Art Therapy 3: Walking Away (An Art Journaling Project)

There comes a time in life where the circumstances we find ourselves in, or the people we have allowed into our lives, become poisonous to our well-being. It is very important to give yourself the permission and right to walk away in these times. Today's blog is a very short one, concentrating simply on giving yourself the right to make this resolve. It is done in the form of an art journaling page, so that you can add it to an ongoing journal of wellness.
This blog is co-authored by Marietjie Uys (artist) and Melette Els (therapist)

The idea behind an art journal, just like any other diary or journal, is to capture your thoughts, ideas impressions, inspirations, etc. This is also a way to externalize feelings, experiences, challenges, etc. This process assists in creating a new life story, or coming to terms with what is happening, that way forming an alternative, preferred outcome. In an art journal, the focus is less on words and more on pictures, although words certainly still feature strongly in the journaling process. In a wellness journal, the focus of the journal is on taking steps towards mental and physical wellness. It is an attempt to get concrete steps in place that will guide towards wellness. In the process, the journal becomes a reference and a record of the milestones covered, visited and revisited. The journal can take any shape or size. I did today's page on a 12" x 12" white paper, but feel free to adjust this to your own needs. Ask yourself what the colour, texture, and size of the paper symbolizes to you. If, however, your choices are simply dictated by what you practically have available, that is perfectly fine as well! I start with two tubes of poster paint in colours that I find soothing, namely Cerulean Blue and Violet. You can also use watercolours, gouache, or acrylic colours for todays's project. Basically, it simply needs to be a paint that can be diluted with water.

I was looking after my niece and she naturally wanted to paint with me, so you will see that I have allowed her to do some of the work in the photos. Here she is dripping some water onto the paint to dilute it. Sometimes people come into our lives to assist us with this process without even knowing that they are part of the process that we are dealing with. This help can sometimes be so pure and innocent, like a child's need to 'play' with you. Acknowledge these influences and assistance, and allow yourself to treasure it!

I then gave her a palette knife and allowed her to mix the colours and the water together.

She badly wanted to use the hake brush and we both used it to lay down a proper colour wash onto our backgrounds. First dip the brush in the water to prepare it to accept the paint.

Squeeze out most of the water and then dip the brush in the paint.

Now cover the whole page with this soothing colour. Like preparing the paper, one also needs to prepare oneself emotionally for making a big decision that has the potential to be painful. One can do that in choosing a time to implement this decision when your life is fairly stable, or collect a group of friends with whom you feel comfortable to share your feelings, when you make this decision.Or simply prepare yourself mentally by being peaceful, at ease and content. Leave the paint to dry somewhere. The edges of the page will curl up, but they will settle down again when you put them in a journal, with the weight of the journal pressing them down. This too, is wonderfully symbolic of life. Sometimes the decisions we take towards wellness, has an immediate negative effect. It may leave us slightly uncomfortable. However, in time, the weightier aspects of our lives will help to smooth the rough edges out again.

I found this cute picture, giving the thumbs up sign, in a magazine and cut it out. What symbol could you relate to that would speak of permission to you, telling you that it is okay? Select or search for such a symbol. Sometimes we find them in the most unlikely of places. If need be, draw the symbol yourself.

This was symbolic of the idea I wanted to capture with today's blog; that is okay to make decisions like these.

I used a die-cut of a boot and traced the outline onto the paper. You could also use a smaller shoe and trace its outline, or you could even trace the outline of a foot onto the paper. Basically, you are looking for any shape that could present the idea of walking away.

I shifted the boot a little and traced a second boot to appear to be half-hidden behind the first, just like you would find in a person who is taking a step forward. Resolving to take action towards the improvement of your own well-being, is always a step in the right direction. Bear in mind that the size of the step does not matter! Any step you take is assured of bringing about change!

This is what the boot outlines look like when I am done with them. They are still very feint and barely visible, not unlike a new thought or idea that is born in our minds, such as when you start to suspect that you may have to leave a situation or person.

