Escaping to the Beach on a Relaxing Sunday.

This past weekend had a relaxed feel about it, we all took some time for rest and rejuvenation following a whirlwind of a January.  My dad had been rushed into hospital for emergency surgery so it was a bit stressful for a few days mid month with all this taking place unexpectedly.  The following two weekends saw us with some of our regular kids having respite care with us, so it was a hive of activity, going to the movies, board games, bush walks and a little crafting too.

Sunday was all about enjoying the day, from the smell of mowed grass, to the clouds passing overhead and the birds happily bathing.  I was so relaxed it had me dreaming of the beach on one of our favorite holiday destinations Boambee on the Coffs Coast.  We didn't make it there in person but I did escape there with my Pan Pastels for a wee few hours.

A bit of a close up of one part of the beach.

On Boambee Creek you'll find the Boambee Nature Reserve, a very tranquil spot with calm water, lots of sheltered picnic areas, a cafe and great playground, all of which is just perfect for kids and adults alike.  It's just a short stroll around the headland to the surf.

You can take a kayak out on the water or play in the sand, and it was between these two sand dunes in my artwork above that we spent many a hour building sandcastles on our last visit there.

Some More Art for Inspire Your Heart with Art Day

Yesterday I gave myself permission to disappear for a few hours into my creative haven and simply create for the joy of it.......with nothing in mind other than I was going to use the soft powdery colors that are known as Pan Pastels.

I not only gave myself permission but my husband told me to go and do it too!  He is wonderful and so very supportive of my creativity.  My post yesterday showed one more abstract piece I created with the higher consciousness of our minds in mind, and my second piece which I am sharing today had a similar theme and color palette.  The colors of our Chakras.

Green is the color of the Heart Chakra and it is when we focus on Love, the giving and receiving of it that we will obtain a true state of 'all is good in the world' and be at peace within ourselves.  I love how the face (Andy Skinner Stencil) draws you in to this piece.

Just after completing this piece we had a big thunderstorm pass overhead, luckily the hail was carried with these storms elsewhere, but there is always something about the sultry colors and the beauty of a freshly drenched landscape that I love.  While glancing out the window I spotted a butterfly, and all of this inspired my piece below.

I have played with a few different stencils and blended lots of color into the background, before further layering of the leaf stencils and colors.  My butterfly is hand drawn.  I have called this one Take Flight. Which is what I plan to be doing in a creative sense over the coming year.

I hope you have found sometime to do the things you love this weekend!  And don't forget there is still time to link up with the Unruly PaperArts Inspire Your Heart with Art Day Event.

Heart Inspired Art with Pan Pastels and Stencils.

Today is Inspire Your Heart with Art Day - so I found some time to play with this in mind over the past week.  We are celebrating this day over at Unruly PaperArts too, so I am linking these up there also.

My biggest love when creating is simply playing with color and going with the flow........letting myself be in the moment.  Very often I have no idea what I am going to create I just start playing with the color and it goes from there.  I find the more I try to create to a certain criteria, or force things it just doesn't happen and there is no joy for me.

This first page A3 in size is using Pan Pastels and Paints along with a new Stencil - Loose Women #3 by Sue Pelletier from Stencil Girl.  My stamped Sentiment is from Rubber Dance Stamp Co who are the February and March Sponsors over at Unruly PaperArts.  I have been using this sentiment a bit lately.  After creating this one I used it as an example last weekend to create with one of the foster children we do respite care for.  We create together often and I so enjoy this time together.  She did her own take of this using this stencil and her favorite colors, and sentiments.   On her's she added her name and that 'God Is Love..'.  

I have an affinity with circles and as some of you may be aware, of late I have been taking a more spiritual path in life so my Second Play had all this in mind.  It is A3 in Size (forgive me the photo isn't straight) and done with Pan Pastels and Pastel Pencils.  I am calling it Unlocking the Higher Consciousness.  It incorporates all the colors of our chakras, and the various stencil patterns used to represent the movement and way color floods into our consciousness (and how I see them) when we are tapping into our inner self through meditation.  Various stamps (from the Rubber Dance Stamp Co) have been used to represent the unlocking of the consciousness, and the finding of our higher self.  This is so much bigger than ourselves in our physical form hence the small physical body representation in the bottom corner.  The use of black represents the presence of doubts, fears and confusion that still can occupy our minds as we try to reach that higher state and just be.

As mentioned I am linking up this post with the Inspire Your Heart with Art Day Link Up at Unruly PaperArts.

I'm still here!

Hi Everyone!  Sorry it's been a bit quiet here on my blog but once again I have been struck down by the dreaded flu and have spent the past week in bed mostly........this time it got the better of the rest of my family too with both my mum and hubby ill.  Not good when we are fast approaching the date we fly out to New Zealand......I have still got a to-do list a mile long.

Anyway I am popping on today to let you all know that this month the Altered Pages Team are partnering with Pan Pastels and my first project is now live over on the blog.  It also includes a video showing my recent play in layering and mixing them with other mediums.

The exciting news is that simply by leaving a comment on any blog post this month puts you in the running to win a wonderful set of Pan Pastels for yourself.  The more times you comment the more chances you have to win.

Here's a look at a little of my inspiration for my play too.......my little hybrid friend who has become a daily visitor and is not afraid to be only a short distance away from me,  

I am not sure how many posts I will be doing before heading off, but I will try and bring you a couple of posts with photos of our trip whilst we are away.

Fairy Friends

Hi Everyone!  This past week I have fallen back in love with a fairies and actually went on a wild adventure in search of one.  I went to where the wild things are.  You can see just what I saw while on my journey over on the Altered Pages Blog today as we team up this month with Sin City Stamps.

Here's a sneak peak of where I went.

I want to go where the wild things are - one of my first plays with Pan Pastels

And whilst searching for fairies I found some more and just had to use them to create some framed ATC's which I will be giving away next month when I go to NZ to meet with some of my crafty friends.  These delight creatures are from the Butterfly Fairies Collage Sheet from Altered Pages.

Supplies Used:
Cardboard for ATC Backs
Leftover Paper Scraps
PaperArtsy Grunge Paste
Distress Inks/Stains
Staz On Inks
Small Flower Stamp
Various Embossing Folders & Hand Carved Stamps for Impressions
My Own Hand Carved Stamps
Fairy Collage Images
Dew Drops
Perfect Pearls
Gel Medium

Thanks for stopping by.