The 100 day project Week 14 (Day 92 to Day 98)

Hey there creative friend!

How are you doing this week? Are your completed projects piling up? 

I wish I could say that my project list is getting shorter, but no. It's not happening. At least not at the moment. Of course, I am not going to tear up the list, it is just going to get done a bit later. LOL! I'm writing and boy, this story is surprising me in almost every scene. I just noticed that I misspelled 'stasis' but that is what editing is for.

I did do a bit of arty stuff, but not as much as at the start of the 100 days. I have been ticking off the days, and can you believe the end is just two days away?

But below is what I had been up to this past week, but I will see you again on Tuesday.

PS: look out on Instagram where I will be sharing (in a nutshell) what I have been up to for 100 days. 

💜 Linzé

Day 92

I had so much fun doing the collage grid last time, that I did another page. I added a bit of gold pen here and there. I also included a scrap of watercolour painting I did a while back,

Time: 3 hours

Day 96

And here is page 3!

I switched colour scheme and wanted to do black and white backgrounds. Then realised that I don't have B&W papers. Lots of B&W ephemera, but not what I wanted. So out came my stamps and ink pads.

At the end I had gluey black fingers, but it was loads of fun anyway. 😂

Time: 3 hours

Days 93, 94, 95, 97, and 98

Words this week.

Time: 4 hours

The 100 day project Week 13 (Day 85 to Day 91)

Hey there fellow creatives!

Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel growing bigger? Yup, the end is rushing closer. And so is my break. But overall the experience was not a bad one, only a tiring one. I will be looking at my list to see what I still want to do, and if it doesn't get done by day 100, then that is okay too.

What has your experience been like? Good? Educational? Let me know in the comments below.

But back to the current, or rather last week's, creative efforts.  

Until next time!

💜 Linzé

Days 85, 86, 87, 88, and 90

Words seem to flow like a river at the moment, so I am along for the ride. The manuscript is now just over 50,000 words, and I am still enjoying the characters and their story. A good thing in my book! 🥳

Time: 7 hours 45 minutes

Day 89

Working on the book drawing. I made a proportional error with the book, which is difficult to erase because I am using carbon pencils. I thought to adjust the background to cover it, but might actually have to start over. I am still thinking about my options.

Even if I start over, it won't be time wasted. I've learned something valuable about drawing proportions and sketching the outline before jumping in to draw. 😏

Time: 4 hours

Total time: 6 hours 40 minutes

Day 91

I forgot that in autumn the aloes start to bloom. This week I've noticed the aloes in our garden and made a quick drawing in my phenology journal for the month of May. I don't know the names of the aloes, but this one always blooms first.

This past week it has also been getting colder, which I don't mind so much as the shorter days. We don't have daylight savings time in South Africa, but we definitely notice that our days are two hours shorter than in the summer months. 🤔

Time: 40 minutes

The 100 day project Week 12 (Day 78 to Day 84)

 Hey there, creative friends!

What a week! Work, writing and trying to finish the competition painting before the deadline. Then trying to figure out how to submit a picture of the painting, finding the registration form, and then filling it out. It was a challenge all of its own. Maybe it's my age, but seriously why not just tell people what they had to do? Anyway, I got it done.

It's been a writing week again, but I did do some other arty things aside from the competition. I started a new canvas on Friday, but will share more about that in my next post.

Lastly, I am seriously looking forward to the end of this challenge, I really need a break.

Until next week!

💜 Linzé

Days 78, 79, 82, 83, and 84

I am not sure this is the exact word count, since I wrote a lot of words by hand this week. Once they are transcribed in my file, of course I will know how many I did write. 😂

Time: 6 hours

Day 80

I spent most the day to work on the competition painting to make sure it is completed in time. I will share a picture once the judges have made their decision.

Time: 5 hours

Day 81

I bought a Colour Block (the B&W version) a while back. It looks like cardstock bound like a pad of paper (80 sheets, 220gsm, 15x15cm squares). The top sheets are black, so I pulled out the arcylic brush markers I bought from Temu, and had a go. The markers are very nice, but the black stopped working before I actually had a chance to use it. Very disappointed, but I have other black acrylic pens, so it's not that much of a tragedy.

Note: The link is only for information.

You need to have a look at your local art stores (South Africa) if you want to try it out too.

