These past couple of weeks have been filled with getting stuff done. I finally took a break from non stop doing and actually pulled out my planners and started planning and documenting. There is something about writing things down and getting some perspective on what actually needs to be tackled, the down side is seeing what actually needs to be tackled! Usually, my ToDo lists overwhelm me, but floating from one day to the next without direction makes me wonder what the he#& happened to my week. So, even though I’m retired, I still like having some kind of structure my day, and checking things off feels pretty good.

One of the things on my ToDo list is to get at least three page spreads done a week. This way I have something to share here and on the IG’s. It may seem like an odd ToDo, but reaching out on social media is part of my self care and mental wellbeing. Sharing and seeing what other people are sharing has become an important part of my world.

Then there’s this!

Sometimes clearing a space and getting more crap out feels like more work than it’s worth. So I will put something on to entertaining while I’m trying to motivate myself to get down to it. Well, when I was working on this I was watching a podcast by a couple of guys just talking about random funny stuff…and this is the result.

Now it’s not the worst page spread I’ve ever done. It’s whimsical and colorful, and I’m using up random bits, but it’s pretty reflective of what I was listening to!

Now this is more like it!

I put some inspiring music into my head phones and just created. It’s still whimsical and fun, but the feelings it invokes when I look at it are very different.

I am happy to say that my box of randomness is getting pretty empty and I’m starting to get into some of my better quality ephemera again. I guess I could just throw stuff away instead of trying to find ways to use it, but I l clearly enjoy a challenge!

Getting better still!

After trying the same technique here, something still seemed to be missing, so I softened the edges by finger painting on a little gesso then stenciling over that. I finished off with just a couple of images, and called it good.

All three of these were done in a two hour session and you can really see the progression by just changing what I was feeding my brain with. In other words, there is a time and a place silliness, but if I want to create something inspiring I need to listen to something inspiring.

Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Have a great week

Thank you for stopping by,

~Patty