Journaling

It has been awhile since I did anything creative. The holidays, family, and mom's trust business have taken up my time. I did get a few minutes recently to work on journal pages for a swap. With all the travel over the past months, this is what came to mind:

 Now, this is a fairly simple page for me. I did a bit of layering of mists and inks on the background. I stamped a new Unity cloud background to add some interest. Of course, I needed to add a bit of a twist, so I added a heart from Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers...

The house stamp is from Hero Arts -it's one that I have frequently used!

Since I pretty much missed October, I decided to use a few new items that I purchased to make Halloween cards. At least it's still Fall!

The latest journal page for my swap with Kate. Stains, sprays, inks used with stencils and stamps. The fun Halloween saying is from Artistic Outpost. I had "Nightmare Before Christmas" playing in the background - the three fellows in the circle (Stampotique) reminded me of Oogy Boogy's henchmen!

Finally...

That word sums up a lot of things going on in my life. I am finally able to move forward a bit since my mother's death in September. I am finally accepting that some extended family relationships are over due to egregious behavior on the part of these relatives.  I can finally move forward with settling the trust. And, I am finally feeling a bit more creative.

I made this journal page (not my favorite as I am a bit rusty) in an attempt to get back to art and to move forward. Finally!

Thoughts...

I have been art journaling for years. Love the free form and mixed media - especially since it's a great place for me to express my unusual taste in non "mainstream" stuff. Usually, I am a visual journaler - maybe adding a quote or a word or two. I've never been a writer or chronicler of my life.
Since July, I have been traveling to and from So. Ca. to visit my ailing mother. I am of the "sandwich" generation - squeezed between helping/supporting college age children and taking care of my mother. Things have not been going well - a meddling relative helped to convince my mom to go against our wishes, medical advice, and, quite frankly, common sense. So, she is not doing well. I have some decisions to make...
Enter art journaling. I need somewhere to write it out (so as not to continually vent to my friends -  several of whom have been great). Since, I am not one of many words, it is a unique experience. I picked a book called "Picture Frames", which I will alter and use as a journal. I cleared out some pages, glued some together for strength, and gesso-ed the first dozen or so. I think it will be a combination of my usual style and some writing. I thought I would stay with the "frame" idea - adding page or image frames on my pages. My first couple of pages:

I picked 6 spray colors to use as a palette. I like the fact that the pages are visible even after adding the gesso and sprays.
As I will be continuing to fluctuate between No and So California, my posting will be anything but consistent. Plus, I do not want to post only the tough times I am having. So, I hope you pop in occasionally to see what's going on. I'm hoping for a bit mind clearing to help my creative process.

Picture Yourself....

...in your studio with a song running through your head! Actually, this song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has been running through my head for a couple of weeks. When I received my journal in the swap that I am doing, it seemed like a logical page idea. I used some patterned papers as a base, laying down inks and sprays.

The trees were stamped in Distress ink. I actually used a scoop of ice cream as the tree leaves. Not sure if I like them, but I do not want to start over. The clouds are a stamp from Stampin' Up (marshmallows from a cocoa set) with Liquid Applique (remember that!?). I penned in accents using Crayola Spider Writers, Copic markers and Souffle pens.

No Place Like Home

It has been a tad busy here over the past 2 weeks. My daughter was in town for a brief visit and I am dealing long distance with an elderly mother going downhill (mostly mentally, but physically as well). So, I really needed to get caught up on my journal exchange pages.
This was a definitely go with the flow type of spread. I started by spraying Dylusions Sprays in a yellow and green. Then, I just randomly stamped various leaves and backgrounds - I think I considering something floral. The previous 2 pages were my "Green"/wicked witch scene and Kate followed up with an "over the rainbow" scene.  I decided to continue the Oz theme a bit - stamping,coloring and cutting out the images. I glittered the wings and various areas of the background. I added glitter to the background subtly - placing drops on my finder and smearing it around.

