Weekend Journal

I haven't done a lot of posting, but I have completed a lot of pages in my art journal during the past month.  Here's a sampling of what I've been doing.

Intuitive art journaling offers fascinating insights into the subconscious.  I wasn't the least bit surprised to see this mask and armor appear as I approached each day like I was "headed into battle". 

I'm in a skull and skeleton gallery show this autumn, so once again, it's no surprise to me that a skeleton would make himself known to me.

When I'm working in my art journal, I like to begin by writing thoughts, phrases and words.  Sometimes I just use a regular ink pen.  Sometimes I use a brush and craft acrylics.  Often times, I'm listening to a lecture or music while I'm working, and that's where some of the phrases and words come from that I use in my work.

An art journal is the perfect place to experiment with new media.  I recently purchased a set of Inktense pencils (which I LOVE!).  Experimentation is all about the journey and not the end result.

What better place to determine how acrylics, Inktense pencils, and Neocolor II water soluble crayons interact with each other than in my art journal?   The 9"x12" portrait landscape is perfect for me.

It seems that I was channeling Klimt for this page!

I threw some oil pastels into the mix, and how much fun were those?  It's great to pull out those art items that have somehow gotten pushed aside.   It's easy to get into an art journaling routine.  It's a trap!  Rotate your supplies periodically.

I hope you enjoyed the tour through some my "experimental" art journal pages.   Remember the smaller, "Winter" journal that I made?

I'm happy to announce that I haven't missed one day of art journaling in this page a day book!  I'll be showing you these pages in the near future.

I hope that you're new year has gotten off to a happy and creative beginning, and I hope that you're creative muse is bursting with new ideas for you to explore.

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Monday's Musings

January.  Not my favorite month, and I'm afraid that February and I have an even more disagreeable relationship.  One might suspect that a dislike for the snow and cold are the main culprits that make these months so distasteful to me, but not at all.  

January and February are about fighting the demon named Depression, and conditions are optimum for him at this time of year. (Yes, Depression is clearly a male energy!)  He knows that my defenses are weakend; the songbirds are gone, there is no smell of earth, and nothing blooming in the garden.  There are no leisurely walks on the beach.  There is no warmth from the sun.  He knows I am vulnerable, but I know he is there and I dress myself in full armor.

 

 I know his tactics. and even though some battles are more difficult than others, I am always certain of my ability to win the war and reach that place where all of creativity lives.  And I have arrived.

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Tuesday Tips and Techniques: Use Your Printer!

When we were on vacation in Missouri, Suzi and I had our afternoon at Hobby Lobby.  (Of course we did!) I was watching my pennies, after all, I still had lots of shopping opportunities awaiting me in California.

While we were at Hobby Lobby, I found a great 12" x 12" sheet of scrapbooking paper that was tiny, handwritten words.  I LOVED it, but I didn't want to pay almost $2.00 for it.  So..........I took out my fine point sharpy and wrote my own words directly into my art journal.

On one side of the book, I wrote down all of the "Momisms" I could think of, and on the other side of the book, I wrote down all of the things that I could think of that make me happy.

 I took digital photos of each page, and now I have them on my computer ready to print out at a moment's notice.  I can alter the tint, reduce or enlarge sections of them, and basically alter them in any way I choose. 

So take advantage of your printer and put it to good use!  You'll save time, effort and money, and you'll have papers that are uniquely your own!

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Tuesday Tips and Techniques: Playing with Paper Three

Alcohol and Acrylics

This is one of my favorite techniques for making background papers.  Here's what you'll need:

1. Card stock pre-painted with acrylic paint. (artist or craft acrylics will both work)
2. 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (I bought mine at Walgreens)
3. Craft acrylics
4. Water

Paint your card stock (or other heavy paper) with craft or artist acrylics.  You can use a solid color but I prefer mixing the paint right on the page. ( Using metallic and glitter paint yield striking results!)  Let it dry.

Get your alcohol ready by pouring a small amount into the cap.  A cap full is plenty for one or two sheets of paper.

Set your alcohol nearby.  Now mix craft acrylic with water in an approximate 60% paint, 40% water mixture.  I use an egg carton.  Apply the paint to your page with a brush.  Work quickly because you don't want the paint to start drying.  If it seems like it's drying too fast, add another brush full of water.

While it's still glistening wet, begin dropping alcohol into the wet paint.  I do this using my index finger to flick the alcohol onto the page.  I also sometimes sprinkle the alcohol directly from the cap by tapping my finger on the cap.  Experiment with the application!

The alcohol reacts with the acrylic paint, and the paint spreads out away from the alcohol.  Here I've used a contrasting color for the top layer so there would be more contrast, but for more subtle texture, use similar colors.

You'll have a stack of yummy, textured paper in no time with this technique!

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Glitter and a Movie - "When Harry Met Sally"

The first movie for the challenge is "When Harry Met Sally".  I hadn't seen this movie in years, so I gave it another look via YouTube.  I took my inspiration from the vignettes of long married couples that were  sprinkled throughout the movie.

Keith and I celebrated 35 years of marriage this past April.  Our love blossomed in the autumn, and now, here we are in the autumn of life and still in hopelessly in love.

As I considered our life together, I remembered so many things that I had a difficult time deciding how to capture it all on one page.  How does one sum up a lifetime in a such a small space?

I decided that when it comes right down to it, it's all about love.  I thought about the love that brought the center of our universe into existence - our two sons...

...and I thought about all of the people who have been part of our lives who are now only with us in spirit.  I remembered all the happy times we spent with these people and the loving impact that each one had in our lives, and I smiled at the love that I am filled with when they come to mind.

