Where has the time gone? I really wanted to get back to posting more often but life sure is getting in the way. I’ve been working on Christmas cards for the family but nothing I can show. This year instead of making one card and then making prints, I am making the cards individually. That’s taking a while but I’m enjoying it.
Here is a journal page I made and it seems apropos. It ain’t pretty that’s for sure but then some of life’s bumps aren’t pretty either.
Earlier this year wrote a post named 365 Creativity - An Altered Journal Cover about breathing new life into an old composition notebook cover. While I’m not much of a written journal keeper, (I like visual journals much better), I have managed to fill that one up (almost…I’m within 8 pages of being done.) And because it’s almost filled I need a new one.
Not long ago I found this cool Youtube video named Junque Journal Introduction by tangie baxter and loved it. It’s a three-parter so if you have time, take a look see. My first journal was strictly a white page written journal. The new one will be a junque journal and will be more colorful and filled with all the ticket stubs etc…that I get on a regular basis that I keep but just never seem to make it into my art journal.
This is the front cover and I adore the rabbits in the center.
The back cover:
The inside front cover with a tag for my name and address in case it gets lost. I like to take my writing journal to coffee shops and I know one day I’ll probably forget it there. Hopefully someone will be kind enough to return it if it has my name in it.
In the video, Tangie discusses the need for shoring up the binding, which I’ve done here with ribbons. I love the variegated ribbon shown and have used it many times in other projects….in fact some of it is now holding my steering wheel cover in place….but I digress. :)
I’ve inked many of the pages but that’s as far as I’ve gotten to date. I expect it will be an on going process. I don’t think I will add the tabs shown in the video but you never know.
Is the idea of a junque journal new to anyone or am I late to the party? either way, I think it will be fun. My first addition to the book will be the stuff I gather from our upcoming trip to Ojo Caliente. See you later….I have to go pack a glue stick and some pens. Bye!
If you will recall my posts, stretching out over several months, whining that I didn’t have a space to call my own for art….well, no more whining (well not about that subject anyway). We’ve moved and I have my own space again. Yay!
It took me about a month to find the “right” rental house. By “right” house, I mean big enough, cheap enough and in the right location. The more inexpensive rentals were on the west side but neither My Guy nor My Girl wanted to live there…too windy and dusty. But now were are close to Little Man’s daycare, and both My Guy & My Girl workplaces and in an area we all like. Little man is loving having his own room, with enough space for all his toys, and not sharing with Nana’s office.
So, now I don’t have any excuse to not make art. So this is my first piece in the new space …. trying to get back in the groove again AND work on the next Traveling Art Journal. I’ve only had that journal in my hands for a month. (sorry but I did have a good excuse…moving)
Yellow is a happy color isn’t it! I feel happy to have my own refuge again.
Another page for the Traveling Art Journal. The theme this time is self portraits. The journal belongs to Valerie, who is the groups leader. I hope you like.
If you’re a reader of my blog you’ve probably seen this stencil before. It’s one I created when I took Maryann Moss’ class on stenciling.
As I said before the theme is self -portraits and we’re also supposed to tell something about ourselves. I used collage elements to do just that.
The barcode below was from a concert I attended and I’ve included it because it left a big impression on me, hic…
All I want is an umbrella in my drink and served to me in Hawaii, Italy, Greece, Fiji, or Tahiti. Or any where on an ocean beach. (I thought I’d better say an ocean beach before someone reminds me that we have a “beach” in town called Tingly Beach. Unfortunately, that beach is nothing more than a refurbished ditch bank.)
A new page for the Traveling Art Journal. This page is for Fadwa whose theme is The Gypsy Spirit.
I used a quote from the book, the Gypsy Spirit, by Margaret Elizabeth Sangster (1838- 1912):
“Just around the end of September the feeling begins to grow on us. There is something about the tragic splendor of the dying leaves and the fading summertime that touches a vagabond chord in the heart.”
For the background, I glued calendar pages to the substrate and then colored them with Ranger ink Distress stains (color: Forest Moss). It didn’t go on like I expected but I liked it anyway. Some spots were definitely MUCH darker than I originally wanted. I also add some light green crackle paint (color: peeled paint) in select spots.
Another page for the Traveling Art Journal. This one belongs to: Paula K.
The theme is music lyrics
The song is One More Day by JD Fortune from the album Death of a Motivational Speaker.
The page:
The background is colored with pastels as set with a fixative. The sun and stems and leaves are painted with acrylics. The flower is created from a book page and colored with stamping ink. I also used a charcoal pencil to outline the flower. The title is made with purchased precut letters.
One more note: I know my family is going to give me a hard time for using a song by JD. I can’t help it that I’m still the oldest teenage fan girl alive. :)
In my June 10th post, I mentioned that I, along with 20 others, had joined the Facebook group called Traveling Art Journal. Here is my second page for that group. This page will go into Ashley’s journal. I hope she likes it.
The “poem” is created from 3 little words taken from separate areas of a book page sent to me by my very good friend Aimeslee - Paper Paisleys blog. If you have been a part of the 21 Secrets ning class, you know that 3 Little words is a “secret” class taught by Aimee from Artsyville. So I used Aimeslee page to find 10 or so three word groups to play with. I worked with them until I came up with something I liked.
It was serendipity that I found a vintage image of a girl clutching a lute. In fact, I didn’t realize what I had until I finished the page and looked up images of a lute. Low and behold… it’s a lute.
The background came out of a spray paint stencil negative scrap paper. I was spraying through the stencil and when there was too much paint on the stencil, I turned it on to a scrap paper and pressed the excess paint onto it. Well, I ended up liking the negative (excess) painted page better than the original sprayed page. When I was done spraying, the scrap paper background was still white and a little too stark. So I covered the spray enamels with clear gesso and let it dry. Then used some yellow and yellow-gold watercolor on the white areas. Finished the edges with brownish pastel.
One year ago today this little guy made his first appearance.
Since then he’s grown so much:
At 1 month: Here’s what I think of Skype.
2 months - A Post it, really? Sorry G, it’s tradition.
3 months - Shssh, I’m getting my beauty sleep
4 months - I love these fish
5 months - Tell Santa what you want
6 Months - Yes. I eat carrots, what of it?
7 Months - Mom, don’t kiss me in front of my friends.
8 Months - Just as long as it’s not bedtime after this bath.
9 Months - Yes Nana, I did brush both of my teeth.
10 Months - There has to be more toys in here
11 Months - The guys say I look cool in these duds.
12 Months - Finally, my own slice of pizza.
Here is a new journal page using a quote I found recently. It’s the first page for the new Traveling Art Journal Facebook group. 21 people have joined the group and all will have a chance to work on a page in each others journal.
Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet. By Jeremy Bentham
