Sunday, December 22, 2013

Christmas Art Journal Page

Merry Christmas! I've been working on this page all week and finally got it done!

This page started with a layer of self-adhesive gift tags, which I gessoed over. Then there was some painting through stencils in red and green. The tree was made using washi (and other) tape and outlined with gelatos. The Merry Christmas was cut off a gift bag.


The one thing I don't like is the star. I wish I had made the tree come to a point so the star wouldn't look out of place. Or I could have left off the star completely, but by the time I realized I didn't like it, it was too late. I don't really hate it, I just think it looks awkward because it's obviously not at the top of the tree. Oh well! I suppose you learn something with every page or other project you do. I learned to plan my page better, or at least to not glue things down until I'm sure. Of course, I've had this lesson many times and I don't always follow it. My art style is more "do this and see what happens" than any sort of plan. I think it works for me.

I was looking back through the pages I've done this year and I realized there aren't any that I hate. There's a couple that I don't like very much, some I love, and some that are just ok but none that I just can't stand. I think that is awesome because I have such a hard time considering myself an artist after being a crafter for so many years. But, at the end of the year, I'll have a book (once I rebind it) full of art that I did, most of which is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. So I guess what I'm saying is that I feel really good about the art I've done this year.



Saturday, December 7, 2013

New Art Journal Page

I couldn't think of a name for this page, but I'm not very good at that anyway. I wasn't feeling very inspired this week, so I'm pleased that this page turned out so well.

I started by gluing down some paper bits- actually wrapping paper scraps. I gessoed over that, and then used some spray inks through a stencil. I did some random stamping. I cut out a model from a magazine and used her as a mask. The lines were made with gel pens.

The colors in the picture below are not quite true to life, but you get the idea.


Wednesday, November 27, 2013

2 New Art Journal Pages

I didn't finish any pages last week, so this week I have two. The first one was a lot of fun to do. I recently bought a set of Twinkling H2Os. This page was basically just a way for me to try them out. I originally intended this to just be a background, but I liked it a lot and decided to leave it as it was.



The next page is the result of me giving up when the page didn't turn out as planned. The background was done with gelatos. I can't really explain what I was trying to achieve, but believe me, it didn't work. The pumpkin picture was a free coloring sheet from somewhere online (sorry, it's been a few years) that I shrunk down. It was colored with gelatos and a water brush. I framed it with some paper tape. (I went crazy when I found this tape at the Dollar Tree. I bought one of each design.) The leaves and Autumn chipboard stickers are from my stash of scrapbooking supplies. I've had them for years and have only a very vague idea of where I bought them. This isn't one of my favorite pages, but I don't hate it.


Friday, November 15, 2013

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Art Journal Page: Fashion

The idea for this page came from something I saw on Pinterest. I don't really like the girl I used, but I recently purged my stash of magazines and catalogs and didn't have much to choose from.

 The quote says "Oh, never mind the fashion. When one has a style of one's own, it's always 20 times better." - Margaret Oliphant.


Project Life for October: Weeks 40 - 43




Friday, November 1, 2013

Art Journal Page: Blue Hair

I have always wanted to dye my hair a non-standard color. When I was younger, I didn't dare- my mom would have killed me. After that, I wanted to be seen as a mature adult, and blue or purple hair didn't really fit in with that (or so I thought at the time). Then I felt like I was too old for such things. But now, at 37, I really don't care what anyone else thinks. It makes me happy and doesn't hurt anyone, so why not?

I only did a few inches at the ends, in case I hated it or got tired of it. I could just get a haircut and it'd be gone. But I love it and am so glad I did it!

The pictures on this page came from the instructions for the hair dye. (The rest of the instructions were used on the bottom layer under the paint.) There's also a picture of me. It's a little dark and hard to see the blue, but I know it's there!


Friday, October 18, 2013

Art Journal Page: Art and Love

I'm not sure the quote goes with the rest of the page, but I really wanted to use it.

I didn't really like the background at first, but it grew on me. The girl was sort of an experiment. I'm not sure if I"ll do more of that sort of thing in future.


Saturday, October 12, 2013

Art Journal Page: Nevaeh

This page is a lot more scrapbooky than I originally intended, but I like it. This is my cousin's new baby Nevaeh. Isn't she a cutie?


In other news, I've (mostly) learned to use my scanner, so my pictures should look a bit better.