So what's kept us together for 35 years?  It's simple.  LOVE.  Through all the challenging times, through all of the heartbreaking times, through all of the horrible times, through the many exciting and wonderful times, LOVE always won out in the end.  

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

To see more entries from this challenge, go HERE.  To watch "When Harry Met Sally", go HERE.

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Tuesday Tips & Techniques: Make Your Own Styrofoam Stamps

Making your own stamps is both easy and economical.  You know how I love to re-use and re-purpose, so it was only a matter of time before I figured out what to do with the Styrofoam in which meats are packaged.   I was going to show you the second "Playing with Paper" technique that I did with Barb, but that requires using stamps and stencils, and I don't have very many of either.

All you need to make your stamps are clean Styrofoam containers (mine had chicken in them so I washed them thoroughly), a ball point pen, a pair of scissors (to cut off the sides of the container), and your imagination.  The Styrofoam is sturdy enough to use many times, but it is also soft enough to scribe into quite easily.  Remember to save the sides - you can make smaller stamps with them.

I thought about some of Barb's stamps and stencils that we used that I absolutely loved.  One of them was a stencil full of numbers.  (When making number and/or alphabet stamps, remember to draw the characters backwards because you'll get a mirror image.)  It turned out to be one of my favorites.  

I created lots of different looks with these stamps and a few craft acrylic washes.  I put light washes of paint on white card stock for some of them.. Others, I printed on white card stock and after the prints had dried, I applied a light wash of craft acrylic.

I added white glitter paint to some of my washes.  Ooooooooo....shiny, sparkly, glittery - I'm there!  I printed this floral design in light blue and applied a black, glittery wash after the stamped print dried.  It reminds me of an old tin ceiling.  Beneath - the same stamp, different paint applications.

Here I used a light wash of orange tones on the paper.  After it dried, I applied a couple different shades of blue to the stamp.  I applied paint to the stamps with a paintbrush.

 Ah.....one Styrofoam container left.  What to do, what to do?  Barb also had another stencil that I really liked.  It was full of gears.  I could order one but, hmmmmmm.........I wonder if I can pull that off without using precise circles?

Well, they certainly aren't perfect circles, but I love the interesting background the stamp makes and it doesn't bother me at all that they aren't precise.  The effect is the same and the stamp will make for some really interesting background effects.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own Styrofoam stamps.  Do you have other uses for those Styrofoam containers?  Let me know!  Meanwhile, I have to chuckle to myself....."Geeze, Louise....is there nothing I won't throw out?

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE

Monday's Musings

Welcome October!

October is my favorite month of the year.  I love everything about it; the crisp, clean air, the dramatic skies, the smell of homemade baked goods fresh out of the oven.  October means it's time for sweaters, dark evenings spent snuggling or putting puzzles together, and drives into the country to admire autumn's lovely colors.  Summer's hectic pace slows down and BBQs rapidly become apple shopping and costume parties.  Welcome October!

GLITTER AND A MOVIE

Shorter October days also mean longer evening hours and more time to watch movies!  A Little Shop Around the Corner  is hosting  "Glitter and a Movie", a movie-themed creative challenge.  This month's movie challenge is "When Harry Met Sally".  The challenge is this:  Create a work of art inspired by the movie.  I'm in!  Artwork for this challenge is due October 12, 2012.  Click on the challenge button to learn more about participating.

My Travel Journal Continued

I'm making progress on my travel journal each day.  I really like the way my typed descriptions are tying everything together, but it is a time consuming process.  I'm "roughing in" all of the pages for now, and when my book is complete, I'll go back and add some artistic details.  

DAY 5

A Day to just hang out, only leaving the house for meals.  I'll add  darker paint and stars around the dome , and other details from our night tour of Mizzou campus.

I've attached the entire Andy's carry-out menu and added a photo of the sundae I got.

I didn't take photos of our lunch at Tony's Pizza Palace (I was SO hungry!), but I was able to  pull images from the Internet.

 DAY 6

It's STILL smoldering outside, but not so hot we stay at home today!  Five Guys for lunch,  Hobby Lobby for the afternoon, and an evening of music with Johnnie.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries has paper and crayons on hand for leaving messages on their bulletin board.  Here's a photo of my masterpiece..."Cleveland Rocks" on top, and "Greetings From Ohio" written on the bottom.  I've printed out my photo and applied it to a tag - tucked into a Five Guys' envelope for gift cards.

I bought my first alcohol inks (and I'm having fun with them!)  I applied each color to a tag and attached the tag to the page.  I'll go back later and label the name of each color.

I found these great ribbons (also on sale!) at Hobby lobby.  I cut a section of each ribbon and  glued them to the edge of the page as tabs.

 DAY 7

Our trip to St. Charles and overnight stay in a hotel near the airport (since we had to be there by 4am!!!) We arrived at the hotel before check-in, but the very gracious staff served us coffee in the beautiful lobby.  The mosaic tiled fireplace was gorgeous.  I'm not sure what I'll do with all the blank space on this page....

A welcome brochure is a great place to add a photo from the lobby and embellish with other  items.

Inside the brochure, I've attached a photo of our very nice  and cool room.  I'll write more notes about our stay on the piece of hotel stationary I have.

I still have room on the other side of the brochure for a couple photos and additional thoughts.  I also have  a menu from R.T. Weiler's where we finally had some BBQ.  I've incorporated photos from St. Charles and a coaster from the restaurant.

NEXT STOP:

A couple pages for our flights to Houston International Airport and on to LAX...

And finally.....our first trip to California!  I'll post these updated pages next week.  My hope is to do a video journal flip when my travel journal is completed - if my computer cooperates!

Have a great Monday and a great week, and I hope your autumn is colorful, spectacular, and filled with celebration, creativity and love!

CELEBRATE * LOVE * CREATE