Tip: Erasing Charcoal Pencil Drawn on Acrylic Paint

I made a rather pleasant discovery today while drawing this face in charcoal pencil. First of all, I don't know about the rest of you but most of the time, I do not draw faces I like on the first try. It usually takes me a few passes to get the face or drawing looking the way I want it. This means there is a lot of erasing going on. The other day while browsing the craft store I found an eraser that was supposed to erase charcoal in addition to being good for erasing graphite.

Eager to try it out, I used it while drawing this face but what I discovered was that the eraser alone was not enough. So, I lightly touched the tip of the eraser with a damp towel and voilà! It worked like a charm in erasing the charcoal lines. For a bit more precision and control, you might also try some Q-tips dabbed with a little water to erase then use the dry end for cleanup. Pretty cool eh? Now I can paint her.

License to Bloom

This evening I spent my 20 minutes of bliss signing my Creative Awakenings Visa Application. I also gave it a quick collage technique to personalize it a little bit with some extra meaningful imagery. My recent flower collage page really got me thinking as did some of the comments. The one comment that sticks in my mind describes the pots as representing containers awaiting the planting of new dreams. I really like that.


I am committed to my dreams. I am committed to following the messages given to me by my divine higher self which now come to me in the form of inspired thoughts that lovingly encourage me to take action. By signing this Visa Application, I have put my intention out there into the world not only as a thought form but also in a physical form. It cheerfully greets me as the first thing I see when I open up my dream time journal to remind me that I have now given myself a license to bloom.

Creative Collage: Portal to Possibilities

Sheri Gaynor outlines a 3 step process in her book Creative Awakenings called EnVision Dream Time. During the meditation portion, I asked myself how I could release my resistance to what is? My mother once told me that happiness wasn't a person or a place. I truly thought I had understood that message but my Dream Time collage clearly indicates something else. It indicates that I still believe happiness is a future point in time and I have turned over the care of my hopes and dreams to a concept. I must be insane!


This collage was put together by allowing myself only 20 minutes to gather images and then another 15 to put the collage together. Working fast is something I never do so this was a great exercise. I wanted to trust the process and allow my intuition to guide me as much as possible. Over the next month, I will contemplate the meaning of the images, I'll add paint, rubber stamps and transform it into my art of intention.


From these images I can see that part of the reason my dreams have not yet manifested is because I have held them in a place where it isn't possible for them to do so. The wooden arch is about bridging that gap between tomorrow and the now, opening up the portal to possibilities so to speak. The page with the flowers is about nurturing those dreams and giving them space to grow into something beautiful in the now. Up until this minute I really had no idea what the flower page was trying to tell me but it makes sense now. It will be fun to watch these pages transform during the month of June. It's going to be fun to get in touch with that little child within who has gone neglected for so long.

Taking the Journey on the Creative Awakenings Express

It's so funny because I purchased Creative Awakenings months and months ago but never even really cracked it open. I guess I simply wasn't ready to hear the message it had to deliver . . . until NOW. The things you want most are always right in front of you but you won't see, hear, touch or smell them until you are in a place where you can, until you are a vibrational match to what you are asking for.


I just finished reading The Power of Nowby Eckhart Tolle and something within me boomed with loud clarity, "read Creative Awakenings NOW." Yesterday I began reading the book and wondered what in the world I was waiting for all this time. Within the pages was everything I could have hoped for both in terms of something I could share with my network as well as helping me move past the obstacles that stand in my way!


It is my pleasure to use this book as a workbook for facilitating change both in myself and others. If you have been wondering how to move past pain, fear, self doubt or whatever holds you back, please come join me in the Creative Awakenings group for a 12 month journey of creative discovery. Here we will create a dream journal, learn new techniques, get to know the inner you and you will have the support of your fellow group members to help you along the way.


It may not take 12 months before change begins to happen, in fact it probably won't but consider making the commitment to yourself for at least that long just to see where the journey takes you. This life is about enjoying the sail boat ride, not power boating madly to the destination.

Are you Cinderella or the Queen?

It is our own attitudes that determine our station in life and has nothing to do with what anyone outside of us thinks. Who are you and which one of these sounds more like you? Are you Cinderella, often putting the needs of others before your own and allowing them to dictate your life purpose? Are you a princess or prince, worthy but still, somehow not quite good enough to have it all? Or, do you think like the queen/king you came forth into this life to be? You need neither a crown nor subjects but you are indeed the queen/king of your life. You are meant to live a joyful and abundant one.


I had an experience this week which made me realize just how powerful imagery can be. Please see the Playful in Pennsylvania post for a photographic journey into one of Bella Rosa's (TADS Doll No. 1) recent visits. Because this doll has my face on her, it had quite an effect to see myself staring back at me from the loving hands of a child. A woman about to give birth, took the time to knit a little dress entirely from ribbon for the doll. She also shared the journal with her art students so that they might know how other artists are sharing with the world. How priceless is this? I truly feel like a queen, rich in love and tender care.


Imagine you are the queen/king this month (and beyond). Walk like you have a cape and crown on and believe yourself worthy of every good thing. Say it silently to yourself throughout your day. Nobody has to know what you are doing and this exercise will go a long way in helping you shift how you think about yourself. Notice how this feels in your body and in your mind. Did your posture improve? Do you feel just a little more confident? Write or paint about the experience(s) in your journal.


This month is about turning yourself into the queens and kings you are. Make a muse with your face on it. Yes, it must be YOUR face. Putting a doll with your face in your journal surrounded by magazine clippings, pictures, notes or drawings that inspire you will be more powerful and effective than using a random piece of clip art.

Click the image to download the PDF file

I have included a template file for a paper doll and pouch similar to the one used in the TADS project. I want to hear about your experiences. Did something special happen that has never happened before? Blog about it. As an ongoing project, I'll be featuring participating members on The Artful Paper Doll home page who blog and submit photos of their journals on this topic as both an inspiration to others to take the first step and as a way for me to give something back to all of you.

Kitty whispers: *Be the Queen/King . . . You ARE the Queen/King . . . *

Making an Affirmations Boutique journal page

When graphic design meets collage what you discover is an array of vibrantly blooming possibilities. Whoever said you can't have it both ways never looked long enough to realize that there is a creative solution to everything. Let your imagination soar and never again be stuck in that rut.



I hope you will enjoy this video on the making of the Affirmations Boutique journal page. This has truly been an exercise in creative thinking and one I am so very proud of.

xoxo
~Kitty Kellie