Yupo Fun and ‘Believe’

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Wow, lookit me go!  It’s still January and here’s another post!  I hope it won’t be too much of a shock for you.

I’ve been pottering, and the silver lining to the no-show summer is (Ta-da!!) the tiny house has now been entirely decluttered.  I mean ENTIRELY!  There is nothing in this house now that is not useful or beautiful and probably both.  The laundry was the last space holding onto ‘someday’ things.  The last drawer has been sorted and tidied and there is nothing left to do now but keep it all ticking over nicely.  Can you see my halo, isn’t it bright and sparkly  ……..

I rocked up to my local stationers a couple of days ago and had them scan all twenty of the pieces in the art journal I worked on for the last three months of 2016.  Plus print out copies of all the yupo paper/alcohol ink pages I had made.  I’d decided to copy the ink spreads and then doodle so that I have lots of options to play.

Did those last two sentences sound like a foreign language to you? Read on my friend, read on.

Yupo paper isn’t paper, it’s a synthetic, a plastic pretending to be paper. It is therefore classed as a non-porous surface and things can be done to this stuff that can’t be done on paper, no matter how many gsm’s it is.

It’s also, at this end of the world, horribly expensive and something I intend to try only once in this life.   Hence the photocopying before doodling remark.  I treated myself to fifteen sheets and waved a fond farewell to $25.00.

One of the really fun things we can play with is alcohol inks, dripping drops of different colours onto the page and watching what happens. The ink spreads out and ‘blooms’, changing colour somewhat at the edges, more with some colours than others.  Mixing different colours together results in different spreadings, different blooms, and sometimes even no blooms.  It’s like taking part in some mysterious class  in alchemy and is totally fascinating to observe.

When the dripping and watching and wondering is done and the inks are dry (which doesn’t take long at all provided you don’t over drop in the first place) you doodle.  Doodling is also fun!  It can be done in front of the TV if you are so inclined, or can just be a quiet, meditative activity that steals hours from your life  🙂

Here’s some examples of the ink drops

Here’s one I have started to doodle on

And here is the only spread that is finished so far.

And here is that last spread cut into four pieces and note cards made using different coloured card and with writing paper inserts.  The following two photos taken at the desk, under lamp light, in the middle of a dreary, wet day:

Notecards 1

Notecards 1

Notecards 2

Notecards 2

I’m not complaining though, we had three lovely sunny, warm days on the trot.  It was quite exciting!

I have to say I really like these notecards, and in the interests of encouraging the renewed interest in letter writing, I’m going to package some up and put them in my shop.  And do a giveaway.  Stay tuned for that.

‘Believe’ is finished.

believe-c

This is a texture rich piece and there’s also a ton of gold metallic paint in there so it looks entirely different in different lights.  This is a slightly skewed scan, which is entirely unexciting as far as mood lighting goes.  You must therefore use your imagination to see all the gold glimmery bits.  Sorry about that.

I’m quite pleased with this one.

I hope you like it too.

So what do you think, are you tempted to play with yupo paper and alcohol inks?  Have you done so already?  How did it go for you?  And what do you think of those notecards?

Thanks for coming by today, I love that you did!

 

 

 

91 thoughts on “Yupo Fun and ‘Believe’”

  1. Wow – I love your art and I super love how you shared the process. It looks like you are using black and WHITE markers/pens (and some other colors in other pictures?) It is really a unique and beautiful process you have come up with!

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    • Hello Jodie, thank you for coming by! I didn’t come up with this process, it has been around for a while, this is just my take on it. I use black markers and pens, white paint pens and gold and silver markers too for the doodling, sometimes I throw in a bit of other colour if I feel it is needed, but usually I couldn’t tell you where or why once it is finished. It’s a lot of fun!

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  2. So, I completely missed this when you originally posted it and have worked backwards to get here. Now I know what Yupo paper is, I’m wondering what sort of pen you use to do the doodling. Really I am completely clueless when it comes to art supplies, but I would love to have a go at this technique.

