It's what we do AFTER we fall...

 DAY TWO OF THE 100 DAY PROJECT:

Hi friends!  Today's journal spread was inspired by a writing prompt.  In the Book of Days workshop, we receive daily writing prompts based on a theme for the month.  It's a great tool for self-inquiry. The prompt for April 15th really got me thinking, and here's what came out...

The prompt was:  What is your relationship to power?

Right away my mind went to the subject of self-power, or sovereignty.  Without going into the gory details, let's just say there have been times in my life when I have given away my power.  It's been a journey, for sure, but I'm in a great place now, and I wanted to explore that further.

Here's the process I went through to do just that...

First, I scribbled out all my thoughts in pencil on the page.  Then I covered them up with various colors of paint...

I added words intuitively that fit my feelings on the subject...

After that I stenciled and wildly splashed more paint around to make a colorful background...

I wanted to put an image on the page that represented how far I've come in my relationship to my own power, and a lion came to mind.  I am lion-hearted!  Yes I am!  I set about to bring the lion to life. I mixed acrylic paint with liquid acrylic ink, to keep the colors (both the background and the lion) translucent.  I gave her green eyes to represent my spirit within her. Here's what came out...

After that, I found a quote on pinterest that fit perfectly.  I wrote it on the page with a sharpie poster paint marker, added a few more details, and here is the finished page...

"It's What We Do After We Fall..."

Here are a few closeups...

The whole process was really empowering and fun!  I am so proud of my lion-hearted lion!

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I will be back tomorrow for day 3 of the challenge!

I wish you a wonderful Wednesday!

We're Off and Running...Day ONE of the 100 Day Project!

Hey everyone!  I'm excited to share my first page for the 100 Day Project!  This one is kind of a title page, or intro page for the project...

 The Get Messy group actually gave me the inspiration for this page.  One of their current prompts is "Right Now..." which was absolutely perfect for me today!

The border is done with pieces of painting underpaper, text and photocopies of my art.  The background is liquid watercolor and neon watercolor markers.  The journaling talks about my excitement for the project, and the guidelines I have set for myself.  I set the guidelines to provide a sense of structure, which helps my swirly brain stay on track!

Here are my self-imposed guidelines for this project...

1. I will complete one journal page each day.
2. Can be any type and any size.
3. I will try to stay one day ahead, so that I can post the pages at 12:01 am on the appropriate day. For example, I did this page on Monday, so I can post it on day one (tuesday).
4. I don't have to do the pages all in one sitting, but I do have to finish one page each day and post it on instagram.

On instagram I am @shelleyrydellie, and my hashtag for this project is #100journalpagesforshelley2016. This year I will try to post here every day too.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my excitement!  It's so much fun to stretch yourself sometimes!

Have a wonderful day my friends!

It's Time for the 100-Day Project Again!

Hi friends!  I'm so excited because tomorrow is the start of the 2016 100 Day Project, and I am going to participate again!  Yeayyy!!! I can't wait! Have you heard about the 100 Day Project? Here's the basic idea...

It's an instagram challenge, so really the only requirement is that you have an instagram account.  A big thank you to Elleluna, who is the organizer again this year! If you participate, you would want to follow her for all the latest info. Last year I did a journal page each day - you can see them all by clicking here.

This year I am doing journal pages again (of course, what else would I do?  HA).  I'll be using the hashtag #100journalpagesforshelley2016. My plan is to post them not only on instagram, but also on facebook and here on my blog. 

Are any of you playing along? Let me know and I will follow you on instagram so we can cheer each other on!

Thanks for visiting!  See you back here tomorrow for day one!

Gettin Messy!

Hi friends!  I joined a new art journaling group, and I'm having so much fun with it!  It's called "Get Messy Art Journaling."  I discovered it because the "30 Days of Lists" gals are partnering with them for a special thing called "Get Messy Lists," which started on April 1st.

Every week there are some list prompts and art prompts to get you creating.  Here's what I've done so far...

The first three are tip-ins and the last one is a full two-page spread.  All are in my April journal that I shared in my last post.  

It costs $10/month to join, but you get more than prompts.  There are different things going on all through each week, plus a fun facebook group to be a part of.

If you want to find out more about the Get Messy group - click here.

 That's all for today - I wish you a wonderful day!

Howdy Doody! Sorry for my Absence...

Hi friends!  I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted!  Eek!  Where does the time go?  I think I need a schedule to follow to help me get to regular posting again.

I still have a couple of pages left to complete in my first art-journal of the year, but I will get to them soon, and other than that it is complete!  I've had requests to do a flip-thru of that journal, so I will do that as soon as I finish those few pages. I've loved every minute of working in it!   Here's how that one looks right now...

As of April 1st, I started my second journal for 2016.  I made it in Roben-Marie's workshop called "The Artful Attache."  It was tons of fun!  Here's how it looks...

It has the same number of signatures as the last one (six), but this one is a larger format (9"x12" as opposed to 8"x10"), and I alternated between plain watercolor paper and collaged and stitched watercolor paper.  Also, instead of a week-at-a-glance format, this time I'm doing more of a daily free-flowing style. So far I'm having a blast filling it up!  Here's what I've got so far for daily entries...

