Before I Go...

CHA...here I come!
Woo hoo ~~ I can't WAIT!  I'm leaving bright and early Saturday morning, with my good friend (whom also happens to be my boss, and owner of an Awesome Gift, Garden & Interior Design Shop ...with big hopes and dreams of expanding into art classes and supplies ~~ yes, it's a very unique and eclectic shop!), her DH, and her collegiate daughter for a 13-hour, 2-day drive to CHA in Chicago/Rosemont, Illinois to be held next Tues-Thurs.  I'm so excited, and am having massive difficulty containing myself...if you can't tell, ;).  This will be our first time attending CHA, and we can't wait to see what's in store!  (Have you been???  If so, PLEASE share your thoughts!  I hear the January/spring show is better, but I truly don't care; I'm just  so excited to get to GO ... and figure we won't know the difference, having never attended a CHA before!)  And, I'm excited to share with you, when I return next Saturday, all the new products we discover, all the artists we meet, and all the fun toys we return with...hopefully!

We will be riding/driving (no, I won't be driving, lol) the 30-foot RV my boss owns, and "dry camping" in the RV...in a gravel parking lot, 3 blocks from the convention center ~~ sounds like a great adventure to me!  (The closest campground, with hook-ups, is 45 minutes away...and we want to be close to the Convention Center and all the happenings, so we're agreeable to sacrifice endless water for convenience of the convention ~~ hey, what's more important, water or art supplies?!?  There are always Wet Wipes...and a very quick shower!)  No, I've never "dry camped in an RV," (meaning we won't have water hook-up, only a 100-gallon tank supply ... that surely we'll have to refill several times during the week ... and there's where the DH comes in awfully handy, hehehe!) but then again I've never "camped" in an RV ~~ only tents, with no water at all! ~~ so it can't be THAT bad.  I'm truly excited about the adventure in store, and I can only imagine many laughs and good times among my travel-mates.

So, I'll be MIA (Missing In Action) until next Sunday, August 1st ... or Monday, depending on how long it takes me to unpack ... and don't know whether or not we'll have internet access on the road (if not, I'll be going through blogland-withdrawals, for sure!).  So, if you don't see me here, or on your blog, just know that I'll be "all a flutter" through blogland when I return, all excited to see what you've been up to, and to share with you the things I've seen at CHA ... and the journaling I do along our trip ~~ YES, I'm taking some supplies with me, and hoping to come home with even more (however, I'm skeptical as to how much will be available there at retail, as I do not have my own Tax ID; anyone know about this???)!

So, as to what I've been up to this week ... besides packing and planning for my trip, here are a few more Big Girl journal pages created from the quotes of my friend's 5-yr-old.  This truly has been a very fun project to work on, and I'm thinking that I may have them made into a hard-cover book via "Shutterfly," versus giving her the watercolor sketchbook originals ... along with a few pics of Big Girl herself included in the hardcover book!  Whatcha think ~~ originals or a hardcover book?  (Got the hardcover book idea from Rebecca Anthony whom did an Awesome book of some of her original Daisy Dolls, ;).  So here are my latest journal pages from Big Girl's quotes:

This has been a very fun and easy project to create, as Big Girl has provided me with so much inspiration.  I'm inspired to create a line of cards with similar effects in the future ... although I'm not comfortable with using Big Girl's quotes on them ... as she "owns" the quotes ~~ they are totally original Big Girl quotes.  However, I would love to be able to be inspired by her to create my own "juvenile/whimsical" fun quotes!  We gotta love the kid in each of us, right?

K, I'm off to find the kid in me, finish packing, and be off on a one-of-a-kind journey with a lifetime of memories!  And, lastly, please, if you have an animal (I don't have children, so my doggies ARE my children), please give them an extra hug from me next week, ... as I will be terribly missing my Big Boomer and Little Gracie ... as well as my DH ... next week, ;).  Wishing each of you a totally blissful week ahead, with much peace, love, and creativity!  Happy Creating to each of you!!! xoxo ~~ Jeanne

Inspired by Rebecca!

