Painted {Book} Cover & Update

Has it really been since June since I posted last? Wow! I do have good reason, and I have not created since then. I have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, and disc degenerative disease. I have been in horrific pain since the very last week of May (the week before turning 54). I was finally diagnosed in July and have been trying various treatments since that time. I still suffer with pain daily but thankfully it is no longer in the 7-9 range. Praise God! Learning to deal with chronic pain has been hard, and I am still asking "Lord, what are you teaching me through this?" But yesterday I created for the first time in a very long time. It brought me such incredible joy that I have to try to make myself do it each week. It is healing to be able to just get my hands messy in paint and create.

So, what did I create? I painted a book cover. Oh my goodness, I am in love. This is a book I have had, the pages are empty, and I have decided that it is going to be my new "to do" book for home and for work. Yes, I am now working part-time at our church, and that also has been a great joy and blessing.

To create this book, I used the Deconstructed Floral Bouquet stencil from Stencil Girl. I then grabbed a few paint colors and began finger painting. Yes, I used my fingers. I started with a makeup sponge but I can't blend the paints as well so I dove in and finger painted. I actually prefer that. Here is what it looked like as I started:

Then I added more leaves and let it dry overnight. After it was dry, I used my Posca pen to add all of the white doodling. Once I did that I finished with my favorite paint splatters. I must always finish with that. :)

The leaves were created from a Sizzix die cut called "Leaves." I just die cut the leaves using an old folder. It was then very easy to use it as a stencil. I will use that technique again for sure. I really had a great time doing this. I hope it inspires you in some way! Have a blessed week!