Canvas Painting + Wine

blank....freaks me out

A blank canvas.  This scares me.  A lot.  I sit down in front of one and immediately freak out.  What if I make a mistake?  Can't I trace it first?  LOL  Thank goodness they encourage bringing your own wine to drink (see mine to the right of my canvas?).  It helps the creative juices flow.

I attended a Canvas Painting workshop recently - it lasted about 2 hours or so.  You probably have heard of these types of things before.  Sometimes you'll find them in a restaurant/bar area or in a studio like this one.  The Pottery Works in beautiful Lancaster City is where this one was held.  And Lindsay was our instructor!

So there we are...starring at our blank canvas.  The thing I absolutely loved about this class is they walk you through it step-by-step.  No artistic ability is needed - no really! 

step one

First we picked where on the canvas we wanted to start the sunset/sky.  We started with yellow then mixed yellow and red together to get the orange.  The red was last at the very top.

Step two & three

Next we made our setting sun.  I like how there was no real wrong way to do this.  It's whatever you see in your mind.  You just go with it.  I didn't like mine at first, but it grew on me.  While the setting sun and sky were drying we went ahead and did the black (ground).  This was the easy part, I couldn't really mess this part up.  HA!

Step four & five

OK, time to freak out again.  It was time to paint the elephant.  WHAT?!  I can't draw an elephant.  Oh but I could.  Once again their step-by-step instructions saved me.  And guess what?  I painted the elephant!  Next was the tree, which I painted with no real issues.

step six & finishing touches

I added some finishing touches to my tree then it was time to paint the baby elephant.  UGH here we go again.  But it wasn't so bad.  I finished it off with some plants and other touch ups; and of course my "ASA" at the top.

I gotta say that this was a really great experience.  I will definitely be going back to paint more pictures.  At the beginning of class they told us that no negativity was allowed.  You were not allowed to criticize your painting (I have to say this was hard not to do - it's just human nature I think to be your own worst critic).

Have you ever done one of these classes before?  Share your story!

This is not a sponsored post by The Pottery Works.  I used my own money to pay for the class and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Erin Condren Life Planner

So I have taken the plunge.  I did it.  I've been looking (drooling) at the Erin Condren life planner for over a year now.  When I was looking for an editorial calendar for my blog I looked at these but couldn't justify the price for blog use only.  But I came back to them recently and I decided to get one.  Not really for my blog but just for my life in general.  As you can see from the above picture, the presentation of this planner is so pretty!  I love the design of the box and tissue paper inside tells me I'm about to open an awesome product.  The picture on the far left is the cover I chose and my name.  The bands and markers are sold separately.

I'm so glad I did it!  I am in love!  No really...I am.  It sounds strange, but I love all things stationary and this thing is pretty sweet.  It may seem like an ordinary planner but it's not.

Target has cute stuff for planners!

 I've had fun buying things for my planner (don't tell my husband!).  I've found cute stuff at Target, Michael's, AC Moore and Hobby Lobby.  Etsy shops make cute stickers and accessories too!

My planner buddy is AWESOME!

In the EC (Erin Condren) world of planners, you can join facebook groups.  These women are so creative and I get inspiration from them.  You can also sign up for a planner buddy (like pen-pal in the OLD days LOL).  My planner buddy is from New York and she sent me a box full of goodies!  I was in shock.

My first week with my life planner

There is definitely a technique.  I know this sounds cRaZy to all that do not get the planner thing.  There are so many ways to decorate.  I like to use mine as a creative outlet.  I use the note pages in the back as an art journal.

My favorite song lyrics

My favorite Bible verses

Another picture of my planner - like my OMG sticker?  hehe

My doodle of a girl jumping for joy

So you see, this is more than just a calendar.  I hope you enjoyed this sneak peak in to my life planner!  If you are interested in getting yourself one, use my referral link!  You get $10 off your first purchase and I also get $10 on a future purchase!  SCHWEET!

Click HERE to order one of your own!







PS:  This is not a sponsored post by Erin Condren - I used my own money to purchase my Life Planner and all accessories for it - all thoughts and opinions are my own!  I love this planner so much that I wanted to share with you all.  If you use my referral link (as mentioned above) you will receive $10 off your first purchase and I will also receive $10 on a future purchase.  Happy shopping!

Do you have hidden artistic talents?

For me, I think I do.  I mean I have so many things rolling around inside my head all the time.  I like to write.  I've been wanting to write a book for a long time!  So I started this blog and hardly use it.  :(  I think it about too hard then I get frustrated and just stop thinking about it.

I like to paint - either free hand or paint-by-numbers.  LOL  Yep, did those as a young kid!  Still like to do them.  I like to pencil draw/doodle.  So I get myself a sketch pad and pencils.  I drew a picture of Jesus.  I started drawing other objects.  Mostly just doodling.  Then I set it aside and Hubby gets irritated with it just sitting there.  HAHA! 

I don't know how to take these things in my head and put them to use.  I guess not giving up would be the first thing.  Just keep practicing.  I feel I have something deep down inside me, just need to figure out how to pull it out.

How do you bring out your artistic talents?