Still doodling ....

Not much to show today, just another doodle that I finished this weekend and a lyrics-girl.

Janice made a suggestion to use inks instead of watercolours, and I might just try that. Although for now I'll just leave them black & white, I think I still prefer that.

This went a bit wrong. The lettering is terrible, but since I don't have much to show, here she is. Lyrics from Heather Nova.


I've been preparing backgrounds for my art journal today. It's an old book where I've been using leftover paints, but I  haven't really done much with it yet. The start of the new year really has had an impact on me, since I'm full of plans and making new resolutions all the time. This is yet another resolution: do something "artsy" every day. Even when I'm stressed for time...

Wonder how long it'll last ... But at least the intention is there ;-)

So I decided to use my new self-made stencils. They're made from large manila-folders, and were a lot of fun to make. I made 7 of them in one night last week. I read somewhere that I should soak them in oil to make them stronger. After 24-48 hours it would dry out and be ready to use. So I did. But I went a bit overboard with the oil. I figured the more the better....

Wrong thinking! After "drying" for a whole night they were still as oily as before. So then I got the brilliant idea to hang them up in the sun. That should dry them out for sure. But after a full day in the sun they were even greasier than before. YUK!

Okay, I'd had enough. I wanted to use them and not wait any longer, so I decided to soak them in hot water with a lot of dishwashing liquid. I put one in there and left it a while. Wrong thinking again! It's still cardboard, no matter how much oil you put on there. So I ended up with bits and pieces of my stencil floating in the water.  Aaaarghhh! Good thing I didn't put all of them in there at once. Now what?

Even though they were fun to make, I didn't feel like making them again. So I sponged them with my dishwashing liquid and then put them on a towel to dry. Left them there for 2 days, and after 2 days they were ready to use. Still felt a bit greasy but I figured it would dry out even more....

Wrong again .... Today I used them in my journal, and the ones I didn't use were laying on top of my notebook (where I had written out my businessplan for this year ....). Just now, when I wanted to get my notebook to put everything in my computer, I discovered the stencils had made grease-marks all over my notes and I've trouble reading what I've written!

Sh*t! This must've been about the worst advice I've ever read on the internet regarding selfmade art supplies. The worst thing is that it doesn't even make it stronger. One of my stencils is torn already, and I used it once.

Oh well, I'll just keep using them, in the end there will be enough paint on there (I hope!) so the greasiness will go away ... And for my next trials, I'll just leave the cardboard as it is.

Here's another thing I've been working on. I'm crocheting a kind of cardigan with the freeform technique. That means you start with a little piece and you just keep adding other colours to it. You don't work with a design, you just keep adding to it until it's big enough.

I started this a few years ago already, and I can tell you: it's a lot of work. But it's fun and relaxing, so why not. I just have to make sure I stay about the same size, otherwise by the time it's finished (which could well take a while ....) it doesn't fit anymore. It's something I work on during my holidays, although I might just try and finish it this time☺

Well, I've been going on long enough and it's waaaayyy past my bedtime. So I'm off.

Thanks so much for visiting and leaving your wonderful comments. It means a lot to me! ♥