Cover Finished!

Last night I finally finished the cover on my new Canson 9x12" mixed media journal that I will be using this year at Artful Journeys.  I had already decided to go bigger this year, because in the past I have used both the Strathmore Mixed Media 5x8" journal and the Visual Journal the same size because of "big white page fright".  My confidence is much better this year, and I am not so intimidated by the "big white page"!  Using a larger journal will allow me to do spreads that would be the size of a double spread in my smaller journals without fighting the wire spiral.  I will also be using Dyan Reaveley's large size Dylusions Journal throughout the year. It still is in its pristine state, so we'll talk about that journal later!

HOW I DID IT:
First, I primed the cover with a medium coat of Liquitex Gesso and let it dry.  I used smooth and coarse brushes, just to give the extra smooth surface of the cover a little texture.  Then I applied craft acrylics by Folk Art and Apple Barrel in Turquoise, Violet Pansy, Lavender, Black and Fuchsia. Once the turquoise paint was almost dry, (which I applied first)  I wiped it in assorted spots with a baby wipe, removing some of the paint to let the gesso peek through, giving more dimension to the paint.  I went with Turquoise around the edges to try and blend in with the tiny bit of the cover color that would remain at the spiral. It is just too tedious to get in-between all those loops!

I salvaged the silhouettes from some advertising that came in the mail and fussy cut them out and applied to the painted cover.  I added Stickles in Crystal to the Fuchsia "fireworks" in the center of the page and went around the purple part with a black china marker and smudged with my finger and the eraser end of a pencil dedicated solely to china marker use.  The textile was sent to me from a friend in Australia and applied with Liquitex Gel Medium and dried for a couple of hours.  The chipboard letters are by K&Company and were hiding out in my stash.  They had a sticky backing, but I used some Elmers Glue to make sure they wouldn't come off during repeated handling throughout the year, and then applied more gel medium over the top and let that dry.  The year letters are turquoise and wonderfully glittery and are called "Thickers" by American Crafts and are also chipboard. I used the same method as for the letters for application.

White highlights and doodles were made using my broad tip Uniball Signo pen in white.  Once the whole thing had dried completely (with a little help from my heat gun), I then applied a thin layer of gel medium over the entire cover to effective "seal" everything.  This morning everything is really good and dry and ready to use over and over and over throughout the year.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it all turned out.  What are you doing to the cover of your journal for 2015?

Preparing for the New Year

Now that Artful Journeys is open and off to a great start, I wanted to share my take on our first pre-launch prompt which was to create a 2015 whole-year calendar.

So to start the AJ year off, I went bigger.  A LOT bigger!  I am presently using a Canson Mixed Media wire bound journal in 9"x12".  I love using mixed media paper as it holds up well to heavy wet work with all my assorted paints and is sturdy enough to support heavy embellishments and all those bits n' bobs we love adding to our journals.  While I frequently work on loose paper, having pages sturdy enough to hold more watercolor paper and embellishments is important to me, and this particular journal is the exact size of the paper I like to use.  If I work on loose paper, all I have to do it glue it into the journal or add as a tip-in with washi or decorative tape.

This page's background was created with Laguna Blue, Diva Pink & White Apple Barrel craft acrylic, applied with a large flat shader in broad sweeping motions.  In addition to these colors, I added in Kiwi to my circles, some of which were painted with my fingers, some with a #6 round brush. Accents in black & white were brushed in and dots applied quite easily with the tip of the brush.  I drew and then fussy cut the year, added some circles  and then just glued them onto the page.  Quite frankly, I'm not very happy with them and may gesso over them later and change their color.  The calendar part I got in the mail from one of my favorite charities. I cut the advertising part off, glued the whole thing down and outlined it with a black china marker, smudging with my fingers and the eraser end of a pencil dedicated solely to "china marker smudging".  Lord knows you couldn't erase anything with it at this point!

We were asked "why" create a calendar page in your journal.  Well, I like having calendar pages in my journals.  They are a great way to start the year off, are handy to refer to later, and as the year progresses, adding in a monthly calendar along the way helps to document when you create pages in your journal.  By the time the year is over, you have a clear, annual progression of all the art you created throughout the year and know exactly when you created it!  I  know no better reason than that.  Often, I forget to actually date my work, so I find a calendar quite helpful.

Each week, I will be far more diligent about sharing the work I've created with you, and give you some insights how I created it.  Certainly I have a lot to learn, so maybe we can all learn together.

A New Adventure Begins!

Today marks a day to be grateful.  Grateful for family. Grateful for blessings beyond measure. Grateful for wonderful friends.  Grateful for oh, so many things.  My family had a wonderful day together, filled, as always,  with lots of love, hugs, laughter, food & football.  What is a Thanksgiving Day without all that, right?  But in addition to all this goodness, today a new adventure also begins.


This evening, four other friends and I have launched a new art group, dedicated to art on paper, art journals and art in our daily planners called ARTFUL JOURNEYS on Facebook.  And to work in conjunction with the group, our beautiful new blog, ARTFUL CHICKS has been launched simultaneously.  The five of us are already managing ARTFUL MAIL GROUPIES together, our fun, close-knit mail art swap group, so this is just a natural progression of what we're already doing..... playing with our art supplies and our online friends from around the world.