I didnt' so her justice, ... but I just HAD to try a face similar to Rebecca Anthony's (sorry, but I can't get my "Link" feature to work, but her blog is http://daisydollsdollshop.blogspot.com/) and she has some AWESOME art!  Please check her blog out, if you haven't already!

I LOVE Peacock feathers, and wanted to make a "mask" of them on this girl.  Perhaps I rushed her a bit, as time was getting away from me, as my DH went to bed without me hours ago, but I wanted desperately to complete her tonite.  I would have liked for her to have red lips, and journaling in the bottom left corner . . . but no time for that tonite.  Perhaps I could have done Rebecca's technique more justice had I had more time . . . but maybe next time, Rebecca.  I truly hope you approve of this attempt!  I love her, so far!  Perhaps I will post a "completion" pic of her later.

Happy Week, and Creating to each of you!   Thank you, each of you, for viewing my silly blog.  I truly appreciate each of you stopping by, and hope you'll come back again soon, :-)! xoxo

Blessings & Bliss

What better day to have pot roast.  I am enjoying the the fact that I have a pot roast cooking, and thus have more time to play on my day OFF from work!  Less preparation, and more time for PLAYING!  Not to mention, I love roast ... and so does DH, ;)!

Okay, so I'm TRYING to get out of my current realm of cutsie Big Girl journal pages (for a day or so)...so I'm trying something different today ~~ with no intensive purposes ~~ other than trying something different in the "mixed media" realm, and determining if there is a purpose for "this something new" in my artsy world!  I always LOVE trying something different, and look to your blogs and other informative sources for such inspiration and ideas daily! Hey, I'll try anything...at least once!

So I've read ALOT about photo transfers and thought, "well, I'll try them one day."  Well, today was the day!  I found this awesome tip (somewhere, a couple of weeks ago, and I'm sorry that I can't recall where)-;) about using Packing Tape as the transfer medium, and thought I'd like to try it, as it seemed simple, with supplies I had on hand, and "no hassle" . . . and BEST of all IT WORKED . . . (somewhat; see NOTE below)!!!

These are the photos I started with, admittedly photographed after using them for the transfer imaging, and courtesy of http://artefacts-antiqueimages.blogspot.com/, an awesome blog that offers free images almost daily!... and http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/ another awesome blog from a blogger in my home-state whom offers a great blog!

Okay, and here are the results!  These are pieces of packing tape only laid upon white printer paper here, with the photos transferred upon them!!!  I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with them, but they are luscious and precious!  And, the best part, I didn't have to do any "scrubbing" to uncover the images, as the instructions stated...after soaking for less than five minutes in warm water, they simply "peeled" apart all on their own, and left me with these lovely images to put on something in the future!

NOTE: since this original post, Diane has mentioned that this process does not work with inkjet images, but WILL work with magazine images!  (I'm thinking that the images here will "disappear" once I apply a medium to them in order to adhere them to a substrate, ;( ~~ so these may end up taped in my journal.)
I always LOVE tutorials, and I'm not good with supplying them  . . . but I'm gonna try!

(1) Print your image on a inkjet printer (a "cheap" printer; mine is an old Epson).

(2) apply packing tape to the front of the image (the "right side")

(3) soak in 'warm' water ~~ I really don't think it matters the temp, just rotate it a time or two, and try to keep your image as "flat" in the water as possible, but truly I don't even think this part is important

(4) the instructions said to pull the image transfer out of the water and "scrub the paper off of it" but, for me, luckily, the paper came off all on its own within the water...before I even pull then out of the water!

If your happen to try this, please let me know if it works as well for you . . . and what you plan to do with them!

