Index Card Art

Hello Friends,

Recently a friend posted her lovely art done on index cards. I thought it was a great idea, so I started some of my own. Here is my first batch.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Anniversary Book

Hello Friends,

I made this little anniversary book for dear friends who are celebrating 12 years of marriage this month. My friend, Angela Hoynes (Crafting with Jack), inspired the design. You can find her tutorial HERE.

I used mixed media painted, stamped and textured cardstock for the cover.

I used many digital verses and images for this project. It would be too time-consuming to name them all. I hope the artists will excuse me for not giving each one a mention.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your visit and look forward to reading your comments.

Blessings,
Teresa

Women of Fire

Hello Friends,

Just a quick post to share a painting I did at a worship and prayer event a couple of months ago. I call it, "Women of Fire".

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs & smiles,
Teresa

Beauty for Ashes

Hello Friends,

My family has been going through hard times for a while now, but we have gotten lots of prayer support. The other evening a group of friends were at our home, praying for us. Some of them recommended reading and meditating on (thinking about) Psalm 91 and Isaiah 61. My meditation brought forth this art journal layout.

Psalm 91 came from an old family bible that a friend picked up at a thrift store. She gave it to me to use in my art journaling. This was the first time I was actually able to tear a page from it. It was hard for me, but I told myself it was better for pages from it to be given new life, than for the whole thing to collect mold and dust, and eventually fall apart. Still, it was hard. I aged the page further by crinkly and dabbing into rust-colored ink. I added some sparkle from my fingers, after dipping them in watery gold acrylic paint.

For my non-realistic watering can with flowers, I used Gelatos and acrylic paints. The words are taken from Isaiah 61. The background of both pages was made with acrylic paints, stamps & stencils.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have people to pray you through hard times. If not, why not reach out to your local church to let them know you could use a little support. If there is a Grace Healing Rooms ministry in your area, I highly recommend them for physical or emotional healing needs. They are non-denominational and welcome non-believers, as well as Christians.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Oaks of Righteousness

Hello Friends,

Last night my family and friends threw me a surprise birthday party for my 60th. It really was a surprise because my birthday is not until Friday.

My family gave me a wood-burning tool. It has variable temperatures so I can use it in my encaustic painting. Plus, it has lots of cool tips. They even bought me two extra packs of tips - alphabet and numbers/symbols.

This is the first painting I did, using three of the tips that came with the tool. I did it on hardboard. It is an intuitive painting that I call "Oaks of Righteousness".

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your visit.

hugs & smiles,
Teresa

Something About that Name

Last week I practised making cloudy skies, using a blog post tutorial from ArtTutor.com  I cut in half a 9x12 sheet of 140 lb. watercolor paper to do my practice skies.

Then I tried out the technique in my art journal. I ended up adding in a bit of a landscape with castles in the background.

When I went in to add some details, I noticed a partial face in the clouds. I enhanced it a bit, but not so much that it looked super-imposed upon the sky.

A song from my youth seemed to fit the painting so I added it to the page.

Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate your visit and love reading your comments.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Mixed Media Tag

Hello Friends,

Here is a mixed media tag I made recently with recycled materials - boxboard, an old pin and an earring. I stamped the dove on a background made with Brushos and shimmer spray, and then cut it out.

I call these pieces "Chookie's Artspirations" and sell them as wee bits of art to encourage or inspire. Chookie is what my Scottish cousin calls me.

Thanks for dropping by.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Lay Your Burdens Down

Dear Friends,

One assurance in Life is that we will have problems. Sometimes those troubles threaten to overcome us. It is in times like those that I am most grateful to have a loving God in whom I can trust. He brings me peace - sometimes moment by moment - when that treasure is most elusive. In the midst of turmoil, he lifts me with hope that stretches far passed my circumstances. Even in sorrow, he sustains me with joy that plunges deep roots into my soul.

The other day I wrote a poem about this and put it into my art journal. I added a backpack and "Lay your burdens down" at the bottom of the page.

Here is the poem, in case you can't read it above:

LAY YOUR BURDENS DOWN

Burdens

All have them

No escape from pain

Troubles

To one and all

Tailored for our gain

Fire

That purifies

Makes us more like you

Peace

Is available

Strength to get us through

Life

That was poured out

Heaven’s precious flow

Joy

Thought impossible

Found in the One I know

Teresa Arsenault ©2018

I hope this has encouraged someone today. Thanks for stopping by.

Blessing hugs,

Teresa

He will Finish What He Began

Hello Friends,

Our family has been going through some trying times in the last year or so. A friend sent me an article with a very encouraging prophetic message. I clipped out the title and sidebar to use in an art journal page.

If you are unfamiliar with the prophetic, perhaps I can demystify it for you.

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice." (John 10:27) Any Christian can hear God's voice for herself. Any Christian can hear God's voice for other individuals. Sometimes a Christian can hear God's voice for a people group. The Christians we refer to as prophets hear God's voice for individuals and people groups on a regular basis. It is their main function in the Body of Christ. The article my friend sent me is from someone who is recognized by others as a prophet.

Unfortunately, many Christians do not recognize God's voice so they think he does not speak to them. That is because they are expecting to hear an audible voice and that is not usually how God speaks to us. He has a different way of speaking and even a 'language' that is unique to you.