So if you're looking for a fun group of arty people where you aren't just a number, this is the art journaling group for you!  We have weekly art prompts to spur on your creativity, mid-week pop-up art challenges, tutorials, guest artists and more art than you can shake a stick at!

Tell your friends, bring your journals, or your daily planner or just some paper and your art supplies and come get creative with us. If you've never journaled before, we'll help you with that too.  It is all about starting and putting the pen to paper.  No pressure, no deadlines. Work at your own pace and we'll encourage you the entire way!  You won't find more supportive friends anywhere.

Saturday Art Challenge

A quick little Artful Daily Craft Challenge by our own Lynn Jackson over at Artful Mail Groupies was to create a greeting card using some of your scraps.  Mine came together rather quickly and easily, so I expanded and got some more paper bits off my desktop and made two tags!

The GREETING CARD was made from on-hand white cardstock, cut to 5-1/2" x 8" and folded. I prepared the background with Portfolio water soluble Oil Pastel in green and smoothed it out with a baby wipe.  I had a long strip leftover from another art project that was created by scraping the acrylic paint background then finger painting and brush painting circles and swirls that I cut to size and adhered with plain old Elmer's School Glue.  The stamp is by Stampabilities and I used a Uniball Signo broad tip pen for the highlights and Special Black Copic marker for the edging.

TAGS:  90 lb coldpress watercolor scraps adhered to precut tags that came in happy mail. The sunflower stamps are by Hero Arts and Comotion. The swirl stamp is by A Stamp in the Hand.  On the large sunflower, I used Prismacolor pencils, Sakura gelly pens and Special Black Copic marker.  On the small sunflower tag, the background is made with Dylusions ink sprays on scrap 90 pound cold press watercolor paper scrap leftover from another project.  I added the swirl stamps, and finished off the sunflower with Sakura Gelly pens and Copic markers, and a scrap painted strip across the bottom that was just randomly in my way on my desktop.

This whole quick craft took less than an hour for all 3 pieces.

Spend a few minutes and make yourself something fun with ephemera laying around your art space.  You know there's something fun to use in that pile you've been meaning to sort out, so go have some fun for yourself today!

AMG Pop Up Art Challenge

I challenged our group members at Artful Mail Groupies to a pop-up art challenge today.

The challenge: create art just for yourself using any medium or substrate and using at least one "found" object.  Time limit was 45 minutes from start to finish.

So, in the spirit of fun and needing to make something just for me, this is my 22 minute effort. I used two 3x5" index cards glued together, adhered some scrap background paper I had leftover that was painted with Daffodil Yellow and Lagoon Blue craft acrylic and Tulip Fabric paint in Turquoise.  I have a whole big sack full of interesting "found objects" and used the first 4 things I pulled out:  2 silvertone hoop earrings, an acrylic heart charm and a clear glass marble.  I removed the bale and fish hook wire from the bottom one, and crimped down the little bits that remained so I wouldn't hurt myself later.  The charm and the clear acrylic dangly part on the bottom earring are both loose to give the piece motion.  Lettering done on a piece of scrap watercolor paper with a Signo Uniball Bold black pen and .05 Sakura Micron pen.

This was a fun challenge.  When the whole thing dries thoroughly, I will edge the card with a Special Black Copic marker to finish it off.

Won't you take the challenge too?

Shout Out!

Wow, I got a fantastic shout-out Saturday (10/11/14) on Kris Hubick's blog, Retro Cafe' Art Gallery about my trio of Frida Shrines! How exciting is that?  

If you'd like to check it out, I'd be so proud.  You can visit Kris' blog post HERE and you can find my little mention about halfway down the page.

If you missed my post about making these awesome shrines, just pop over to it by clicking here and see the process and fun I had making these darling shrines.

With the holidays coming up, I have picked a few things from their holiday collection to work on and show you, so stay tuned for more artful fun!

It is so awesome to get validation from others. So today I'm all puffed up and proud.

As always, I'm keepin' it artful!
~~Betty

SUNFLOWER HEAVEN

It is no secret that sunflowers are my favorite.

I draw them all the time,  paint them on every available (or suitable) surface in my home. There are big sunflowers, little sunflowers, purchased sunflowers, latex sunflowers.  I paint and share out sunflowers at every opportunity to spread sunshine into the homes and lives of many.  How can  you not smile when  you see a sunflower?  Such happy flowers!

This week is no exception.  This tag is of course, a sunflower, hand drawn on vintage 1949 school book text with my trusty black Sakura Gelly Pen and colored with Caran d'Ache NeoColors II (a birthday gift from the husband, that I selected, ordered and paid for with his credit card!--he hates shopping) The flower was further embellished with Derwent Inktense blocks, both wet and dry and a touch of water soluble oil pastels.  The background was prepared with acrylic paint and Derwent Inktense blocks.  It measures about 4" x 8" and was hand cut from a manila file folder. The Haiku, which I love to compose, tells a brief little story about the sunflower.