Friday, October 4, 2013

Art Journal Page: 37

This week's art journal page is in celebration of my 37th birthday. The quote says "A birthday is a time to plan ahead and to dream of all the beautiful things life has to offer."



Project Life for September weeks 36 - 39




Friday, September 27, 2013

Art Journal Page: Zebra Flower

Here's this week's art journal page. The quote says "Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature. " by Gerard De Nerval



Saturday, September 21, 2013

Art Journal Page: Life is Art

My newest art journal page. It features a (rather long) quote by Helena Bonham Carter that reads:

I think everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams. The way you drink your tea. How you decorate your home. Or party. Your grocery list. The food you make. How your writing looks. And the way you feel. Life is art.

(Found here)

When I read that, I just had to put it on a page. I've been a bit uninspired lately, but this quote got me moving. It may not be the best page I've ever done, but I like it.

The background is made with strips cut from waste paper, which is what I call the big sheet of paper that I keep on my desk to catch paint and spray ink. I also doodle and clean stamps on it. The butterflies started out as stickers that were clear with just the black outlines printed on them. I stuck them to a sheet of paper I had painted that had a watercolor look to it (done with gelatos) and cut them out. The quote is also written on part of that paper. I framed the quote with washi tape and everything was outlined with white gel pen.



Thursday, September 5, 2013

Art Journal Page: Happiness

I had a rather busy week last week so I didn't get an art journal page done, although I did work a bit on some backgrounds. This week, I finally got a chance to finish a page. I like it well enough but I'm not ecstatic about it. It didn't turn out quite how I envisioned it, but then again my pages rarely do.
The quote says "All happiness depends on courage and work, - Honore' de Balzac" On the right, circles #2 and #4 say "happy" and "smiles".


Project Life week 32-35

My Project Life for August:






Thursday, August 22, 2013

Art Journal Page- Find Your Style

Here is my newest art journal page. This one started, as a lot of my pages do, with a layer of paper scraps covered with a thin layer of gesso. I did the border with a stamp carved from an eraser. There are some other randomly stamped bits and, of course, the butterfly. I use butterflies a lot, but I like them. I then used spray inks and glimmer mists, spraying and blotting and spraying again until I liked it. The picture is a bit washed out. The actual page is more vibrant. At this point, I wasn't sure what to add to it. In fact, I almost left it as it was. But I found the "Find Your Style" cut from a catalog, I think, and decided to go with that, mostly because my style, at least lately, is random paper scraps, spray inks, and butterflies.

A lot of the texture is from using varying thicknesses of paper scraps on the first layer.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Art Journal Page: Color Your World

My newest art journal page!  I love the colors in this one.


I started with a layer of random paper scraps which I covered with a thin layer of gesso. Then I covered the page with drywall tape. I sprayed it with spray ink (some Dylusions and some Glimmer Mist). I lightly splattered the page with some thinned down black paint. The "color your world" came from a catalog for curtains, I think. I didn't want to add a whole lot to this page because I loved how the background turned out.

I talked about taking the spiral out of the sketch book I'm using in an earlier post. I'm still not happy with it,but I'm too stubborn to go buy another journal when I haven't used up this one. I think I'll stick with my current system at least until the end of the year and either buy or make one to start fresh with next year.




Saturday, August 10, 2013

New Art Joiurnal Page

In June and July, I participated in Daisy Yellow's Index Card A Day challenge. (Click here to see my cards!) It was great, but it kind of through me off of my art journaling. Now that ICAD is over, I'm hoping to get back to finishing at least one art journal page a week.

Here is my most recent page:


The shiny bits don't photograph particularly well but it looks pretty cool in person. I know the face is a bit odd, with the half a nose and tiny lips. I don't know why, but I just like it.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

ICAD # 58 - 61

I've really enjoyed using rolodex cards this year. I love that I can keep all this art on my desk without it being in my way. The smaller size didn't bother me. They're almost the same size as an ATC, and I've made tons of those.

Here are the last of this summer's ICADs.
(To see the rest of the cards, click here to see them on my blog or here for Flickr.)









All 61 cards in the rolodex
I'll probably continue making cards, but I won't really consider them ICADs, as it won't be an everyday thing.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

ICAD 51-57

This week's ICADs:












I can't seem to center my photos anymore. Any suggestions?