As for my "children" (a/k/a "doggies") and the experience of the black eye resulting from our playing last week . . . I'll simply say that the black eye has made for a very interesting week!  I had LOTS of interesting conversations from it, mostly at work, at the gift/garden shop, with many wondering eyes and a few inquiring minds.  It seems that MOST people naturally assume that it was caused by "domestic abuse," and few will inquire about it, or believe that "my dog did it," lol!  It has truly given me a new perspective on the life of one whom suffers with real domestic abuse, and the grief that victims of domestic abuse suffer, even outside of the abuse itself...but more profoundly by observers.  I can only imagine today, that the more profound affect of "real" domestic abuse comes from outsiders, and their assumptions. What a sad revelation; that the public may affect them, potentially, more than the abuser him/herself.

And, now for a few pictures of my "children" whom are my loves/"abusers"!  The black one, Boomer, is the LOVE that gave me the black eye last week, lol.  The white one, Gracie, is the cause of Boomer's actions that gave me the black eye last week, lol!  They are both the best children my DH and I could image (and our only children, mind you ... and TOTALLY SPOILED ROTTEN), and the love of our lives, :)!

How could such a sweet innocent thing cause any pain and/or injury???  He's precious!

Now, Gracie, this rescue, on the other hand, can cause all kinds of trouble...but none with plans to hurt any person.  While she'd LOVE to get in arms length to "harm" a rabbit or cat, she truly has no intentions of hurting a human!

I don't know if any of you have added the "Zemanta" assistant to your blog (referenced on the Dashboard)...but do any of you know how to "un-add" it??? It's driving me nuts...in slowing my post down and not truly adding anything useful to it!  OMG!  (This post has taken me FOREVER to create ... with Zemanta's "assistance!")  I type a few words, and then wait several seconds for them to appear, and God forbid if I need to correct anything I've typed, lol.  (NOTE: Zemantia saw this post and emailed me last nite to instruct me on how to uninstall it.)

Happy day and creating to each of you!

Big Girl's Journal

I have a friend whom I don't get to see these days; we used to work together, and today we stay in contact via Facebook. What would we do without Facebook today? My friend has a daughter whom just turned 5 years old, and she is always saying the funniest things that her Mom shares on Facebook. My friend always refers to her daughter as "Big Girl," and truly I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know Big Girl's real name, :(.  In fact, the last time I saw my friend was at her baby shower; it was a very special occasion, as she got married in her mid-thirties, and is one of those people that we NEVER imagined would have children.  So I, and many others, were SO happy for her, and truly excited to see how she would manage motherhood.  She is doing a wonderful job with Big Girl, and while I have not met Big Girl yet, I sense that she is sooo much like her Mom, simply because of the comical things that come from her mouth, at only five years old.

So, I chose to do a journal including some of Big Girl's sayings.  This is truly a fun project that is going so fast ~~ Big Girl has provided the inspiration, with her words, and the pages are flowing quickly.  Here are the first nine pages of Big Girl's Journal, and I hope you'll enjoy them, and their "juvenile" style.

This last page (below) isn't quite finished yet, (I still have to complete the words in the comment bubble), but it's such a cute saying that I couldn't help but share it now.

More Journal Love and...

Okay, not yet finished, but here's the back side of my "Cutting Edge" journal page.  I'm a bit disappointed in it, but I will work it out...in time, ;).

And, most importantly, I'm excited to show you what the mailman brought me yesterday!  This picture does NOT do justice, because these are GORGEOUS postcards...from Rebecca Anthony!

I can't wait for a special occasion to share these beauties!

A funny story, that I hope others can find humor in, as I do...my 90-lb Lab, Boomer, and my 50-lb Lab Gracie were playing with a squeeky toy last nite in the back yard, and I wanted to get in on it too!  So I grabbed one end of the squeeky toy, while Gracie had the other end, and suddenly Boomer entered the picture and head-butted me between my temple and cheek bone...and left me with a nice shiner of a black eye, lol.  Oh, the love and joy of owning friendly doggies.  They just love to play, and I should have known better than to get in the middle of their play time ... but I couldn't resist!  So, ... today I will tell all inquiring minds that question my nice shiner of a black eye that my DH beats me, hehehe ... and see what kind of responses I get, lol!  Anyone that knows us, will KNOW that DH would never hit me ... and others, well, we'll see!