Are you fascinated with skies, flowers, birds or animals? Listen with your heart, not your ears. What is God saying to you as you tend that beloved rose or groom your horse? Can you hear his whispers of love breaking through?

Do you love to buy or create gifts (or food) to give to loved ones? How is he creating with you? Is he telling you that he delights to give good gifts to you, just as you love to bless others with gifts?

What if you are not a Christian? What if you don't even believe in God? Will he still speak to you? YES. The person who seeks him with her whole heart, even if doubting but really wanting to know the truth, will find him. (Jeremiah 29:13) Guaranteed.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I do appreciate your visit.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Mixed Media Boxboard

Hello Friends,

One of the things I enjoy doing is recycling boxboard into art. Another thing I love doing is giving away these little art pieces to strangers as random acts of kindness. Both of these pieces have met that lovely fate.

I created these in April of 2017. This first one has some elements of collage, which I snipped from a magazine.

For my next piece, I got a jump-start with a Jane Davenport face stencil. I thinned out my flesh tone to reveal the splashes of colour beneath. Then I added a fabric flower to her hair. I waited for someone very special to come along to my demo table in order to give this one away.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

A Bushel and a Peck

Hello Friends,

I did this watercolor painting with collage in April of 2017 for a dear friend who had lost her father. He used to sing to her, "I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck."

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Mixed Media Pieces

Hello Friends,

I made these mixed media pieces from recycled boxboard some months ago, but am only getting around to posting them now.

Most of my pieces went as Christmas gifts or into a local shop, on consignment, but this next one I kept for myself. I couldn't bear to part with the bird-shaped bead I created.

This is the back.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Encaustic Collage

Hello Friends,

What is encaustic, you may ask, and rightly so. Though the art of painting with wax is millennia old, not many people nowadays have heard of it.

This bookmark encaustic piece was created in response to a challenge to make something black and white. After a few coats of white gesso, I added white and black encaustic paint with my encaustic (low temp) iron. Then I brushed on a few coats of encaustic medium before starting to add my collage elements: a Tickell Expressions sentiment, two white feathers and some metallic flakes. encaustic must be fused (heat gun) one layer at a time, cooling between. I finished the piece off with some fancy yarn and handmade beads. I pre-made them from pages of a well-worn New Testament bible. One of these days I will get a better setup for taking pictures. The metallic flakes do not show up at all.

If you are new here, you probably don't have this sentiment, so I will include it for your use.

Thanks for visiting.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Encouragement Card

Hello Friends,

I have taken a few watercolor lessons over the last few months. While I really appreciate all the You Tube tutorials available and online courses, they can't be compared to the value of having a talented teacher right there to help you get passed your mistakes and learn the basics.

One of our class exercises was to divide up our papers and paint nine different kinds of trees. I thought the little trees would make nice cards. I used this one on a scripture encouragement card.

It is always nice to have a few encouragement cards in my file, for whenever a friend or family member is going through a rough time.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate the visit and look forward to reading your comments.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

The God Who Sees Me

Hello friends,

Last Saturday I was given the extreme privilege of painting on stage with the worship team, during the worship part of our church's first monthly ladies' meeting. I prayed over and prepared my canvas ahead of time, but I didn't know what I was going to paint. Here is the completed painting in acrylics. I call it, "The God Who Sees Me".

The initial background, around the edges of the canvas only, suggested a forest, so I began putting in some fuzzy trees and defining one on the left. My mind's eye had seen a yellow/white orb when I was first asked to paint for the meeting, so I put a yellow/white circle in the center near the top. Some random brush strokes suggested the woman at the base of the tree.

I left the woman faceless. Her skin and hair are mid-tones. She can represent any woman. I did not paint clothes, but neither did I want a graphically naked body. I wanted only the suggestion of nakedness as in vulnerability, transparency and authenticity. We come to Christ real and sometimes raw, and he lovingly receives us. The woman is pregnant because God has impregnated his church with wonderful plans and purposes.

I added three bleeding knotholes in the tree the following day (Sunday) to represent the nail wounds of Christ.

When the painting was finished, I discovered this wonderful surprise - the image of a mother holding an infant as she gazes lovingly into its face. These were random brush strokes, so discovering this image was like a kiss from heaven.

I would love to hear how this painting speaks to you. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Waiting

Hello Friends,

You have waited a very long time to see a post from me here. Interesting that the art journal layout I am going to share with you is about waiting.

I started a 30-day art challenge and today's prompt was to create something that depicts a promise God has given for your life.

A friend recently asked me to test out some markers for her. I was not at all pleased with their performance and I was left with a pathetic looking face on my paper. But something about her drew me. She made me think about those promises in my life that I have waited many years to see fulfilled.

Here is the finished piece:

The last thing I coloured on this page was the lady's dress, the lady who represents present day me. I felt strongly impressed to leave it white, but to add clear glitter. I added it to her hair as well. As I looked at the effect, and the peaceful expression on the woman's face, I had the sense that my waiting on God's promises, without giving up, has had a positive effect on me. It felt like a smile from God.

Yesterday I painted a butterfly, along with a Craftsy blog tutorial. I thought it could represent a big promise being fulfilled. (The golden shimmer does not show up well in the photo) The little butterflies could be many other blessings raining down in my life. But after I had already posted this, Holy Spirit revealed that the butterflies also represent who I am becoming through waiting on God.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa