☆ All She Wanted for her Birthday was a Pet Giraffe [Friday Art]

Tweet

I am ready for winter to finish up.

So ready!

I know lots of people feel this way towards the end of winter, but for me summer is just as bad.

The extreme temperatures finally take their toll, the harsh summer sun, the endless winter colds, the constant energy sapping sun, the feeling of never being cool or warm enough.

I seem to become restless, unmotivated, unfocused -  I go down to the studio, sit there for five minutes and them come back up stairs, finding no inspiration, feeling just bleh!

So on Wednesday I had had enough of my own company, and sat down to paint something. Even if it was a mess of colour + I found a sketch I had done weeks ago which I had planned to paint (weeks ago)

Awesome! It made it easier to just paint, the hard work was done + it was just a matter of process now, to become lost in the familiarity of the movement, the smells, the tinkling of brushes of the water jar.

Just what my soul needed.

'All She Wanted for Her Birthday Was a Pet Giraffe'

Does your soul need nourishment after the long seasons? We would love to know what your best Seasonal Rut Busting tips are?

Have a fab weekend!

Tweet

☆ Bean Turns Five ['Round Here Lately]

Tweet

 Miss Bean is Five.

FIVE.

Holy Smokes.

Where has the last five years gone. Was I asleep?

So my big girl is five, will start school next year + wants to be an painting teacher when she grows up.

And now she is five, her Barbies have come home from their lengthy holidays.

{some of you asked for this story so here it is...}

Since Bean was able to say the word barbie, she started hounding Mr Mac + I for her own barbie.

And while I don't have major issues with barbie dolls, although I do feel there are better toys out there for girls, I just didn't feel they were appropriate for a two + a half year old.

Plus I just couldn't be assed changing the cloths 100 times a day, putting on the shoes that keep falling off + rescuing them from a well intentioned hair cut.

So Mr Mac + I decided that when she was five she could have a barbie, but while I managed to stop the barbie onslaught from relatives + friends, a few slipped through.

Mean Mama that I am, I promptly sent them off on holidays, and they would come home when she was five.

So the night before her birthday I raced up to my mums, raided my old barbie stuff, found my sisters pink corvette + put them outside the front door, in the car with a suitcase.

When she came down stairs, I asked her to see who had been knocking at the door, it was really irritating me - this tapping, but I thought it was for her.

Her face - priceless! It made all the questions about when Barbies we coming home worth it.

So my beautiful Bean is now a 'big girl' - complete with her big girl attitude (and big girl tanties that go with it!)

+ I can't wait to see where the next five years take us!

Love Ya Jelly Bean!

Tweet

☆ Messages from your Soul [Lifebook 2013 week 23]

Tweet

This weeks lesson was again from the fabulous Tam Laporte. A mixed media/ journal style page, exploring the messages that my soul was trying to say to me.

The phrase that my soul kept whispering to me during this lesson was 

'WHAT IF I DIDN'T'

What if I didn't eat that chocolate bar?

What if I didn't stress when something went awry?

What if I didn't go to bed at midnight?

What if I didn't?....

This phrase is so much more powerful for me than what if I did?

For example, "What if I didn't go to the studio at rest time?", 

Well then I would feel guilty for wasting this precious me time, so I would sit on the sofa surfing or something like that, feeling guilty for sitting there, so now feeling like shit, I will head to the kitchen for something comforting to eat, oh look there's left over cake from Beans birthday, and and I need a coffee   so I may as well make a latte, and look there you sitting for two hours, wasting all this time + stuffing your face with stuff you are not even hungry for..... (oh my little bitch is so vicious at times!)

Another day I might ask that same question and have a totally different answer. 

I might have done all my planned work, I am reading an awesome book + a little tired because wee beastie is teething, so today it would be totally ok to not go to the studio.

So back to this weeks lesson. My soul whispered 'What if I didn't' + this is the page I created.

The cute whimsy bunny is the keeper of my whispers.

This journal page was created in my Dylusions journal, a mixed media collage, water colour crayons, graphite pencil + black + white markers.

Tam's lessons are always super fun + cute, while delving into some of my deeper issues. 

So what would happen if you didn't? Have you thought about this lately? What if you didn't? I would love it if you shared with me.

I am almost half way through lifebook 2013 - this is where last year, I became derailed + only sparadically did lessons, but I am not feeling like I should be doing the lessons, which for me means I am happily plodding along!

Have a fab week

Tweet

☆ Embrace your Fear [Friday Art]

Tweet

I started this painting last weekend. It is another journal page, (I am having so much fun playing in my journal at the moment!!) one that started with one set of feelings + emotions, but by the time I managed to drag my sorry sick self back into the studio, it became something else.

My sister is due to have her second baby, and true to form, baby 'Rosie' (as Bean christened the baby) is running late. 

So I was remembering those last days before the Wee Beastie arrived, how I would chant to myself in the shower 'Release' over + over, trying to let go of the fear, the worry + the control, and I was thinking about my sister, and where she would be in her head, ready to meet her baby, a bit worried about the upcoming labour, and all those hormones running amok, and this is where my journal page ended up...

'Some times when you Embrace your fear, something beautiful will grow'

So a deepish question for you this week. When did you last embrace your fear + did something beautiful grow from it? As usual I would love to hear your story!

Have a fabulous weekend.

Tweet

☆ August's Give Away Winner...... Is It YOU??

Tweet

Yippeee.

It's my favourite time of the month. 

It's time to announce this months give away winner.

Thank you so much for entering. I wish I could give you all a set! (but Australia Posts international rates might just bankrupt me!) 

So since I can't send you all a set, I want to offer you a 25% discount off my Christmas Cards + Christmas/ gift tags available in the LilliBean Designs Store at the moment. 

They are already discounted for you, so you don't have to remember to enter any fiddly codes at check out. 

And this is available for the next 25 days (til the 16th September.) 

And one last thing - it is available for everyone.

Anyway, should I stop blathering and tell who this months winner is?

Congratulations to....

Aloquin

Send me a quick email with your postal details + I will pop these in the post for you shortly.

Thank you to every one who entered this month - I greatly appreciate your lovely comments, support + enthusiasm. Next months give away will be available to enter September 5th.

I will be back tomorrow with a new journal page for Friday Art + hopefully a less cold infested head (and family) next week!

Tweet

☆ More Journal Page Play [Friday Art]

Tweet

I have had a super busy week, I have managed to finish off a few commissions, start a few more, organise + execute a family dinner for Bean's fifth birthday (Oh my baby is 5!), organise the return of her three Barbies who have been on 'holidays' for a couple of years (a long story I might share another day!).

But while I have been busy, it has been a good busy + an organised busy, so instead of feeling flat and uninspired and bone weary, I feel energised + accomplished + inspired.

So inspired that even after a whole day of painting yesterday, (thank you Beastie for being such a good baby + sleeping heaps!!) I went back into the studio after dinner + finished off this journal page, started a few weeks ago.

Sometimes everything comes together - colours, posture, an expression, some whimsey + last night felt like one of those nights...

How has your week been? Smooth sailing or have you been derailed? (oops mixing of metaphors here!) I would love to hear how it's gone for you!

(And speaking of leaving me a comment - I want to share with everyone, that I always try to email everyone who takes the time to leave me a comment, a reply, but sometimes I am unable to because apparently google + has changed settings + your email may have been changed to no-reply-bogger. So while I try to reply to everyone, I sometimes don't have the time search for an email address. So if you haven't heard back from me that may be why!)

By the way - have you had a chance to enter this months awesome give away? It has a week left to go - I hope you will pop over to enter!

[LINKING TO PAINT PARTY FRIDAY]

Tweet

☆ Divine Colour + Twinkling H2O's[Lifebook 2013]

Tweet

The lesson that I completed this week was by the inspiring Dion Dior and I was slightly excited to use for the very first time these twinkling H2O's by Luminarte.

I have heard so much about these sparkling water colour's and was so happy to use this weeks lesson as an excuse to by a small sample pack to play with.

(This one was about $20 Australian)

Now if you have never used these before, a word or two of advice.

1. Saturate the pot with water. (+ I mean saturate it!) It doesn't behave like normal water colours, you need to soak it + leave it for 10 to 15 minutes + it kinda melts.

2. Give it a good mix + and use heaps of colour on your brush. Think it's too much - I say use more!! ( a bit like cheese on your pasta - more, much more!)

I didn't and my painting, although nice, wasn't popping with amazing colours!

