Good Morning!

Good Morning ~ Mandisa ~ 
Wave away my yesterday Cause I'm leaving it behind me. Hello sunshine, come what may, I feel something new inside me.
I hear the birds singing, Now my alarm's ringing, Get up, get up, hey!
It's a good morning!  Wake up to a brand new day! This morning, I'm stepping, stepping on my way. Good morning, You give me strength, You give me just what I need  And I can feel the hope that's rising in me, It's a good morning.
Slow down, breathe in, Don't move ahead I'm just living in this moment. I've got my arms raised, unphased, Jump out of bed Gotta get this party going.
I went to bed dreaming, You woke me up singing, Get up, get up, hey!
It's a good morning!  Wake up to a brand new day! This morning, I'm stepping, stepping on my way. Good morning, You give me strength, You give me just what I need  And I can feel the hope that's rising in me, It's a good morning.
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The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV
Many of you already know that Mandisa is probably my favorite Christian recording artist. For those of you who follow American Idol, Mandisa competed in season five. The three judges stated that they didn't "get" her Christian music and she was eliminated that night, finishing ninth. From there, Toby Mac stepped in and helped Mandisa get her foot in the door with the release of Lose My Soul, which included Toby Mac, Mandisa, and Kirk Franklin.  Before much longer, Mandisa recorded Good Morning, where she featured Toby Mac. You can watch the music video debut on Good Morning, America. (My favorite part comes at 1:25, where news anchor Robin Roberts is singing along.) Mandisa has so many great songs. I just love her music. She helps me remember that God's mercies ARE new every morning. Each day IS a brand new day and another chance. And in case you wondered - and even if you didn't :) - I shot the above photo a couple years ago at Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Orlando. I was on a boat crossing the World Showcase Lagoon at sunset. God's mercies are good then, too! Hang on to that promise and have a great day!

Lovin' Me Some Watercolors!

Trying something different this week. Haven't played with my watercolors in awhile, so I figured it was time to make a new project. And I'm listening to Mandisa sing while I type, so if I ramble off into random lyrics please forgive me :).

I began with a 5" x 7" piece of Strathmore Bristol (vellum surface) paper that I cut down from a larger size sheet. I'm just noticing that the cover of the pad this came in says "dry media" - oh, well. I used water and paint, sometimes a fair amount of water, and it worked great! I began by drawing out my bubbled letters, then drawing the box around that. I neglected to take a photo at that point. Sorry, I'm still learning :). Then I brushed around some beautiful green watercolor paint.

Not sure how well you will be able to see this, but I'm showing the photo anyway. I like to plop some drops of color down, let it sit a few seconds, then dab it with a paper towel and hit it with a heat gun. If you look at those darker spots towards the bottom right you can see some of the paper towel texture. I just like the way it looks, gives a little variation, and it looks like I did something awesome!

(Mandisa's singing Broken Hallelujah, which I love! Whistling and singing going on here!) I used a couple different shades of pink - splashing around, holding paper up and tilting - letting small amounts move on the paper. (Dance, Dance, Dance is playing now :D.) After each addition of color I let it sit a few seconds then dry it with a heat gun. It keeps my colors from running together too much - unless I want them to run, then I get the colors the way I want them to be before I dry it.

Once the background was the way I wanted it to be - I moved on to some Derwent Inktense Pencils (I just realized I've been spelling that wrong in some past posts - I need to go fix that.) I used two different shades of purple/mauve to color in some of the banner border and I used the watered down color on my water brush to fill in a shade around the banner box.

Next came coloring in the bubble letters and their aura. Again I used the pencils. I like using them in small, tighter areas over the watercolor paints. Probably doesn't make a real difference but it's more comfortable for me.

Down the right I stamped in some flowers from a Ditto cardmaking stamp and placed some words from an old Disney stamp I've had literally for 8-10 years.

Then I tangled in some little heart balloons and flower thing-a-ma-bobs, cause I don't know what their real name is :). An easy-peasy piece to make. I told Kali I was going to put it in my Etsy store (I have one item in there - hahaha!) and she asked how much I was going to sell it for. So, I'm guessing I'll be making another piece to actually put in the store. Just a guess. 

And just so you won't be left guessing - Mandisa is now singing Voice of a Savior. What a victorious song!  You and I are not that different. We've got a void and we're trying to fill it up, something that'll give just a little peace. All we want is a hand to reach to, open arms that say I love you! We'd give anything to hear, the voice of a savior! I pray you have an incredible day! And thank you so much for taking time to read my ramblings - you are greatly appreciated!

I would like to count this post towards The Artist's Play Room for this week. The challenge was to celebrate our favorite color - that would be "pink for certain!" said the lady with the pink hair. You can check out all the lovely colored artwork at Jenn's place - just click on the box below :).