Creative Joy

Document everyday with creativity and joy.

This is my current life motto.

I love to create, inspire, and share.

Adding a piece of art to my everyday life brings me tremendous amounts of comfort and joy.

I may not know where my creative path may take me but I am grateful for the healing pleasures it gives me on a daily basis. 

Drawing, coloring, writing, & even adding sparkles to my art planner. 

I let my allotted time and mood choose my creative activity for the day.

I don't plan or push my creative actions.

I simply let them flow and unload onto paper as I feel inspired.

However, this being said, I am inspired a lot.

Finding time is far more difficult than inspiration. 

Within just about any given day, there is plenty of opportunity to enjoy a creative lifestyle. It make take a bit of creativity and multitasking just to make it work, but it is well worth it.

Over this past year I have spent nearly everyday with pen, pencil, and paper. 

I now have a very wonderful collection of journals, art journals, sketchbooks, and even pretty planners to look through. They are full of inspiring heartfelt moments from each and everyday.

Love spilled directly onto paper.

I encourage anyone with even the smallest amount of curiosity to take the creative jump. 

One little notebook to fill with all your dreams; creates wonderful memories to smile and look through in the future. 

Here's a little freebie to release you creativity on. 

Enjoy coloring and crafting with Joy, but please give me; Anna Stillwell at Cuddlebug Cuties, credit for drawing her, and if you have a moment please feel free to leave a comment letting me know that you stopped by.

 

Joy Cuddlebug Cuties

 

 

Joy Cuddlebug Cuties

Hope everyone has a wonderful joy filled weekend.

Hugs,

Anna

  

Mixed Media Art Journal Girl

Water based media.

Markers, pencils, crayons, and watercolors. 

I experimented with all of them for this layout.

All brand new media for me. 

Little to no experience with these tools; and with no real research on how to best use them, I just jumped in and decided to create a spread.

It was awesome.

Freedom to just play; no rules, no worries.

I highly recommend experimenting with new toys and just enjoy the process of creating art from your heart.

Freedom To Create, Art Journal Girl Cuddlebug Cuties

  

Art Journal Girl Close-up Cuddlebug Cuties

Freedom To Create, Cuddlebug Cuties

Enjoy coloring and crafting with Freedom to Create, but please give me; Anna Stillwell at Cuddlebug Cuties, credit for drawing her.

Hugs,

Anna

Sweet Violet Cuddlebug

It's been a long and trying week, but somehow I finally feel like I came out on top.

Last night was a close call for a bit of a superwoman breakdown.

At 1am I'm rushing into a 24hr animal emergency room begging the poor girl behind the desk to find me a doctor who treated rats... looking back now; her face was quite priceless.

Long story short; when male rats get into a squabble it's bad. Really bad, and stitches are likely. Everything worked out fine. My little furbaby is all fixed and has been spoiled all day. I think he quite likes laying on my drawing desk and getting hand fed little veges one at a time. Did I say spoiled? 

He hasn't move to terribly much but he seemed to enjoy watching me draw and color my latest digi. He'd do his cute purr and his eyes would boggle when I'd talk to him. Every now and then, he'd do a long stretch toward me and give my hand a dozen or so kisses.  It's really been sweet. 

Sad as the entire experience was, bonding with him today has just seemed to make all of the tough moments from the week evaporate. They really didn't have as much weight as I thought they did in the moment. He brought quite a bit of peace to my heart and mind. Big blessing can come in small packages.

Sweet Violet Cuddlebug Cuties

Sweet Violet Cuddlebug Cuties

 Copics:

Skin: E50, 30, 11, 13 R20

Hair: E29, 39, 23, 21

Dress: V09, 6, 12, 01

BG78, 49, 45, 01, G21, Y11

E33, Y35, YR 31, 30

 

Enjoy coloring and crafting with Sweet Violet, but please give me; Anna Stillwell at Cuddlebug Cuties, credit for drawing her.

Hugs,

Anna

Free Spirit Calista

There's something special about this Cuddlebug.

Her stance is just adorable; but you can also see a bit of sassy strength in it too.

I love that.

I'm cute, strong, and can achieve anything attitude.

I took special care while coloring her. 

I wanted her just perfect for an art journal layout I have in mind. I can't wait to fully complete a set of pages for her.

Calista Cuddlebug Cuties

Copics:

Skin: E13, 21, 30, 50, R20

Hair: E41, 43, 44, 47, 49

Clothes: BG90, 93, 96, 99

E42, 43, 44, 49

E70, 71, 74, 77

Calista Cuddlebug Cuties

Enjoy coloring and crafting with Calista, but please give me; Anna Stillwell at Cuddlebug Cuties, credit for drawing her.

