#listersgottalist

I'm a bit late to the challenge, but a lovely lady whose user name is TheResetGirl has started a challenge this month for people who like to list things (I think she has a new one ever month?).  This one is called #listersgottalist and she has it set up so that all you have to do is go to the website  and the information is all right there, ready to download and print or write out or whatever.  For some reason I had a hard time opening the Challenge sheet, but the headers worked great so I opened them and printed them out on some avery labels as instructed and just started putting them into one of my homemade gelliprint booklets in whatever way I wanted.  The lists were added in at random and not in the daily order she has, but I think I may go back and add the appropriate date number to each one.  I haven't decided yet.  

 

I've almost got all of my lists completed and since I've started so late, I've had to do several at a time to get caught up before the month ends, but I think it's turned out really well.  It really feels good to have actually finished a whole little booklet like this.  I also feel like it's helping me with my general layouts and keeping more inspired so that I'm actually using my brain to do things and not relying on references or getting sucked into Pinterest to try to find ideas.  In a recent post I had shared another gelliprint journal that I had started but it doesn't have any sort of rhyme or reason or theme, so it's just currently waiting for me to keep adding more in.  I need to figure out what I want to do with it so that I might actually finish it like this one.  LoL!

#lists  #listlove #gelliprintjournals #handmadejournal #theresetgirl #dailylistchallenge #somethingfun #mylistsareweird

Personalizing my planner

 I made some more gelliprints as I used all mine for other projects and decided I wanted one as divider. (The square sheet protector is from a Heidi Swapp memory planner kit I had.) Still working on getting my planner into some working order. I found some calendar/weekly inserts this weekend (that I hate) but they don't even start until July so I have to figure out what I want to do until then. The monthly inserts from cocoa daisy look awesome but I'm hesitant to rush into getting them just yet, in case I won't like them either. I can't seem to find a good layout I really like. And I haven't had much luck with printing my own out.  :/  No matter what I do they look hideous so I definitely want to buy any I get. Guess I'll keep looking and trying to manage until I find some or until July gets here. Lol. 

 
                                                         Just making a mess, as usual.

Forgot I had this little stamp in my stash. It came in a sushi roll crayola stationary kit I found at Big Lots some time ago. I thought it was adorable. It comes with chopstick like pens and a little notepad and sticky notes (the sushi roll one it's sitting on) in a little bento like lunch box. The bottom of this little guy has three stars on it, that you may be able to see in the corner there. 

I placed a small order online Friday for a few things on Oh Deer Me via www.freckledfawn.com and they arrived Monday! I'm amazed at how quick they were! And how cute everything is. I love it! Will definitely be ordering from them again. Can't wait to start using everything! 

I have enough daily memory keepers, but I really liked this book I made from some gelliprints. So I decided I want to use it as a inspiration / memory keeper type of book instead. Sort of like the midori? I often end up leaving these books half unfinished (I have several sitting around in my studio). But I am determined to finish this one. We'll see how it goes I guess. 

Do something remarkable

Another ‪#‎artjournal‬ work in progress. I laid down a layer of masking tape on this first and the colors came out a bit more muted then I liked. I had to keep adding layers to get some of that vibrancy back. Which is what ‪#‎mixedmedia‬ pages are all about right, adding layers? Still I like how it's turned out so far. I picked up some stickers at ‪#‎tuesdaymorning‬ awhile ago that have a bit of transparency to them and used a few of them here. ‪#‎alwaysremembertofollowyourheart‬. ‪#‎dosomethingremarkable‬ ‪#‎painting‬ ‪#‎layers‬ ‪#‎colorfulpages‬

#letscollabthisthing - An art collaboration with...me?!

  A couple of years ago I created this to try to do an art collaboration with another artist.  Things fell through and we didn't get to do one together, sadly.  I've always wanted to do a collab for some reason but have not yet found anyone who has had the time or inspiration to want to try their hand at one with me.  I'm going to pretend they're too in awe of my awesomeness.  That sounds about right...right??  I started thinking about it and decided I wanted to try to do one anyway, but that I would try it a little differently by adding it here and letting those that want to collab this with me have a try at it.  I thought it might be more fun that way then what I had originally planned anyway.  :D

   If you want to do this as a collab, right click on the image above and select "view image".  Once the image is full size in your screen, right click again and select "Save image as" and save it to your computer.  Once saved, print it off or open it in your art program (or however else you plan to collab this picture with me) and get to work! :D  You can paint on it, draw on it, or whatever, it's up to you, it just has to be something creative.  Once completed, scan, upload or snap a picture of it and feel free to share it on your page, or wherever, using the hashtag: #letscollabthisthing.  Just be sure to include somewhere that the piece is an art collaboration with me, Mindy Lou Hagan.  (You can add your name in the lined blank at the bottom next to my name.)