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  3. I love the note cards…and I love the doodles which I see look great on fabric, wall paper or wrapping paper with matching cards. You truly have a talent. Your art makes me happy and lifts my spirits! As for decluttering, well, that may take more than a day around here:-) I am hoping soon to tackle that project after fixing up the gardens. So glad to see you posting again:-)

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  5. Well, here I am over a week later and getting to see your lovely work.
    I absolutely LOVE those notecards.
    and I have to confess to having never heard of yupo paper or to having any understanding of how you arrived at those notecards.
    But they are wonderful!

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  7. Given that it is February, I don’t believe this is “another January” post from you.:) … Oh yes … that one paragraph seemed a bit odd to me. A friend of mine is in your land for a year, and has told me about Kiwi English. 😉 … Nonetheless, beautiful creations … and the first and last are my favorites.

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  8. Pauline, I so envy you getting your decluttering and organizing done! I have planned to do this for sometime now, and something always comes up. Now I’m shooting for March. I have never heard of the paper or the alcohol inks, but it sounds so interesting. I love your color combinations and thought the note cards turned out ever so lovely!

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  9. Oh my goodness, Pauline, I’ve been off-line for most of the weekend, so I’m just now seeing your post. I glanced at your post on my phone, then moved to my laptop for maximum impact. Like many of your readers, I was in love with the ink drops as stand-alone art. Then the doodles…and the cards. I can’t wait to buy some when they’re up in your shop. And a give-away to come. We’ll all be poised to comment! I’m amazed at the way you’ve taken random sprawls of ink and turned them into purposefully flowers and leaves. I would love to give it a go, but alas don’t have our abilities. I’ll have to see if the Yupo is for sale in our local scrapbooking shop. They do a lot of mixed-media and card-making classes and they are always bringing in new things.

    I hope you’ll do a follow up post of your de-cluttered space. I think everyone who posted before me is intrigued and impressed. I’ve always enjoyed the process of reducing clutter, and found it a challenge when they boys were small. There was a steady stream of party favors, school projects, classroom Valentines, soft plushies, and on and on. I added up the plushies in C’s room one day (before he was a year old) and he had 50! I gave away half before he cared one way or another and while they were in pristine condition. Like most children, he attached to one, a Winnie-the-Pooh with a musical honey pot. They were all gifts from well-meaning friends or family, but it quickly became unmanageable.

    In addition to your gorgeous cards, small scraps would make lovely bookmarks or gift tags as well. It’s fun coming up with ideas for the leftovers, and those are often my go-to ideas.

    I know one lucky daughter who’s enjoying her new artwork. What a delight.

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    • Ah Alys – your comments here always delight me ❤ I feel all washed with warmth and love and appreciation – you have such a huge heart!! If you can get some yupo and alcohol inks (Tim Holtz, but also others make 'em) it really is a case of anyone can do this. Place random drips of ink, slowly onto the paper, watch and admire, drop some more, watch and admire and marvel, drip some more. Etc. Let air dry (overnight for maximum curing). Doodle. Expect to spend hours doodling. I've been doodling for about 7 – 8 hours on one sheet and still haven't finished it. I would love to have more alcohol inks and be quite adventurous in the dripping of different colours. But we make do with what we have – and really these came out better than I expected!

      It hadn't occurred to me to do a post about the decluttered house. I didn't take before photos, and as I'm a master of disguise when it comes to makeshift things you often don't know what you are looking at….. I'll see what I can do. Just for you 🙂

      I like the reminder of small tags and bookmarks made from scraps. I have made some small thank you cards from paint scraps [paper that catches the left over paint and stuff when I'm working in my journal or on a an actual painting. I've learnt that, over a period of time, you can make quite pretty paper from paintbrush cleanups. Amazing isn't it!

