About 2 weeks ago I started a “Use What You’ve Got” Art Journaling Challenge.”
This came about when I realized that I was captivated by watching YouTube videos on art journaling and had yet to do any pages myself.
I was watching these beautiful pages come about and it didn’t take long for me to start paying attention to the inner dialog that was happening in my brain.
“Oooh I like that but I don’t have that tool.”
“Maybe when I practice more I will be able to draw like that…”
“I should probably make a note to buy that….”
Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE buying new art materials.
In fact I would much rather buy crafty things than clothes or shoes.
I think however I was mistaking the tools for the creativity and that’s a big difference!! I was taking the creative expression of the people I was watching and using it as a standard to live up to instead of something to be inspired by.
If you listen to my podcasts regularly you know that I just love the videos and art that JenniBellie creates. It was when I watched her video “Creativity is Not Brought from an Art Store.” that I had a bit of a wake-up call.
As a result I decided to forget waiting for the best camera, forget the tools I wanted to buy and dig through the boxes of stuff I already have and just get started already.
As a result I have not only created 4 pages, but I have had FUN! Dealt with my grief over the loss of our beautiful dog Tally, was bombarded with some creative ideas and even came up with a brand new workshop!
It is amazing what happens when you stop with excuses and just start doing your thing!
Below are the videos I have uploaded and I have a new one in the works and a brand new series I am planning for February where I will talk about particular products (for those us that really do love craft supplies!!!) and actually do some how-to videos etc.
No worries, I do plan to always keep these “Use What You’ve Got” type videos on my channel because creativity is for everyone and you just need YOU to make something amazing!
So check out the videos, maybe comment, maybe subscribe and if you are inspired sign-up for my Art Journaling Workshop! It is going to be a lot of fun and best of all is you probably have all the supplies you need!
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Don’t forget to check out my interview with Whitney Freya where we chat about getting over what I should be doing and doing what I want to be doing. It airs this Friday over at the Full Color YOU Telesummit!
Until next time….
Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante
You are so right about us waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for the perfect brush, the perfect pen. Instead of just digging in with what you already got!
Loved your post and the journals 🙂
Warm greetings,
Carina
Thanks Carina! Yes I am realizing that you don’t need any special tools really you just need to start something creative! It is fun to see what transpires when you do 🙂 Thanks for watching/reading!
Oh, I am so guilty of watching all those YouTube videos and then not acting on my own flow by creating art journal pages. I find that I’ll get stuck watching one, and then clicking on a new one on the sidebar.
I agree…wanting all the cool art tools sometimes keeps me from creating new pages. Thanks for reminding us that we can get creative with all the stuff we have already.
So glad you enjoyed the post! Thank you for commenting!