Peek at My Week (April 12-18)

Another week in the books. Again, it's felt like my days are just being cut and pasted over and over. But, I've decided to start keeping track of a few of the little happy moments, joys, and surprises I find in each day that makes them stand out from the others - kinda like a gratitude journal. These may or may not make their way into these posts. We'll see. For now, let's take a peek at the week that was. 

Sunday was Easter, and though we couldn't go have the big family dinner that we usually would, I did try to ensure that the Easter Bunny stopped by with a few things for Pat and my niece. My mom surprised us by bringing a few gifts by herself. During this time of "shelter-in-place," I wasn't as happy to see her as I should have been. My worry genes kicked into high gear, but I sure do miss her! It was also Day 6 of #The100DayProject and I was to use stencils on my Gelli Plate. 

While the plate was out, I also wanted to try a specific technique of transferring magazine images. I had some luck!

That's the image from the magazine right on my Gelli Plate. So cool!!

I had to respect the beauty that was Monday.

It was a good day to get out and knock out the grocery-shopping! 

For Day 7, I was to use images from my stash, specifically Tim Holtz Paperdolls.

I picked the above doll from the Halloween collection, but I thought it worked well since there was a bunny, and it was the day after Easter. I let my intuition guide me for that page, and it came together perfectly!

By Tuesday, I realized that I had more blackberries than I knew what to do with. 

I kept trying to decide if they were going to go in a cobbler or get turned into jam. Finally, I just washed them and put them in the freezer so I could decide later. I'm still not sure. What do you think I should do?

Fiber/Fabric in the form of embroidery floss was Tuesday's task for the project.

When I added this material to my list, I really thought I was just going to sew something into my art journal. However, I was compelled to try something new.

Slow stitching!

I really enjoyed the meditative nature of this activity and kept it up for a few days last week. I'd like to do it more often too. I'm already itching to pull that needle through the fabric again. 

I also turned my desk into a soldering station to tackle a few projects.

It stayed in that state into Wednesday before I found myself just getting frustrated and decided it was time to put the soldering iron away until I was less irritable. 

My irritation didn't abate for Day 9 of the project.

Tape was the supply, specifically some Tim Holtz Design Tape I've been hoarding. While I adore the patterns on the tape, I found that it's slick surface meant that not much would stick to the top of it. However, after a while, I discovered that watered-down gesso left some fun water-stains so I used that to my advantage on the page. But, the spread didn't feel complete. I will be trying clear gesso on it later!

It was Thursday morning that I awoke with inspiration to fix the above page. And, it worked beautifully. I was so happy, that I began another page for Day 10. Using my Stabilo Woodys was the task for the day. 

I'm still a little tickled over the phrase I found for that one. My biggest happy for the day was that since I needed to upload a few videos, I went to do it outside one of my best friend's houses. She and my god-daughter came out to talk to me for a bit from their driveway while I stayed in the car. It totally lifted my spirits!

Friday was full of little sparks of beauty. First, I shared my contributions to the We're All Earrings challenge of making earrings that represent Home.

The earrings on the right were the main reason I needed to get my solder on earlier in the week.

Tissue paper was my medium for Day 11. And, I used a combination of white paper that I stamped two images onto to make a fairy and some patterned floral tissue paper. These two papers were applied to music paper with fluid medium to create this beauty!

I just had to incorporate her into a journal page.

My friend Tiffany of Southern Gals Designs mentioned getting inspired by things you find outside. She found some feathers, and I recalled some lacy dried hydrangea I had seen while picking blackberries that morning. 

I still haven't incorporated these into anything just yet, but I've got a few ideas. 

While Friday had been full of so much awesome, Saturday was rather dull. The weather was overcast and gloomy and made me feel rather lazy. I did knock out my task for #The100DayProject which was using my quote and word stamps. I simply selected several and stamped them onto various pieces of cardstock so I can use them when art journaling.

I'm always struggling to find new ways to add a sentiment, and this seemed like a great solution.

Now, let me share some other inspiration with you. Many of these are actually related to our current situation, so I hope you find them useful!

• Julie of Balzer Designs shared a list of 20 Art-related Things to Do While You're Stuck at Home. Perfect, right!?
• Here's another list, and this one blows my mind. It's so long! It's Creative Ways to Connect and Learn While Social Distancing. 
• These Stitched Butterflies and Insects from Emillie Ferris are really magical. 
• My Modern Met has their own list of Things you can Learn and Do While in Isolation. 
• Jewelry Making Journal shared a tutorial for making a Simple Leather Choker for Pendants. 
• Here's a Free Journal-making class from Julie of Balzer Designs!
• Jessica of Mad in Crafts has a list of some free Virtual Tours you can take. 
• And, from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), there are some Free Art Courses. 

So, have you found some great distractions and blessings to focus on? I'd love to know what's keeping you busy right now.