      The stuff we have – the stuff we keep! It's a first world issue that speaks to our privilege and consumerism isn't it. I try to think of myself living as a hermit in a hut on top of a high hill – there's a part of me that would really like to live that way – or in a gypsy caravan. That would be fun too. Either way there would be no room for anything but ones daily needs. In that case I still have too much stuff!

      I think we run into real trouble with it when we identify who we are through our stuff and daren't get rid of anything because that lessens our security. I paid money for that, someone I love gave me this, the other belonged to my great aunt twice removed and I have to keep it, I might want to read this book again, even though I have two hundred other books I haven't had the time to read yet; This might be useful one day, that could be worth money one day, the kids might want that when they get married ……… The reasons to keep stuff are endless and really, when we think them through clearly are mostly not good enough reasons to keep stuff that others could happily make daily or creative use of.

      Good on you for taking control of the influx of toys for your fairly new baby – which has been way out of hand for many years now. I think it is really good for our children to have a regular clear out of their stuff and give it away to chosen people and places. Laying down the habit when young makes it easier for the grown up and also builds up the generosity gene. I know adults who when giving things away still attempt to put parameters around who, how and what they will do with it. Makes me shake my head and tut! 🙂

      Well, that is all my views for now on that subject….. 🙂 Really looking forward to hearing about your recent activities when we skype. xoxo

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  10. Never heard of Yupo, but the results are wonderful. You are so brilliant and creative. Love your art.

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  11. Pauline, this was such a fascinating and gorgeous project! Your generous spirit showing us the steps you took and how each part works together really made this post meaningful to those who wouldn’t have a clue to how to begin. 🙂
    Your final results are amazing and beautiful! I like the idea of cards and may have once upon a time suggested you had the potential to sell your art in such a way. It is usually more reasonable and usable to sell things that need to be replaced!
    My parents, when they retired, paid rent to have a fourth of a great shop called, “Old Jib’s Corner.” Where Mom made Barbie clothes, jewelry (hand painted beads that looked like those Ukrainian eggs) and she had me painting rocks, wooden disks and slate. Dad had a rock polisher/tumbler. He could drill holes through the wood, rocks and slate. He sliced geodes into crystal centered bookends. They had fun being “shopkeepers” and the coffee shop inside this Victorian house brought in people, too.
    Funny thing is, the senior living place my Mom lives in now (25 miles away) takes a bus to this lake shore town of Vermilion, Ohio. They stop at this shop! 🙂 I make pen and ink cards often for friends as well as baby name pictures. Maybe one day, I will be able to distribute my (4) children’s books, cards and painted bits of nature, once again! You give me hope!
    Pats and scratches for Siddy and Orlando. ❤ Hugs, Robin xo

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    • How lovely that your parents had that shop together in their older years – it sounds like the kind of place I would love to spend some time browsing!

      I hope you do get an opportunity to market your creative work again Robin. I offer some of my art work for sale, but sell very little in reality 🙂 Now and again a bit of cash comes in to help buy new supplies which, living on a pension, is the only way I can keep creating. It is always such an honour when someone likes my work enough to want to spend their hard earned cash. We don’t get rich, but when we create we have fun and sometimes we get to share our creations around. I’m glad to hear I give you hope 🙂

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      • It was a happy and stress free retirement for both parents and I am happy they had such fun times. I know how struggling is in juggling a budget, Pauline. I wish I had enough to purchase all of our dear fellow blogging friends who are authors, as well as your light catchers and cards to give as gifts. Soon, maybe but probably more likely a few more years. . . Just having someone to think and share about art means a lot! Thank you! ❤

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        • I agree Robin – so many good people writing so well, making fabulous art, making useful things out of yarn, and some of us making things that aren’t particularly useful, but are certainly pretty 🙂 We do what we can. I think it is fabulous that your parents had those last years doing something they both loved and enjoyed and spending time together too. In the end its the love that matters isn’t it.

