Chalk Board and Chalk Board Paint Paint

One of the worst things to happen to me is to run out of an awesome color in paint. So I love to premix my colors to save for future projects. Right not I love to mix chalk board and chalk paint and store them in baby food jars. Now  I should first clarify, chalk board and and chalk are two different types of paint. "Chalk board paint" is like the name says, is paint you use to make a chalk board and

I found my chalk paint spongy after about 2 months.

you use chalk. "Chalk Paint" is paint that has a "chalky" feel to it and used to furniture, jars, etc. It has a vintage vibe to it. The great thing I love it is easy to make both an the recipe has the same ingredients. 

• Paint
• Plaster of Paris or Unsanded Grout
• Water

"Chalk Paint" 

2 Cups Paint

1/3 Water

2 Tablespoons of Plaster of Paris

Mix well and paint what you life. I will warn you that Chalk Paint, at least the homemade stuff I make, doesn't last forever. Eventually it it becomes this spongy like consistency. 

"Chalk Board Paint" 

1/4 paint

1/2 table spoon Plaster of Paris

A little dash of water if you fell like it.

Again, mix well and paint the surface you like. Just make sure you paint something that could really use chalk board paint on it. Its pretty goofy to put chalk board paint on mugs. As cute as it looks, it not fun getting chalk on your hands while drinking your coffee. :P

Tiny and Adorable

Have you ever noticed how this generation goes crazy over tiny adorable things? Not that previous generations enjoyed small adorable things, but it just seems this one enjoys it the most. Everything is about tiny and adorable.

We like miniatures of everything. Look up on Youtube about Tiny Clay Miniatures. Here are a few links to some of my favorites.
Mini Cookies and Sweets

Baby Dragon Charm Necklace

Cinderella Charm Bracelet

These crafters are so talented and I love watching their videos about making adorable tiny clay miniatures.

       

One thing I personally like to make are these mini journals made from scrap leather, pieces of water color paper, and "o" rings. I usually add some sort of charm in the front of the cover. This one I made with just some scrap leather, paper and glue. I wanted to have that thick old book feel, but still being tiny adorable. :)

And then from a  previous posts you have seen my new obsession with painting on tiny canvas. I think these master pieces are just so pretty and the fact they are so tiny make it even more adorable.

How many times have I said tiny and adorable? :P

Anyways, Stay Inspired and Stay Creative

Inspired by the little things.

I think all too often people search for the big "AH-HA" moment which will inspire them. Maybe if you traveled the world you could change it. Maybe if you won a competition you could prove yourself to the world. Maybe if this big, mega, epic thing just happened, you would finally feel like you needed to reach for the stars!...

The problem is though, those are a lot of "maybe"s. That is a lot of waiting. And that is a lot of dreaming without putting actions to support those dreams. It reminds me of when I was teenager, wanting to figure out where I suppose to go in life. I had so many ambitions, so many ideas, but I felt for me to complete these ideas or even go after them, something big was suppose to happen. Like if I wanted to be an artist I had some epic piece worth seeing. It was a perfect excuse for me to hide behind.

I think that is what a lot of people do. They set the bar high, so they can hide. It can be scary sometimes to realize what you have to go through to reach for your goals. Its easy to hide behind waiting for large "AH-HA" moment that will finally push you on your path.

It wasn't until I reached my college years did I start to appreciate the smaller, more finer, things in life. These smaller moments started inspire me to reach for something more. I would see one of my used paint brushes, and be proud because I was using the tools of my trade and it would inspire me to do more. I would sip a cup of tea and that would refresh me again to feel better and go on. It was in college that I started buying myself flowers to keep in my room, just to keep things bright and fresh around me.

It was the smaller things in life that inspired me in smaller steps to keep going. It was song here, a conversation there, a view from my window or a glance at the time. Randomly little moments, I found that kept me motivated and passionate. Instead of waiting and dreaming of a big epic moment to give you that push, start small. Find your little bit of inspiration now. Maybe you wrote a little poem on a scrap of paper. Try finishing it. Maybe you saw a flower and thought about your long passion for photography. Go ahead and go for it. Don't waste time waiting for something you could doing right.

Stay Creative and Inspired.

Mini Paintings Ideas

I am used painting larger canvas. The smallest I usually do is 8x10 inches. But lately I have been painting on these tiny ones that are only 4x4 inches and so easy to work with.

I have a thing for landscapes and sweets lately.

     They are just too cute! They are so sweet and inspiring. I love how you can have a little masterpiece that can fit right in the palm of your hand.  

     You can usually buy these adorable little canvases from a local craft store for a few bucks. I got a package of 6 for about $3.00  from Hobby Lobby after using their 40% of coupon. You can also get them from Walmart for about 97 cents for one. At crafts stores you can also get longer and even smallers, but I prefer this size. 

 I usually like to draw a little something by hand as a guide line, especially for my little cake paintings. It doesn't take much to fill the canvas so something like a little landscape or a slice of cake or cupcake works wonderfully on such a tiny space. 

    When it comes to the landscapes, you can draw a line for where a montain line or tree could be. The middle one in the bottom row in the picture above was rally easy. Just light blue above and some swooshs of white froma tiny brush to make clouds. Then with some dark purple and green, I dotted up and down to make the illusion of distand trees. The front ground was a play of colors with strokes of green, mustard yellow and some purples. 

           With tiny canvases like these don't be afraid to play with colors. I used oil paintings, but you can definately use acrylics or even watercolors for a more flowy feel. And with it being so tiny, you don't have to use to much, which means much less mess. They are just too cute! Try and make your own little master piece. 

Stay Creative and Inspired

~Nata