Weekend Journal

Journal Pages

It's been a while since I've posted some journal pages, so I thought I'd share what I've been up to in my journals.  I haven't been journaling every day, because as you know, the holiday season is filled with special activities and events that require lots of preparation and time.

Sometimes, less really is more!

I found this abandoned lottery ticket in a puddle of rain.  One man's trash....

Keith has been out of town on business, and I stayed up ALL NIGHT Thursday.  Crazy? Yes.

I'm missing my hubby, but he comes home today.  YAY!

A tad schizophrenic? Uh.....maybe.  But it was great fun.  This might be a Tuesday Technique!

Remember this page from the challenge?  Almost finished but I need some graffiti on my wall.

MOLESKIN FUN

Playing with my new birthday supplies - Pentel Brush Pen & General's Pastel pencils.  LOVE them!

I finished my pages from Tuesday Tips & Techniques using the die-cut waste.

Paper Beads

We're doing a themed Secret Santa gift exchange in my Thursday Art Journaling class.  Week one was paper so we made   shaving cream/food coloring background papers in class.  We had a blast!  This week, the theme was "Beads, Baubles and Buttons".  Making paper beads was the class activity and that was a lot of fun, too!

It's easy to make a plethora of beads in a short period of time.  Look for the technique in an upcoming Tues . T & T post.

Copy paper with Pitt Pens and Sharpies

Holiday Gift Wrap

Scrapbooking Paper

Magazine Paper

I hope all of you are having a great time with holiday gatherings and the fun things that go along with them.  If you can't find time for journaling during this busy time, keep your mementos in a safe place for journaling in January.  

Have a wonderful weekend, and whether you're shopping, baking, or partying, remember to "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

TODAY'S PHOTO

Happy Holidays from my ceramic house to yours!

Weekend Journal

A Journey Through My Moleskin

You may remember my excitement when I bought my first Moleskin journal back in May.  I pull this little gem out about once a month and let my creative muse run free.  If you haven't seen the first posts about my Moleskin, I'll attach some links at the end of this post.


These two pages were all about color and line.  I randomly pulled tubes of artist acrylics and just played to my heart's content.

I wanted to play with a page from an old dictionary on these pages.  I decided to cut out blocks from the page and let my muse play from there.

Music has always played a major part in my life, and these pages were inspired by old sheet music and a postcard for a gallery exhibition.

I created these pages last Saturday.  I was waiting for a student in my art journaling class and was actually writing about her.  When she arrived, she gifted me with a page that read, "Won't you hand on some of your time?"  It was perfect for this spread and I attached it to the page immediately.   You've just got to love synchronicity!

My final two pages were created with water soluble crayons.  I began scribbling in lines in various colors until what emerged was a scene from a woods.  It's no wonder that autumn's on my mind; the weather here is unseasonably cool and my summer flowers are struggling to hold on for a few more weeks.

If you haven't tried using a Moleskin journal, I highly recommend giving it a try.  They're a little pricey for someone as frugal as I, but they're worth their weight in gold.  The pages are watercolor paper and every medium I've tried on them works beautifully.  I bought mine from Dick Blick, but you may be able to find them at your favorite local craft or art store.

TODAY'S PHOTO

The first signs of autumn are beginning to appear in my neighborhood.  I couldn't help but notice this shock of crimson in my neighbor's maple tree.  What's it like in your neighborhood?  I know some of you are entering spring.  As the weather gets cooler and more gloomy by the day, I'm thinking I'd like to trade places with you!

MY SONS' VIDEOS

Here's a shameless plug for my sons' videos.  (Hey, you can't blame a mom for sharing her enthusiasm for her sons' creative endeavors!)  This first video was filmed by my son, Nick, and is footage of Lake Erie last weekend.  It's a little early in the season to see the lake so muddy and active from the north winds.

This next video was created by my son, Mike, who moved to sunny, southern California back in June.  He's having a blast in his new environment and with his new Sony camera.  He's been playing with time lapse and other assorted film making goodies.  This video is from his weekend at Big Bear Lake in CA with his girlfriend, Nadia.

If you've never been to California (as I have not!), check out some of his other videos for a tour of some really beautiful scenery from their travels in CA, NY, and Canada.  They're headed to Europe next week and I can't wait to see those videos.  I'll keep you posted!

My Moleskin Journal Post Links

My First Moleskin
The Black Keys
More Moleskin Fun
Ideas
Visions of Sugar Skulls
Reflecting on the Weekend

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

I hope you have a wonderful, restful and creative weekend!  Take some time out of your busy schedule to do the things that make YOU happy, and don't forget to spend some time out of doors enjoying the scenery in your world.  Whether it's time to flip through spring catalogs or winterize your deck, I hope you're enjoying every moment of your life as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"  And, hey - don't forget to leave a comment below.   I do so enjoy hearing from you and what you're doing!

Reflecting on the Weekend

A LOVELY WEEKEND
I spent most of the weekend just enjoying the weather.  I did a little work, like water proofing my new vegetable planter.  We had a unexpected surprise when Nick popped in to hang out with us for awhile.  He enlisted his help with Keith to put casters on my vegetable planter. 

