Just 10 minutes....

When I am busy it can feel like I don't have time to do anything creative. It feels overwhelming....the thought of starting a blank piece of paper, choosing a colour palette, deciding on a theme/subject, making enough space on my table to even start...you get the idea! But you can shift that mindset if you create in small bursts, just one mark or layer at a time.

I thought I would share how I create multiple small background at the same time, I simply spend a few minutes between other jobs and let them build throughout the day. It beasts scrolling through social media :)

I am making backgrounds in a colour palette that works for my 100 days of mixed media circles project as it always helps to have a base ready to go on another day when time is short!

I started by cutting my sheet of mixed media cardstock in to 10cm squares (the size I am using for the 100 day project). I then sprayed the back of each panel with repositionable adhesive and stuck them down to a big sheet of backing paper as a single square. You could make your background first and then cut the panel down in to squares but I wanted to have a bit of control over the composition on this occasion. By sticking the panels to the big sheet of paper, I can move them out of the way while they are drying and they remain together while I am working on them which makes the process quicker.

I started by adding scribbles with Neocolour II crayons (they are water reactive so these first marks will blend when other mediums are added). I love to blend the crayons with a bit of gesso and a wet wipe. It creates a light and soft colour and gets some gesso on to the background too.

Over the course of my next few 'visits' to the table I add small pieces of collage - mainly scraps. Not overthinking, using a glue stick rather than mat medium for speed - I can even get one or two little pieces glued down while waiting for the kettle to boil! My general approach is to work around the edges....

I take care not to adhere any of the scraps across the joins between the panels!

Once I felt that I had added all of the collage elements that I wanted, I moved on to stencil details. Again, just a few minutes needed. I sponged through one of the mini stencils with red paint. I repeated the same action across all 4 sections...

On another 'visit' I used the same stencil but lifted the colour with some teal paint. And so on...with each visit to the table I did just one more thing. Adding some acrylic ink splatters, some pencil marks, some more gesso etc.

So, by the end of the day, I had 4 mini panels ready to go - even though I didn't think that I would have time to make something. It also meant I could quickly finish one of them for today's 100 days of mixed media circles :)

I hope that you find this a useful approach to making in small bursts throughout the day. The same process would work well on a journal page or batch making cards....just one small action/layer during short pockets of time. It also enriches my day as I am thinking about my next 'move' while getting on with less interesting jobs :)

Just make a start and find out where the first 10 minutes take you! Those minutes add up quickly :)

Let me know how you fit creative activity in to your day!