Thought a close up might show the glitter better - you can see some on her wings. All fairy stamps are from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, background stamps are Stampin' Up, house is from Club Scrap, and saying is from Graphic 45/Hampton (I think it's Hampton Arts).

Tuesday's Tip

Lately, I have been all about variety. I have mixed in pattern papers again - as well as doilies and other fun goodies from back when I started card making. I am attempting to do the same with my journals - adding more paints and media to pages. A couple of fun additions to try - envelopes and    
and old greeting cards. I have few cards saved and I thought I might "tip" them into established journals. Tipping in pages is fairly common - way back when, we would construct entire books from these pages. Simply attach a tip-in to an existing page - or trim down a page to an inch or so strip and attach to that.

Under the Sea

I was running behind in my art journal exchange with my friend, Kate. I have been attempting to have a vision of a completed page, but it has not really been working. So, I am going with the flow!
This page started with a variety of spray mists - Dylusions (LOVE these), Perfect Pearls Mists, and Glimmer Mists. After each layere dried, I attempted more spraying over stencils - circles and trees. When all was dry, it seemed to me that I was working toward a water scene! For the little mermaids on the left, I stamped small fish and added the tails to Art Chix mini gals. The depth and shimmer of the pages does not really show in the photo.
Do you plan out your pages or go with the flow?

Flipping pages...

As I mentioned previously, I have been working in my "flippy" art journal with a French theme. Below are examples of how the pages "flip out" horizontally:

You can see how the page unfolds. I plan on bringing home some fun ephemera to use to finish the pages of this book!

French Journal

Thought I would share a page from a journal I made in a Kelly Kilmer class. We called it the "flippy book" since the pages folded out, up and down. As I was collaging the first page, it became apparent the theme of the book was French:

I used a variety of patterned papers and Washi tapes with my images. Watercolor wash was added to unify.

Tuesday's Tip

Since last Tuesday's Tip discussed art journaling, I thought I would pass on another idea to get you started! Remember, since the journal is YOURS, you can do whatever floats your boat (so to speak). If starting on the first page is too intimidating, by all means pick another place to start. The middle works well for some. Enjoy and get creative!

Tuesday's Tip

One of the art activities I really enjoy involves art journals and mixed media. I am often asked how one starts a journal. I remember having this discussion many years ago with Tracy Moore. You just start. (He gave me this same advice)  I am not a writer or diarist. I use my journals for visual art. A great way to start is to use it for practice - lettering, stamping, inking. Ink up and stamp new stamps onto a page. You can try ideas in your book rather than on a scrap paper. It is a great starting point and you never know where it can take you. Worst case scenario - gesso over everything and start again! Just start...

"Wicked"Commitment...

I finished up a recent journal page for my swap with my friend, Kate. I decided to use some stuff (technical term) that was on my desk. So, tearing papers, painting flowers, and painting/gessoing the pages. I really had no plan. It was looking fairly green as I had a mini kit given to me by my friend, Nancy. So, I decided to go with the "wicked" green theme...

The yellow sun up in the right corner is molding paste through a stencil (yes, both were sitting out - on a counter not on my desk!). The wicked witch was from a coordinating stamp set to Graphic 45's Oz collection. There is a bit more sparkle and glitter in real life as I used some Glimmer Glam and Glimmer Glaze.
Give yourself a challenge - use only a few items or leftovers from your desk, a drawer, a basket, etc. You never know where it will lead!

In The Neighborhood

I completed a double page spread for my journal exchange. I thought I would use the background I made with paint and plastic wrap, adding some new purchases. It is a bit less busy in person as the pen work did not photograph well. I used one of the new Hero Arts stamps (large house) and paired with Basic Grey's Out of Print paper. I used the On The Edge houses from Tim Holtz/Sizzix to die cut the patterned paper. A few stickers and punched circles were added.