  I would love it if you guys shared this with me.  You can comment here or send it in an email or post a link to my facebook or deviantart page or wherever.  I would love to see what you come up with!  I'll definitely do a shout out post as well and share as many images as I can across my media pages.  So let's get to work and collab this thing! :D 

(If this one goes well, I will try to do some more in various types of my styles so we can collab together again! :D)

#letscollabthisthing #artcollaboration #letsbeawesometogether

Art Journal Play

 Happy Monday (and a belated happy Easter)! Took some time to work on my ‪#‎artjournal‬ pages. They're still a work in progress, but thought I would give you all a peek at what I've been up to.

 On the first page, I took some more gelli prints and made more little houses for this page. ‪#‎letyourwingsunfurl‬ ‪#‎takeflight‬ ‪#‎livewithoutfear‬ ‪#‎gelliplate‬

On the second page, the leaves are glued down but the shadows I added underneath with my ‪#‎watercolorpencil‬ seem to make them look 3 dimensional, which is pretty neat. (The leaves are from ‪#‎gelliprints‬ that didn't really turn out all that great). Also have some random ‪#‎washitape‬ down as well, in some of my favorite coordinating colors.

Awesome stuff

A couple of art journal / painting pictures for this week so far.   

In the one above, you may have noticed a monoprinting / printmaking sort of thing?  (The thick plate looking item on the right next to the blue/circles print.) If you haven't already heard of it, this thing is called a Gelli Plate.  I've seen them around for awhile and have wanted one pretty much the moment I laid eyes on it.  The video tutorials and prints people have created make it look so mouth wateringly awesome.  So, after much deliberation, I decided it was something I wanted.  Well, that's not true, I already knew I really wanted it.  The reason it took me so long to get it is because the only way I can get one is by buying it online.  And I hate buying things online. :P 

But I finally bought one anyway and honestly, I hate that I waited so long.  I LOVE IT!  It creates such cool designs and is so easy to use.  I bought the 8x10 but I've seen videos where you can use the smaller sizes the same as you would a stamp!  There's so much I love about it, it's hard to list them all.  One of the best things is that it lets you create backgrounds so quickly and easily.  It's really not that hard to clean either.  I've heard mixed reviews on that but I cleaned mine pretty well between uses with an old t-shirt rag and water.  It actually feels like a plate of really sturdy, clear jell-o which is kind of weirdly awesome?  When I was sharing it's general awesomeness with my family, they all wanted to (and ultimately did) touch it.  LoL!  It also has a general stickiness to it which is great for keeping it from sliding around.  For my trial run I pretty much left it in the clear package it came in, as you can see, but if you're planning to use it long term, I recommend mounting it to something that's probably a bit more secure and permanent, just so it doesn't move around too much on you.  The more paint I used the more the entire thing seemed to want to move around on me. 

I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more prints in my future posts and hearing more then you want to about it, but I wanted to share this with you guys while it is fresh in my studio.  ;)  Also, if you're looking to purchase one for yourself, I ended up finding that Dick Blick art supplies had them at the cheapest rate and lowest shipping fees, at least for US customers.  (Quick thanks to Alisa Burke for sharing her finds on this as well!)  If you have discount codes you may be able to get it cheaper, but for me they had the best deal I found. 


P.S. I would recommend getting a rubber brayer to go with it as well.  It's not absolutely necessary but I think it would be much easier if you have one, especially if you plan to do lots of layers and want to do them quickly.  I didn't end up getting one with mine but I'm pretty sure I'll probably be picking one up on my next art supplies run.    

Meh...

This is apparently what comes from me doing some late night drawing...

‪#‎ilikebeingweird‬ ‪#‎isthisreallythatweird‬ ‪#‎mehthisisntthatweird‬ ‪#‎painttoolsai‬ ‪#‎weirdart‬ ‪#‎workinprogress‬ ‪#‎ididntrealizeIlikedpurplesomuch‬

Feeling a bit rusty....

 Despite the fact that I don't care much for snow, I do seem to like drawing snow people.  I threw in a unicorn for a good measure of weirdness. ;)
‪#‎snowmen‬ ‪#‎painttoolsai‬ ‪#‎digitalart‬ ‪#‎iwantapetunicorn‬

Update

Sorry for the lack of posts! I haven't really been creative in ages for a whole bunch of various reasons. So I haven't really got much new stuff to share currently. But because you guys are awesome, I wanted to share something with you, sooo, here's pretty much what's been going on in my neck of the woods lately.

