Five Things for July

How is it July already? Let's relish every day with a good mix of work and leisurely activity! 

 

The beach we frequent in the Jersey Shore always puts up this installation during the Fourth of July. It's the American flag made from painted red, white, and blue seashells...TADA! I applaud the creativity and patriotism for all beach-goers to admire and enjoy. 

There's no such thing as too much ice cream and gelato, would you agree? A visit to our local ice cream shops like Dairy Queen and Van Dyk's help beat the heat and are always a welcome treat...TADA!

At home, I like brewing iced tea by mixing different tea bag flavors (this one is pomegranate and cranberry with black tea and honey). Sometimes I add some fresh fruit like berries and peaches for some natural sweetness (or tartness)...TADA!

Summer reading! Don't you love it? I borrow most of my books from the library and sometimes they have a library sale (for as low as $1). When I'm done, I donate my books to The Little Free Library...TADA!

If you're looking for a summer craft with the kids or your friends, try tie dye t-shirts...TADA! You can find the tie dye tutorial here. Make summer memories with cute souvenirs to keep.

May your July be calm, cool, and creative!

Sketchbook Practice: Drawing Manhattan's Oldest Tree

Hi there! Let me tell you about a drawing session that I attended last Sunday.

The venue was New York City's Washington Square Park. Here, you'll find the oldest tree in Manhattan (more than 300 years old). It's an English Elm and it's known as the "Hangman's Elm." Legend has it that traitors we hung from its branches around the time of the American Revolution.

I know, it sounds a little morbid, but I can only imagine all the stories this towering tree has seen. She's a real beauty! I frequent this park a lot but wasn't even aware of the history of this tree.   

 

The group Washington Square Park Eco Projects and artist Kristin Jones of Behold lead strangers like me who are willing to stop, observe, and draw Manhattan's oldest tree. 

The session was absolutely free! Sketchpads and pencils were provided, but you are welcome to bring your favorite art materials. 

We sat on the park benches that surround Hangman's Elm and just began to draw.

Different artists are invited to provide tips, techniques, and encouragement. This class was led by Jennifer Orkin Lewis (@augustwren on Instagram). I've been a fan of her use of color and whimsical style. Meeting her turned my day from blah to TADA!

I sketched several versions of the tree using different media:

My warm up exercise: a pencil sketch

My second attempt: sketching more details using green pencil

My third sketch using an ink pen

Another version: what if I painted a blue tree? I used blue watercolor
directly on the paper; I didn't do a pencil sketch beforehand. 

And still another version using watercolor and colored pencils.

For the final one, I went wild with the watercolor.

It was so much fun making different interpretations of the Hangman's Tree. You can take a look at other people's drawings on the @treewonderwsp Instagram account. It was also freeing to know that you can keep starting over if you weren't pleased with your first attempt and that even with the same subject, many different versions can come out.

I'd definitely do this again, especially when the seasons change (the dramatic leaves in autumn and the bare branches in winter).

If you are in New York City, why don't you stop by? They'll be at Washington Square Park's northwest corner every Sunday from 11:30 am to 1:00pm.

Let's keep practicing, stay creative, and transform ordinary days from blah to TADA! 

*****

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More Ephemera Envelopes

Hey everyone, I'm glad you're here!

Last week, we scoured our paper stash to make this ephemera envelope: 

It's a handmade envelope from the book "The Art of the Travel Journal" by Abbey Sy. It is folded in an origami style where the seams are sealed and embellished with washi tape. It's called an ephemera envelope because it's where we can safely store paper souvenirs like tickets and maps that we've collected during our travels. It's also meant to be included in our travel journal, as an analog way of memory keeping.

When I started making one, I just couldn't stop! Here are new versions using different sizes and kinds of paper:

These are made from hand-painted paper.

These are made from brown packaging paper and decorated with fodder and collage.

These are upcycled from a mailing envelope and decorated with stamps.

Make the ephemera envelope part of your travel journal spread.

Find other purposes for it, too: as an envelope for handmade cards or as a flat bag to wrap presents.

This is just one of the ways I transform paper scraps from "blah to TADA!" 

