Priming the Pump through Play !

So my beautiful Russian grandmother, Bubbie as we called her, used to say "Vhen you don know vhat to do, do nothink ." I have always kind of liked that advice. When you are really unsure of what to do and you choose to wait it out, give it up to God, release and basically do "Nothink", I think you are doing what the Universe wants you to do. Just be, and the answer will come.

It is harder than it sounds to do "Nothink" though ! Especially for a control freak extraordinaire like myself !!! So I have come up with a new twist on Bubbie's quote. Here is mine : "When you don't know what to do, just PLAY until the answer comes." Not as cute with the whole Eastern European accent thing but it works for me ! Playing is my "doing Nothink" !


This morning I headed back into the studio, back into the Monday morning routine. I am very very lucky that I didn't have to head to a job I hate but I wasn't so happy about the fact that I was alone in the studio. My people play mates were all gone back to work ! I felt kind of deflated and not sure where to begin.


But it didn't take me long to remember by other playmates !!!

I dove in and had a Paint-Fest this morning ! I love doing this periodically. I chose a couple of colors and a variety of kinds of paint, get a huge pile of papers of all kinds ready and just start slapping paint around - with brushes, brayers, old credit cards, using stamps, stencils, sponges and any other tools that come to mind. I also keep my heat gun handy to dry some papers quickly so I can add layers and layers to them. I keep a big plastic table cloth on the floor and throw the papers on there to dry.

Here's a little sample of my play :

I pulled out a fun tool that I haven't used in a while and that I just love ! It is what I used to make the great black lines and "fake" handwriting on the pages above. It is a fine metal applicator tip used for writing on fabric and the nozzle head that screws right on to a bottle of acrylic craft paint. I have a spare bottle that I fill with black craft paint thinned with acrylic medium (you could use a little water too !) to make it flow well. I have had mine forever and I love the line detail you can get with it. Just be sure to rinse out the tips after you are done so that it doesn't get blocked with dry paint.

I found a similar little kit with bottles and tips for $9.00 at Dick Blicks if you want to use your Xmas money on a cool tool !

So after Paint Play, I had some great backgrounds for future use in journals, or in collages or whatever.

Here is the page I did today, inspired by the "Trust" cards I bought from Jen Lemen, that I am so loving everyday ! Today's card read "You can be kind to yourself." You bet I can !!!!

The background was done with a credit card dragging the paint down the page and a mask cut out in navy blue applied with a sponge.

I wrote out ways I can be kind to myself, like letting go of the perfectionist, and taking time to play !

Anyone who has every tried pumping water from an old fashioned water pump knows that you have to add water slowly into the pump, priming it to get the flow going. That's what my play time or my do "Nothink" time was about today, I think. Get that pump primed and we will be flowing before you know it !