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