Dexter's Welcome Home Day

A year ago today we welcomed our little Baby dog, Dexter,  into our home. We adopted Dexter from the ASPCA in Santa Cruz on July 10, 2012.  He's such a snugly love bug. I was never really a "pet person" before Dexter, but now I am obsessed.  He has 2 beds, a Kennel, a car seat, a toy box filled with pet toys, 12 collars (several holiday collars),and a fully stocked grooming kit (complete with puppy perfume).  Dexter even has his own blog (littledexter.blogspot.com)

He's so easy going and happy... its easy to spoil him.

Having a pet has been an amazing experience:

• We've met more of our neighbors. 
• I've learned to trust my intuition.... I have to stay tuned in to Dexter and the people around him to keep everyone happy.
• We've learned the power of patience and how to communicate ... Dexter doesn't talk so we have to use our energy and our tone to communicate the house rules.
• We've learned the importance of consistency...Dexter has allergies so we need to be consistent with his care and feeding to keep his allergies at bay and itch free.
• We've become more active...We have to walk him every day or there will be shoes with teeth marks by morning.

Today we will celebrate by sending a donation of goodies to the ASPCA. We hope more pets will find their forever homes this week and beyond. If you've adopted pets, I'd love to hear from you and your experiences in the comments below.

 

http://spcasc.org/donate/

Returning to mixed media on canvas

I'm returning to a canvas this week. 

I started this 24X24 canvas last year with the big idea to combine my style of art with my favorite quotes. I started this particular canvas with a specific quote in mind. I wanted the images and the letters to be beautiful,  clear and crisp.  I worked for a few days trying to figure out the best technique to present what I saw in my minds eye. I just couldn't get things to "click" so I  shelved the canvas for a year,

This weekend I felt inspired again to try to tell the story again.

This time I had a new quote and I decided to let things evolve in the moment.

I've let go of my "vision" for the painting and just stayed in the moment.

 I feel like I'm back in the groove. I'm not sure where this is going yet but I like it.  I'll keep posting photos of the process as I go along.

Daiso Art Supply Haul: Silicone Coasters

Coasters Make Great Stencils

Daiso is my favorite dollar store for unique art supplies. I found these cute coasters that will make great stencils for my art journaling projects.  It's the perfect size for popping in my art bag for creativity on the go.

 

Here are the coasters. There were 2 types. Both will give a slightly different impression.

 

Here is the stencil up close. The silicone will make it easy to wipe off and keep for a while.

 

 Sprayed a little Dylusions Ink Spray through the stencil/coaster.
I love the effect. Can't wait to try this out in my weekly journal.

Reminder: Juicy Soul Retreat - Sunday July 28, 2013

 Soul Scribble by Soul Pancake

If I could have a bullhorn for the whole world to hear I would stay...
CREATE MORE

It expands your sense of play, freedom and joy.

Make an appointment to play ...

Join us for the Juicy Soul Retreat - July 28, 2013
where we play and create in community.

.

Weekly Sketch Book Journal Pages

This week I'm inspired by Jenny Doh's Peace, Love, & Art blog post where I got reconnected to the joy of working on faces. When I started my art business many moons ago, I started with faces of women as goddesses. It is still something I enjoy creating but in the last year I stopped creating faces. I just lost interest in the subject and moved on to other things. This week I am inspired to return to faces in my weekly journal pages. Here is my basic starting point then I add color and texture to move it to the next level.  Let's see what happens!

It's the end of the week and boy did I struggled with these faces. Early in the week, I had a vision of finding delight and inspiration in each image. I looked forward to creating a new expression for each face. I was even going to swing out creatively and try some abstract touches like Jenny Doh's faces. 

The honeymoon was over on July 2 when I worked on July 2 and the frame work for July 5th.  Nothing seemed to work.

I didn't like the paint I was using, 

I didn't have the right brushes for the size of each image. 

I couldn't find a juicy enough pen to write over the acrylic. 

The faces looked warped or mean.

I was cranky and ready to scrap the whole thing. My thoughts went to ... " I could cover the whole thing with gesso and starting over."..but I didn't. 

Then I remembered ... I've been here before.

I forgot how the creative process looks when we try something new. 

I forgot how we  might judge ourselves too harshly when we are trying a new process

I forgot how comparing yourself to others or having specific expectations can block our own creative expression.

I forgot...I remembered and then I let go

It's just paint and ink on paper. 

It's just for me (and you ;))

By week's end, I was getting into the groove and surrendering to my creative style. I even started to like some of the faces. July 4th and 6th are my favorites.

Follow me on Instagram at reddragonflystudio #weeklyartjournal

Everything In It's Place..Linen Closet Shelf

Earlier this year I created a Vision Board for 2013.  It included lots of images of my ideal living environment. As I studied the images to get to the essence of what I wanted it boiled down to this. 

"Everything in its place and
a place for everything"

I'm always looking for new ways to organize my space and make it a more functional as well as beautiful. I want it to feel like a luxurious Five Star retreat. 

So today I took on my bathroom linen closet. Just the shelf with the towels. I was inspired by Alejandra's Home Organizing Videos on Youtube.  She is so inspiring about organizing I got excited about tackling a few areas of my house.  I started to look for spaces in my home to implement her techniques. 

I was particularly inspired by her "How to fold towels" Video and I wanted to try it right away.  I never really payed attention to how I folded towels before watching the video but the result is really cool. 

So here is my newly folded towel shelf in my linen closet.

Happy 4th of July and keep your pets safe.

Happy 4th of July!

Last year we liberated this our sweet little baby dog, Dexter, from the Santa Cruz ASPCA. We learned that a lot of dogs are put to sleep around the July 4th because the fireworks scare many dogs and shelters often get too full to keep them all. 

So this 4th of July,,,

• Keep your dogs indoors so they won't be scared by the fireworks.
• Make a donation of money or goods to the ASPCA in your local area.
  (Call them for their wish list items)
• If you have been contemplating adopting a pet,
  this would be a great time to step up your search.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Julie,  Andy & Dexter

Daiso Art Supply Haul: Drain Covers

Drain Covers make great Stencils.

I found these drain covers at Daiso. There are 20+ in a pack and they are fabric on one side and plastic on another. The fabric portion is adhesive so I will be able to use the actual stencil in my journal. Just peel and stick!

 Here are the stencils. I got two different patterns.

 Here I've sprayed a bit of Dylusions Ink through the stencil.

Here is the result. I like how some of the dots bleed a bit. That was due to the fact that the stencil was thin, curved and didn't lay flat on the page. Think next time I can  remove the backing and stick the stencil directly to the page to get a cleaner impression.

I might even try cutting the stencil to get different patterns.