Journal Prompt " Be Kind To Yourself "

Journal Page and Prompt Be Kind To Yourself. Listen, calm yourself, reflect and  accept peace within. This is what I am reflecting on today as I look back at a overwhelming past week and mishap from yesterday.

Hello Journalers and friends, I wasn't sure if I would be able to get a post out today. I usually try and publish the journal prompts Saturday evenings but yesterday was busy and hadn't written a post in advance. We were working on the yard, kids coming and going....Then all of a sudden Sammie was brought home injured. She had a terrible fall over at the neighbors. A gash in in arm from just below the arm pit to wrist area and scraps all on the upper inside arm from tree branches and rocks due to the fall. She is lucky not to have broken anything, nor did she need stitches!! To see your child bleeding, crying and in pain is very difficult, but out came the nurse in me, calm, taking her inside to clean her up and add the necessary treatments.
Then of course what else would make a little one feel better? How about a movie and popcorn to take the mind away from the pain and of course lots of attention, ice and compassion from mom. Whew! Under control!!

I have to admit this past week I didn't paint not even once. But I remembered this page I made I don't think I shared. Be kind to self! Perfect I thought, I can still give you a journal prompt. The prompt really it goes wonderfully to what my week was like and reminding myself to be calm and loving to myself even when I don't reach my personal art.... goals.

Sometimes life takes you away from your passions a bit, that is ok and we need to be calm about the detours. Honestly I feel like I get a little edgy when I don't get to create a page or have some creativity going on but the bottom line is, I still need to be calm and kind with myself. I know this summer has so many detours in it, but I will try and let you know when I am taking a trip, having to help family, or just sidelined or haven't had time to create art or journal.

On another note about self and loving one's self. I started Weight Watchers since a friend of my daughter's joined and was loving it and losing weight. They were having a special and decided to join. I love how it helps you be accountable to your self in a good way! {points, tracking, weigh in, community, using your own food choices and helping you make better choices} I know not every week will be easy, but I lost 3.2 pounds this first week The good in that is I have reached one of my goals this week, in a big way and starting on better health!


Do you ever have weeks where you can't get a chance to create your art? Have you ever had to challenge yourself to love certain aspects of your life or self? Have you ever had to try something else to help you with your weight?

Journal Prompt: Be Kind To Yourself;
I hope you are able to create a journal page about being kind to yourself, loving yourself or calming those voices of negativity from within. Use stamps if you wish, write yourself a note, give yourself a reminder and mostly reinforce loving yourself!

Quote: If I am not for myself, who will be? Pirke Avoth


Food For Thought: Leather Journal with embossed heart

"Stretching Creatively" Journal Prompt

Do you ever try and take big steps creatively and after you have attempted you are a bit let down. Almost discouraged as you know in your mind where you want to be yet things get in the way of that goal. This week for me in stretching I find myself seeing where I need more work, knowledge to help me be able to accomplish my goals. It is hard to look at the tools in front of you and not be able to master them in a moment. Whether those tools are your pencils, paintbrushes, photo shop, editing soft ware.......

So aren't the little struggles suppose to make things feel great when they are completed? Maybe. I know from my own experience if I don't stretch and go through those growing pains I am not going to reach my goals. So there are days when I am hard on myself, disappointed for where I am in the moment, pulling my hair out over things not being easier! But, when all is said and done I know I must keep going. This is what I am choosing to do, and without the stretching you might not find your end result.

I must be positive for the little pushes that help me grow. Open to the process, let the ideas keep flowing and nurture them. And mostly have patience with myself and trust that process.

I came across this quote and I think it says it all for me this week. Maybe if I take some time to be with nature this week, step away and come back it will give me a rewed spirit and her secret of patience will come visit me as I press on with my new learning.  Do you ever get frustrated learning something new? What do you do to push through the hard process?  Take time away and come back? Push on, although frustrated? Find help? Read a book? Take a class? Or a combination there of?

Journal Prompt: Create a journal page about your stretching, growth process with your creativity. The feelings you have about it and things that may help you with it. 

Quote: Adopt to the secret of nature: her secret is patience. Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Food for thought:
If you have an i tunes there are quite a few pod casts on art and creativity for free at the i tunes store. 
                               
                          

Self Portraits & Journal Prompt

This week Inspiration Alley had the prompt to do self portraits. I decided to play along. I think it would be a great journal prompt too so I decided to post it today as both coincide. First to create my self portrait I really had to capture the essence of who I am even if it is not exactly how I look.

Completed Self Portrait

I wrote an entire page about my self, how I feel about my self, what I stand for, my strengths and insecurities trying to capture the essence of me. Then I decided to start to create me on the page.

The intent of a self portrait is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. *

Once I started painting I was able to convey the passionate side of me and the blue side of me by the use of color. I used collage tissue paper almost like a jig saw puzzle  to represent the many pieces of me. To finish it off I chose to highlight the focus on me and blend the background by use of paints and inks. I would not be me without my paintbrush. I also chose to leave readable the most vivid parts of my daily life on a tag around the neck. Only because society loves to label people.

I hope you use the journal prompt to write about yourself and explore creating a self portrait. For more inspiration visit Inspiration Alley to see what other artist's created.

Here is a collage of the process.

  

To read more about self portraits and see some examples and history visit Wikipedia.

I also came across this great article with 4 tips to Mastering Self Portraits at ScottsdaleArtsSchool.org  which I linked directly to the article. I found it after I did mine, but tip #4 suggests making a self portrait more than once and doing it differently. They have some great tips for creating self portraits.
Have you created a self portrait?  

Click to enlarge

 I took a photographic self portrait too

I am never without my camera

Journal Prompt: To write about yourself and create a self portrait.

Quote: A portrait, to be a work of art, neither must nor may resemble the sitter... one must paint its atmosphere. Umberto Boccioni 

Food For Thought: 

Mixed Media Self Portraits

Mixed-Media Self-Portraits: Inspiration & Techniques

Mirror Mirror: Self-Portraits by Women Artists

Journal Prompt- Spring Into Action

This week I created a journal page that has a creative action plan. Spring is the perfect time to step into action and what better way than to list things you want to accomplish on your journal page. At first I had a lovely die cut paper that had lines on half the page.

If you look close you can see the cuts in the paper. I ended up painting flowers right over everything. The lines just bored me in the moment and I thought color was more important. Like a flower in spring this year I want to continue to bloom creatively. And the butterfly represents me ready to fly.

I haven't used a lot of pens lately but took out a fine tip non bleeding pen and wrote around the petals giving them definition from the rest of the page. Then to make it pop a bit more I added the white around the outside edges here and there.

I created leaves with the pen here and there and lines with hearts in a pattern running down from the top of the page to the bottom.

 The die cut paper under the paint add a lot of visual texture. I also used tissue paper here and there.

I am considering changing my free journal post day to during the week. I am interested in feed back. So I put a poll on the side bar. Do let me know what you think about that. If you want me to keep it on Sundays just tell me in the comments section.  It is gloomy, windy and rainy here right now and if you are experiencing this pre-spring weather I hope these colors brighten your day! I hope you find time to create your journal page~ 

Two questions: If I create a group to share your pages from using my journal prompts would you post your pages there? *free group
It would be great if you did poll or indicate keeping journal posts on Sundays!


Journal Prompt: Spring Into Action - create an action plan in a creative way! 

Quotes: He who has begun is half done. Horace

You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great."~ Les Brown

Food For Thought: Small Chestnut Pocket Journal with handmade paper