W is for

I guess this is the last of the easier letters, it's probably downhill from now on??

Today it is 'W' for 'Well'. This word is used in phrases that range from 'Are you keeping well?' through being 'well ahead of the others in the class' to 'Didn't they do well?' From my own point of view I always want to do things well. I don't necessarily mean perfectly, sometimes it is not possible, or practical, to achieve perfection. But if you have done a job well, and to the best of your ability, then that's all that can be expected of you. And we should praise others for doing well, after all it costs nothing to say 'Well done' but those two little words can mean so much.

When it comes to our own creative well what do you do to keep it full and how do you ensure that the ideas keep flowing. We all find inspiration in different ways - from books and magazines, blogs and Facebook groups and Pinterest (how to waste an hour or two creatively!!). Sometimes we need to go to a workshop or have a play day with friends to stimulate the creative juices. 

This tag was made today after having an inky play day of my own.

The background was created with Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters and Mustard Seed Distress inks using the acrylic block technique.  If you would like to know how to do this technique please read Glenda's Mojo Monday article.

Next a piece of copy paper was sprayed with Lemon Zest, Pure Sunshine and Fresh Lime Dylusions Spray inks. A second piece was sprayed with Lemon Zest, Squeezed Orange and Bubblegum Pink. After semi-drying with a heat gun it was set aside.

Making sure the tag was completely dry a strip down the right hand edge was masked off and then a border was randomly stamped down the side with the Leafy Trails Big Bold Background and a Versafine Onyx Black inkpad.. The length of the tag is longer than the stamp so it was re-inked and stamped again. With the same Distress inks a waterbrush was used to 'paint' over some of the leaves to give a varigated appearance.

The Leafy Trails were stamped on both pieces of the dried copier paper. Then a waterbush was run over some of the leaves and blotted with kitchen roll. This was repeated until some of the colour was 'bleached' out.. Several leafy branches were cut out and set aside. Once the leafy border was dry a soft graphite pencil was used to shade around the leaves to give a dimensional feel.

The cut out leaves were attached by randomly gluing the stems and fixing to the tag. By only adding glue here and there the leaves stand away from the tag. After stamping the word Truth from Artistic Expressions a pencil added shading. It was then finished with co-ordinating ribbon.

I thought I had better show up with some current artwork, just to make sure my own creative well was still working. What are you doing to feed yours?

See you tomorrow