inspiration monday......{elvie-encore-post #1}

"some days there won't be a song in your heart. sing anyway."

emory austin

sometimes the inspiration just isn't there......and for those days when you really want to get humming, here are some ideas to tuck into your creativity songbook:

*grab a coloring book and box of crayons. it seems simple, but everyone finds comfort in coloring....and it's great fun to be a kid again!

*create some color washes onto blank paper using two or three colors of paint. just moving some color around with a paintbrush is inspiring, and you'll be happy to have these wash papers in your stash for a later project!

*spend some time curled up in your favorite chair with a good book, or even your stack of catalogs! my pottery barn and anthropologie catalogs never disappoint when it comes to inspiration!

*call one of your art buddies! having our own work space is fabulous, but it can also be lonely sometimes. good friends always have extra inspiration that they're willing to share!

*what's old is new again! look back at some of the artwork you created a year ago.....can you embellish upon the same idea? how would it look in a different color.....what happens if you use watercolor instead of acrylic?

*and my personal favorite that really gets me singing..... eat a piece of chocolate!! and yes, it's okay if it's on top of ice cream! (this one's a little tricky, and may need to be repeated once or twice before inspiration truly kicks in.... )




i'm currently on a little bloggy break......
this is an encore presentation of an inspiration monday post 
from november 1, 2009.

permission slip

of all the things i love to do, resting is not one of them.  

not only do i not like to rest, i'm really not very good at it either.

to me, resting is on that life-list of stuff that we've got to do every once in a while

whether we want to or not......like going to the dentist.......or exercising......

but the thing about rest is that it's in kahoots with that persistent little voice inside of you.....it nags at you in a gentle little whisper, and you ignore it of course, but before you know it, it's bellowing at you.  and eventually you have to listen....and be somewhat obedient to the calling.  

so today i'm giving myself permission to take a bit of a creative break......and do some resting for the next few weeks.  {although i've already thought of some ways to cheat, so i'll be sneaking in some "elvie re-posts" here and there......}

in the meantime, i wish all of you bloggy sweeties a fabulously creative weekend ahead.....

mixed in with a bit of rest for yourself, too!!

see you soon......xoxo

sweet simplicity

the little cherry tomatoes i've been nursing for the 

past several weeks are starting to show their colors......

and red never tasted so fabulously sweet!

celebrate the simple things today!

inspiration monday

several years ago i challenged myself to create a little heart every day using watercolor pencils.  each sketch was done on a scrap piece of watercolor paper, and then bound into an accordion spine journal structure.  i didn't keep up with the challenge for very long, but it was a fun experiment and now i have a little collection of watercolor hearts to look back on!

here's a little sneak peek into my journal!
{you can watch here in larger format}


watercolor hearts created using watercolor pencils on strathmore 400 series w/c paper

more to adore

i absolutely adore hydrangeas.  

and this year, they're thriving on our back porch......

giving us more pinky-purply-blue-balls-of-floral-happiness

to look forward to this summer!

have a fabulously colorful weekend!!

supplies:  watercolor, micron pens, 4B pencil, white paint pen