The last few weeks have been about snow, snow, and more snow. Did I mention I really hate snow? It's pretty and all, but when you get 15 or so inches at a time, in multiple weeks, it's just not fun anymore. Especially when you're already freezing to death half the time. So yeah, I'm totally ready for spring and green stuff and to see the sun again.
‪#‎unleashyourcreativityontheworld‬ ‪#‎putyourwingstothetest‬ ‪#‎mixedmedia‬ ‪#‎artjournaling‬ ‪#‎believeinyourself‬ ‪#‎trustyourheartitsthetruestformofwhoyouare‬

Black and white doodling

A couple of page doodles I played around with this weekend. I haven't actually doodled anything in ages. #blackandwhitedoodle #lettering #words #pilotg2inkpens #strathmoresketchbook #quotes

Some digital artwork (finally!)

 

Played around with a new facial style.  Ended up making a little bakery scene for her as well.

#bakery #bigeyes #cupcake #girl #painttoolsai #digitalart 

 

Just another little angle of the bakery girl.

#baseball #bigeyes #girl #vector #painttoolsai #digitalartpractice

Something random.  Haven't had much time to draw in months so I've gotten a bit rusty.  :/

#circles #digitalart #flowerhead #practice #vector #bigcake #painttoolsai

 

This is really sketchy but I enjoyed playing in a different style, especially since I feel so rusty.  I don't think I've done much Harry Potter fan art, at least not in a really long time.

#digitalpainting #harrypotter #hp #sketchy #theboywholived #painttoolsai

2014 Summary of art - Year in review

I don't think I posted every single picture here that's shown above, since I really didn't get to create much for a couple of months, but here's my 2014 summary of art (based on my Deviantart account) none the less.  :) 

Happy belated 2015! :D

Sketching and doodling

Spent part of my weekend doodling faces while watching Howl's Moving Castle (One of my all time favorite movies that is absolutely brilliant in it's illustration). Great way to spend a weekend, even if I do suck at drawing faces.  ;) 

Welcoming 2015

I always want to create my own printables for calendars, or share a free desktop wallpaper each month, but I never get around to really doing it.  Thankfully there are some awesome people all over the internet who actually have their stuff together and have some great free printable calendars (and other pages) available for us all to enjoy! 

So in today's post, I'm going to share a few of those pages with you guys.  I hope you will also check our their web pages for more awesome things as well.  ;)  Just keep in mind that these are for your personal use only.

Group #1: Mini printable desk/wall calendars

1. Hello, Cuteness! 

Facebook Link
This lovely calendar set is just adorable.  The scenes are so bright and colorful, the characters are all adorable and there is even an added to do list for each month!  The to do list is optional, so if you would prefer the calendar without it, be sure to check for the PDF version available.

Also, be sure to check out the Free Printables pages for more cute pages to download!  





 2. Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke
If you love lettering and typography, you're sure to enjoy these adorable monthly calendars created by Dawn Warnaar / Nicole.  The designs are whimsical and colorful.  The edges are also colored so they give a nice pop to where ever they call home on your desk or workspace.

She also has other free printables available, so be sure to check those out as well!  Even more are also available at Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke.  Both sites have plenty of great DIY projects as well, so be sure to check those out, too!



3. Mein Lila Park
Okay, I got lazy here, as Mein Lila Park isn't actually the one making all of these calendars (I think she does offer two designs of her own), but she's done a ton of legwork and found over 20 free mini printable calendars that all look pretty awesome!  Some are more focused on actually keeping up with a monthly plan and some are just basic desktop calendars. Either way, there is a ton of places to visit to see if any of them are something you would enjoy. 

4. Mockeri
These are going to be released monthly, so it will take a bit of legwork on your part if you want to keep up with the designs for your use, but if you want something simple and sweet, these might just be what you're looking for.  Don't forget to check out the rest of her page for more free printables, too!

5. Design Corral
These simple calendars from Design Corral are for those who prefer simplicity while keeping up with their days.  The lettering is gorgeous on these little calendars and they're sure to add a touch of sophistication to any desk they adorn.  There are more free printables on their site as well, so be sure to check those out!














6. Nalle's House
These are also simple designed calendars that get a bit of enhancement from some sweet pattern designs.  I love the way she mounted them onto a large wooden tag cutout, however they would be just as lovely anywhere they sit.  If the patterns are a little too much for you, you could even add some pictures over them to make them a little bit more personal.  Overall the designs have a very calming feel and are sure to make your desk or wall look very organized. 











Group #2: Printable planner sheets
While I have opted to buy a pre made planner this year (which I will hopefully share more about in some future posts), I thought some people might prefer to print their own, as I am often tempted to do.  Most planners do not meet my needs very well these days so finding one that suits me has been a bit of a hassle.  And with some being so expensive it makes it hard to decide which one to pick, especially if it's just going to end up by the wayside in a couple of months.  So, here are some lovely places where you can find some really cute planner printouts if you're like me and hoping to make 2015 a year of organization. 