I went for a blue hue to my painting as that was the colour that spoke to me at that time - something about being creative + using my voice. And the subject we painted was flowers - which I chose my very favourite - Lilies.

I really enjoyed this painting lesson + I loved playing with the shimmering H2O's - although hard to see above, they really shimmer on the page (very cool!).

Have you used H2O's? What tips can you share with the rest of us? I would love to hear your stories.

And by the way, have you had a chance to enter this months give away?? It is so super easy + free to join in. I would love it if you popped on over...

Tweet

☆ A Some What Successful Experiment [Friday Art]

Tweet

Sometimes I am hesitant about taking risk when it comes to creating + my art.

I worry that an idea won't work + because the idea is just perfect in my head I don't want to spoil that perfect image by the reality.

That's a really sad statement.

While on my wee break I went through my dreams + goals that I made over the new year and I was really surprised to see that I could check off many of these goals (Yah Me!!) but there was one underlined so it would jump out of the page.

'Take more risks in my art'

And I hadn't done this.

So I went back to my note book full of crazy art ideas and picked one that seemed accomplishable, that if I spent very little time + the end was not what I wanted it would matter + that would be fun if it worked.

I picked one.

I wanted to paint a picture of a girl hidden by a veil. I wanted to paint the veil so that you could still see the emotion on the face, and I didn't want it to be technically difficult. And then I thought to get the texture I wanted maybe bubble wrap would work.

I didn't...

Well not really. Not like I had thought.

But it did give me a guideline + it did work out in the end + it was fun

So it was some what successful experiment.

And while I know this was a really safe risk, I needed to do a safe one first + I think I needed this to give me the kick to try a few more. Eventually you may see me take a really wild one!

Have you taken a risk creatively lately? I would love to hear how you kick yourself out there.

By the way - did you know this months give away is now open? So super easy to enter CLICK HERE to see more.

Have a fabulous weekend

[LINKING TO PAINT PARTY FRIDAY]

Tweet

☆ Augusts Give Away Time

Tweet

So I know it is only August, and I know that no one wants to talk about the dreaded 'c' word.

But I really, you can always use some Christmas cheer in your life.

And so this months give away is a set of six Christmas Cards.

These are super cute and perfect for a special note or to accompany a gift.

And it is super easy to enter.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and tell me you want it.

Thats it??

Yup.


But I you can also grab some extra entries.

Every one gets one entry by leaving an 'I Want It' comment below + you can grab:

  1 extra entry if you -  share or like on Facebook
          another if you - share or follow on Twitter
 and one more if you - subscribe to the monthly LilliBean Designs Studio News

Just let me know in your comment if you are eligible for extra entries (And if you are already do any of these let me know as you are already eligible for the extras!)

The winner will be announced on Thursday August 22nd - so make sure you tune back then to find out if you are a winner!

Good Luck

Tweet

Why a mini-vacay IS important....

Tweet

I'm back. 

I wouldn't say I am relaxed, rested or ready to jump back into the swing of things, but I have really enjoyed my mini-vacay. 

I call it a mini-vacay or mini-break, because I didn't go away anywhere, I didn't stop the daily scheduled family events, but I had a break from all things LilliBean Designs.

I was feeling uninspired and unmotivated + all I really wanted was to hang on the couch and read some really good books.

And so I did. I read some truly addictive books (I told Mr Mac they were like really good drugs. I just. couldn't. stop...), watched some truly awful television (why? WHY? I will never get that time back...), and I spent a whole evening pinning to my little hearts content, lost in the world of pinterest, pinners, and DIY (that I will never do) + I am totally unrepentant about it.

For two weeks, my usually busy brain switched off, I didn't check me emails first thing in the morning. I didn't have to do lists with ten, twenty things on it. I didn't even paint.

I wasn't paralyzed by the stuff I had to do.

But here is the awesome thing! I found that in switching off, some truly awesome ideas have sifted to the surface.

And because I switched off, I could actually take the time to explore these ideas.

And I can't wait to share them with you.

But not yet!! Soon though.

So anyway, here I am again! 

And I hope you will pop back on Thursday to see what this months give away will be + again on Friday to see if I actually managed to open the studio door and paint something for this weeks Friday Art.

I would love to know have you taken a mini-break from your busy life? How did you spend the time?Did you enjoyed it? Did you have some awesome ideas? Feel relaxed + refreshed? 

Tweet