Have a good week ahead and if you want more crafty ideas delivered to your inbox, please subscribe here.  

How to Make an Ephemera Envelope

Hey everyone! Before we talk about our craft today, can I just share what I made last week? I participated in Workshop Week, a weeklong virtual creative retreat. I've been tuning in since it started in 2020 and it has always left me inspired and grateful for this community! It also reminded me to make time for art and that art can be a pathway to a fulfilling and lucrative career. 

I followed along during most of the sessions and incorporated miniature versions of them in my sketchbook as part of my daily practice:

The instructors made us feel we could do the projects even if we've never done so before. It was also exciting to learn about new techniques and tools, as well as having the right mindset: Don't overthink it; Trust the process; We're not looking for perfect. 

And really, Workshop Week is one of the highlights of my year, turning it from blah to TADA!

Now, on to our craft. Do you have paper scraps left over from other artsy pursuits? 

I keep all my paper scraps. I use them for making greeting cards, collage, envelopes and liners, and for scrapbooking. 

I group the paper scraps by size. The smaller ones go inside zipper bags and the bigger ones go inside plastic envelopes. I store everything in a plastic box and rummage through them when a paper project comes along.

Today, a paper project has come along:

 We're making an ephemera envelope...TADA! 

I got the idea from the book 'The Art of the Travel Journal" by Abbey Sy. She defines ephemera as "any form of printed matter produced for a specific short-term use. The word ephemera comes from the Greek work ephemeros, meaning short-lived." Examples of ephemera include tickets, maps, brochures, postcards, clothing tags, packaging material, coasters, paper napkins and the like. 

Collecting ephemera and including these in a travel journal extends their life and are powerful reminders of the trips we've taken. 

We can store these ephemera in an ephemera envelope that we can make out of our paper scraps. Here's how:

We will need rectangular shaped paper (ex. A5 or A6 size paper).

1. Fold the sheet of paper in half.

2. Unfold it, then fold each side into the middle fold, resulting in four even segments.

3. Fold the top outer edges towards the nearest fold, creating two triangles at the top left and top right sides of the paper.

4. Fold each side toward the middle. 

5.  Fold the bottom up about 1/2" (1.3 cm) to create a pocket.

6. Seal the center and bottom seams with washi tape.

7. Decorate the pocket envelope using stickers and rubber stamps.

We can now add this to our travel journal as a nifty way to organize all the ephemera we've collected during our journeys.

I hope this has inspired you to turn your own paper scraps from "blah to TADA!"

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Five Things for June

Let's hear it for the month of June!

June means road trips and weekends at the beach. The wind in my face, the scent of sunblock and salt water, and the warmth of sunshine really turn regular days from blah to TADA! 

Whenever I go to the beach, I make sure to bring a paintbrush. I use it to brush off the sand that sticks to the beach chairs, umbrella, and folding beach table that we take with us. It works on sandy flip-flops, too. This little hack minimizes the amount of sand in the car when we load all of our beach things...TADA! 

Back in the day, ladies and gents would take a handkerchief with them for various purposes, from dabbing sweat to wiping away the tears. I've made it a habit to take a small towel in my bag. These ones are thin but very absorbent. I use them to dry my hands (I've never been a fan of the hand dryers in public restrooms). I love that they are reusable -- no need for paper towels. Small steps like this are very helpful to the environment...TADA!  

Summer for me also means learning something new and having time for creative endeavors. For the past several years, I've been attending Workshop Week, a series of free online art classes. This photo shows the dance party on the last day (these are just some of the many instructors). I highly recommend it! Workshop Week is scheduled on June 3 to 7 and you can find more details here...TADA!

Father's Day is also this June (June 16) and if you're looking for craft ideas for the dad in your life, you can find some here, here, and here.  Happy Father's Day to all fathers and father-figures...thank you for all that you do to turn our lives from blah to TADA!

Wherever adventures take you this June, may they be fun and fabulous!

Sketchbook Practice: Paint Blobs to Birds

I'm happy you're here today!