I now used a Yellow Paint Marker to redraw the outline of the boot. I choose yellow for the contrast it has to the blue. These shoes represent a firm decision that I am making in my life and it should not fade into my comfort colour. Therapeutically, when one takes a firm decision like this, you are moving yourself into position to take action in a matter that has hereto been vague and undefined.
How do you feel about your decision?
To confirm the decision, ask yourself the following questions:
Why is it important to me to make this decision?
What will be different in my life when I implement this decision?
What will I gain by implementing the decision? These could include things like freedom, peace, happiness, myself, the trust of my family, etc.
What will no longer be a part of my life if I make this decision? These could include things like fear, judgement, uncertainty, insecurity, hurt, abuse, etc.

I use the same Paint Marker to colour the soles of the shoes. This vibrant colour that I add to the soles of the shoes reaffirms the resolve that I have over the decisions I took.
How does this make you feel? In control, stronger, as if you are regaining lost power, alone, scared?
If you experience negative feelings, it may be advisable to consult a professional therapist to help guide you through this process.

I now use a Pink Metallic Marker to draw designs onto the boots. This is my coming to terms with my decision. I see this as something that will make my life prettier/better.

I then decide that the pink is too feint a colour for the decorative elements on the boots and choose to colour them a bright red with another marker. This is once again similar to the process that takes place in our heads when we make decision and dare to dream of a different future. At first, the future may seem like a feint outline of an idea, but soon it will take proper shape as we fill in the gaps and colour it the way we like it.

You may have noticed that I used a paper that had a tear in it. This was purposefully chosen. You may want to make a small tear in your own paper as well. With my boots all dolled up, I now use a Brown Brush-tipped Pigma Pen to add my journaling to the page. This is what I write: "When things and people TEAR my heart apart, I reserve the right to WALK away a WINNER!" Of course, you need to write what applies to your life! How does it make you feel to write and read this? Is this feeling strong enough to support your decision? Is it sufficient, or do you take further steps towards achieving your desired outcome?

Once I have written these words down, I decide that I so firmly believe in what I wrote, that I want to add even more decorations to those soles that makes this possible. I put a couple of dots of Tombow glue onto the heels of the boots.

I drop a rhinestone onto each of these drops of glue. I have dug my heels in on this topic. I feel that I am worthy of making decisions that are in my own best interest, and that I deserve standing up for whatever is in my own best interests! And I am liking it!

I then glue some sequin butterflies to the soles of the shoes. These butterflies face backwards and represent the people and situations that I am releasing into my past. I also let go of the anger and hurt they have caused so that I am free not to have to drag it with me into the future. They are left to fly free, but they are no longer a part of my future. They are under my feet and I have conquered them, survived them and released them. How does this make you feel? What does this enable you to do now? Determine what it is that you have time, energy and space available for. How will this affect your mindset and/or day to day functioning?

This is when I glue my thumbs-up picture to the page. It may not be a pretty element, but sometimes we allow these elements onto a page simply because they are so affirming of what we are busy with. It may seem out of line with what HAS to be done, but that is the idea. You are not doing what is expected of you, but rather what is important to YOU and YOUR future.

It is now that I start looking at the background of my page again. I add some flowers to the space behind the boots, but looking back, I see that I have done the right thing and that it has left my past prettier than it would have been if I had stayed.

And then I add a couple of music notes to the vast space in front of the boots. The future is largely left open as it is filled with potential, but I add the notes to illustrate my resolve to make sure that it is a happy one. Search for a song that makes you feel happy and listen to it. Make a mental note of how this makes you feel. Whenever you listen to this song, remind yourself that you can make decisions in your own interest.

