Recycled Materials X Cosmic Creative

Wow. It’s almost June! Time is flying by this year; I have loads of content coming soon but this post is dedicated to my favourite recycled materials to use within the Cosmic Creative pieces. 

Should I spare you of any rubbish puns and get on with the post? 

I’m by no means endorsing smoking (so I will not be naming the brands involved); however if you do already smoke, you’ll be aware of how much litter it produces from just the packaging of the items.

 A lot of the packaging are made of cardboard and it got me thinking how wasteful and damaging it is for the environment, for this to be binned so frequently. I’d also seen people do junk journaling pieces before so I  guess this concept/thought process was my starting point for using recycled materials for the backgrounds.

Stuck together papers from wet weather conditions can be a real pain, meaning the pack is no longer usable for its intended purpose...Get some PVA glue and watch them transform into a tissue paper texture for your backgrounds! 

                                                      

Another favourite type of recycled materials to use is ‘Junk Mail’ items such as leaflets and go local magazines. Free art supplies delivered straight to your door - not bad, huh? 

You can also use other packaging items for different textures...experiment with what you already have available as it saves the environment and can make for some funky elements to a piece!

Have you tried working with any recycled materials in your art before?  

Till next time,

Stevie x 

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Cosmic Creative X Art Therapy

My art teacher in school once said 'you can’t just create art you have to plan it, try out multiple different versions and experiments first'...oh how they were so wrong!

I’m not sure how other people go about making their art therapy pieces but I thought I’d share how I do mine. 

For me at least...Art therapy is about going with the flow, using colours initially drawn to and doing what comes naturally; working with your emotions which can be such a powerful thing for any mood really -  if you just let go and do it for the process, rather than the typical perfectionist approach.

I worked with biro and watercolour originally as I liked how expressive watercolour could be.

I also experimented with adding a few re-cycled ‘junk’ elements to the pieces in my first book as I’d seen people do art ‘junk’ journaling and mixed media journaling pieces previously...and it just sorta developed from there; I now use Re-cycled materials in all of my pieces for my backgrounds and additional 3d elements (Amazon packages are a favourite to use recently!!)

I find biro easier to initially draw with however I did just draw with sharpie for a bit but I now use it to outline and finish off the piece. 

I also discovered paint pens (which were was a turning point that really developed art style)

Within my art therapy work I like to use quotes or song lyrics that represent my mood and I also like to do motivational ones to aid with the personal growth process.  ”Healing is done through layers” and that is the entire premise of my art style. 

 I’ve got a few blog posts coming soon of the methods and processes I use for Cosmic Creative such as; my favourite re-cycled materials to use and product reviews.

What art styles have you tried in the past?

 Have you tried (or will you be) producing art for the process rather than perfectionist approach?

Till next time,

Stevie x

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Weirdos Short Film X My Story

Last year, I went away to Filey for a few days with Northern Film School as the MUA for their short film ‘Weirdos’ *as some of you will already be aware if you follow me on @simplystevie9*

I got involved with this amazing opportunity through uni; they always have loads extracurricular things like this but I’d not had the confidence *in myself or my ability* to put myself forward prior to this. 

This is where the actors stayed and before/during filming it was used a ‘backstage’ area for makeup applications. It was also used for cast and crew that weren’t needed for that specific scene. 

The crew and myself stayed in a hostel in Scarborough, it had no wifi or signal but they had chickens outside which was novel. 

 It was lovely meeting people of all ages that were involved with the short film and I’d not experimented with male makeup or for older skin types so while it was challenging I was proud to have successfully applied to both.  

Also I did a funky mermaid makeup look; I got to use some metallic shades, glitter and temporary tattoos which were ace as it’d been a while since I’d done a look like that! 

I saw a rainbow over the sea which I thought was beautiful so I took a picture...

Overall the experience massively challenged my comfort zones as I’d never done a short film from the MUA perspective (just photo shoots which is kinda a different procedure to film) and again I knew nobody before filming but I had no reason to be nervous; I found that I actually gained confidence from doing this and realised just how much passion I have for being an MUA.

If you want to know more about the short film you can look at their Instagram (@weirdos_film)

Till next time,

Stevie x

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4 Fashion Styling Favourites

I always like to experiment with my style, trying new things out so I thought I’d mention 4 of my favourite fashion styles I’ve been loving recently! 

Layering:

Pairing long sleeve tops with baggy t-shirts is vibe and whole mood recently...

I’m also loving layering this green long sleeve with different vest tops and my sun and moon mesh long sleeve top.