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  12. Hi Pauline, what amazing artwork and how courageous of you to have “decluttered” – believe me it does take a lot of courage, I did it a couple of years ago but some of the things I gave away, still linger on in my heart…..you are such a talented person Pauline. I read your comment on Susanne’s post, Cynthia lives on in our hearts, doesn’t she? I thought of her too on her birthday. We come in touch with some people, however far and remote and they make a permanent place in our hearts and Cynthia was one such person.
    We have had the hottest summer on record here in Sydney and I am waiting for cooler weather!!!
    Wishing you a Happy Lunar New Year Pauline
    Love, Shubha

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    • Hello Shubha, thank you for your lovely comment! I don’t think ‘courageous’ is the right word however – it is more to do with time and tide and living in a very small and poorly designed flat that, to make half-way bearable and pleasant, needed to be more lightly lived in. I’m glad our hearts were all with Cynthia on her birthday – I was touched by her sister Jen sharing a lovely memorial too. Very special!

      Our summer’s are both at extremes it seems. I think your heat is wafting out over the Tasman, turning to rain, detouring via Antarctica then visiting us 🙂 Happy Lunar New Year to you too Shubha – may it bring nothing but good your way! xo

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  14. I am guessing you can’t drink the alcohol inks? I have seen some truly spectacular alcohol inking on all sorts of surfaces and your doodling is up there with the best of them Ms Pauline. Lovely stuff. Anything that allows a riot of colour and creativity to be housed on the same page together and to look as lovely as this has to be some kind of yum. Delicious stuff. I am imagining the gold sparkles. She is lovely without them so I can only begin to imagine how much more lovely she is with extra light. Sort of a 2D dream catcher. Lovely stuff Ms Pauline. Happy year of the rooster 🙂

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    • I suspect the inks in an alcohol base would only be acceptable to a desperate alcoholic- and probably the staining around the mouth and chin would give them away 🙂 Though perhaps if they flavoured them appropriately, we’d have something to market….. It is fun to play with and I think my decision to photocopy the ink splats was inspired! Lots of yupo still to play with 🙂 Is it the Year of the Rooster already? Well, Cock-a-doodle-doo! Happy strutting to you all on Serendipity!

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      • That was a very clever idea to photocopy the ink splats so you can Cock-a-DOODLE as many as you want to. See, you can segue anything if you think about it long enough ;). I reckon if they made the brilliant colours cocktail flavours, they could market that alcohol ink to the masses easily ;).

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  15. I’ve never heard of Yupo paper…and what are alcohol inks? But whatever they are, you’ve produced some delightful images Pauline. How inspired to photocopy them too. I’d love to have a go just making the splodges…how satisfying to watch a pattern form randomly…like stuff in a Petrie dish. (Ooh, I didn’t mean that to sound disparaging- I mean WONDROUS! )😀😉
    Your gift cards are enchanting – I hope they do well in your shop…can you display the link again please.

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    • I go ‘alchemy’ and you go ‘Petrie dish’ 🙂 It didn’t sound at all disparaging to my ear, just different ways of looking with wonder. You could have a go – just visit your local art supply store, physically or on-line, fork out a few quid and have fun! The shop is found at the top of the blog, under the banner, directly below the lips of the ‘Believe’ face in today’s banner choice….. (Might be different in a weeks time … ) The cards aren’t there yet though there is lots of other stuff – and free shipping 🙂

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      • Aha, you see, I’m lazy…I just read the posts as they ping up in my reader on the iPad and don’t always click through to the actual blog site. My bad, as the latest idiom goes😀I’m off to Guildford tomorrow so will have a rummage around their art shop.