Melette Els (Clinical Social Work) can be contacted via the webpage www.m-e.co.za, or by email at info@m-e.co.za, or by phone at 082 776 1536.
Melette Els B.A. (SocSc) M. (Th) 
BHF Pr Nr.: 089 000 00 28754 SACSSP Reg.Nr.: 10-17310

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
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School Holidays Project 27: Doing More Advanced Mosaics with Kids

In a previous blog on crafting with kids, I have shared some ideas for introducing very young children to the art of mosaics. In today's blog we take mosaics a step further. This time they work on a shaped background. They also work with differently shaped tiles, pebbles and tiles of different heights. I also opened the scope of available tiles substantially so that they had to think about colours and layouts more than was required for the previous blog. The biggest challenge here is to convince the interested adults to stand back and allow the kids to do this by themselves. If you have onlookers, I suggest you hand them each their own project as well.

I had bought each of the three little kids in my life their own die-cut initial. They were then given free choice of selecting some decoupaged glass tiles to use as starting blocks for their projects. The 4-year old chose the cute fish tiles, but ended up not using them.

The 9-year old immediately went for decorative tiles, rather than picture tiles.

I also opened up the bottle with tiles left over from other projects; a real odds and ends collection of tiles.

I then went in search of some pebbles around the house.

Their granny showed up with these bright yellow pebbles when she heard what was going on. They were also allowed to use any of the other tiles I had in my stash.

The 4-year old astonished me with this layout!

This little lady is developing into a very neat little artist and her skills continue to impress me. She is very able to control the flow of glue and can put tiny dots on the backs of the tiles to stick them down.

You have to appreciate the concentration that goes into achieving these results!

The 9-year old always choose multi-colored layouts and it did not surprise me when she once again opted for including as many colours as possible.

At 9, I had no doubt she could glue down her own tiles and could leave her up to her own devices, leaving me free to assist the little ones more.

What I really loved about this layout, is how this child did not hesitate to work outside the borders of the letter, realizing full well that nothing was lost by 'coloring outside the lines.' Good for her! I love the risks she is starting to take with her art.

This little man, 5 years old, initially did not want to join, as the older cousins were helping their grandfather fix the lawnmower and he loves delving into engines, especially when they are attached to lawnmowers. The girls were just finishing up when he showed up, the men having failed to get the motor started. He candidly informed me that he was now ready to do his mosaic as well.

I actually prefer to work separately with him and his sister as they are two completely different children and require wholly different approaches. This is a very active little boy who likes to keep moving. He also loves creating things with his hands, but he wants to achieve results much faster than his abilities allow at this stage of his life. This often results in projects that had started very well, but got rushed in the end, turning into a bit of a mess. We shall have to teach him to pace himself. This layout illustrated clearly the point I am making. You can see how widely spread the tiles are in comparison to the two girls before him. He quickly packed the tiles and then reached for the glue.

I stopped him and moved his tiles up, sticking to his original layout. I then suggested adding more tiles in the same pattern. He liked the results and readily agreed to the changes.

When gluing the tiles down, we again approach things differently. I advised him to unpack his tiles three at a time. He then glued the surface and repacked the tiles.

This is him spreading the glue evenly with his finger, something his little sister hates to do as she does not like getting her hands dirty. For him, this was the best part of the project!

And that little face tells you exactly how proud he is of what he has achieved. The projects were now set aside to dry over night as it was already late in the afternoon. We would do the grouting the following day.

When I finally get the kids together again, my little man helped me to mix some grout powder with water.

He then insisted on mixing it himself.

I had my hands full during the actual grouting process and could not take any photos, but this is what the projects looked like once the kids had grouted it. We left it in the sun to dry a little.

Once it was a little drier, we wiped the grout off the tiles with a damp cloth, taking care not to wipe the grout out of the grooves.

As these mosaics consisted of oddly shaped elements of varying heights, it was necessary to work clumps of grout away with a palette knife in some places.

Once cleaned up, their initials looked spectacular! I am certainly dealing with three very different individuals here!

For more crafty ideas and great products, visit APrettyTalent.com.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making PRETTY things.
You can subscribe to this blog and receive regular updates by email by simply registering your email address at the top of the current blog.