I'm loving the free-flowing style, cuz I can change it up depending on whether I feel like painting or not...

 I can add in photos and ephemera if I have it...

and how many days fit on each page can vary depending on how much I have to say...

I can even work in online class lessons, like I did here, with a lesson from Radiant II - Art Journaling.  The girl with the blue hair's face is shaded completely with oil crayons.  I had never tried that before but it was really fun! 

I've got so much more to share, but that will have to wait for next time, since I want to get this post up for you right away!

I hope you are doing well!  I wish you a wonderful Wednesday!

Opposites Attract!

Hi friends! Today is my first day blogging for Nathalie Kalbach's Creative Squad!  Yeayyy!!! I'm so excited!!!

This month's theme is "Opposites Attract," and on Tuesdays, the squad is taking turns sharing projects based on the theme.  Each project this month, features Nat's new Bird Stamp and Stencil set.


Here's a sneak peek of my journal spread...

Click here to come on over to Nat's blog, and see the whole spread, plus the creative process behind it!  And say hi while you're there!  I'd love to hear from you!

January in my journal - the calendar part...

Hi friends!  I have two months of calendar journaling to share with you, but it's a bit much to put in one post; so I thought I will share one month at a time.

It's a little bit bit No Excuses, a little bit Documented Life Project a little bit Right Brain Planner, and some other stuff, all rolled into one.  I hope you enjoy the photo show!

I know it's a lot to digest, so let me know if you have any questions, okay?

Next time, I will share February's pages.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I appreciate you!

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!!!

Hi friends!  I'm super excited today cuz I finally get to make this announcement!

I'm going to be part of Nathalie Kalbach's Creative Squad!!!

Nat and I became friends back in 2007, through the Scrapping The Music challenge blog; and I have been following her awesome work ever since.  Nat teaches all over the world now, and has her own line of stencils and stamps, which we, as her creative squad, will be using to create fun projects to share with you!

Starting in March, we will be taking turns posting on Nat's blog every Tuesday.  When it's my turn to post on the blog I will always remind you here and provide a link.

In the meantime, I've just started playing with all of the fun new goodies!  No finished projects yet, but here's a sneak peek...

Nat has a post up today that announces us and tells all about what we will be doing!  I'd love it if you check it out!  Click here to go to the post.

As always - thanks so much for visiting, and for your supportive comments!  They mean a lot to me!  Have a great Sunday!

Musical Mantras: Shine...

Hi friends!  I finished my last January Artfully Inspired Life page, and I love how it turned out! The idea for the class was to do your journaling for the month on this last spread, but since I'm focusing on a music theme, I chose to do lyrics that included my word for the month - "Shine..."

Part of the fun of putting together this page, was finding all of my favorite songs with "shine" in them!  I can hear the tunes in my head when I look at this page, can you?  :)

Here's an AWESOME live version of The Remedy by Jason Mraz (where the first lyric comes from).  I was listening to it this morning and felt so inspired by it!  I think I am going to make a whole journal page with these words...


What do you think?  Isn't that a cool version?  I love the guy that harmonizes with him, and the way he slows way down for the chorus at the end, and well, just all of it! 

Anyhoo,  just in case you're in the mood, here's a link to my youtube playlist that's got all of these "shine" songs for January...

Musical Mantras for January - "Shine"

Thanks for visiting me today!  I wish you a super-duper Sunday!

Imagine Monthly...

Hi friends!  I'm taking a class by a teacher that is brand new to me, and wowza I am having a blast!  The class is called "Imagine Monthly," and the teacher's name is Paivi Eerola.

Paivi is teaching us that if you put tons of really simple things together, you get something luxurious.  It takes the pressure off, and makes the creative process stress-free and so so fun!  We get one lesson per month, for six months.  Here's what I've made so far...


I call this one "Earth Goddess..."

and I named this one "Secret Garden."

I can't wait to see what we are going to learn in March!

You can still sign up if you want to - click here to find out more about "Imagine Monthly."

I love Paivi's teaching style.  She's very kind and encouraging, and oh so talented! Paivi has another class coming up later this month called Inspirational Drawing.  I'm thinking I need to take that one too!

Thanks so much for visiting!  Have a wonderful Sunday, my friends!

Artfully Inspired Life...

Hi friends!  We're closing in on the end of January already - wow!  I've been working in my Artfully Inspired Life journal, and I'm excited to share how it's going with you!

The concept of the workshop is to artfully journal your year; but I had to change it a bit, since I'm already doing that in my Book of Days.  I decided to go with a musical theme, and focus on lyrics.  Each month with learn a new alphabet technique, focus on a new word (of our choosing) and then use the alphabet and word to create pages.  Here's what I've got so far...

Joanne's classes are always so much fun!  I'm excited to find out what's in store for us in February - it's almost here!

If you want to find out more about the workshop, it's not too late - click here to go to the info page.

Thank you so much for visiting!  I wish you a wonderful week!