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  16. Oh Pauline, the note cards are absolutely lovely! You have outdone yourself with such beautiful creativity. I love them! No, I have never tried nor heard of this technique but I know I will not. I am not the artist in our house. I so admire those who have such talent. I think I’ve mentioned to you that my husband is an artist and our home is filled with his art work. He is stubborn about trying new technics but I am going to show this to him and see if it’s something that catches his interest. He too loves color and flowers but seems to be stuck in oils. It’s okay though, I think he’s pretty terrific anyway haha. Keep up with your love of art, you are so good at it

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  17. Your art work is beautiful Pauline and your ink drop doodles are just stunning! Whoever receives one of those cards will be very lucky indeed. All this talk of decluttering and tidying is making me feel like I need to get to work… 😉

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  18. How do I buy those cards? I would use them as birthday cards for the family. They are gloriously reminiscent – to me at least – of the ’60’s. Something very SoHo about them!

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    • Oh you sweetie, that is the highest compliment! Thank you! That colour palette is quite retro isn’t it. You will have to educate me about ‘SoHo’ though. To purchase go to my ‘contact me’ page and email me your wishes. Though you might want to wait til the giveaway is done, just in case your name gets pulled……

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      • Oh? A giveaway? That sounds fun. But I want the cards now. I’m so impatient! When is the giveaway?

        I was a youngster in the 1960’s (10 in ’67) and my memory may be completely wonky but I seem to recall that Soho, which is a part of London, was HQ for hipsters in bell-bottoms sporting shag hair-cuts and goatees and go-go boots. It was a haven for colourful and experimental art and music and fashion. And for some reason your cards make me think of that era.

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        • Ah, we knew it as ‘Swinging London’ and also ‘Carnaby Street’ in the 60’s – I was 17 – 18 in ’67 and wearing mini skirts and white go-go boots and straightening my curly hair at night with big rollers and sellotape 🙂 God, I’m glad that is all over and done with!

          The giveaway is 2 to 3 weeks away, when I have finished at least one more (and preferably two) of the yupo sheets with doodles and made up some more card designs.

          If you really want some now, I only have ready the four designs that are shown in this post now. Send me an email and we’ll discuss your wishes privately.

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          • I mixed up my London neighbourhoods. It was indeed Carnaby Street in the ’60’s, not Soho, that was the fashion epicentre of grooviness.

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  19. I doubt we will ever reach ‘declutter’; it feels like one of those Government states of readiness, like weather warnings and terrorism – currently we are at Active Mess which is a stage better than Controlled Chaos. As for Yupo I’m sure he was a clown I saw as a kind; yours doesn’t terrify me like he did mind. Your work is stunning, though…

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    • It is a clownish name isn’t it – I have no idea why it is called that……. It is a Japanese invention I believe and has been around, and used by water colourists, since the mid 90’s but has only recently jumped across to mixed media artists. The world is full of interesting stuff 🙂 I like your ‘active mess’ mode – and even ‘controlled chaos’ sounds quite bearable!

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  20. Congratulations on your decluttered home, how wonderful!! I have been through that process and it feels liberated!!! Your art is wonderful as always and I liked to read about the whole process. I am experimenting with drawing on black paper. It’s lovely to set yourself new challenges, right? Have a great weekend, xo Johanna

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    • Thank you Johanna, and yes, ‘liberated’ is the correct word! I am excited to hear about your drawing on black paper as I have been wanting to paint on black paper with some water colour and metallic paints to see what happens. I want to make a background first and go from there…… it’s still in the pondering stage 🙂 I hope you will post your sketches?

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  21. Hello dear Pauline, I’m so sorry to be this late in visiting you. I sound like a broken record, I know – more ‘spam’ problems and stuff of life slowing me down, as per. And I’ve discovered that if I leave several comments on one blog (which I often do due to constantly catching up), I end up going into spam later on. So…all that to say, I’ve caught up with your lovely posts – wonderful to see you here, so bright and beautiful and busy, sharing your gorgeous artwork – but will only comment here. I particulary like your notecards with the black cats – for obvious reasons 😉 And Siddy is just adorable, as always ❤ 'Believe' is beautiful and I love the the ink blobs, so unique! Sorry for your sad summer though…wow, I bet those holidaymakers didn't know what hit them! Glad to hear you had a few days of sunshine…and I hope you get a few more before your autumn. Have a lovely weekend my friend 🙂 xoxo

