How to make very fake washi tape

I have purchased only one roll of washi tape ever. Do you know why? There are so many choices, and they are reasonably affordable, and I have a problem choosing. I tried ordering several times, got lost in all the colors and patterns and gave up. I decided to make my own, very, very fake version using just three things: 1 collage sheet printed on regular office paper, a paper cutter and tiny xyron sticker maker.

 It couldn't be easier. First I cut my paper strips.

 Then I admired them.

 Pulled them through the little machine.

 Made a long roll...

I even put two smaller strips of paper at once (to preserve the tape). I doesn't bother me that one of them slipped a little.

 At the end I trimmed them with regular scissors. And now I have a nice stack of colorful paper snippets. They really are not anything like washi tape, except that the size is similar and that is so easy and convenient to tear a piece and put it somewhere.

I already started using them in my journal. Fun!

Click here to see how Cameron used her Xyron machine :-)

Angel Giveaway

My messy backgrounds transformed into textured, happy angel paintings.

Because you can only feel good energy while you paint angels, I painted them to forget my aches and pains and it worked. And since they helped me, I thought I might share them with someone else. Therefore - a giveaway! 

 The one that holds a home (and everything that it symbolizes) will go as a gift to a dear friend.

This other one, as a gift to you. Just leave a comment (and email, if your email doesn't show in the comments section), and I will pick a random reader next Thursday (May 3rd).

The photo above is a scanned version of the painting without the final layer. The photo below is not a scan, and it has a lovely, thick layer of encaustic medium. It's really hard to see in the photo - it looks blurred and a little washed out, but in life that layer simply makes me happy... I love looking at it and touching the surface. Hopefully, whoever receives the painting will love it too.

- 8"x18" on heavyweight watercolor paper- 

If you like them, don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Have an amazing weekend!

I woke up with a headache and a painful knee. I wonder if it could be because I skipped my afternoon coffee yesterday? The headache I mean, not the knee... that is probably because I wore my new shoes and my knee didn't like them. Anyway, I didn't want it to ruin my day, so I quickly made a green juice (kale, parsley, carrot greens, apple, celery, lemon, cucumber) and sipped it outside while filling my eyes with tones of pink, cream and green.

Then I jumped into lovely messy painting. I don't see the angels there yet, but I will.

Before I covered my hands with ink and paint, I painted my nails with a completely irresistible sparkly-with-tiny-hearts nail polish. I put some in my journal too (you can see the hearts, but not how sparkly it is). It doesn't matter that it is completely inappropriate for my age, because my nails are now covered with blobs of gel medium and blue ink and no one can guess that I was playing a four-year old just an hour ago.

Three more things:

1. I love how this phone app can make rounded corners! Easiest thing ever!

2. On May 1st, I will be closing one of my etsy stores, the one where I sell my big paintings.  I  have a 20% discount sale going until then, so in case that there is something you like, now is the chance.

3. My headache didn't go away, my knee feels like it will lock in place or something like that, but somehow I'm feeling better anyway.

Hope your days is un-painful!

Weekend snippets

The weather was warm, sunny, perfect and we spent a lot of time outside enjoying it. Now we are back to gray, windy and chilly but the happy colors are still dancing in my eyes. 

Journaling

I found out that, while I prefer the messiness of my studio to create artwork, I need clear space to be able to write. This is the first rose I picked up this year. There are hundreds waiting to open (it must have been all the rain we had, I've never seen so many buds).

I love my journal! I love my journal! I love my journal!

Once I start writing, I can hardly stop. I also enjoy being able to play with different techniques and experiments. In tone of the spreads below you can se "flower" things, that I made from nail polish marbled paper (thanks to amazing Carla Sonheim). I didn't show the close up, but it's really interesting. I really wouldn't know what to do with that paper, except put it in here where it makes me smile. You can also see that I tried making stencils like Judy Wise. I used pictures of my Mom and myself, and while they are far from perfect, I somehow immediately feel comforted when I see them. 

I am still figuring it out, going with the flow and trying to see how I can tie in my style and make it completely my own. I am also trying not to overthink it... which, I am afraid,  is becoming a habit.

Soon I will have to relearn how to actually think :-)

Happy weekend!

Focused

 I became a lazy blogger again... painting and playing, but not showing.

That is changing today. I am going to blog so much that you will run away screaming!

I finished the big (72" x 36") commissioned triptych. 

So funny to think that six years ago I wrote on my blog: "...you mean to say that art squared (4" x 4") is not BIG? Everything that's not ACEO format is big for me."

 It was very true at the time, I remember feeling lost in anything that was larger than 2.5" x 3.5". And while I still love the little format, painting big is wonderful too.

The above picture shows the 3 canvas boards that I used to test the colors (9x12") on top of finished canvases. My studio is so small, that I had to go through different acrobatic techniques to paint it, but I really enjoyed it and hope to do something similar again.

This feels good

This is what feels good right now.
Thinking about stuff, but not thinking about what my hands are doing.

Today I didn't want pretty art, I just wanted to hold a brush and move some colors.

Opening paint bottles felt like too much, so I used crayons and white acrylic and attacked my little journal. I used just one, very tired looking brush. Simple.

"Art is not about thinking something up. It is the opposite — getting something down" - Julia Cameron.

That's exactly what I was doing today. 

Do you make messy, not-meant-to-be-pretty art? Does that relax you or makes you feel anxious?

Happy Easter! I hope you're having a lovely day :)

Happy April!!!

I still suffer from a lack of words, so I'm just trying to stay connected with little paintings...