Thoughtful Thursday

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10 Ways to Share the Happy

Everyone can use a little cheering up, especially these days. So I’m sharing with you a few thoughtful ways to brighten someone’s day. Again, these are just ideas to help get your creative minds going:

  1. Help a neighbor in need by bringing them a meal.
  2. Call a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in a while and chat for a while.
  3. Create a bookmark with inspiring words and leave it in a library book for someone to find.
  4. Buy the person behind you in the coffee line, a cup of coffee or a cookie or both!
  5. Create a small piece of happy art and leave it in the park or by a tree for someone to enjoy.
  6. Let someone having a tough day go in front of you at the check out.
  7. Buy a small bouquet of flowers and give them out to those who need a little happy in their day.
  8. Hold the door open for someone who needs a helping hand.
  9. Leave a note with kind uplifting words in a friend or family member’s bag to brighten their day when they least expect it.
  10. Smile at the beautiful souls you pass by throughout your day!

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” LaoTzu

How are can you brighten someone’s day?

Thanks for stopping by, Share the Happy!

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Here’s another idea, give your loved one a morning greeting with their coffee!

Thoughtful Thursday

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY

Words of Wisdom

I am a collector of quotes. They inspire and motivate you and touch your heart and soul. These are a few of my favorites from “Inspirational Quotes illustrated” by Lesley Riley.

This book quickly became one of my favorites. Lesley did a magnificent job collecting 130 quotes and paired them with beautiful illustrations by various artists. The pages in the book are perforated so you can easily tear them out and frame them if you like.

Click on the above image to go directly to Amazon

“We are not human beings have a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” ~Helen Keller

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as the attitude you bring to life.” ~Khalil Gibrain

“Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” ~Emory Austin

“We have a tendency to obscure the forest of simple joys with the trees of problems.” ~Christiane Collange

What is your favorite quote?

Thanks for stopping by, Share the Happy!

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Art at the Speed of Life – Texture Journal Page

This is another fun page I created from Pam Carriker’s book “Creating Art at the Speed of Life.”

I love how she put this book together with a lesson for each day of the month. It really keeps you going with fun and interesting projects. It always amazes me how much you can learn when you look at supplies and techniques from another artists perspective. It’s the beginning of yet another fun art adventure!

Since this page was created from her book, I can’t go into detail on how it was made. But I encourage you to up a copy and check it out. This is definitely one of my favorite mixed media books!

To find out more information about Pam visit her website PamCarriker.com.

Thanks for stopping by!

Share the Happy!!!

The one who falls – Journal Page

The year seems to be flying by. Stores are displaying fall decorations and before you know, Christmas will be here. So I’m slowly starting to transition myself from summer and into fall. Although I’m a little sad to see summer go, I’m so ready for the cooler fall temps.

I created this spread in my 5.5″ x 8″ Strathmore Mixed Media Journal. I started by coating the pages with white gesso and letting it dry. Next I used Yellow, Fuschia, Orange and Red acrylic paints for the background. Once that was dry, I used black acrylic paint for the tree. Using a white Posca Pen, I added a little detailing to the tree. I went into my paper stash and found pretty shades of green, yellow and orange that I cut into very small leaves and glued them to the pages. I added a little detailing to the leaves with a Sakura Micron Pen 03.

I found this quote which I thought went pretty well with the falling of the leaves: “The one who falls and gets up so so much stronger than the one who never FELL.” I typed it on my old singer typewriter and used pink washi tape to adhere it on the right page.

I stamped a bird with Black Staz On Ink to the right page along with a few circles in pink acrylic paint. I also sprayed a little watered down white acrylic paint to the pages. I distressed the edges and last, I added Stickles to the tree for a little bling.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy creating your journal pages!!

Share the Happy!!!

Empower Yourself – Mini Book

I took an online class by Joanne Sharpe called Art Sparks 1 through Ruzuku.com. It was such an awesome class. Joanne is a very talented artist and an excellent instructor!! I love her work and have been a big fan for a long time.

I can’t go into detail on how this was made but this little book measures a whopping 2.25″ x 3.” I’ve never made anything this small, so it was quite a challenge. But it really pops with lots of colors. And of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little bling to the pages with Stickles. There are lots of mistakes, lol, but that’s what makes it unique.

