Day 16 – August Arty Challenge – My Imagination Has No Limits

Day 16 – August Arty Challenge – My Imagination Has No Limits

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My imagination knows no limits. That sounds a bit big headed, but I don’t mean that I have the greatest imagination in the world! Not at all. I mean that there really are no rules or boundaries when we use our imagination. We can go anywhere, try anything, mix things up, change direction halfway through and make something that has never existed before. Nobody can tell you that what you’re imagining is wrong. And I’ve been seeing wonderful proof of…

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Day 15 – August Arty Challenge – I Trust It Will All Work Out

Day 15 – August Arty Challenge – I Trust It Will All Work Out

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Day 15 – I Trust It Will All Work Out Hi there. We’re almost halfway through our August Arty Challenge already! Today’s affirmation is I Trust It Will All Work Out. Now there’s a useful one — in art and in life. How often do we start making something and, halfway through, think, “Oh dear. This isn’t going the way I thought it would”? But if we keep going, add another layer, change direction, cover a bit up, work with…

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Day 14 – August Arty Challenge – I Will Get Out Of My Head And Get With My Hands

Day 14 – August Arty Challenge – I Will Get Out Of My Head And Get With My Hands

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Day 14 – I Will Get Creative With My Hands I must say this nearly every single time I’m on TV: getting creative with my hands is how I switch off my head. And for me, that really is the crux of everything. I have never been very good at doing nothing. My brain simply doesn’t stop. It thinks, plans, worries, works things out, jumps ahead, goes backwards — you know the drill! But give my hands something creative to…

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Day 13 – August Arty Challenge – Every Day Is A Chance To Create

Day 13 – August Arty Challenge – Every Day Is A Chance To Create

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Day 13 – Every Day Is A Chance To Create Hi there. Day 13 already! And today’s affirmation really does sum up what this August Arty Challenge is all about: Every Day Is A Chance To Create. You don’t need a whole free afternoon, a perfectly tidy craft room or some brilliant idea before you begin. Sometimes twenty minutes is enough. Sit down, pick up a pen, a stamp, a brush – whatever takes your fancy – and just make…

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Day 12 – August Arty Challenge – I Am Proud Of Myself

Day 12 – August Arty Challenge – I Am Proud Of Myself

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Day 12 – I Am Proud Of Myself Hi there. Today’s affirmation might feel a little uncomfortable to some of us: I am proud of myself. But being proud of yourself isn’t about being big headed, showing off or thinking you’re better than anybody else. Not at all. It’s simply about acknowledging how far you’ve come, what you’ve achieved, what you’ve overcome – and perhaps giving yourself a little credit for once! We’re often very quick to praise other people…

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Day 11 – August Arty Challenge – Small Ideas Can Grow Into Wonderful Things

Day 11 – August Arty Challenge – Small Ideas Can Grow Into Wonderful Things

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Small Ideas Can Grow Into Wonderful Things. Isn’t that so often how creativity works? You start with the tiniest idea – a colour, a shape, a stamp, perhaps something you’ve spotted while you’re out and about – and before you know it, one thought has led to another and you’ve created something you never planned at all. That’s why it’s so important to simply start. Don’t wait for the big idea or the perfect plan. Put something down on the…

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Day 10 – August Arty Challenge – A Blank Page Is Full Of Possibility

Day 10 – August Arty Challenge – A Blank Page Is Full Of Possibility

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Good morning and Happy Monday! Here we are on Day 10 of August already! Where does the time go? I overdid it a bit yesterday, (laughed too much maybe!), so I am stepping back from the SHAC this morning. Apologies for cancelling at the last minute. I already knew last night that I had overdone it, but decided to “sleep on it”. Verdict still the same this morning. Thing is, the next fortnight is going to be full on, with…

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Day 9 – August Arty Challenge – I Can Turn Simple Things Into Something Beautiful

Day 9 – August Arty Challenge – I Can Turn Simple Things Into Something Beautiful

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Happy Sunday! Now, that might sound a bit big-headed at first, but it really isn’t intended to. I’m not saying, “Look at me, aren’t I clever?” Far from it. I think this is something we can ALL do. Give us a scrap of paper, a stamp, a pencil, a bit of ink, an old book page or even something destined for the bin, and we have the ability to see beyond what it is and imagine what it could become….

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Day 8 – August Arty Challenge – Make Art Everyday

Day 8 – August Arty Challenge – Make Art Everyday

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Hi there. Hi there. Yep. That’s the whole point of this August Arty Challenge – TO MAKE ART EVERY DAY. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to take hours, and it certainly doesn’t have to be perfect. The important thing is that we actually sit down and make something. Because the more we do it, the easier it becomes to get into that creative groove – and one idea so often leads to another. And talking of…

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Day 7 – August Arty Challenge – The More I Do, The Better I Get, The Better I Get, The More I Want To Do

Day 7 – August Arty Challenge – The More I Do, The Better I Get, The Better I Get, The More I Want To Do

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Hi there, A big shout out to our dear friend Elizabeth, who once told me how much she loved our Groovi parchment system because, for the very first time in her life, it enabled her to create art completely independently, with no help from anyone else. I’ll never forget that conversation. Most of us take for granted the simple joy of sitting down and crafting on our own, but for Elizabeth that freedom was something she’d never experienced before. Watching…

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