Over the past months, I've shown you pages from my sketchbook where I make art just for myself. I've tried out collage, developing a color story, and drawing everyday objects like fashion accessories. It's a sketchbook practice to exercise my creativity and to make time for mindfulness even on a busy day. 

The empty page is always very daunting, but here's a new way to turn a blank sketchbook page from blah to TADA! I learned it at Sketchbook Revival from visual artist and creative encourager Terry Runyan. Her style is simple: make a blob and turn it into a bird.

On a blank page, Terry makes different blobs using a paintbrush and watercolors.

Then she adds more defined blobs like heads and tails.

Once the paint is dry, she adds more details with a black fineliner pen. She starts with the feet...

Then adds wings, feathers, eyes and beaks...TADA! That wasn't hard at all. Anyone can easily do this.

Below is my attempt:

On a page of my sketchbook, I made a few blobs. I was intentional with the shapes because I wanted to make different kinds of birds.

I added a second layer of paint and slowly, each bird began revealing its character.

I limited my color palette to blue, blue green and purple.

Following Terry's steps, I completed their looks. I used a black pen to draw feet, faces and fashion. Notice that each bird is wearing an accessory? 

Earrings, sneakers, a basket, a choker, a brooch and a scarf for each of these feathered friends.

A printed dress, a bowler hat, crown, sweater, headband, beanie, gold cross on a chain, eye glasses and bow tie combination, and  a pearl necklace...TADA! These birds are the fun and fashionable kind!

I'm proud of this new addition to my sketchbook practice and can't wait to try it out with other animals. I hope you enjoyed this and if you want more crafty ideas delivered to your inbox, please subscribe here.  

Treasures from the Trash: A Coffee Table

I'm delighted that you're here!

In previous posts, I mentioned that I see furniture on the curb ALL.THE.TIME. From benches, to chairs, shelves, more shelves, a side table and doors, they are no longer needed in their homes and are free for the taking. Most of them are still in good shape and if I had a warehouse to store these, I would scoop them up and transform them from blah to TADA! 

Another option, for all of you planning to get rid of furniture, is to donate them to The Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity ReStore. They have trucks that can pick-up the furniture from your home and they sell these pieces at their thrift stores. The money they raise goes to their different programs helping the underprivileged. Isn't that a thoughtful way to help?  

Here is my latest find:

It's a black, oval coffee table.

Except for a few scuff marks (that some buffing and cleaning can fix), it doesn't look bad at all. Maybe the previous owners wanted something more streamlined?

Anyway, here are a few ways to give it new life:

via Pinterest

Turn the coffee table into an altar, a special area that will both ground and energize you, where you can meditate, practice gratitude and your faith/spirituality. Learn more about creating an altar here and here. 

via Pinterest

Create a lounge area in a corner of a room and push the coffee table against the wall so that it's not in the way.  Use this area to read, listen to music, play your guitar...things to help relax and unwind. Fill the coffee table with a stack of books, plants, scented candles and favorite nibbles and beverages.

via Pinterest

Turn the coffee table into a low dining table. Use ottomans or pillows as your chairs. It's okay if the elements are mismatched -- they give a carefree, bohemian vibe.

via Pinterest

Since the coffee table is low, turn it into a kiddie table by adding small chairs. Assign this as the area for learning and doing arts and crafts.

via Pinterest

How about turning the coffee table into a Lego table? Attach the Lego baseplates on the table's surface and have bins of Lego pieces close by for afternoons of pure building creativity! You can find how to build a Lego table here.

via Pinterest

The coffee table can also be transformed into a jigsaw puzzle station in one area of the family room. No need to remove the jigsaw puzzle while it's being assembled.

via Pinterest

The coffee table can also become an official game table for card and board games. The game boxes can be kept underneath for easy access.

via Pinterest

And finally, extend the life of the coffee table when you have parties outdoors. Use it as a buffet table for snacks and drinks or turn it into a Jenga table for everyone to participate in. 

That is how we can turn an old coffee table from blah to TADA!

I hope these sparked new uses for the old pieces of furniture you might have. If you want more crafty ideas delivered to your inbox, please subscribe here.