Friday, February 17, 2017

Spring Cleaning

Everyone I know is in purge mode right now.

I just got back from a great retreat in Tucson, where we worked from a few books - one of which was Essentialism.

It was a strange coincidence because both of my "texties" - my friends Kat and Mel - and I have been on a quest to minimize our possessions for about six months, maybe longer. The book is about much more than that, but clearly the concept is out there in our shared universe right now to sort of cut to the chase.

I love it when ideas line up like that - for one thing, it's much easier to do things like that with other people. So each time we attack a junk drawer or a closet, we text each other pictures of the ridiculous number of trial sized shampoos we have and we laugh at and with each other and it makes it easier.

I really am not much of a "stuff" person anyway - and I think if you came to my house, you'd think it's pretty minimalist (except for art supplies - minimalism will never contaminate my art supplies) and somewhat bare. I like space and I don't like clutter.

But "stuff" creeps up on you. It creeps into drawers and closets and cabinets and places that you don't see when you walk into your house and you have to fight it.

One thing that's been great for me is Facebook garage sale pages. I have a neighborhood one where the people are really nice and trustworthy, and I can sell things for just a few dollars, if it's an item I know someone would love, and it's maybe something that I wouldn't want to put in a donation bag because it's fragile, etc. It's fun to give someone something they think of as a real find for $2, and it helps you get rid of things if you get coffee money for them.

One of the things "stuff" takes away from you is your free time. So if you always feel guilty because you know you need to clean out your junk drawer, and it aggravates you every time you open it, that steals your time to be lazy and have fun. Or it makes you feel guilty about sitting down to enjoy your hobby because you have that little voice cussing at you about the drawer. So you just have to do it. What I do when I have a project like that to tackle is I put my headphones in with an audiobook, set a timer for an hour, and I do that thing for an hour. The hour flies by because of the book, and it's amazing how much you can get done in an hour with no distractions.

I decided to make that concept of free time into a card. What's funny is, the card really took almost no time, which sort of ruins my point about freeing up time :). BUT, I did use three different techniques in the eight minutes it took to make this card.

I was inspired by the Art Impressions class at Creativation. I was signed up for this class, but I had double-booked for the Gel Press class, so Iliana went and brought me my kit and showed me her samples. Their stamps are beautiful, and they teach a simple watercolor technique that starts with the "smackdown" technique. This technique is one of my favorites, and I used it a few years ago on my Unite & Excite ATC swap, but I didn't do that watercolor portion that Art Impressions does - and man, is it beautiful.

So I combined that with two other techniques - no-line watercolor and vintage watercolor, and came up with this little scene.
Sitting Here by Understand Blue



The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Meow set, and is perfect for what I wanted to convey.

Since this was such a quick card, I did a real-time video for you. I love it when a card takes less than ten minutes.



Lazy days ARE the best.

I hope your weekend is as happy and lazy as a kitty in a basket. :)

Loveyameanitbye.

14 comments:

  1. This such a simple beautiful card!

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  2. Love your technique, I am not familiar with the elegant writer "brush" is this different colors or are you using water and taking the color from the Distress ink n blending it. Sorry I just don't understand when you mentioned different colors. TFS

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    1. Hi Verna - the Elegant Writer is a chisel-tip pigment pen. It separates into different colors. Check out this video I did with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKaIHtBqYvs and this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmL-emZg9ls - all you do is add water to separate the colors.

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    2. Thank you so much for the info. I would love to try it.

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  3. A great video Lydia ... very interesting, and the smackdown technique is intriguing. My bird kept landing on my keyboard, so I watched the beginning several times! giggles.

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  4. Lydia, I think as far as "clutter" goes, I'm the exact opposite to you. My mom complains that, if I see an empty horizontal surface, I make it my mission in life to fill it with stuff. LOL It's not so much that I like clutter per se. I just hate wide-open, bald spaces more. But at least mine is organized & useful clutter! Great card--love the kitty cat! :) ~ Andrea

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    1. I actually have a theory about that - do you live in a cold climate?

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  5. Great techniques and lovely card! Thank you for sharing!

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  6. Saw this on FB had to come over! Beautiful! Love that sweet kitty and I noticed the vintage watercolor technique right off! I have never tried the smack down technique. Now I am trying to think what stamps I have so I could try it!!! I did a great purge last year actually doing the Konmarie method. My closet still looks great! I didn't get to the downstairs before Steve's parents got here last year and then senior high school projects took over. Steve's parents will be here in a couple of weeks but I don't think I will end up getting to the downstairs before they come. You are inspiring me to think about it, though!

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  7. This is a fantastic card and thanks for all of the techniques. I can't wait to try them.
    I should have just watched your video and skipped your write up. NOW I feel like my long weekend will consist of cleaning vs. crafting....DANG YOU! HAHA (First you enable then snatch it away??? That's just mean! LOL)
    Have a great weekend...

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  8. I am more of an "organized mess" when it comes to clutter. I purge a couple times a year when I start feeling closed in because I like open space as well. I get the " As soon as I toss this, I will need it" in my head which I have to fight to get rid of stuff. Love AI stamps and the smackdown technique. Love your kitty card.

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  9. I'll be checking out that book! As always - love your card. What's your theory on cold climates?

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    1. I've noticed that people in colder climates live in more cluttered, warmer colored homes - or just with more stuff - more furnishings, more fabric. Down here - it's empty, cool surfaces and cool colors and very little clutter. It's like a nesting thing.

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  10. I can't wait to try the techniques but need to investigate the smack down a bit more. Loved the card.

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