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    • It’s always lovely to see you Sherri, though I hope you haven’t been spammed here – I rarely check on it and it automatically deletes after so many days. We are all making the best of the poor weather while hoping for things to be better in February. I’m hoping to write a post complaining of the heat 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to visit and comment. ❤

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      • No worries with spam problems here Pauline, I saw my comment go through and hopefully it all seems to be okay, phew! I forget to check my spam too, but I am trying to remember to do so more often. Haha…yes, it would be nice for you to be able to complain about the heat…after all, isn’t that what we are supposed to do in the summer? 😉 I do hope things brighten up for your February. Here, the snowdrops are out and still frosty mornings, but the latest for us in the south west at least, is we are in for a week of milder (as in not bitterly cold, ha!) and wetter weather. Today, Sunday, is kicking off in grand style with heavy rain and grey skies, the kind of day home in. Hence my chance to catch up with a little bit of blogging and writing. Always a pleasure to visit with you my dear friend 🙂 ❤ xo

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  22. Well, i think those cards are absolutely wonderful, too! I was impressed with just the initial output, of the drops and the ways they are kind of transparent and glow, but then I saw the doodles and fell in love! And it looks like such fun to do! I think your painting tend out so well, too, and your house is now perfect and tidy . . . heavens, woman–what else will you do to impress us!

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    • I’m quite impressed about the light weight house too – though secretly I wonder how long it will take me to fill it up again ……… Of course I could write a post about all the things I screw up. It would be rather long 😀

      Aren’t those drops cool – it’s the plastic paper that does all the work. It retains the colour and adds the alchemy and just makes the whole process so much fun. Believe me, any one can do this! I’m glad you like the painting – it now hangs on the Official Photographer’s bedroom wall in a lovely frame.

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  23. You’re amazing, Pauline! Only you could turn some simple drops of ink into beautiful works of art. I love the note cards! If I saw them in a store, I would know immediately they”d been created by you. You’ve got your own sense of style and it rocks! ❤ Hugs to Siddy!

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    • Well, thank you Jill – though I have to say this is not an original idea, I first saw someone doing this on YT and so wanted to have a go I put Siddy on a diet for a fortnight 🙂 Glad you like them ❤

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  26. You are a clever puss! And a talented one, as a bonus. It must be satisfying to see the process develop from the very beginning. Good on ya.

    And, a hearty pat on the back for finishing the decluttering. We sure tend to gather a lot of things, don’t we?

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    • I think we hang on to stuff that we had when the kids were young or when we were young even (antiques) and stuff we paid money for even though we don’t use it or like it and stuff we were given and stuff that might be useful someday and books we read and loved but will never read again, ditto movies, music etc etc. All gone 🙂 Lovely to see you Yvonne – it’s been ages since you posted, hope all is well.

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  27. Wow. You’re on a roll, aren’t you? Congrats! And how lovely to be able to say: “There is nothing in this house now that is not useful or beautiful and probably both. “

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  28. Your painting turned out wonderful. I still love the one I have most of all. And, I get to see it every single day. My sister was playing with alcohol inks for awhile on glass. She quit after one try but I thought she had something going there. I might get her some of that Yupo for her birthday if not sooner. She has been helping me with the decluttering and re-organizing. It will take a great deal more time. Your cards are STUNNING! Who would have thought that drops could turn out so pretty. I will show her yours when she comes back to help again. Maybe it will inspire her. You inspire me most certainly. 🙂 Hugs.