Wishing each of you a blissful weekend filled with Creativity!

Cutting Edge

It's my one day off this week, so I can't help but play...although I should be cleaning.  However, to clean house, I need vacuum cleaner bags and that would require a trip out and at least an hour from my schedule of playing. So instead, I played...all day...minus two loads of laundry, a few moments with my doggies/children, and a very brief lunch break, ;).

Oh my, I'm so addicted to art, and journaling, in particular, at the moment! I saw the article of Ingrid Dijkers in the current "Art Journaling" magazine, and just HAD to try her technique of cutting the edge of a journal page, so it's not "plain."  Admittedly, when I began cutting my Moleskine page I was more than a bit anxious, as I did not want to ruin it.  But, afterwards, it was SO worth it!.  The result is the introductory picture here and I had a so much fun creating this page...and learning a few lessons along the way, like Pitt Pens aren't water-proof, ;-0.  From the message of this journal page, has anyone here reached "Harmony" yet, and if so, what is the trick, lol?

It may be difficult to see the "cutting edge" of my journal page, as I couldn't just leave the next page blank, so I'll include a photo (below) with a piece of white paper behind my cut edge, so you can see it.

How cool is this?  INGRID, if you're out there reading this (and I hope you are, :])  I LOVE THIS TECHNIQUE!  It adds so much dimension and "wow" to a page!  I can't wait to complete the "reverse" page and see what it brings.  Thank you for sharing your unique style with us, Ingrid.  If those reading, whom love journaling also, haven't seen Ingrid's spread in the July edition of "Art Journaling" magazine, I highly recommend it...and Ingrid's blog...as well as the other blogs in my previous post today!

What a great thing to be able to share by blogging today.  My heart is happy, and I hope your heart is also, ;).  Happy creating, to each of you!

Blog Award!

I am humbled, and honored to received my first Blog Award from Diane.

Thank you, Diane!  Diane is one fabulously talented artist whom is constantly busy creating and sharing great artful pieces, as well as tips, tricks and tutorials on her blog. If you haven't done so already, please check out Diane's Blog.

Okay, so this Award came with some rules that I'm supposed to follow:

* nominate 10 blogs for this award

* make a blog post about it and let everybody know who you got it from

* let the nominated blogs know about the award

I suppose I cannot nominate Diane, since she nominated me, hmmm.  Gosh, I don't like this part; choosing from so many awesome blogs out there; it's tough!  Here goes, in no particular order:

Connie

Odd Chick

Rebecca

Lorrie

Ingrid

Lisa

Kelly

Elizabeth

Chrissie

Lisa

These ladies make some awesome art so make sure to stop by their blogs and share some love with them.  Wishing everyone a blissful week full of creativity and much love!

Sharing Some Love and Color!

Happy 4th of July to each of you.  Admittedly, I'm not wearing red, white and blue today, nor am I grilling out with family, or going to see fireworks this evening ~~ a very untraditional, laid back, happy day of playing in my studio, and trying new things.  This is "fireworks" enough, for me.

I broke out my watercolor pencils, Pitt Pens, and White Gelly Roll, and set out to try some "zentangle-y doodling," to see what I could come up with.  Zentangles have been facscinating me for sometime now, and I have been wanting to incorporate the technique into something.  This was my first effort, and I so loved the process.  Admittedly, I started out slow, creating the border, and then deciding I like it enough to keep it seperate, or "untangled."  So I thought, "what word best describes today," and "love" came to mind.  I wrote the word, outlined it, and began filling the letters in...and kept thinking, "okay, I'm through," but then I would think of one more layer I could add.  I may continue to play with this page even a bit more.  It's been alot of fun.