Fishnets:

Fishnets are such a versatile item they can be paired with so many different kinds of outfits and I used to wear them ALL the time. I’m not sure why I stopped wearing them *maybe I got too cold* anyways fishnet Stevie is backkkkk!

Patterned pants:

Funky pants are making an appearance again and I need to get some more *am so excited to go thrifting some charity shops when this lockdown shiz is over *

Belt:

So high waisted skinny jeans have been a favourite for a long time but adding a belt completely changes the outfit as can tuck your top into the jeans without looking silly. Plus on some jeans it kinda turns them into ‘Mom jeans’ which also an aesthetic/style I love!  

And that’s my 4 favourite styles I’m loving recently, just a short post today but wanted to update on the subject. 

What are some of your favourite styles?

Till next time,

Stevie

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Art Therapy X My Story

As I previously mentioned in my Life Update post, everything got west and it happened so rapid; it was one extreme event after another after another and I eventually built up the courage to admit I needed help of some kind.

I didn’t want to go down the medication route - instead I had ‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’ sessions; which are aimed on showing you practical ways to improve your mind state on a daily basis, by recognizing and learning to manage negative mental health patterns...ultimately changing the way you think and behave.

Counselling or Therapy really isn’t what you think, it’s more of a conversation without opinion based judgement; just being understood and asked the right questions to release the emotions which aids/begins the process of healing...it’s something you have to work through on your own nobody can ‘fix’ you, can only be guided in the process which is what CBT is all about.

Some of the most useful advice I was given was: 

Life’s like a heartbeat *or a rollercoaster if you like them* It goes up and down and there’s no magical cure for that but everything happens for a reason and without the downs you can’t appreciate the up’s!

Also there is 3 parts to everyday; morning, noon and evening – just because had a shit hour in the morning doesn’t mean it’s a bad day, you can have an amazing evening still...it’s all about changing your perspective! 

The first step of CBT was writing a list of worries and going through can you change it (no don’t worry, if yes – what can be done about it) and while that was helpful, my issue wasn’t just being worried; life was/had been on a negative spiral in every way possible and I didn’t know how to get back on track.

I felt it might be easier to portray through art what was going on/ the emotions as it was hard to explain wagwan sometimes...we spoke about art therapy which I could be doing in my own time to pair with the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions.  

The combination of Art Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy was LIFE CHANGING!!! It’s amazing how effective it was for pin pointing what was going wrong exactly and how to change it. I really am eternally grateful, I wholeheartedly believed there was no way of turning my life back around.

SO, I guess that’s kinda how Cosmic Creative was started!

If you want to know how you can create your own art therapy pieces I have a post coming soon!

Till next time,

Stevie x 

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Green Fashion Society X Shoot #RELOVEPRELOVED

 GIRL POWER!

A year ago I did a collaborative shoot in Manchester with THE loveliest talented creatives for the Green Fashion Society #relovepreloved May19 Issue; "A big project about fashion sustainability, a collaborative publication between fashion art direction students and photography students focusing on ethical fashion issues through editorials and written communications."

I'm a Fashion, Theatrical, Media Hair + Makeup student in Leeds but i still wanted to get involved as it's a project that massively resonated with my personal values; This was the start of my confidence building as I’d never met them before so it was massively out of my comfort zone however I’m so glad I did it because it’s one of my favourite experiences!

‘when we throw things away it must go somewhere and it’s becoming more important to be aware of more ethical/ eco-friendly purchases and ways of living’

HOW FUNKY ARE THESE HANDMADE EARRINGS THOUGH!?

Models @aishamatraxia @jenniferacrossley and me (@simplystevie9)

Styling and direction @onagreenwoodart *Check out Ona's portfolio it's sickkk*

Photographers @nicolemullan.photography @rebeccart.mccann @zara_photographer_

“Make, Thrift, Swap, Borrow and use what you have; Buy less, choose well and make it last!”

- All second hand clothing styling for this shoot!

I had so much fun and found the location/styling choices super inspirational! 

Behind the scenes boomerang...

                     “Call it eco-fashion if you want, I just think it’s common sense” 

“Up-cycle not just re-cycle, repeating your wardrobe pieces in different ways gives your own style a distinction compared to looking for something new.” 

I did a boxy blue, green and yellow ombre eye makeup look for this shoot which I’d never attempted before but it turned out pretty well, like I rate it would probably wear it again - despite the strange looks I got on the way home...

For more information you can watch their ‘Fast fashion vs. Green fashion interview’ speaking the “hidden truth of the fast fashion industry - We can all individually take control and make a greener future for fashion.”

You can also check out the GFS Instagram or the GFSPortfolio for more.

Do you prefer to shop online or in person?

What are your personal core values? 

Till next time,

Stevie  X

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