Create Your Own Art Journal Pages Inspired by Love

"Love yourself. It is important to stay positive because beauty comes from the inside out." 

Jenn Proske  

Maybe I'm waxing nostalgic, but I came across one of my older posts and, even after so much time has passed, this post couldn't be more true.  Over the coming weeks, watch for my throwback posts where we'll revisit some of my favorites to inspire us today.

Lately, a particular girl has been popping up in my art journaling....

She was seen "Longing for Love" in this post:  

http://jessicasporn.blogspot.com/2014/03/art-journal-page-longing-for-love.html

"Making a Wish:"

http://jessicasporn.blogspot.com/2014/03/make-wish.html

and Finding Calm:

http://jessicasporn.blogspot.com/2014/03/one-little-word-calm-and-dream-tutorial.html

She's definitely been searching, doing a lot of thinking and exploring both her inner and outer worlds.   She took quite a journey in my most recent art journal page.  It started out with gesso over Terri Stegmiller's Curvy Stems stencil in my altered book journal.  For a while I thought this page would be about this goose, which was the photo over which I gessoed!

Even after I wiped green and yellow fluid acrylics over it, I still though it might be about the goose.  But then, I came home from a wonderful yoga class and post yoga tea and chat with Marcie Wallace, feeling so open to receiving the love in the universe, and so able to radiate that love right back out.  (Yoga can do that to you!)

So I quickly sketched this:

Then stencils came into play.  I used Six Point Starry Night to add stars to the sky, and Judy's Trees to add foliage to the earth.  I painted in a big yellow moon.

 

I used Michelle Ward's Circle Rays stencil to show the energy coming out of her heart.  (I mixed Zinc White fluid acrylic and aztec gold mica powder to make the rays very sheer.)  I wanted hearts coming to, and going from, her heart, and I had left on my table some motifs from my Flowers, Pomegranates and Leaves  project from Stencil Girl's newest release, which I posted about here.   (No scrap left behind!)

Some journaling..."I will open my arms wide and collect all the love the universe has to offer me and hug it into my heart and then offer it right back."

I hope you have a beautiful week and that this inspires you to love YOU and see yourself the way your loved ones see you.

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

         Visit Stencil Girl Products and RubberMoon Stamps to see all my designs!

If you haven't already - please connect with me here:

InLinkz.com

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

Unlock and Burst Through

I've been creating these stars as I manifest prayers and blessings for a very dear friend of mine who went into the hospital over the holidays.   So I apologize for not having new content to kick off 2017...

It was a rough weekend.  Emotions ran high; it was stressful.  It's almost like I could have written the following blog today, but this a throwback to 2012.  My daughter is grown up now, my mom older, I'm older... but the same self-talk rears its ugly head from time to time.  Funny how we continue to have the same struggles pop up over the years.  I hope this will encourage you to unlock and burst through moments like these.

"Today, I finished this art journal page, which is very inspired by the amazing e-class I am taking, Bloom True.  It says, "I will unlock, burst through or shatter the containers I have made with my mind."  I don't know if it's a little depression from closing the lake house or the transition into the school year and all the "to dos" that are cropping up, but I have had a very negative soundtrack running in my head.  It goes something like this:

• I'm a bad mother - I am often irritable and critical of Samy (my 11 year old).   I don't bake, do crafts with her, and so much of the time I just "vant to be alone," to quote Greta Garbo.   Is it horrible that what I really want to do is spend time alone painting?
• I'm a bad daughter - I am so often short-tempered with my mom.  I don't cut her any slack at all.  I feel bad about that, because really -- we're so much alike (which is probably why...)
• I'm a bad friend - I forget birthdays.  I don't stay in touch or reach out enough.  Is it horrible that what I really want to do is spend time alone painting?
• I'm not a "real" artist.  So much of my work is commercial - I don't trust my process, my intuition, my materials.  I'm not original...

Wow - just writing and re-reading this makes me gag a little!  When do I feel best?  When I am actively engaged in helping others -- like in our volunteer work in Guatemala, or when I am lost in my artwork.  Clearly, to be indulging in all this self-criticism, I have too much time on my hands.   ENOUGH!  As my friend Marcie would say, get out and walk the dog!  Burst through this container of self doubt and judgment and find some joy in nature!

Two good quotes for today:

"Life does not accommodate you.  It shatters you.  It is meant to, and it couldn't do it better.  Every seed destroys its container or else there would be no fruition." (from ThinkExist.com -- no attribution)

"When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure."  Peter Marshall

Question:  Do you have a negative soundtrack?  How do you turn it off once it starts playing?

Thank you for visiting! If you are so moved, please leave a comment. Hearing from you means the world to me.

         Visit Stencil Girl Products and RubberMoon Stamps to see all my designs!

If you haven't already - please connect with me here:

InLinkz.com

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

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