A Summary with References of Blogs 401-450

A number of people have mentioned that they find it difficult to find specific blogs among the growing list of published blogs. This gave me the idea of publishing a summary of previously published blogs, with links and photo references. This way you only need to save a handful of blogs which can easily be accessed to navigate to the blogs you are looking for. This is the ninth of these Index Blogs.
Follow these links to the Index Blogs:
Blogs 1-50
Blogs 51-100
Blogs 101-150
Blogs 151-200
Blogs 201-250
Blogs 251-300
Blogs 301-350
Blogs 351-400

Blogs 401-450

Blog 401 - A Summary with References of Blogs 351-400
"A number of people have mentioned that they find it difficult to find specific blogs among the growing list of published blogs. This gave me the idea of publishing a summary of previously published blogs, with links and photo references. This way you only need to save a handful of blogs which can easily be accessed to navigate to the blogs you are looking for. This is the eighth of these Index Blogs."

Blog 402 - Engraved Wood Card

"We do a couple of interesting things on wood, such as engraving, chalking and inking, before we use the wood panel on a birthday card. Interested? Let me show you more."

Blog 403 - Baking 'Ultimate Braai Broodjies'
"My mom shared a post for 'Ultimate Braai Broodjies' with me on Facebook. It was a recipe she had encountered on someone else's wall. She suggested we gave it a try, and as it seemed absolutely delicious, and she arrived home with a packet of ready dough, the two of us set out immediately to do prepare dinner - without the braai! There were a couple of snags in the recipe and I'll walk you through it. As good as it looks? Our conclusion: Even better!"

Blog 404 - Paint a Chicken in Water-soluble Pencils
"Do you love chickens as much as I do? Everything about them is cute. I love how a hen will gather her chicks under her, or the cute fluffiness of the chicks themselves. But I especially love the grandeur of a strutting cock with those colorful feathers shining in the sun. In today's blog I show you how easy it is to draw and paint chickens step by step, using water-soluble pencils."

Blog 405 - Giving Some Inherited Cake Tins a New Jacket with Chalk Paint and Decoupage

"I can not even remember where these cake tins came from originally, but my grandmother got them from someone and decided to pass them on to me when I was putting up house years ago. They have taken so many knocks through the years that they have become quite shabby looking. Add to that the fact that their pictures on them are out of date, it is clear to see that it is time for a makeover. In today's blog I use chalk paint and decoupage to give them a new lease on life."

Blog 406 - School Holiday Project 19 - Making Styrofoam-Framed Pictures

"My niece had the idea to cut frames from Styrofoam and naturally she came to me to do so. While she had visions of an underwater seascape, I wanted to use her idea for a frame to make a flower collage. The idea is a simple one and the possibilities for individualization is endless. The most important thing is to make sure you include a number of skills and mediums so that you will develop your child into a fully rounded artist. Let me show you what the two of us did and which products to use."

Blog 407 - 3 Hearts Wall Hangings
"Some off-cut Masonite, a little paint, Washi Tape and some clay is all you need to make yourself this simple but striking set of of three wall hangings. Let me show you how easy it is so you can do it yourself."

Blog 408 - Summary of Food Blogs 1
"I have had a numerous requests from individuals for recipes that were published in the past. A couple of people have asked that I publish all of them in a book, and others have suggested a compilation blog, with links to the kitchen blogs only. I'll keep the book idea on ice for now, but here is a nice summary blog to all of the kitchen blogs in the meantime. Links, photos, and introductory paragraphs all included. Enjoy!"

Blog 409 - Making a Stepped Birthday Card

"Today's blog has two elements that I absolutely love. The first is the interesting shape of the card that seem to mimic steps. The second is the interesting use of the simple circle shape. Sometimes simplicity goes a long way and has the ability to make a stronger impression than intricacies. Let me walk you through these quick steps and show you what to look out for to get it just right."

Blog 410 - Baking Oatmeal Bread with a Sourdough Starter (alternatives given)

"In today's blog we are going the healthy route, baking an Oatmeal Bread. The flavours in this bread are simply delicious and you will not regret having tried it. Unlike most breads it is made with milk. The combination of the milk and oats is where it derives its flavours from. Now add your Sourdough Starter and it can only get better. As always, I do discuss alternative raising agents as well."

