Rusty Art Journal Page

I did an experiment last night with one of my journal pages-I love how it came out!

I rusted a part of the page itself with a rust kit. I wasn't sure how it would come out but I like the effect! Its hard to tell in the scan! My son gave it his seal of approval though!

The Collage image is by Collagevisions

The circle things on the page are actually impressions from washers with Copper Acrylics and of course this page has my notorious dip pen ink blotches :)

Theme Thursday-Tags part 2

Okay, I did another one for Theme Thursday!

All stamps and the collage image are from Inkastamps

Theme Thursday-Tags

Whew! I didn't think I would get anything done for any challenge today!

Here's my contribution for Theme Thursday which is Tags today.

I cut a tag out of watercolor paper and used Ecoline Watercolor Inks for the background (LOVE these inks!!) The stamp image-the text-is from Time To Stamp, one of my favorite images off the ATC#1 Sheet and the checker border is from Quietfire Collage images from Collagevisions

Well I totally feel like I have A.D.D today-Breaking Dawn is coming out tomorrow and thats about all I can think about. I swear, I don't think I have done anything productive today!!I feel like a teenager!LOL I have NEVER been so obsessed with anything in all my life.

Ah well, at least I was able to do this..................sigh

Bella and Edward

Yes, I know. You can see I REALLY have the disease. I did I a linocut of Bella and Edward :)

I had to do something to celebrate Breaking Dawn coming out on Saturday, right? I am quite proud of how this turned out :)

Attached is a scan of a print (top)and the actual carving (bottom)

Imperfection

Something I struggle with.............Imperfection. I really kick myself sometimes because I am not perfect. I was trying to take a short nap today and I just couldn't , and for some reason I started thinking about all the things about myself that aren't perfect. How I wish I COULD be perfect.

But, sigh..........not going to happen! So I guess this is sort of a personal manifesto.

Background is acrylics and there is some text collaged under the paint layers. Also used my beloved dip pen here again, and my Pitt Pen, and Ranger's white gel pen that is FABULOUS!!

The Journey

"The Journey Is My Home"

Muriel Rukeyser

Another messy page that includes:Acrylics, caran d'ache crayon, stencils, pitt pen, dip pen and calligraphy ink, collage, alphabet stamps,image transfer. In some areas I also used some sand paper to sand away some layers.

The image of the house is from B-Muse and available here

I just LOVE getting messy.........you should see my hands stained with walnut ink and calligrapy ink!LOL

I have been reminiscing alot about home.........where I grew up, the old house it was and how much I really miss it. I loved that house! But in reality, home is where your heart is, and also our journey along the way.

okay, so I have it REALLY bad

The "Twilight" disease, I am referring to :)

Yes, I will admit, I am truly addicted.

My husband rolled my eyes at this one. I found this bar and HAD to get it. I am very loyal-so my loyalties now go to this Dark Chocolate bar :) I eat the Dark Chocolate "super food" every day. Its one indulgence I have-otherwise I REALLY watch my sweets. "Twilight Delight" -oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

I am agonizing this week, wondering how on earth I will possibly make it through to Saturday, August 2nd when the latest book in the Twilight Saga comes out.

sigh.....

Created By Hand Challenge:Blue and Moo

This is for the Created By Hand Tuesday Challenge-this week's challenge is to make a Blue "Moo" card. For the background here, I used Prussian Blue Ecoline watercolour ink as a wash on watercolour paper. The stamps here are from Quietfire Design

Of course I could not resist on the Crow one, and it has my drips of ink on it..........:)

Blogging Forever Friend Award

I was given this award recently by Debi.......and I have been thinking and thinking of 5 recipients to award this to-thats very difficult!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Only 5 people allowed to receive this award 2. 4 dedicated followers of your blog. 3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.

4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

So I give this to:

Blaiz-a new online blogging friend and artist!

Kersten-we have been online friends for a while and I love her stuff!

Heather Robinson-Another talented artist who visits my blog (and I frequent hers as well!)

Belinda Schneider-an old friend and fellow artist-we go way back!

Callee-a new friend of mine who I think its just so fun and has cute kids!

Another new canvas in progress

I just started another canvas yesterday-this one's another 16x20. I am loving this large size-I wanna go larger-I want go double that size sometime!

Anyway, This is all I got accomplished yesterday, its been a busy weekend.........but this is only the beginning-who knows where this will go. I have some other ideas............this one will probably be something to do with a stone angel. I am really loving Stone Angels lately, as as you know :)

Also , I am attaching my art journal page from Friday. I realized I didn't upload it . Don't ask what the text says, I don't have a clue! I copied it with my dip pen from an old french Victor Hugo Book. There is something so intriguing about foreign text (right, Seth??) LOL

Theme Thursday: Flowers

This is my contribution for Theme Thursday today.

I used some flowers for the background and on the bottom here.

I am loving these Stone Angels, can you tell???

