Happy Flag Day & Art Journal

Sending out wishes for a Happy Flag Day to each of you...and a Happy 29th Birthday to my niece, ;).  May we all remember what the foundations of our countries are, and respect them, and every countries' flag.

Well, after reading about, and viewing so many art journals...I finally broke out my Moleskine and got busy with it, beginning approximately three weeks ago.  I purchased a Moleskine last year at the request of Suzi Blu, upon taking my first online class.  However, the blank pages were so soft and pure that I hated to "mess them up."  Last October, I did sketch a witch in the journal, but I couldn't even bring myself to add color to her, afraid I would mess her up ~~ if you have begun an art journal, I believe you know the feeling.  Another factor that I did not previously understand was the "why" in art journaling, as journaling cannot be sold, given away, or displayed on a wall.  It's simply a book!  I just didn't get the need to journal...until a sweet client loaned me her recent copy of Stampington's Art Journaling magazine...and the rest is history!

My witch has finally come to life!  The background here is inked with Adirondack ink, misted with Glimmer Mist, the background swirl is a Tattered Angel screen that was Glimmer Misted, and then I used water color paints on the witch and pumpkin ~~ what fun!

After reading and viewing every inch of the borrowed Art Journaling magazine, I got the "Journaling Bug," and cannot wait for the next publication of this great magazine to arrive in stores!  Viewing the inspiring works within the pages of Art Journaling, I finally thought, "okay, so what if I mess up my Moleskine ~~ no one will ever have to see it, and what a great way to try out new techniques, put my crazy thoughts and ideas on paper, and follow my growth in art and life!"

I will spare you my first spread, as it looked like something a grammar school student could have done ~~ but it was fun!  I felt like a child playing with her coloring books and crayons again!  So I moved forward, doing several background pages, and began toting my journal with me daily.  Now in my third week of journaling, I have some pages that I will share with you here:

I did this page yesterday, and she was alot of fun to create.  This is my version of a Traci Bautista girl, and I love her...and hope to take a class with Traci one day soon!  I used Pitt Pens to sketch the girl, her hair and a few of the flowers, charcoal pencil to shade her, Prismacolor pencils on her facial features and the hand-drawn flowers in her hair, Adirondack ink for the background, and an entire sheet of rub-ons!

  

I love this digital pic found in the current publication of Stampington's Digital Studio, and wanted to incorporate it into my journal...for future inspiration (and a reminder to self that I need to learn how to use my digital editing software, lol).  I painted the background of this spread with watered-down acrylic paint not knowing what was going on this page (if I did it again, I would have used a different color), used water color paints on the page border, Sakura pens to journal, a hand-cut stencil and spray paint, book text for the body, die-cut/punched flowers, and a piece of ribbon down the edge of the left page.

I was simply having fun here, and I had a blast with the hand-cut stencils and spray paint ~~ so much fun!  I'm thrilled with the effect of Glimmer Mist on the pages, although its shimmer doesn't show up in these pics.

So, now I'm becoming an "Art Journaling Addict," and loving every minute of it!  Of course, I'm asking myself, "why haven't I tried this earlier???"  My Moleskine is becoming my new BFF, lol.  While it is a terrific way to express myself, try new mediums and new techniques while not worrying about ruining a canvas or a board, it is also a great way for me to eventually form my own style, and watch my growth unfold over time.

Now I want to take a class with Traci Bautista and Pam Carriker!  If you have taken a great journaling class, that you could recommend, please share your experience with me.  I love hearing from you, and learning from your experiences!

Wishing each of you a great week ahead, and much creative inspiration!  Happy Creating!

Pretty Posies, Etc.

Well, I finally got some creative juices flowing...and made some cards yesterday, and plan to make more of them today...or something.

I love the posies made from Marah Johnson's Pretty Paper Posies Kit. It took a bit of playing with them to get the hang of it, and determine how may layers of petals I needed to use, and how best to color them. After a bit of experimenting, I determine the best way to dye them was to put my Glimmer Mist in a small bowl, tilt the bowl sideways, and dip my petals down in the GM. I began by being "stingy" with the petals, but eventually determined the look called for more layers of petals. Most of these have 7 layers of petals, but even more would be better. If I had a never-ending supply, I would love to use 12-15 layers, lol. To curl the petals, I painstakingly wrapped/curled them around the small "needle-like" tool I use to punch holes in paper to insert my brads in paper. This was time consuming, no doubt, so I eventually tried simply fluffing the flat petals with my moistened fingers, and this worked nearly as well . . . and took alot less time, ;). If you would like to try making some posies, here there are three different sizes of petals in one bloom. If you have floral punches, you could make your own, I suppose, using book pages or whatever you prefer. Or, you can order the kit from Marah; for roughly $8; she will send you well over 100 petals pre-cut using her Accucut dies. I have yet to find flower punches that I like, so I will be ordering another couple of sets from Ms. Marah real soon.

This isn't the best picture, as these two do not stay still long enough to allow for focusing and zooming in/out, lol. However these are my two "children" whom desperately wanted to help making posies yesterday. Gracie is a yellow lab, and Boomer is a black lab. They are both approximately three years old, however we rescued Gracie only five months ago. Thankfully, she is doing very well in her new home today, and Boomer has grown to accept her, and he enjoys playing with her. They are both sweet doggies, and the loves of our life. After 20 years of having kitties, these two are our first experience at being doggie parents, and we ask ourselves, "why did we wait so long to get a dog?" Admittedly, they are both Alphas to my DH and I, and Cesear would die if he saw how spoiled they are!

And this is where I get creative!  My "art studio."  It is a 12x12 building in our backyard that I refer to as my "Hawaiian Healing Hut," named after a colorful, Hawaiian quilt that hangs on the wall inside.

I hand-appliqued these colorful Hawaiian patterns onto the black backgrounds years ago, while sitting with my Mom in various doctors' offices and/or hospital rooms when she was battling breast cancer.  Thus I named the quilt "Hawaiian Healing," and when completed, I quickly discovered there was no place in my home to place it.  So...when I got my "studio," it just seemed fitting that it should be the interior focal point...to "distract" from all the messy clutter!

Now you've seen my mess, and admittedly, it's awfully nice to be able to close the door and leave this mess outside of my house!  This little building was one of my best "art investments," as previously all this clutter would be scattered over my dining room table when I was in the middle of an art project.

Now, I'm off to my Hut to create something!  Wishing each of you a beautiful day of creativity and peace, xoxo ~~ Jeanne