Blog 411 - Getting Perspective Right in Art

"Getting perspective right in art is not as difficult as you may believe. There are a number of things one can do to guide the eye into believing what you want to convince it of. Today we inspect the vanishing point(s), line-work and tonal value to get the perspective right. There are 6 aspects regarding perspective we will be investigating in this blog."

Blog 412 - Three Not So Little Pigs Fabric Painting Project Using Dala's Range of Products

"I am not sure that everyone is familiar with Dala's range of fabric painting mediums. I know I had a lot to learn about this until recently. In the meantime, I have had an absolute ball of a time learning about ways in which to use it and it has opened a world of new possibilities to me. In today's blog I paint three (not so little) pigs on fabric, using these different mediums to introduce all of you to this wonderful new world that has opened up to me."

Blog 413 - Summary of Sewing Blogs 1-50
"I have thought it a good idea to try and organize the blogs a little to make them more accessible to myself and my readers. With this in mind, I have started grouping blogs that have a common theme together in a summary blog. This blog is complete with links, headings, descriptions and photos. This is the first of these blogs on sewing."

Blog 414 - Painting Fishermen in Mixed Media

"I have been inspired by a painting of another artist to paint some fishermen. Unfortunately I am unable to decipher the signature, or I would give him/her credit. I loved the free and loose style of painting that the artists used and wanted to do something similar, but on a textured background. That is why I spend some time on showing you how to prepare the background before we actually start painting."

Blog 415 - Ham, Bacon & Mushroom Quiche

"If there is one thing that will win my family's hearts, it is a good ole quiche. Now, if you are anything like them, then you have to try this one. It has everything that is to love about quiche and is loaded with protein, having ham, bacon, egg and cheese. I add the mushroom and green pepper because a few veggies makes anything better in my opinion."

Blog 416 - Making a Beaded Birthday Card

"I received a packet of Skull Beads from Dala and I was instantly fascinated. There were a number of ideas that immediately sprang to mind as to what I could do with it, and I have shared some of these with you already. But what I wanted to do, more than anything else, was to use them in conjunction with a very specific paper design I had in my paper stash, to make a card from. That is why today's blog was inspired by the beads."

Blog 417 - Baking a Berry Meringue Cake

"Normally I refrain from baking excessively sweet cakes, but every once in a while I will allow myself some indulgence to the children's delight and the chagrin of the adults. Oh well, all sugar highs will eventually wear off ;-). Today's Berry Meringue Cake is certainly sweet, but few things beat it for taste, texture and visual appeal. You have to make this one at least once in your life."

Blog 418 - Making Cute Pom-Pom Critters

"For this special day I will show you how to make some cute chickens and a fluffy bunny using pom-poms. It is not because I think these silly creatures have anything to do with the marvelous work that Christ did on the cross for us, or in celebrating that event, but because I do believe in quality family time and this is a fun project to do with the kids."

Blog 419 - Making Home-Made Ice Cream
"May I confess that I am one of a minute group of people who do not like ice cream. Therefore making home-made ice-cream never occurred to me to do. That is until the 16-year old in my life walked into the kitchen as I was baking with a tub of chilled cream in his hands. He wanted to make ice cream and naturally figured that his aunt would be up for the experiment. Well, okay then. As we are both coffee-holics, that is the flavour we settled on. We did a Google research, read a couple of recipes, kept the ideas we liked and discarded the rest. This blog shares our experimental Home-Made Coffee Ice Cream recipe with you."

Blog 420 - Six Ideas for Making Tags

"There are times when you need a tag, rather than a card. There is no need for those occasions to be littered with unsightly and boring tags. Tags can be made and decorated in a matter of minutes. As a matter of fact, making today's 6 widely different options took me only about half an hour for the lot. I use different mediums and techniques to make these tags, once again attempting to inspire you to explore your own creativity, rather than simply copying what I did."