7. The Handmade Home
I love it when planner pages are colorful and bright and full of places for me to sort out my life.  This planner looks to offer all of that and more.  I absolutely love the simple design of the pages (which remind me greatly of the beautiful Erin Condren planners I keep seeing everywhere) and the color coordinated color scheme.  I could easily see myself using this just to enjoy the colorful pages! ( I know this is also listed on Mein Lilla Park's list above but I couldn't help adding it in here.) 










8. Gluesticks
Brandy over at Gluesticks also offers a very colorful planner.  While those at the Handmade Home seem somewhat muted and dark, Brandy's are very vibrant and displayed a bit more thickly across the pages.  Each layout is boxed in lovely shades of coordinating colors and she even has beautiful additional pages, for various information, all of which are also steeped in beautiful coordinating colors and designs. 









9. Botanical Paper Works 
 If you're looking for just a basic weekly template to keep up with appointments, you might enjoy these lovely horizontal and vertical designs from Botanical Paper Works.  They're extremely colorful and there's a good bit of room to write in notes each day to help you stay on task.  If you have a pretty simple schedule each week or would like a small visual calendar to go with your phone calendar perhaps, this seems to be the perfect calendar to keep everything synced up. 












10. Misstiina
For my last source on this freebie list, is a site full of beautiful free printables. There are blank planner pages, calendar pages, scrapbook page printables, bookmarks, labels, simply all sorts of beautiful, colorful free printable items.  You can see the planner printables here or all the printabls available here. 

I hope you have enjoyed these links and find some of them useful in your 2015 organization and planning.  Thanks for stopping by!  If you have any of your favorite printables (that you created yourself or someone's you like to use) feel free to leave them in the comments!  I would definitely love to add them here, or do a second post with of your all's favorites!  :)

These posts have not been sponsored by any of these sites, they are just the ones I liked the most that I came across online.  All images and information is copyright to their respective owners.

*I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors.  If you spot any, please let me know about them in the comments.  Thank you! 

Happy belated New Year!

Happy belated new year!  Sorry everything has been so quiet around here the last month or so.  I had so much to do over the Christmas / New year holidays that I just basically went offline for the end of November until this past Monday.  I have barely even had time to create anything during that time either.  :/  I snagged these from one of my other social media feeds so I apologize if anything is a reshare.  And some may not make a whole lot of sense, but more then anything it will give you an idea of what I've been up to really and what may be something I'll share more about in the future.  ;)


One thing I will talk about is a new project I've decided to start this year.  All of last year I kept seeing people post their Project Life or Documented Life pages.  You may remember me mentioning them even.  If you haven't already heard about these, I'll explain them briefly.  Both are mostly just different ways of keeping track of your life and what is going on in it.  Project Life is more like a pre-designed scrapbook with slotted pages for adorable scrapbook page inserts/pictures where as the Documented Life Project is about keeping a sort of planner that combines your artistic talents, whatever they may be.  I've been wanting to do something similar that's a bit more personal.  I started doing a daily post it note project which I still have going on, but it's not quite fulfilling the cravings I have for something to do daily.  So I took one of the K&C Co. Smash books I got for Christmas and have transformed it into a sort of art journal smashbook diary.  If you've seen these around already, you know that they contain tons of awesome pages that let you smash in whatever you want, however you want.  Sadly mine is the older kind with the spiral bound core, although the new ones look to be a 3 ring binder, so that you can easily add, delete, or rearrange pages.  You can honestly even make something like this yourself if you wanted, but I like the pages used in the books so I decided to use it instead this round.  However, as I am documenting my life every day in this book, this one will only get me to March 1st, so I will be able to decide to do something different by then.

The fun thing about this project is that it is letting me be creative everyday while also looking at my life in review and appreciating it while documenting the parts I want to remember.  So far it's been a great daily project.  I started altering the pages the week after Christmas and got pretty far, since I wasn't sure how much time I would have once I started back to work and on other projects, but so far I don't think it would take much to create a daily page from scratch.  I keep my pages pretty simple, hiding anything I don't care for and putting things where and how I like.  Usually I'm just adding space to write on, since some of the pages are filled with large photos or designs, but I have added in some small decorative things where I want to break out the page and just add in some cuteness.

While most of the pages are going to end up as fairly personal, it's probably not likely I will share many of the finished ones.  However I do hope to share some of them before I start journaling on them.  (I simply hand journal on them so far in my scribbly hand writing, sometimes in one big space or some times I will break it up and write sideaways or something.  Either way that's about all I do so far on the pages I have already gotten ready.)

 I will try to post some more pictures and tips/tutorials/etc. on this project later for anyone wishing to do something similar.  

I hope you all had a great holiday and enjoy the silly things I've been up to.  Hopefully I will have more to share with you all again soon!