Working Through The Pile of Unfinished Projects

Everyone I know who loves to create art always comment that their list of "wants" to create outweigh available time (is there ever enough time? hahaha).  I definitely experience this so whenever I have an idea and zilch time, I sketch, make notes and scribble.  This is so the image in my head or idea doesn't disappear as, more often than not, the best ones pop up at the wrong time!  When I do make time to create, having all these ideas to hand is awesome as, when the creative juice is low, I get to rediscover ideas from years/months back and it reignites the flame.

So last weekend, I sat down and drew up a list (yup, I'm a lists type of gal) of all the unfinished projects and ideas I wanted to trial to give myself little projects to work on when time is stretched.  If I don't keep my hand in my art, I get a little snarly 'apparently' (according to my husband, Heath).  My explanation is:

I purchased these balsa wood bookmarks a while back with the intention to test them out before listing them in my online store (currently on holidays).  So after about um ..... 12 months .... they finally got pulled out.  I always trial every product I buy before listing as I like to know what I'm selling isn't rubbish.

This week, I thought I'd pull out some of my sketches and trial these bookmarks out.  They're a good size [12cms x 3cms] with a smooth flat surface and a slight grain.  I used a range of colours from Tim Holtz's Distress Paint series, as it leaves a beautiful matte finish on the wood when dry and the paint is very fluid and easy to use.  This finish creates a wonderful platform to doodle on when applied thinly. 

So ... I bungled a couple initially.  First, I had too much water on the brush and the paint bled into the grain.  This was remedied by adding extra layers of paint which then caused it to be too thick that when I went to draw on it in pen, it gouged and left crumbly edges.   So annoying when I was so happy with the background! hahaha

So trying again with thinner coats and much longer drying time, here are a few examples:

I love the vibrancy of some of them despite being matte.  Next step is to stamp the back and seal them to protect the paint from wear and tear.  And then to add a tassel of sorts.  I'm thinking a beaded waxed linen tassel.  

Stayed tuned for some finished pics!  

Enjoy the week ahead :)