterday so I decided to print it off and glue it to the front of a new composition book (those inexpensive books for taking notes? Click on the link for more ideas on how to cover these books). I love repurposing pages that are favourites. When i have an inspiring cover on a blank book I’m more likely to use it – how about you?
I glued the page to the book with mod podge. I dropped a puddle of mod podge onto the cover and scraped it on with a discarded credit card for even coverage. Then i carefully placed my printed journal page on top smoothing it out making sure there were no bubbles.
I added some fine glitter to a couple of spots – dabbed some mod podge on first to adhere the glitter. You need fine glitter for this step otherwise the tape on the next step will poof out. Next i used strips of clear packing tape over top to make the cover more durable. For that funky look i adore so much i decided to add a checked decorative duct tape to the spine. Voila! I have a colourful and inspiring notebook to store ideas and notes in! 
Here’s a little idea you might want to pay attention to – give your glued cover some time to dry (probably at least 2 hours) before adding the packing tape to it. In my haste to have this book ready to photograph for you this morning I put the tape on before the glue was dried – check out the discoloration on the woman’s neck. I poked a couple of pinholes in the area and hope the glue will dry.
Free Mixed Media Workshops
If you are looking for a bit of art inspiration and instruction you might want to sign up for Strathmore’s Online Workshop Series. You can sign up for Traci Bautista’s or Cathy Johnson’s class – both excellent classes. I know that the Summer is a slow time for many people – it’s the perfect time to hone your skills and learn a few tricks to add to your artsy toolkit.
That’s it for today – I’ll be babysitting my wee grandson Cillian this afternoon! See you tomorrow!
Love, Violette xo
