In Search of Mojo - What do you do?

Hello Arty Peeps!

Welcome to March on the Scrapping Clearly blog.

Life has been a bit of a struggle lately and my creative mojo has gone walkabout.

So, inspired by my favourite creative comrade Lisa, I decided to try working with a formula.

Alas, my imagination was also lacking until I remembered these mixed media idea cards I have had for years.

I committed to a play date with my art journal yesterday.

I shuffled the deck and started at the top, no rules except I would use warm colours and whatever I had to hand. The goal was to reacquaint myself with free creative play, it didn't have to be pretty just cathartic.

Here is my first effort

Not so pretty but it got me started in a big way!

Here are the cards I turned up and what I did with them, in order.

- draw or paste a self-portrait                           I drew stick figure style face with a Posca

- add acrylic paint                                             black Ceramcoat

- journal with a permanent pen                         black Posca again

- sew something on                                            twine used to sew on mesh down left side

- draw, paint, or colour a border                        red bingo marker with correction fluid

- add texture paste through a stencil                  Prima copper crackle + TCW mini mosaic

- add fluid paint                                                 watered down orange paint

- use a sponge to dab paint in random places      Dylusions Funky Fuchsia

- include a tag, label, or envelope                      Heidi Swapp kraft tag

- use stickers                                                     Alphas, Simple Stories + CVS

- add washi/tissue tape                                     Tim Holtz music tissue tape

- add a piece of your recycled art

- add an ink wash                                             Dylusions Lemon Zest

Here's a closer look at the stitching,

I'm not too fussed on the mix of colours here but I do like the variety of textures.

While I waited for my other journal to dry I played in my smaller square one.

Here are my cards

- add a silhouette                                   DW TCW stencil + Ceramcoat black

- go wild, choose your own                      I stamped excess paint with a stencil

- rubber stamp                                        DWM faces + Archival ink

- use a colour you typically don't use       purple watercolor

- write with a paintbrush and ink             India ink

- splatter paint                                        crimson watercolor

- doodle                                                  correction fluid around writing

At this point I was quite liking what I had, so I stopped using the cards.

I added some stamping with heart bubble wrap and doodled around the hearts,

then added some yellow watercolour (ink spray) with a wet wipe.

It was a productive play date as it got me started on a mini album I have been planning for a while,

something I'm looking forward to sharing with you later this month.

So what do you do when your mojo is missing but you still have the need to create?

Does a formula work for you?

Leave me a comment and let me know.

Thanks so much for dropping by,

til next time,