Blog 421 - School Holiday Project 21 - Making Paper Mache Baskets
"Paper Mache is such an old and trusted form of art and crafts that it hardly needs an introduction. Yet, every new generation needs a fresh introduction to it. Today's paper mache project is a pocket-friendly one where we use starch as an adhesive rather than glue."

Blog 422 - Date, Almond & Cherry Coffee Cake With A Sourdough Starter (alternatives given)

"I found this delicious looking recipe for a Coffee Cake in one of my recipe books and decided to try it out. As per usual, for me, I adapted the recipe so that I could use my Sourdough starter. I also changed the suggested fillings of the original recipe completely. I give advice for using alternative raising agents in the blog as well."

Blog 423 - Magnetic Chalkboard Labels
"In today's blog we make a set of very versatile magnetic chalkboard labels. The idea behind this is that you can move the labels from one tin to another as you need to. Also, the chalk can be wiped clean and a new label written on it with zero effort. How cool is that? This is a really easy and quick project to do and will you will have pretty labels to mark your tins with in less than an hour."

Blog 424 - Sheet Music Art

"For today's art project, we do something a little different with the background. We cover it with sheet music before starting our actual art. We then use a very limited palette to do the drawings with, allowing the background to speak where normally colour would have been the voice we used."

Blog 425 - School Holiday Project 22 - Sand Art and Pompoms
"Today we do yet another project with the kids to introduce them to new mediums and surfaces. We select Styrofoam as a surface, 'paint' with sand and beads, and then we add a cute pompom critter with foam rubber detail. Sounds good? The kids will have a ball!"

Blog 426 - Summary of Sewing Blogs 51-100
"I have thought it a good idea to try and organize the blogs a little to make them more accessible to myself and my readers. With this in mind, I have started grouping blogs that have a common theme together in a summary blog. This blog is complete with links, headings, descriptions and photos. This is the second of these blogs on sewing."

Blog 427 - Make a Mosaic With Three Birds
"I went to the seaside on holiday with a friend who wanted to do a mosaic. Naturally I would need something to keep myself busy with as well. My choice fell upon a 12"x12" mosaic with three cute little birds to brighten up the scene. I share the steps for creating this with you in today's blog."

Blog 428 - Wind Pump Mosaic By A Blind Friend
"I have a friend who is blind. She loves building puzzles and her spacial orientation is exceptionally good. She only became completely blind after an operation in her early teens and until that time were able to distinguish colours. This gave her a very good grasp of colours. We recently went on holiday together and, as on a previous holiday together, she expressed the wish to build a mosaic. She chose the subject and we selected the tiles together, me giving the verbal input, and her deciding which to keep and which to loose. I helped her organize the tiles in her work-space and then she played around with the layout until she was satisfied and finally fixed the tiles in place. She gave me permission to blog and share the process with you."

Blog 429 - Baking Italian Pane al Cioccolato with a Sourdough Starter
"What to do when your Sourdough starter has grown to the point where you HAVE to use it, but you really crave some sweet chocolate? Bake an Italian Chocolate Loaf! Today's recipe is one that I adapted from one of my favorite recipe books so I could use my sourdough starter. As always, I will give advice for using other raising agents in the recipe."

Blog 430 - School Holiday Project 23 - Making Bling Bracelets
"My niece came over for a sleepover and we were looking for something creative to do when my eyes fell upon the packet of Dala Foam Rubber Ice Cream Sticks. Inspiration struck and I measured it around her wrist. It was a tight fit, but fit it did. Well then, all that was left to do was to turn it into a bracelet and, as everyone knows, all bracelets are better with a bit of bling on them."

Blog 431- Painting Margate Beachfront in Watercolors

"I recently was privileged enough to spend some time at the South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. I walked the Golden Mile every morning and evening for a week, accompanied by a dear friend of mine. In the process I managed to snap a number of fabulous photos of the Margate Beach Front and promptly decided to paint one of these in watercolors, using the watercolor pencils I brought along on holiday. As has become my habit, I snapped photos of the process and share these with you in today's blog."

