Hi there! It’s August, it’s the 10th… And I have a new instalment of Inspired by for you!
OK, so this summer thing is getting ridiculous. It was so sunny, hot and dry in the past month that all Dutch weather records have been broken.
Yesterday was the first rainy day in a long, long time in the city where I live, and I was so relieved that I didn’t even mind having to bike through the rain while running an errand.
The hot weather has had some effect on the amount of creative time I spent in the past month.
My craft room is situated on the back of the house, and it catches the sun all afternoon and evening. It’s not a pleasant room to be in during a heat wave. We don’t have air conditioning, you see. Most Dutch houses don’t have air con, because it never gets this hot for long.
Anyway. Here are a couple of things I can share!
I’m currently one prompt behind, but The Stencilfied Journal is still going!
From June through September fellow StencilGirl® Columnist Tina Walker is posting one prompt a week (16 in total), and we’re creating a ‘Wreck this Journal’-esque journal StencilGirl® style.
I love it!!! If this sounds like something you’d like too, then check Tina’s Instagram or Facebook feed, grab a notebook, and follow along with the prompts!
When Esther posted this photo on Facebook, I was reminded of my own stash of 1950s ladies magazines!
I have been using a lot of magazine clippings in my art journals recently, and though I regularly do cut up vintage books for collage and transfer purposes, these vintage magazines had completely slipped my mind.
The cutouts turned out to be just what the mini book I created for my latest Gelli Arts video tutorial needed!
What I didn’t realise it at the time is that Esther actually sells these 1950s cutouts (among other vintage ephemera) in her Etsy shop. So check out BadAssPaperlover on Etsy if you fancy a stash of vintage cutouts too!
Books and films
Not only did I cut up books this month, but I also listened to (audiobooks) and read some. Because when the weather is too hot to do anything, I think reading is the very best way to spend your time.
I’m also just inspired to read more. I keep wanting to buy books, but I can’t justify buying them if I keep adding to a bookshelf that is already full of books that I haven’t read. So if I want to buy more books, then I will need to read more books!
When I didn’t read this past month, I tried to watch films. I’m deliberately choosing films over TV series because that can be such a black hole and I would rather spend that time reading one of those books from the shelf!
I did go through the whole second Netflix series of Anne with an E though… But that only proves my point!
That’s a wrap!
OK, that’s it for this month’s heatwave edition of Inspired by!
Hop on over to Paperiliitin to see what has inspired Riikka this month!
Inspired by is a blog series by my friend Riikka and I.
On the 10th of each month, we share what inspired us that month with you and each other.
It can be anything from a person, a film, a book, a painting, to an item, something found in nature or in the city, a colour scheme or some materials we bought or discovered.
We will also share how the source of inspiration affects our work. Consider it a window into our creative minds!