Tip Follow Up

I mentioned using plastic wrap for texture in Tuesday's Tip this week. I thought I would show a little of what it looks like. I used this technique in the art journal I am working on. After laying down a thin layer of gesso, I scribbled on the pages with a deep blue Gelato watercolor. I sprayed it liberally with water, moving the book pages around, wetting my finger and smudging, etc. I scrunched up some plastic wrap and let it dry for a day:

This is how it looked as it was drying. I took the plastic wrap off the pages:

You can see the areas of pooled colors. The photo below is a close-up of the left page:

I will be adding to this page, but you could easily use it "as is" or a card background.

She...

Finally completed my art journal pages for the swap in which I am participating. I sort of had a vision of rainy days as a theme since we are experiencing our winter rains now. Since I just unpacked some new sprays, I thought now was as good a time as any to play. I did not give it much thought, and just started spraying, stenciling, painting the pages. I used a combination of Glimmer Mist, Smooch, and Dylusions. Love the Dylusions sprays - bright, transparent and reacts with water for some neat effects!
After the pages were dry, I went in with rubber stamps and inks and added some more texture and images. Finally, pulled out the images for the final layer.

It did not turn into the vague idea I had in my head. I actually like it better - and changed the theme somewhat. The page started with strips of old book and music book pages. I added some details with Faber Castel Pitt Big Brush markers. The word stamp is from Unity.

FInally Done

A while back, I took a free on-line class at Strathmore. I started a couple of background pages but was sidelined with real life and injury. I have finally finished it. Not sure how happy I am about it. I lost my original thought as to how the pages would go. Here's the link to the original post on January 7th.  Below is the final product:

I decided I wanted to go with primitive and circular flowers. I happen to have several dies for flowers, but like this idea better. The background butterflies were stamped with Adirondak ink and Claudine Helmuth's paints. The die cut was sponged with a couple of colors of Adirondak blues. The stamps used were all Club Scrap. Now, I can send my journal onto my friend, Kate, with whom I am doing a journal exchange.

Hark...

I was finishing my Christmas cards, trimming the music Washi tape. I was accumulating a bunch of triangular shaped bits of tape. I really did not want to waste it/throw them out (yeah, I know...). So, I decided to add them to a couple of blank journal pages as part of the background. After the cards were done, I pulled out the journal to finish the pages (I am involved in a monthly journal exchange and need to get going!). The music theme inspired me to make a holiday/angel page. I did some light stamping with Club Scrap's holiday stamps and added some spray mists. The larger angel was reduced from an angel graphic on a 12 x 12 Club Scrap scrapbook page. I cut the image from the card stock and reduced it on my computer. The end result was:

These pages came together quickly and easily - I think the bits of tape helped jump start my creativity. 

Background Play

I posted previously about a couple of on-line tutorials to jump start your creativity. One of which is the Strathmore Paper on-line classes. The current one is by Traci Bautista and cover background and doodling techniques. So, I thought I would give it a whirl, especially since it is free. I am working in a journal and not on a sheet of paper. For the pages below, I picked a couple of stencils and masks and set them randomly on the journal pages. I chose to use Shimmering Rain sprays as my first layer:

As you can see, just a random background. I let it dry and added a couple of different stencil and used a couple of stronger Smooch Spritz sprays:

I like the depth so far, so I think I will stop with the sprays. my next step will be to add some acrylic paint accents. I am thinking of adding in some blues/teals...

HM Transparency

Last month, I was in Boston visiting my daughter. The weather was great and the Common and Garden were in full Fall foliage. While she was busy with classes, meetings,etc, I would wander about taking photographs. I thought some of the pictures would make a great Fall journal page. After inking, stencilling, and spraying mists,  I had to decide which photo(s) and what sizes. Since I like the idea of color peaking through, I printed the photos on plain, inkjet transparencies and cut them to size. They turned out fairly clear considering I do not have a transparency mode on my printer. It also started my thinking it would be fun to print up a bunch of different photos on transparency to use in journals and collage. Have you printed your own transparency? Give it try!