Time: 40 minutes

The 100 day project Week 11 (Day 71 to Day 77)

Hey there, fellow creative!

After multiple weeks of two, three, and four workdays, it is almost unreal to get back to the reality of a five-day work week.

Not much to share in terms of art this week, since I have been writing almost every free minute that I have. I love how the story is going (up and downs for my characters) but they are making my life interesting, that's for sure! 🤦🏼‍♀️

With the end of the challenge on the horizon, I am still enjoying myself, and looking forward to taking a break at the end.

Wishing you a creative week. Until next week!

💜 Linzé

Days 71 to 74, and Day 77

Lots of writing on the story.

Time: 6 hours 45 minutes

Day 75

This is one of the projects of the Mastering Mixed Media taster course hosted by Tamara la Porte. It is based on the lesson by Jessica Swift.

Acrylic markers on 10x10cm canvas.

Time: 2 hours

Day 76

Playing with collage in an A4 sketchbook. Paper and glue with a bit of ink here and there.

The butterfly was coloured with acrylic markers and a gold Gelly Roll pen.

Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

The 100 day project Week 10 (Day 64 to Day 70)

Hey there, fellow creatives!

During April I wrote 26 blog posts for the A-to-Z blog challenge which amounted to 4663 words. It was fun to share my tips for overcoming creative block. But now it's back to focusing on the 100 day project.

And here are my creative endeavours of the past week.

I hope you enjoy them too. Until next week!

💜 Linzé

Day 64 to Day 68

I have been writing most days. I also started a painting which I cannot share since it is for a competition.

Once the winner is announced I will show what I painted.

Writing time: 5 hours

Day 69

Before Easter I bought this cute box shaped like a house filled with treats. I love chocolate. Then I got an idea: why not make a tiny doll's house room with the box to practice for the wooden apothecary cabinet I want to make?

Although I have spent hours on it today, there is not much to show yet. The wooden frame will be one of the windows.

I am still contemplating the theme while making the elements.

The lab was closed today for a long weekend, so I had a bit of time to play to my heart's content.

Time: 6 hours

Day 70

I wrote a few words today, but spent most of my free time working on the Easter box model. A door and a book case in progress. I'm using a pre-made window frame to support the smaller wooden pieces while the glue dries.

Time: 2 hours 20 minutes 

Cheating the Muse - Letter Z

Hey there, creative friends!

Welcome to the last letter of the A-to-Z blog challenge 2025. It's been a journey, hasn't it?

Did you find any of my suggestions to cheat the muse of any help? Please let me know. And you are very welcome to add your top tips to overcome or even prevent creative block. We can always learn from each other.

My last tip is the trusty Zentangle. It's not quite a traditional drawing but more than just a doodle. I like to draw the odd Zentangle, especially when contemplating new ideas to draw or paint.

And the last thought from me for this theme: zero excuses. I have shared many ideas, but these are not the only ones. They may or may not work for you, but having a backup list of ideas when the muse goes on strike is my go-to to keep the creative juices flowing.

I will keep blogging on my 100day project challenge projects if you want to visit again.

I wish you a joyful and creative life. Until next time!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter Y

Hey there, fellow creatives!

Welcome to my 1000th post!

When I saw the numbers at the beginning of the challenge, I thought that it couldn't be real. And yet, here I am. Fourteen years, and still going. The going is stronger in some months than in others, but you know how it goes when life gets busy.

I did decide not to post on social media in April, except for one post about my book on Instagram. I have also shared a few A-to-Z bloggers' posts to X, but many blogs don't have a sharing option activated. Some don't even allow for comments. It's a shame, but it's not something I have control over.

Did I pick a theme for today? I did: yellow. Because it is a happy colour, the closest to gold (for my achievement 🎉), and colour is always something we can play with.

My current 100day challenge large project is another drawing. But I am itching to write, so it might take some time to get back to it. But with the writing muse on a high, who am I to argue? 😏

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter X

Hey there, creative friends!

X is not an easy letter on the best of days. Then, I learned that woodblock printing is also known as xylography. LOL!

I have never done xylography, although I have watched several YouTube videos of masters of the art doing their thing. It is incredible. I don't have the tools to try it, but I like a similar kind of craft - linotyping. I have used erasers, polystyrene and lino sheets to carve and make stamps.