This was a page I created yesterday after being inspired by several "circular" pages I've seen from other artists' journals.  It seemed fitting to incorporate the color wheel into it, and then the words began to flow naturally, regarding the similarities of the color wheel and life.

Being a new "journaler," there are several things about the process of journaling that amaze me.  First is that I'm addicted to journaling, after only approximately three weeks, or so, of first trying it.  Initially, I thought, "okay, I'll use my journal only when I want to try some new medium or technique, or when I have deep feelings that I need to express."  Now I am lugging this book around everywhere I go, with a bag of pens and supplies in tow!

The second thing that amazes me about journaling is that it's SOOO much fun, and such a natural process!  Even when I begin to journal with no clue of what I'm going to do, the process just flows out of me...magically.  It's like another being is inside of me just pouring out, or freeing itself to spill upon the page.

Lastly, it astonishes me that the words just flow out of nowhere.  I haven't written anything extraordinary...yet..but I've yet to have to truly "think" about, or dig for the words that I write.  They just come!

Okay, perhaps a few other journalers can comprehend my excitement here; for others, I'm sure you are bored to tears with my rambling, and I thank each of you for allowing me to share my Love and Color!  Now let's go make some fireworks!

Happy Friday!

I'm having so much fun with my journal, so here are a few more pages from yesterday.  I love the frog, above.  However, as my DH said, the "lily pad" on the right page looks like an oak leaf, lol.  This is what happens when I let go and leave my hands to create without my brain stressing over it; and I like it!  The circular message on the left says "Besides enjoying the journey, I have only 1 thing to share...make sure there is a lily pad ahead before jumping!"  So, perhaps the "oak leaf" is saying, "sometimes things aren't what you think they are; check to make sure it's a lily pad before jumping!"

The background is my new water soluble oil pastels smoothed out with a baby wipe, as recommended by Rita ~~ love this technique!

On this page, I tried to use a leaf and do a "rub" effect, with the leaf placed under the right page, and then rubbing the right page with the pastels...but it didn't work.  I suppose the Moleskine sketchbook paper is too thick to allow the leaf texture to come through with the rubbing...SO I improvised and drew my own leaf and veins!  Again this background is the pastels baby wiped...and then Glimmer Misted on top ~~ love me some Glimmer Mist!

I love this page, but I smeared her lipstick.  The life of an impatient artist, ahh.  I used Gelly Roll pens on her lips and proceeded to lay my hand on them before they were dry, argh. Oh well, otherwise, she's a peaceful soul.  Again here I used the pastels and baby wiped them for the background, as well as the skin and hair.  Still have to complete the white high lites on the words.

This is SO fun!  But I have A Question for Others Whom Use Water Soluble Oil Pastels ~~ What type of pens do you use over them???  I'm going thru black Sharpies (Fine and Ultra Fine) like crazy, lol!  The regular Sharpie is working...for now, but surely there are pens made for this purpose, right?  Any suggestions you may have to share will be very appreciated!

So, it's back to work today and tomorrow, for me.  We will have the 4th of July Parade in Jamestown tomorrow, and lots of families with children in town, and wondering through the shops.  Typically, many of them come in simply to use our restroom, so I'll make sure we're stocked up on tissue, lol.  Okay, I'll get on my soap box for a second and ask you to please support your local retailers ~~ so many are suffering terribly, and will have no choice but to close without your support.  Show them some love, if at all possible, ;).

I hope many of you here in the States have a long weekend off from work, with festive events planned with family and friends.  For those of you overseas, do you have similar holidays (to the US Independence Day)?  An American 4th of July (Independence Day) typically includes a few small town parades, grilling out hamburgers, hot dogs and such with family and friends, watermelon for dessert, and then viewing the local town's fireworks display...with plenty of red, white and blue worn and displayed throughout town.  Wonder how the watermelon tradition originated?  Hmm.  Or is that only a "southern" thing?

Wishing each of you a safe, happy, creative weekend!