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How to Paint Watercolor Backgrounds
Have you ever wanted to paint watercolor backgrounds but didn’t know where to start? Do you feel intimidated about trying watercolor painting techniques? In this week’s Creative Foundations video I will be showing you how to effectively paint watercolor backgrounds. Watercolor as a Self-Care Activity Watercolor painting is an excellent self-care activity. It is a great foundational technique to use on cards and in journals. I often start cards and journal pages with a watercolor painting. Watercolor makes a great base layer. Not only is it quick and easy to do, the effect is very pleasing to the eye. Watercolor painting is very relaxing and meditative which helps foster self-care. The…
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4 Things I Learned from Failing Forward
This week I wanted to share 4 things I learned from and about Failing Forward. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that one of my goals for this year was to read 12 books that would help my mental well-being this year. My goal is to read one book every month and to share my impressions with you. I decided to start with one of the more difficult concepts for me, the idea of failure. Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell was a very enlightening read for me. His insight and personal awareness of how many of us are not equipped to fail successfully is…
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Creative Foundations: How to Blend Ink
Building a self-care habit is not that easy, especially a creative one. Taking the time for rest and restoration can be difficult. Our pace of life often doesn’t allow us to be able to take the time to slow down and make time for creativity. Creative Foundations With that in mind, I’m starting a new video series called Creative Foundations. In this series I will be exploring a variety of simple art techniques that are foundational to starting an artistic self-care habit. What is useful about these techniques is that they can build on each other. When used together, they end up being the foundation for creative mixed media art.…
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How to Start a Self-Care Habit
How do we start a self-care habit? This seems like an easy question but it’s not so easy to answer. There is often talk of self-care and how we need self-care. The question is how do we apply it in a personal way to our lives? How do we reduce the “noise” in our lives enough to allow us to find personal self-care? What is Self-Care? According to the dictionary self- care is defined as “The practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.” That sounds simple enough. Take an active role in protecting our health, well-being and happiness,…
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Art Journal Project “I’m Feeling Blue”
Today is Blue Monday and it is considered one of the most depressing days of the year. Instead of looking at Blue Monday as a depressing day, I believe that there are many reasons to have hope on this day. Yesterday I wrote an article about Blue Monday and the tools and strategies that I use to stay positive when I’m feeling blue. Being Blue As I was thinking about Blue Monday, I had a great idea for an art journal project. Instead of “being blue” as a prompt for depression, why not have it be part of something playful and joyful? I wanted to do an art page that…
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Blue Monday: Reasons to Hope
Tomorrow is the third Monday in January, also known as Blue Monday. This is considered one of the most depressing days of the year. How do we find reasons to hope and have joy on one of the most depressing days of the calendar? What about the other times that we feel depressed or sadness especially during the winter months? What is Blue Monday? Blue Monday was originally created by a public relations company. Using a rather unscientific formula, they determined why Blue Monday is one of the most depressing days of the year. The formula brings in factors of debt, weather, time since Christmas, time since failing New Year’s…
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Goal Setting: Creativity as a Prompt
A few weeks have gone by since most of us were setting goals or New Year’s Resolutions for 2020. Has it been a struggle to stay on target with your goal? Or are you still feeling really motivated and passionate about your resolutions? Personally, I’m finding some of my goals and habits easy to manage and others more difficult. I tend to procrastinate so it’s taking extra effort to ensure that I stay on track. So the question I have for you today is how do we keep moving forward to stick to our goals for this year? A Creative Way of Keeping Goals Visible An important part of trying…
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12 Books to Read in 2020
January has come very quickly and many of us have set New Years Resolutions for the coming year. One of my personal goals was to create a book list of 12 books to read in 2020. I love to read but I don’t always make time for it. My goal was to read books that would help me with my mental health and challenge me in the area of personal growth. As a way to help me with accountability, I will be sharing my impressions of each book with you. My hope is that these books can help you in your journey towards self-care this year. Choosing Books for Personal…
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Realistic Goal Setting and New Year’s Resolutions
As 2020 is just around the corner, the topic of realistic goal setting and New Year’s Resolutions comes up in conversation. Goal setting can be a struggle for me, but not because I’m unmotivated. On the contrary, one of my strengths is achieving. I tend to set impossible goals or have too many goals. For goal setting to be effective we must set realistic goals in a way that does not bring stress or guilt. Instead it should bring inspiration and motivation. Goal setting does not have to cause anxiety or be discouraging. It can be a powerful tool to help you meet your goals without punishing yourself. Why Goal…
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Coping with Anxiety during the Holidays
As Christmas Day draws near, there are so many things to do and so many places to be. This can bring with it feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious. Sometimes coping with anxiety during the holidays can be difficult. How do we find ways to lower our anxiety and find peace and meaning during this busy time? Having Anxiety is not Abnormal We all deal with anxiety at one time or another. It can feel like having anxiety is abnormal, but that is truly not the case. Considering the pace of our lives and the acceptance of busyness as a lifestyle, anxiety is an epidemic in our society. According to…
The Art of Self-Care
