Map Garland Tutorial ... or CQF

Do you know how sometimes you need a quick fix... a CQF… a Creative Quick Fix?  Well, this is the perfect antidote to the itchy fingers of crafting when you just need to create something satisfying - something quick - something that’s perfect for “that spot” that fulfils your urge to see something tangible come from your efforts.

 

I'm aware that a lot of the projects that I begin are long-term projects that won’t see the light of day for days... weeks... maybe, months.  And whilst I love the creative process and the meditative groove of a long-term project, sometimes you need to see the fruits of your labours much more quickly than that.

 

Do you know what I mean?

So, this is the perfect remedy for that need.  A lovely little concentration of creative joy that gives you pleasure in the making, and delight in the viewing, every time you see it.

It’s delightfully simple.  It’s personal.  And it can be achieved in less than 15 minutes.  I kid you not.

I was fortunate to come across an old, water-damaged atlas at a local flea market.  Fortunate that it was old.. and water-damaged…?  Well, I’m sentimental about books and maps, in general.  I have an old atlas from my childhood, but I just can’t bring myself to cut it up, even though I absolutely adore things made from maps.  But one that’s water-damaged….?  Well… I’m really just giving it a new life.  Perfect.

So, here are my (very quick) steps. Really…

You’ll need:-

- atlas page, or crafting paper, heavy gift wrap, mixed-media paper collage, etc, etc that you love

- length of ribbon, bias binding, strip of fabric, or the like (mine happened to be around 60in/150cm straight from my box of collected, used ribbon)

- sewing machine and thread / or needle and thread

- lead pencil

- scissors

1. from scrap paper, cut a couple of trial triangle shapes that please you and take them to the place where you want to hang your bunting (in my case, a mirror in our guest toilet)

2. hold them up to see which one ‘feels right’ in the space and to your creative eye

3. using this shape as a template-of-sorts, place it on the paper you intend to cut up and very loosely trace around it (this is not an exact science and variations are not only encouraged, but fabulous!)

4. cut out your triangles inside the tracing line - an odd number is suggested (I made 7) - if you follow Nature’s example, you’ll notice that she often repeats in odd numbers, so uneven elements naturally look ‘right’ to our eyes

5. using a sewing machine set to a straight stitch length of 3mm, or thereabouts, start sewing from the end of a length of ribbon until you get to the spot where you want to place your first triangle and continue to sew across the top of the triangle, so that the top edge remains hidden behind the ribbon and not poking out over the top

6. sew each of the triangles in place with about 1 in/2.5 to 3cm between each triangle (but gauge for yourself and space your triangles in whatever arrangement that feels right to you) and continue stitching to the other end of the ribbon - I like the threads that hang down from the ends of the ribbon, but you could cut them off

7. hang using poster tac - this string of paper deliciousness is not likely to be heavy

8. go back several times during the day to admire your creative flair

And one of the gorgeous side-effects of a CQF is that the satisfaction it generates not only gives you joy in the moment, it can fuel/ jumpstart/ revive/ spur on your long-term projects, and creative muse in general.  It’s a win/win.

My First Visual Journal Page.....Ever

 

I had an epiphany recently.  I realised that I get in my own way A LOT when creating.  I have lots of creative ideas but before I can even get them out of my head and into the world I stymie myself with expectations of perfection, concerns that it won't turn out as I see it in my mind, it'll be too hard to achieve, that it won't be as good as the work of others, and on, and on.....  Phew!

 

As is the way with realisations, the Universe then began providing me with answers.  I received an end-of-year-blog-post-roundup-email from Stampington & Company which pointed me in the direction of Visual Journal Artist, Teesha Moore.  And, more specifically, her videos (1 and 2) on the lettering process she uses in her art journals.  Whilst watching, I had this HUGE moment; a connection to myself as a teenager....  I used to do this!  I used to make cards using lettering like this.  I used to know how to do this! 

 

In an instant I was reconnected with a creative part of myself that I had completely forgotten.

 

So, I watched all of the videos she has so generously created.  They start with making your own visual journal out of one big sheet of watercolour paper, through to creating the background, collage, altering, embellishing, drawing and lettering.

 

There were a couple of things that I really liked about her process that especially resonated with me...

1. if she doesn't completely hate it, she will add an element to her page, whether it's collage, embellishing, drawing... whatever

2. in the end, if she doesn't like it (which she often finds that she does), she just changes it

 

As a perfectionist in reform, this was a revelation!

 

So, I went out and bought myself a few supplies, made myself a journal using her instructions (the sheet of watercolour paper cost less than $5) and got to work!

 

As a first try, I'm pretty happy with the results and am encouraged to try again.  And I'm confident that with time and practice, my pages might actually approach some of the fabulous brilliance of Teeasha Moore's journal pages.  And I have to remind myself that Teesha has been doing this for many years and for me, "It's just a beginning!", as Amanda Soule of SouleMama so eloquently put it in a recent blog post.

 

Amanda's blog post also came along at just the perfect time.  As a fellow Virgo, I can relate to the desire for something to turn out just as you see it in your mind; a need for perfection.  It is all too easy to have high expectations of ourselves but this often squanders and squashes the creative process.  And her words she spoke to herself were a balm for me too, "I realized that I could use a little empathy of my own, a little bit of patience, a little bit more gentleness with my own process."  Yes.

 

So, I'm being more gentle with myself.  Playing.  Just trying things out.  After all, it doesn't have to be perfect.  It's ok to make mistakes.  If it's not what I want I can just change it.