Images by Collage Visions

Angel

This is my art journal page for today-The stone angels are from Collage Visions

This page consists of:

Collage

Acrylics

stencils

alphabet stamps

strapping tape

Created By Hand Challenge: Skinny and the Color Orange

Here's my contribution to the Created By Hand Tuesday Challenge. Collage image and stamps from Quietfire Design

I used Portfolio pastels and gesso for the background, and I colored in parts of the collage image with Peerless watercolors. Black Gesso was used for the edges

All Done

This feels done now.
Details:
16x20 on canvas
Includes: Acrylics, foiling, image transfer, caran d'ache crayons, freehand painting in the corners, paint splatters, a little stamping -it needed some text at the top-I used a large stamp from Inkastamps for that

This was WAY out of my box for a couple of reasons:
1-Its much larger than I normally work and 2) the colors are some I have not really worked with on canvas before.

I am finding that through my art journaling I am finding a new style . I am trying to take this alot less serious and just have more fun.


One thing now, is I have to actually give this a NAME. I am never good at naming......I may need to have a contest to help me :) That will come later.

A New Work In Progress

I am starting to work LARGE. Normally I work pretty small (like 12x12 or 11x14 max)-I have only once done a large piece. So I am challenging myself now. I am doing my workshop in Feb and also doing a demo and displaying some of my work, so for that I am doing some larger pieces. I am enjoying this 16x20 so much that I am excited to even work larger than that. The ideas are really flowing so I hope to ge a few canvas' done over the next several weeks. We shall see :) Here's what I have been working on the past couple of days. I have done a separate image transfer to layer onto this, an illustration from a very old book that for some reason just called out to me. Anyway, this is my work in progress. So far I am really happy with it.

Oh, and normally I work off a table. sigh. I actually LIKE working off a table. But, I realized, I had better get used to working on an easel, so that I look like I know what I am doing for my demonstration in February :) LOL It dawned on me that if I work off a table the people would not get to see what I am doing!LOL

TGIF No.44-Quotations

A challenge I have never participated in before.........thought I would give it a whirl since I have quite a few of Quietfire's beautiful Quote stamps! The backgrounds on these are done with Ecoline Watercolors that I was SO excited to get in today's mail! I was especially thrilled because I have not been able to get these here in the US-at least when I searched I couldn't locate any.

These are fun and I can already see lots of possibilities. I have seen some amazing things done with this watercolors. I love watercolors anyway so I am always up to try new ones :)

The Collage image and checkerboard image is also from Quietfire

Numbers

All I can think of today is numbers............must be 'cos I am counting the days till the kids go back to school. I am SO bad LOL
This was fun to do though-the silvery stuff there is that metal tape from the hardware stuff-I think they use it for ducts or something. I used a tracing wheel (used in sewing) to texturize it a little, and a dry embossing tool as well. Its hard to see the layers of color on this page-I started with a layer of black gesso, and there are layers and layers of color of Caran D'ache crayons here. I couldn't make up my mind what color I wanted it to be.........but in the end I love how it turned out. I used Gesso to stencil the numbers

Last Day of Summer School

The schools out here , always on the last week of school and the last day of summer school, have the firetruck come and squirt the kids with their big ole hose. I have never seen it before until today-I got there just in time! It was so cool! I was snapping lots of pics then all of a sudden (and I am sure it was NO accident!) I look up and they were aiming the hose at ME!!!LOLThe large stream of water hit me on the top of the head! I went running and screaming LOL It caught me just completely off guard!

Here's some pics from today-Gilly got pretty drenched. And yes, the date on my camera is wrong!LOL

Theme Thursday: Hearts

Here's my contribution for Theme Thursday . Today's theme is hearts and the image of the house and heart are from Invoke Arts and flourish in the corners is from Quietfire

Hearts and Memories

This is today's art journal page........all kinds or media used here: Portfolio Oil Pastels, graphite, calligraphy ink, masking tape, electrical tape,collage, watercolor crayons on the photo, gesso, rubber stamp, and color wash spray

I have to add-if you are wanting to get into art journaling at all, be sure to check out these books:
Visual Chronicles or Journal Revolution (I have both) by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino. They are funny and inspiring and I love gaining inspiration each time I look at them. I usually take them along with me to Gilly's therapy appointments to help pass the time too :)

Wednesday Stamper: Two Tone

This week's Wednesday Stamper challenge is Two Tone! Love this theme!

Stamps I used here are from Innovative Stamp Creations

Created By Hand Challenge: Envelopes

I incorporated a coin envelope into this art journal page for this challenge. The collage image and stamp images are by Quietfire as is the braille paper. I attached the envelope to the journal page with eyelets and attached them with linen thread to the binding of my journal.

I aged the coin envelope with Walnut Ink. I made drips down the actual page after washing it with color, with walnut ink also. The braille paper was distressed with Ranger's Old Paper and Walnut Ink distress pads.

I feel very blessed

Always at this time of year each year, it jogs up memories of when My daughter was born. The difficult pregnancy I had, her entry into this world so very early. Today especially I have reflected on this, as I do some birthday shopping for her. Tonight I am going to a planning meeting for my class reunion next year. I was just reading about a classmate who is going to be there and how she had a preemie who did not survive but for 3 hours. This brought me tears and really made me realize how thankful I am-my daughter was born at a gestation that was BARELY viable. Despite the trials I have had the past 6 years,

At the same time I am so blessed to have what I have, even the trials. They have taught me much about life, and I truly have so much to be thankful for. These things have become so much a part of who I am today.