Blog 432 - Summary of Art Blogs 1-50
"I have thought it a good idea to try and organize the blogs a little to make them more accessible to myself and my readers. With this in mind, I have started grouping blogs that have a common theme together in a summary blog. This blog is complete with links, headings, descriptions and photos. This is the first of these blogs on art."

Blog 433 - Baking Brown Bread with a Sourdough Starter
"It took running out of bread in the house for me to realize that I have neglected sharing this very easy recipe for baking everyday brown bread with a sourdough starter with you. What is brilliant about this recipe is that if you take a careful look at the list of ingredients on your Low GI bread in the shops, you will notice that they use largely the same ingredients. This bread really will sustain you much longer than most. As always, I give advice for using alternative raising agents as well."

Blog 434 - Shaping Owls From Clay
"Today's blog initially started as a bit of fun with my niece, but then I realized that you might enjoy it as much as we did and I quickly went for the camera to record the steps. We started making some owls from pins I discovered on Pinterest, but ended making my own creation. In all, I show you how to make three different owls from clay."

Blog 435 - School Holiday Project 24 - Making Notice Pegs for Boys
"Perhaps it is because I am not a boy myself, but I find it rather hard to think up ideas for crafts to do with boys. Today's ideas are not entirely my own, but adapted from ideas I found online. Having some brilliant products from Dala on hand, I was able to add my own signature to it and today we make an airplane and a bow-and-arrow from clothes pegs. We then stick some magnetic tape at the back to create cute note holders for your little artist's master pieces. Best of all is that this is so easy to do, that you can get the little man to make his own!"

Blog 436 - Baking and Serving French Couronne with a Sourdough Starter
"French Couronne is a basic white bread, shaped like a giant doughnut. What makes it exceptionally brilliant is the fact that it is traditionally started with a Chef, better known to us as a Sourdough Starter. Most recipes will start you with instructions for starting your chef, but you can use the Sourdough Starter we have been using with great success in this recipe. I share the recipe with you and then end it with a lovely serving suggestion at the end."

Blog 437 - Decoupage and Decorate a String of Wooden Banting
"Banting is big news these days and it seems to popping up all over. It is about time then that we also pay some attention to this fad. For today's blog, I use a set of six banting flags that I decoupage on both sides. I then have a load of fun decorating and spiffing the banting up, before stringing it up as home decor."

Blog 438 - Summary of Craft Blogs 1-50
"I have thought it a good idea to try and organize the blogs a little to make them more accessible to myself and my readers. With this in mind, I have started grouping blogs that have a common theme together in a summary blog. This blog is complete with links, headings, descriptions and photos. This is the first of these blogs on crafts in general."

Blog 439 - Baking Sweet & Savoury Scone Cakes
"The kids were visiting today and I had to think of something to feed them real quick. They insisted on having something sweet, but I wanted to include something savoury as well. Out came an old trick I learned from my mom. We would bake two batches of scones in cake format, one sweet and one savoury"

Blog 440 - Art Therapy 1: Seasons of Love Mixed Media
"Today's blog is all about the relationships we have with people in our lives. It is an acknowledgement of the fact that all relationships will enter into different phases or seasons. Some will recover after their Winter season and blossom anew into a Spring season. Others will die and disappear into the shadows. I show you step by step how to make your own Seasons of Love wall decoration and walk you through the thought processes that will (hopefully) assist in bringing about healing in your life.
This blog is co-authored by Marietjie Uys (artist) and Melette Els (therapist)."

Blog 441 - Painting a Musical Triptych on Three Circular Canvasses

"We move into a more modern genre with today's take on the musical scene. I show you step by step how to plan your layout for three round canvasses. We then draw the layouts step by step before I show you how to paint the canvasses ala prima (wet on wet) in oil colours."