There is one more thing I want to try with a lino sheet that does not involve carving. Unfortunately, it will not be soon, but I will definitely post about it when I try my idea. Will it work? I have no idea at all. And that is part of the fun of experimenting—the unknown outcome. 😏

Until tomorrow, when I reach a milestone on my blog.

💜 Linzé

 

The 100 day project Week 9 (Day 57 to Day 63)

Hey there, creative friends!

How is your 100day project going? If yours have been like mine, you would have had ups and down along the way. I remind myself, daily, that I am doing this challenge for myself and that is why I can keep going. But will tell you this, once we get to day 100, I am definitely taking a break.

Lots of people tell you that you have to draw or write every day, but it can be exhausting. Creative work involves a lot of decision-making and that requires mental effort. Even though I have already written more than 50,000 words so far this year, have a novel coming out at the end of April, a novella coming out in July, and have made several artworks, I don't create every day.

So here are this past week's projects.

Until next week!

💜 Linzé

Day 57

Mini books to use in a junk journal. I plan to put them into pockets on a tag which I still have to make.

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Day 58

I found brass clothing things in a PNA this morning and just had to try and use it in a paper project. So I made a tag. The metal thing is at the top of the tag - the ribbon is tied to it.

Have no idea how it's used in sewing. 😏

Time: 1 hour

Day 59

I started a new drawing with carbon pencils. They are darker than graphite, but remain matt. I used both Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black and Faber-Castell PITT pencils.

Time: 2 hours 40 minutes

Day 60 to Day 63

I spent most of the week writing. On Thursday (Day 61) I had to have my car's windscreen replaced, and decided to wait while they did the work. I did watch while they removed the cracked glass, but not when they put in the new one. The removal process wasn't something I had seen before.

The rest of the time, I worked on the story.

Time: 8 hours

Cheating the Muse - Letter W

Hey there, fellow creative!

Today, we are talking about our WIPs, the unfinished works in process. I have a few of those lying around, and I'm sure you do, too. A WIP is not a problem because it remains a WIP until a creative project is done.

But sometimes, they don't get finished because we lose interest or it simply doesn't feel right. That is okay, too. The question is: what do you do with that unfinished project? Do you keep it? Tear it up or cut it to pieces? Or you could put it away somewhere and return to it after a period of time.

I am a fan of the last option. It is not always the solution, but a little distance and perhaps time helps to get some perspective. The insight can provide clarity or finalise the decision to start over or get rid of the project. I am more in favour of reusing a canvas, but you do you.

Stay creative. Until Monday!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter V

Hey there, fellow creatives!

Do you hoard your expensive art supplies? I confess that I do to some extent. In my previous job (I am now self-employed), I earned a massive salary for which I am grateful even to this day. That salary allowed me to buy the best coloured pencils, watercolour pencils, and watercolour paints that I cannot afford today.

Back then, I bought the sets, and since these highest-grade materials are available in open stock, I can replace only the colours that I use up. But I haven't used up anything except acrylic paints and acrylic mediums. My acrylic paint brands are not recognised outside of this country, but we are fortunate that they still are of high quality.

The imported materials pose that hoarding problem: they are available, only very expensive.

I use all my art materials, but I am definitely not pulling out the Caran D'Ache museum aquarelles for group projects or sketchbook practice.

For artwork that does not need to be lightfast, I use student-grade materials, especially coloured pencils. When I use the big guns, I appreciate what they bring to my art to level it up to the highest level.

I have learned something valuable even with student-grade materials: my skills don't depend on the price of the materials. I can draw and paint with student-grade materials just as well, and maybe even better than with the best materials, because I don't rely on the materials to create but on my skills and continued practice to keep improving.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé

Cheating the Muse - Letter U

Hey there, creative friends!

As we get nearer to the end of the alphabet, choosing a theme makes the letters more challenging. Then, the word unstructured popped into my brain.

I see this as a means to explore and experiment. There is no plan. No commission. No reference to paint. Of course, a reference can be used as inspiration, but not to copy. We are going to do just that as our next project in my art group.

It is a more expressive way of painting and is difficult to teach. I will give directions to the members who want to try it, but none of our efforts will look the same even if we use the same reference.

I love this kind of painting, but we will see if the rest of the group agrees once they have tried it.

Lots of fun to do, but with an unexpected and often surprising outcome.

Until tomorrow!

💜 Linzé