Art Is the key to my sanity

Today's art journal page :)

Watercolor crayons, gesso, collage, and ink and

one of my carved images

Official Tea Tester

Here's another one of Inka's Girls :)

This is Miss Tart-isn't she fun?

Ruffled Feathers

The images used here are new ones from Inkastamps




I stamped the Netting stamp onto glossy cardstock with a versamark then dabbed on EZTintz over that and wiped it off with a paper towel. Then I stamped the "Tearoom" image over and over on top of that.


I just LOVE this birdcage lady!

Drawing is scary

This is just wayyyyyyyyyy outside my comfort zone! I have drawn, but its very rare. And when I do, it scares me to death. I think I am such a perfectionist that I get unhappy when it doesn't turn out and I walk away usually. But being this is an assignment for the Artistic Alchemy workshop, I just did it . Its a good challenge for sure and I hope that through drawing each day I will feel more at ease with it. When I was a kid, I drew alot, and I was actually quite good. But over the years I quit and well, I am sure out of practice! These days whenever I want an image I usually just end up transferring them, rather than drawing them. Here goes (and please don't laugh!LOL)

This is just very very simple, of course. Baby steps :)

Linoleum Carving of Noel Gallacher (of the band Oasis)

This is a linocut I just finished today of Noel Gallacher , singer of the band
"Oasis" that I love. I started this actually a couple years ago and had to set it aside and it got shoved in a drawer and never completed.

I had a request from a HUGE Oasis fan from England to do this for it to put on a shirt......but with my stamp business at the time and other obligations I was not able to complete it. It always bothers me when I don't finish something-probably why I sat and finished it today :)

Created By Hand Challenge: Pastel Colors Part 2

So I had another idea today........so had to do another one for the challenge :)

I used one of Quietfire's gorgeous calligraphy stamps for this and the background was created with Portfolio Oil Pastels and gesso. I used household objects and impressed them into gesso to create sort of an abstract effect on top of the background.

Created By Hand Challenge: Pastel Colors

All Stamps by Quietfire Design

Background created using Lyra Aquacolor Crayons

And darn it-they never scan as nice as they REALLY look in person.

Twilight Movie Trailer

In reference to my previous post for Twilight :)

Dazzle Me

Okay. I know, I have it bad. All that comes to my mind right now are the words "Dazzle Me."

Sigh. Those of you who read the Twilight series will know exactly what I am talking about. If you don't, you NEED to!!:)

On this journal page today, I used Acrylics, old text, graphite, and alphabet stamps. The larger alphabet is one I carved myself :)


I confess, my heart just flutters for Edward Cullen! But please don't tell Robert. Oh wait, I think he might already know!

TMTA: Colorful

This week's theme at TMTA is Color!

Stamps and collage image by Inka stamps

RED

A couple weeks back, one of the Artistic Alchemy workshop assignments were to find out own colors. Well today I realized that RED is really my color for anxiety, stress, sadness, whatever.

Today the color red spoke to me, after the day I have had. Here's an emotional page.

Its always hard to share these.......I will probably go take a nap when this is done. Its hard to be honest sometimes, and believe me, I wish every day was happy but today has not been a good one, at least this afternoon. Then again, I realize realistically, we all have hard days, thats the brutal truth. Knowing that makes it easier to share these sorts of pages. Oh well, it did help to work through it and I am thankful to be able to pour my feelings out onto my journal pages.

stamping with inkastamps

I did a couple things for Inka today :)

Where are they at now?

I often wonder, when looking at my very large collection of old pictures of these "instant ancestors" , where they are now. Who they are. What are these people like.

This page uses:

Old text, handtinted photo, gouache, peerless watercolors, vinyl letters, rubber stamping (sequin waste by Inkastamps), masking tape, calligraphy ink, gesso, collage,

Just chopped my hair off

I swear i have been so sick of my hair I almost did a "Britney" but restrained myself!

I did chop it off though........like I mentioned in a previous post I DETEST pictures, but here is one with my short hair. My Hairstylist went crazy over it-she loves it! As for me, it will take a few days. I just worry about looking like a guy! I don't want to look like a guy! :(

Wednesday Stamper: Newspaper!

This week's challenge at Wednesday Stamper is using newspaper. I have some really old newspaper clippings in my stash so was able to put them to use for this!

The stamp images I used here are by Quietfire Design

Background created with Caran D' Ache watersoluble crayons and gesso.

Butterflies

These old illustrations really spoke to me today........and being summer is in full swing it seemed perfect today with the mood I am in. I love butterflies anyway, and was excited to be looking through a vintage book with a slew of these fantastic illustrations.

This journal page contains :

Gouache

gesso

calligraphy ink

doodles with a sharpie

Prismacolors (colored pencil)

graphite

and collage, of course