She......flows!

Good Tuesday all my crafty friends! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! It has been so "fallish" here for the last several days. It's been raining non-stop! I love the rain and especially in the fall! The rain seems to bring out all the wonderful smells that fall brings! I love it! Since it rained all weekend, I was able to do a number of projects that I had been wanting to do! So, yippee for me!

One of the projects I want to share with you today was such a thrill for me to do! I am so thankful to a small group of folks that like my crazy art locally. I don't sell my art, it is pure enjoyment for me. I usually do it for giveaways or gifts. I'm not quite to the elevation that I would dare ask money for what I do! It's all in fun! That being said, I do have, from time to time, people ask me to make something for them and, of course, I jump on it! Any excuse to do what I love and I am there! LOL

I had a dear friend ask me to make something for her that she wanted to give to a friend that is suffering from cancer. How could I ever say no to something like that. If I can be a part of blessing another or lifting someone up during a difficult time, I will. This particular friend of mine has liked a few of my "she art" pieces and asked me would I do that for her with a "beach" theme! Her sweet friend who is suffering from that terrible disease loves anything "beach" themed and she wanted to give her something that reflected that.

I started my canvas with a coat of gesso and then added some drywall tape and Tim Holtz tissue tape here and there. I then just applied dots of gifted PaperArtsy Fresco Paints in various blue hues here and there and "smooshed" around with a baby wipe. I rounded it off with a little more gesso on top to fit it a softer touch. I then simply added some background stamping with black Archival Ink.

I had already arranged the setting in my mind so I pretty much had an easy go from this point. I have an old Bible that I got from a thrift store that I use pages out of to do art. I love to do that, right, wrong or indifferent, because I believe it "reaffirms" the message that I want to send. So I took a page and drew my "she" girl on with pencil then colored with my Derwent Water Color Pencils. After doing so I adhered to the canvas with Mod Podge and then began highlighting with my Micron Pens as well as my Faber Castell Big Brush Pens.

I went on line and downloaded some digitals of a beach umbrella, what I would like to think is a Bible and hat and then fussy cut them out and adhered to the page also with Mod Podge. I then just highlighted again with Microns and Big Brush Pens.

The fun part for me was figuring out how I wanted to do my sand! I took some Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium and mixed it with Finnabair's Mica Flakes until I got the consistency that I wanted and then simply slapped it on the canvas. I wanted more bling in there so I added some little jewels that I had that made me think of beach glass! And then I had some metal "beach" charms that I painted and then stuck in the sand. I had to rearrange the little hat and umbrella so it looked like it was in the sand, but it all worked out fine. For further bling I added some of Finnabair's Art Sugar.

I love how beaches will have the beach signs where the driftwood is going this way and that, so I thought I would draw that out to put my Bible verse on that was welling in my spirit for this young lady. I fussy cut the sign pieces out and distressed them with Distress Ink and then adhered with Mod Podge. I found a cute little sun face online, but I didn't like the rays coming out, so I cut them off and made my own and colored it with my Derwent Pencils, Mod Podged down and further highlighted with my Faber Castell Big Brush Pens. I also knew that I wanted to have a dove on the piece for "the Holy Spirit," so I drew that out and also Mod Podged on. And voila! 

I really loved doing this piece. I am no photographer, so my cellphone doesn't do the color or the Mica Flakes "sand" any justice. But I am hopeful that, that young lady will be blessed knowing that her friend loves her and is thinking of her during this difficult time in her life.

As her theme was "beach" obviously "water" came to my mind. God the Father speaks to us concerning "living waters" and that "whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." (John 7:38) That means that even in the circumstance that young lady or anyone facing a battle finds themselves in, that if she/they believe, that out of them will flow RIVERS of LIVING water! That is an AWESOME scripture to me! It is NOT for us to be sick because by the very act of Jesus on the cross, WE ARE HEALED!!! The manifestation is in God's timing. It could be immediate or to come. But we are to CLAIM that healing that up out of us flows those rivers of life! Why? That God's very grace encourage you, comfort you, strengthen you and sustain you! What love!

I don't pretend to understand the illnesses and diseases of our world today and why some are healed here on earth while others aren't healed until they are sitting with the Father, but I do KNOW and BELIEVE in the very Word of God and that it's purpose is for us to live according to His will, FILLED with all that the blood of Jesus provided for us! I CLAIM it today, how about you?

If life's circumstances have you in between a rock and a hard place today, recall the work of the cross and what your precious Savior Jesus did for you! What manner of love has the Father bestowed on us? BIG LOVE! ETERNAL LOVE!!

Blessings