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    • I think your sister will like the yupo – the inks behave better on yupo than glass I am told. Though I’m sure you could have fun using alcohol inks on glass too, you just can’t make cards out of the end product 🙂 I’m glad to hear you have some help with the decluttering, it takes a while doesn’t it! I am really happy with the cards and I’m wondering what else I can make with the finished doodled product too………. Thanks for coming by today Marlene, I always love to catch up! xoxo

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      • I put a package of it in my shopping cart at Amazon and forward her the information. If there was someway to copy it onto a clear medium or velum, it could hang like a sun catcher. I’ll keep thinking on it. I am so waiting for things to slow down so I can just sit and read awhile. Making short work of this though. Another load goes tomorrow and Tues I gave a lot away to my quilt group. There are so many people manufacturing stuff but there is no way we can as a world make use of it all. So much waste. Have a wonderfilled weekend. Hugs..

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        • What an excellent thought! I haven’t tried it, but now I wonder if it would work on transparency sheets – they are a non-porous surface, though possibly less slick than yupo. I shall have a play and see what happens…… There’s a whole world of layering possibilities that opens up with that thought Marlene. You’re a genius 🙂 Take heart on the recycling though – there are so many clever folk out there who take the stuff we give away and make something beautiful and or useful out of it. I would far rather my hoarded someday stuff goes somewhere it is appreciated and used than moulders in a box or drawer or cupboard here.

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          • I agree on passing on the stuff to get used rather than languish in the cupboards. I’m going to pretend that I have to move again and get rid of all that I don’t want to take along. I am seeing daylight. 🙂

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  29. These cards make me want to write letters!!!! They are so beautiful. I really like that first one; it makes me think of sliced radishes. The second is like its own universe, and the third, with the doodles made me think of the line “Maybe ash fields and brine will grow flowers rare…” You’re growing flowers rare, Pauline. I’m trying to get to decluttering myself…slowly, so slowly….

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    • Thank you Lisa, I love your takes on seeing each photo – so thoughtful! You’ve made me quite glow 🙂 The cards are really nice – and I’m now doodling some less flowery looking options also – more steampunk, time pieces, wheels and cogs look for the men who surely write letters too ….

      I think decluttering when you are working can only be done a drawer at a time 🙂 Still, you’ll have a wonderful time sorting out your kitchen clutter and indulging in a new bowl or two I’m sure! Is the flooring chosen?

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  30. So I saw the ink drops and thought “wow,” then I saw them with the doodling and thought “oh wow,” but then I saw the notebooks and my mouth fell open! Just lovely Pauline. Well done on the decluttering too. I have had a move, once again, and another on the horizon, long story, but it has certainly made me rethink how much stuff I really need. Lovely, as always, to see a post from you x

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    • Hi Kym – I was thinking about you the other day, your absence was noted! 🙂 I’m not on facebook at all these days and miss out on friends activities. Oh my gosh, moving is the pits, even when you want to move and the new home is perfect – it’s still such a stressful time! It was moving around so much that got me started on the whole decluttering thing – and the final refining has taken about four years, just more and more, slowly and surely working down through the levels of material possessions. I still have ‘stuff’ but it is appreciated and used – not just stuff in drawers and boxes and hidey places. I think if I had to move again there is probably only a quarter of the stuff I moved in with to take out 🙂 And not one bit of it missed!

      I hope your moving is ultimately a good thing and that a forever home is on the horizon.

      Thank you so much for your full and positive feedback on seeing the note cards – that was an absolute delight to read! ❤

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  31. I was gifted some yupo paper by a kind friend but have not yet been brace enough to try it since I regard it as precious. I don’t own alcohol inks, haven’t tried them, but I thought I might experiment with watercolor and inks and see what happens. Your post has inspired me to at least try one sheet and see what happens. I love your idea of photocopying your pages as the basis of doodles. That’s a smart idea. Your pages are gorgeous by the way.

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  32. Beautiful work, Pauline!! and I am so jealous at your having accomplished the job of decluttering…..I soon want to accomplish that myself but cannot figure out how to do it as I work full-time and am very involved with volunteer work and political activism….send me the shoemaker’s elves, please!

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