Blog 442 - School Holiday Project 25: Introducing Kids to Mosaics
"Today I show you how to approach mosaics with very young kids. Your aim shifts and you look for different outcomes. Basically, it can be compared to free-form puzzle building. Sounds daunting? There are a few tricks I share that will make it easier achieve. We make some pot stands to surprise Mom with for this project."

Blog 443 - Art Therapy 2: Birds of Release Session 1 of 3
"This blog series, in three parts, covers a wide range of crafts when we pretty up three bird die-cuts, namely mosaics, decoupage and painting. However, we take the process even further when we use these birds as catalysts to deal with our own issues regarding forgiveness and release. In the process we help you to delve into areas you may have been avoiding and we attempt to help you create a pathway towards release and healing. This blog is not to be missed for either creative input, or therapeutic value. The first of these blogs uses mosiacs to help you shape your image of yourself."

Blog 444 - Art Therapy 2: Birds of Release Session 2 of 3
"This blog series, in three parts, covers a wide range of crafts when we pretty up three bird die-cuts, namely mosaics, decoupage and painting. However, we take the process even further when we use these birds as catalysts to deal with our own issues regarding forgiveness and release. In the process we help you to delve into areas you may have been avoiding and we attempt to help you create a pathway towards release and healing. This blog is not to be missed for either creative input, or therapeutic value. The second of these blogs uses decoupage to help you towards forgiveness of others and release of yourself."

Blog 445 - Art Therapy 2: Birds of Release Session 3 of 3
"This blog series, in three parts, covers a wide range of crafts when we pretty up three bird die-cuts, namely mosaics, decoupage and painting. However, we take the process even further when we use these birds as catalysts to deal with our own issues regarding forgiveness and release. In the process we help you to delve into areas you may have been avoiding and we attempt to help you create a pathway towards release and healing. This blog is not to be missed for either creative input, or therapeutic value. The third of these blogs uses painting to help you find direction for your own life."

Blog 446 - Summary of Craft Blogs 51-100
"I have thought it a good idea to try and organize the blogs a little to make them more accessible to myself and my readers. With this in mind, I have started grouping blogs that have a common theme together in a summary blog. This blog is complete with links, headings, descriptions and photos. This is the second of these blogs on crafts in general."

Blog 447 - School Holiday Project 26: Having Fun With Washi Tape
"I had a sick little boy visiting me today and he did not feel like playing outside with the other. He peeked up a bit when I seated myself in the studio and promptly joined me, making himself at home on the table next to me. I decided to discard the idea I had and to rather do something that he would enjoy. My eyes fell upon an empty tin that I still wanted to decorate and some wooden clothes pins I kept handy. Alongside these were a couple of rolls of Washi Tape. Well, okay then, I could figure out something to do with those odd items and this is how the two of us got to have loads of fun with tape today."

Blog 448 - Paint a Fashionista in Acrylics - Step by Step
"It must be my fashion design background, but I love a pretty silhouette and today's fashionista steps straight from the yesteryear's fashion pages onto our canvas. I show you step by step how to prepare your background, do a quick drawing in ink, and paint our lady in acrylic colours. This decorative statement piece can easily be done in an afternoon."

Blog 449 - Baking Sicilian Sfincione, Using Sourdough to Add Flavour
"We have been baking a lot of products where we used our sourdough starter as a raising agent. In today's blog it will give slight rise to our dough, but mostly, we will be using it to add flavour to the dough. We bake a Sicilian Sfincione, which is Sicily's version of Italian Pizza."

Blog 450 - Redesigning an Existing Dress

"My niece received two identical dresses as gifts from her two grandmothers. To solve this dilemma, she suggested her aunt, that being ME, redesign the dress for her. And she knew exactly what she wanted me to do with it too! She knew I had some fabulous netting in my fabric stash she's had some big ideas for it ever since I bought it. I liked her ideas, but figured I could do even better than she thought possible. I would involve her in the whole process just to be sure it met with her approval. So, in today's blog I show you what I did, all the while giving tips for when you do something similar with one of your garments."

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