Tag: #ArtLife

The Stitchin’ Circle

MessyMuffin.com has teamed up with Whit’s Whimsies to create The Stitchin’ Circle! If you are in or around the Lexington, North Carolina area and like to knit, crochet, cross-stitch, embroider, sew, tat, or otherwise work with either needle and thread or yarn, you are invited to bring a WIP (work-in-progress) and come join the fun!

Meeting the third Friday of each month from 4:00 to 6:00 PM (except June and December) in the Fiesta Room (located in the lower level of Reeds United Methodist Church, 4731 W Old Hwy 64, Lexington NC), we invite you to join us for good company and the simple joy of crafting something by hand as we relax, connect, and create together.

All skill levels are welcome. Light refreshments will be served. There is no charge to participate. Any schedule changes will be announced at our Facebook page.

Art Journal: Godliness Is

I’ve been posting my art journal creations on the Facebook page for #ThrowbackThursday. If you haven’t us checked out on Facebook, I’d appreciate you taking a look. If you like the content, please give it a follow.

Today, our #tbt post is this art journal entry from back in 2021, featuring a quote by Alistair Begg. When I read this quote, I feel challenged to ask myself whether I do, indeed, live “with an all-pervasive sense of God’s presence.” I won’t say I’m actively thinking of God every second of the day. However, since reading The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, I have a better perspective on what it means to live with a heightened awareness of God’s presence.

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Art Journal: Death Is A Part of Life

Way back on May 14th, I put up a #ThrowbackThursday post on my Facebook page. It included an art journal entry that I’d created on February 14, 2021. In that post, I promised I’d put an article here giving some insight into its backstory.

It’s been over a month-and-a-half. One reason it has taken me this long to write about it is because this piece has a tough sentiment. Death is a part of life. Not a popular thought. I think most humans don’t want to contemplate their own mortality. Death is a very unpleasant subject. And yet, death comes for us all at some point.

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The Sheep Rock

painted rocks for women's retreatIt’s been a long minute since I’ve done any rock painting. The last big batch of rocks that I painted was for a women’s retreat hosted by my church. That was several years ago. Each rock featured a faith-related word and some featured a simple design as well.

I have painted a rock on occasion since then. Those usually related to my word of the year (rest, grace, and listen, respectively).

My favorite rock is one of my very first. It has a large chip, so it wasn’t suitable for giving away, and I intended it to be a sample to show a friend to help them understand what I was trying to explain to them. It is my sheep rock.

rock with painting of a sheep, grass, and sky, with a purple heart over its headThis one simple image carries so many layers of symbolism for me. It calls to mind the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. I also remember that “we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3). It also calls to mind the imagery of Psalm 23, and it makes me think about the story in Luke 15:4-7  of the shepherd who leaves the flock of 99 sheep to go in search of the one who has wandered astray, to bring it back to the fold.

Above all these things, it reminds me that I an a child of God, and the Good Shepherd watches over me. If you’re a child of God, He’s watching over you, too.

2024 Word of the Year

Several years ago, I started hearing about people choosing a “word of the year” to serve as their focal point, guiding idea, or inspiration for the year ahead. The idea appealed to me, but unlike most of the people I heard about, I knew I didn’t want to be the one to choose my word, so I went to God in prayer.

I asked the Lord whether it was okay for me to undertake this, and if so, if He would please give me a word for the year and walk me through the process of using it as my word of the year.

When you pray, you should expect an answer – whether it’s yes, no, or wait. So I started paying closer attention to what was going on around me, believing God would either somehow communicate a word to me, or His answer would be a no. Before long, I realized a particular theme was being echoed in various parts of my life. That’s when I knew I was being given my word: REST.

I learned  a lot about REST that year. Not just the type of rest where you sit down or relax or give your body tie to recover, but also resting on God’s promises, resting in His Word, and finding spiritual, mental, and emotional rest.

Since then, I’ve had the words GRACE, BALANCE, LISTEN, FORWARD, and IGNORE as well. In each instance, I learned much – bout the word, about myself, about how God wanted me to apply it to my life, and how it shows up in His Word. There was one year He didn’t give me a word, even though I had asked for one. I stuck with what I was given the previous year.

For 2024, I didn’t ask for a word. I think I felt like I had enough going on. Nevertheless, the Lord gave me a word.
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Taste Test: Papier Plume Peacock Blue

Confession time: I bought a whole bottle.

I usually purchase a sample before I take the plunge on a whole bottle. However, the store’s swatch was so pretty, and the bottle was inexpensively priced. So, I went for it.

I’m so glad I did!

I was on the hunt for my perfect shade of orange fountain pen ink when I found Papier Plume’s Peacock Blue. I had already purchased some ink samples from my go-to, the Goulet Pen Company, and was browsing Vanness Pen Shop because they carry several brands that Goulet doesn’t. I’d never ordered from Vanness before, and I’d never tried a Papier Plume ink before.

The Peacock Blue was an entrancing turquoise, and the price point was low enough to tempt. So alongside some orange ink samples and a few other fun inks, I ordered a bottle of Peacock Blue.

Swatching the ink in my ink journal – a Midori MD A5 grid notebook – both the vibrant color and its shading stood out. This was a good impulse purchase.

When I decided to experiment with making my own shimmer inks to use with a dip pen, I picked the Papier Plume Peacock Blue as one of my experimental inks. I used a pipette to transfer around 3 mL of ink to a 5 mL plastic graduated vial, then added a tiny amount of Egyptian Green mica powder. The results were stunning. Unfortunately, my photography does not do the result justice.

Fortunately, Vanness has this ink available in either the 30 mL bottle that I purchased, or in a smaller sample size at 4 mL, if you’d like to pick some up to try. If you’re a fan of turquoise ink, I believe you’ll enjoy it.

Creative Journal Tutorial

A quick Google search shows that journaling has many benefits. For some folks, the amount of writing involved in a traditional journaling session is a daunting prospect. Creative journaling may be a good outlet for those who prefer less writing. It’s also good for short bursts of memory keeping.  Sometimes creative journaling is referred to elsewhere as “fauxbonichi,” a reference to the memory keeping style made popular by some Hobonichi users. I prefer to use the term “creative journaling.”

While you can certainly purchase and use a Hobonichi for your creative journaling, you can also take a much more inexpensive route. Whatever size and type of notebook you prefer works. If you are on a budget like me, you may want to try your hand at turning a basic composition notebook into a creative journal. These notebooks currently run $1.25 at DollarTree and just under a dollar at Walmart. If you keep an eye on back-to-school sales, sometimes you can stock up on them for much less.

stack of creative journalsSince fall of 2022, I have completed four of these types of journals. I am currently working my way through a fifth one.  I have taken inspiration from YouTubers Rebecca Hoot and Rainbowholic. Rebecca makes creative journals out of composition books, and Rainboholic does kawaii and creative journaling in her Hobonichis. I’ve also gathered inspiration from junk journalers.

PREPARATION
Some preparation is necessary before you begin to use your composition notebook as a creative journal. Please keep in mind that, ultimately, your journal is yours. Options that work for me may not work for you. Things that I love to do with my journals may drive you up a wall. I’m giving you some basic ideas. Run with them as your own creativity dictates.

BINDINGS MATTER
You can use a glue-bound composition book, though you will not want to remove any pages from it. Removing pages could weaken its structure and potentially cause it to fall apart completely. A stitched or sewn binding seems to work better for me. If you open the notebook and can see stitches between the pages, you have a stitched binding. The composition notebooks sold by DollarTree and Walmart are both stitched, though I prefer the ones from DollarTree because they tend to lay more flat.

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