I had lots of fun playing and experimenting with new techniques Joanne teaches in this class. I highly recommend taking Art Sparks 1. She also launched Art Sparks 2 & 3 which are available on Ruzuku.com as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Share the Happy!!!

Thoughtful Thursday

The Rabbit Hole of Negativity

Life today seems crazier than ever. There’s a lot making us unhappy and even a bit snarky. Sadly, the snarkiness tends to run downhill and hit our family and friends right in the face. It’s easier to be angry, afraid and unhappy. It’s kind of how our brains are wired.

But I find it hard to believe that we would rather feel these negative emotions on a daily basis versus being positive. Life has been throwing a lot us curve balls lately and nothing is going according to plan. But when you find yourself going down that rabbit hole of negativity, what do you do?

I recently came across a quote by a great life coach Brendon Burchard: “We can all have a bad day. But if we choose to live there, we’ll have a bad life.” This is so very true. Years ago I would fall into that rabbit’s hole, and honestly, I would be there for a while. It wasn’t until I started reading life changing books about letting negativity go that I got better at stopping these thoughts in my mind and changing my perspective.

Even with all the years of practice and the knowledge I’ve acquired, I still fall down that rabbit hole every now and again. But when I catch myself, I quickly climb out. I no longer hang out there. When you’re filled with negative thoughts, you can’t go forward and take in the happiness waiting for you on the outside.

One of my practices is to put a spin on a bad situation and get something good out of it. You know, find that silver lining in the cloud. It’s always there, but sometimes you have to look a little harder to find it. You can also go outside for a few minutes and soak up some sunshine, meditate or create art. There are lots of things you can do to change your mindset and “Choose” to be positive.

So, how do you get out of that rabbit hole of negativity?

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Words of Wisdom Bookmarks

I created a handful of original watercolor bookmarks with positive quotes for my Etsy shop:

FlowingWatersArtShop

Each one is unique, no two are alike. They are available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds going to the ASPCA.

Attitude Journal Pages

I am a collector of quotes and really love this one. As with a lot of things these days, your attitude is everything. How you choose to deal with and handle a situation is entirely up to you.

I created these pages in my Strathmore Mixed Media 5.5″ x 8.0″ Visual Journal. I like the pages because they are fairly thick and can handle the paints and pastes well. I started by coating each page with white gesso. Once dry, I lightly painted the background with the Jane Davenport Mermaid Ink Pens and distressed the edges.

Next, I used a wave stencil and applied Golden Fiber Paste. While the paste was drying, I traced and cut a sand dollar using a wooden stencil I found in the craft store. The paper for the sand dollar was made from a piece of background paper I created a few weeks ago and kept in my stash. I glued a piece of vellum to the back of the sand dollar to cover all of the openings in the center. I added detailing to the sand dollar using a white Posca Pen (these are by far, the best white pens I found).

After the paste dried, I used more of the Mermaid Ink Pens to paint the waves but I made the colors bolder on this layer. I couldn’t resist adding Star Dust Stickles to a few of the waves for a little bling.

Last I printed my quote on the computer and glued it to the page. I drew a few birds on the other page, glued my sand dollar in the journal and that was it. These pages are bright and fun and full of texture!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy creating your journal pages!!

I am what I choose to be

I’ve been collecting inspiring quotes for some time now. I needed to find a use for them so I thought it would be fun to create journal pages with them. I made these two pages in my 8.5″ x 11″ Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal

To start, prep your pages with a coat of white gesso and let it dry.  Pick 3-4 colors of acrylic paint and paint your pages. I painted the background first. Once it was dry I distressed the edges. Next I used a few of the lighter colors of paint to add some fun shapes to background using a bottle cap and a pencil with an eraser. 

When this layer was dry, I used a white Posca pen to draw a few organic doodles. I’ve gone through a lot of white pens trying to find one that worked on various surfaces. Needless to say, the vast majority didn’t work well or just stopped working altogether. The white Posca pen has become my favorite. I’ve had this one for a little over a year and it’s still working great!

The next step in creating these pages was to choose a quote. I chose this quote by Carl Jung, “I am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to be.” It resonated with me so I printed it on the computer and glued it into the journal. I then outlined each part of the quote with a dark marker. The last step was to add dark green Stickles for a little bling and that was it!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have lots of fun creating your journal pages!!