Keith and Nick add casters to my vegetable planter

 Mike and Heather also came over too, and before you know it, and impromptu "picnic" was born with help from our favorite hot dog and ice cream joint, Scooter's. We all had a great time, and as the sun slowly set, the gang headed home and Keith and I headed inside, exhausted.  After a few minutes, some other friends dropped in so we headed back outside.  What a full and joyful day it turned out to be!

Birthday Cake Flurry - it pays to try something new.  Can you say YUMMY!?

Sunday dawned with clouds and rain that quickly moved out and were quickly replaced by sun and heat.  I headed out to the beach.  It was quiet and misty when I arrived, and I walked the shoreline listening to the gentle waves lapping against the sand.  And of course, I found some wonderful pieces of beach glass.

It was hot by the time I returned home.  I made spaghetti sauce, some lunch, and headed out to the deck to enjoy the day.  I brought the laptop out and did a little work for my journaling class.  Try as I might, I just couldn't get motivated.  I didn't really even feel like journaling, but after a while, I decided that I wanted to play with my sepia and ultramarine colored inks and quill pen.


ANNOYED
I came inside, grabbed my moleskin, newspaper (so I could be messy), my inks, and a cup of water.  I went to get my pen and nib.  OK....nib - right where it should be.  Pen for nib - nowhere to be found!  I looked in every stack of art materials; not there.  I looked in every pen cup; not there.  I looked in the bags I used for class; not there.  I looked EVERYWHERE and still could not find my pen.

I took my moleskin, flipped it sideways and began writing about how I should have "a place for everything and everything in it's place".  I wrote about having to go to "plan B" all because I hadn't taken time to put my pen away properly.  I wrote a lot of things that I decided to cover!

I used water soluble wax pastels and rubbed them into the page with gesso.  I wrote on my pages with black India ink and a brush.  I was so annoyed that I couldn't find my pen.  I haven't looked for it today, but I know that I have to organize my supplies.  I don't like wasting time looking for things.  It's out of control.

I try to stay organized, yet despite my efforts I still end up with piles of art materials.  Some organization has become better, but I still have a long way to go.  Maybe that should be the next workshop I attend - "Organizing Your Studio".  


I hope you had a great weekend, and I hope that you aren't spending precious time looking for items that you want to use.  Enjoy the nice weather as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

PHOTO OF THE DAY

"Angel" - Maybe she knows where I put that pen!

More Moleskin Fun

I'm having a great time with my little moleskin journal.   I'm amazed at how this smaller format changes the direction of my work.  I'm also having fun experimenting with my new acrylic and India inks.  I decided that I wanted to play with the ink droppers for my next spread.

I added drops of blue, yellow, and white to and let them run together.  I also pressed the pages together and blew the ink around by holding the book close to my lips.

Here's the left side.  I really like the way the blown ink dried on the page, and the little spots of white ink that didn't blend into the blue.

Here's the right side of the page.   I see a tree and a bit of landscape.  I can't wait to see where all of this will lead.

As I looked more closely at the left side, I began to see the profile of a face, so I took my quill pen and India ink and began to sketch it in using cross hatch.

I followed the lines of the ink marks to the tree shape, and I looked through my collage paper and found the word  "imagination", and clouds in a beautiful blue sky.  They seemed to fit so I used Mod Podge to adhere them.

I used white acrylic ink to add details and highlights to the eyes and lips.

Then, I enhanced the right side with little white bubbles.  I added more white and yellow inks to the sun.

To finish the spread, I added this quote from Henry David Thoreau, " The world is but a canvas to the imagination."  

I had a great time playing with the inks, and I like the monochromatic, simplistic style of this spread.  It's so unlike the over-the-top color that I'm usually drawn to.

I hope you're having fun stepping outside of your journaling norm, and I hope you're having a wonderful day as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"

PHOTO OF THE DAY

"Yellow Rose"

This rose was given to me on the Friday before Mother's Day.  I can't believe how nice it still is.  Only the outside petals are beginning to show signs of wilting.

The Black Keys

I've continued playing in my new moleskin, and I have to say I'm really enjoying myself!  Now that the weather has broken, there's a lot of yard work and garden prep to complete- not to mention prepping materials for my new art journaling class.  The smaller scale of this moleskin journal is perfect for my springtime journaling!

I began this spread by randomly scribbling over both pages with water soluble crayons.  At this point, I didn't have anything in mind to journal.  I just wanted to play.

I blended the colors together with a little water and let the pages dry.  Meanwhile, I was listening to the radio and heard a song that I really like.  I didn't know the artist or the name of the song so I researched the lyrics.
It turns out the song is "Why I'm Here" by Oleander.

I also researched lyrics for two other songs: "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys, and Placebo's "Keep Running Up That Hill".  I incorporated imagery related to the songs using black India ink.

I used watercolor pencils to add darker tones and cooler tones to my pages.  I thought about the black piano keys and how I've been feeling a little "flat" and "sharp" over the last couple weeks.  

I'm not feeling so overwhelmed as the week winds down, and I'm looking forward to sitting at the senior center for a few hours tomorrow to recruit students for my class.  I'm also looking forward to taking a colored pencil drawing workshop on Saturday with John Smolko and a cookout at a friend's house afterward.  

Here's my finished spread, and I'm happy to say I'm hitting more white keys.  But the black keys are good, too.  After all, life would be really bland without them!  Here's to a hitting a perfect blend of keys in your life as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"


PHOTO OF THE DAY

"Gosling" Taken at Mentor Headlands Beach