Hugs,

Anna

Easter Sweetheart

I have two little bunnies that have made a home in my backyard.

They've been my neighbors since last summer.

I worried about them all winter, and insisted to my hubby that we buy rabbit food to keep them fed when it was icy out. (we fed the squirrels and the birds too, didn't want anybody to go hungry :) Apparently they have become accustomed to us now.

My husband decided late in the afternoon that he wanted to smoke a turkey. So, now it's dark. The smoker is still cooking and we have a big spotlight focused on it so we can keep and eye on how it's cooking. About a foot away from the smoker we have our two bunnies stretched out on the grass enjoying the heat. They seemed to careless about the light. You might think that walking outside would send them running...nope they didn't even look at us. Walking over to the smoker didn't even scare them. One of the little fuzzies actually started giving himself a bath.

Guess I have two new outdoor pets. 

I told my husband we should buy a little hutch for them to sleep in.

Just a little opened door box of some sort. 

Where they can go in and out as they please.

Just a safe place from birds and the elements.

Pretty sure he thinks I'm nuts, but he didn't protest.

Easter Sweetheart Work in Progress

Easter Sweetheart Digital Stamp Cuddlebug Cuties

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday, full of joy and blessings.

And hopefully this new Cuddlebug will start your day off right.

Enjoy coloring and crafting with Easter Sweetheart, but please give me; Anna Stillwell at Cuddlebug Cuties, credit for drawing her.

Hugs,

Anna

Creative Mary Beth Digital Stamp

I literally walked around today with a purse full of Copics. 

I was determined to get my latest illustration colored.

At one point I'm sitting in Starbucks parking lot coloring.

Every time I had a few extra minutes, I'd start digging around for markers.

It wasn't my usual relaxing way to create, but it got things done.

Sometimes you have to be creative with the time you have.

I think it all worked out well. This little Cuddlebug is adorable.

She's cute with a fun style and looks like she's ready to create.

                          

                            Cuddlebug Cuties Mary Beth

Cuddlebug Cuties Mary Beth

If you love this illustration, I also have a To Do List printable here, featuring Mary Beth.

It's great alone or for a ringed planner.

Plus it gives you something to color while you're making you lists :)

Copics:

Skin:    E13, 50, 51, 53

Hair:    E43, 44, 47, 49

Clothes:BG90,93, 96,99

      E41, 42, 43

      E43, 44, 47

Enjoy coloring and crafting with Mary Beth but please give me, Anna Stillwell at Cuddlebug Cuties, credit for drawing her.

Hugs,

Anna

Just because you grow up ...

Do you remember sitting in high school writing notes to your girlfriends instead of paying attention? 

The paper would be fully decorated with perfect handwriting and little hearts; brightly colored with pens and markers. You'd put such incredible effort into making it perfect and pretty.

Do you remember your high school bedroom?

If you were like me, I bet somewhere in that room was a collage board or maybe even a collage wall.

All your favorite photos of friends, pictures from magazines, artwork, and awards prominently displayed.

Do you remember going to bed one night feeling young and carefree...

 then waking up with a career, mortgage, and a family?!

You're suddenly responsible for more than just yourself.

People depend on you.

Where did the time go?

Just because you grow up doesn't mean those decorated notes and displays can no longer be a part of your life. Creativity has no age limit.

Decorating my Art Planner has become my new favorite craft hobby. Little notes, pretty papers, photos, artwork, and pretty much anything I can think of to put inside and keep as a little treasure; and yes, still all decorated with bright ink and a few little hearts.

Everyday I add a bit more color and a few more memories. At the end of the year I'll have a perfect little book. Someday I'll sit and read this book; and the ones that will follow, and rejoice in the memories that I cherished enough to stow inside.

Here's a few pretty planner supplies to get you started personalizing your Art Planner and making it fun while encouraging you to stay organized.

Washi tape.

 Colorful Pens

Paperclips & Journaling Cards

Sticky Notes

Pretty Paper & Envelopes

 Pictures

Scrapbook Paper

And Here's a bit of it all starting to come together.

Notes on pretty paper with washi tape. Opposite Page: Scrap paper, sticky notes, stickers, & paperclip.

** And **

I have created 2 To Do List Printables that are free for anyone to use in their personal Art Planners. 

If you are new to my blog, please read my Angel Policy tab about the use of my artwork.

 Tomorrow night I will have a digital stamp of the Cuddlebug on the left, so check back for your freebie; and I will be throwing color at my Art Planner this week; feel free to stop by next Thursday to see how it turns out.

Hugs,

Anna

 

Cuddlebug Cuties To Do List

Cuddlebug Cuties To Do List