During the hot summer months here in north Texas, there were many fields filled with giant sunflowers. I wanted to wander through all of them, seeing those bright faces and reliving some childhood fun.  But it seemed I was always in a hurry to get somewhere.  Next summer, I'm taking time to stop.

So enjoy my little ray of sunshine today.  I hope it brings you a smile too.  This one will be winging its way on Monday to a new home.

Stay artful!
~~Betty

I won!

Yes, you saw that right!  I was the winner of the Mixing It Up Every Day Blog Hop and the fantastic prize generously donated by Cottonwood Arts!  My prize package arrived this week and my fingers are just itching to play with all these new wonderful goodies, but most especially the journal notebook.  The notebook is constructed inside of illustration board, has a lovely weight and lays perfectly flat when opened, a big plus in my book!

Also included in my prize package was a nice sample pack, a set of Laminated Coldpress sheets, a set of 5x7" rounded corner coldpress sheets and a nice set of rounded corner art boards.  All are designed to use with wet or mixed media, so I am excited to play with every single bit of it.  Stay tuned for the creations!  My good karma aura is really shining right now!    And many thanks again to Sandee Setliff & Tamiko McCurry at Mixing It Up Every Day for a really fun blog hop, and to Cottonwood Arts for providing such a great prize!

Frida Times Three and One for Me!

Frida Kahlo is a life-force for me. Her strength, her sense of self-empowerment, her ability to deal with the life curves she was given inspires me.  I want to grow up and be this strong of a woman.

Back in June, I had this grand idea to honor all that is Frida with a month long hommage to Frida in July, her birthday month, through our swaps at Artful Mail Groupies.  We had a swap a week for 5 weeks.....the "Blue House" swap, the "Hair Adornments" swap, the "Black & White" swap and the generic Frida Art swap.  Due to my own time constraints, I only participated in the Art swap.  Sure, I had an idea what I wanted to do.  But for whatever reason, it wasn't coming together. Not the sketches. Not the paint. Not "nuthin'".  I started and threw away about 10 efforts, not satisfied with any of them.












I received this beautiful piece from  Sharon Denny Parcel and after seeing her gorgeous work, felt even more helpless and hopeless in my grand scheme to create something wonderful to exchange with my partner.

So for several days (or was it longer?) I anguished over my seeming inability to create something exciting and wonderful to share back with her.  In a fit of pique, I went trolling on Pinterest, YouTube and tons of websites looking for some sort of divine inspiration. And then, there is was. Right in front of me.  The lightbulb went on.  I didn't have to draw or paint at all. I could push that big, fat failure to the floor and silence my screaming Inner Critic and make something fun, unique, pretty & different!  Yay!

Set the stage at Retro Cafe Art website and there she was. My possibility.  And the ideas were flashing through my head like an old flip movie. Flash! Flash! Flash!  Flowers, beads, lace, crowns, jewels.....do it!  So I did.

I ordered three Frida Shrine kits from Retro Cafe Art (and there were 3 to choose from, so deciding was difficult) {{see them here}} and awaited anxiously for their arrival. Thankfully, shipment was prompt, as always, and in just a few days, they were at my doorstep.  Oh boy!  I couldn't wait!


The directions for putting them together were easy to follow, although I did have a couple of issues. It was the "comprehension" part that made putting mine together harder. ha!  I gathered up my favorite adhesive glue and got busy assembling the shine. Great. The first one is together.  The second and third assembled much faster, of course.  The material was a good quality, heavy Masonite, with a dark stain. When put together, the center is the size of ATC's, great for storing Frida ATC's, or to decorate like a real shrine (which is what I did on Frida #1).  I thought it looked very nice in its arrival state. So I was very pleased with everything about these shrines. (sadly, I didn't take a picture... I was too excited and ripped right into them).  They came in 5 pieces, that you just pushed out of the framing. Easy peasy.

Now for the fun part!  My thinking was that I would make one for myself first to see how it went, how it looked and what I might want to do differently on the 2nd and third ones.  I knew I would not store ATC's in my shrine.  So I began to "build" the inside of the shrine with some nifty little circle mirrors on the back wall, tarted up with some flat acrylic jewels.   So what to use for the pedestal? I really want to make it like a shrine. Shrines have shrine like things, like pedestals!  Dig, rummage, dig.  Idea!

I have a huge supply of glass beads (used in my fused glass projects), and they are rather flat on the top and bottom. More glue to create a pedestal, another mirror circle on top. And to sit atop my newly formed pedestal is a treasured prayer box charm sent to me quite some time ago by a dear friend.  Voila!  Interior of the shrine is complete! I used these same jewels to build "feet" on the shrine to elevate it.  I had been saving this beautiful green stone star that would make a perfect base for a pedestal.

Next, I direct my attention to the exterior and to Frida.  More digging and rummaging through the supply cache (this took a while) to find the perfect bits.  I selected a dark scrapbooking paper for the sides of my shrine that looked like tree bark, that was cut to fit both sides.  Textile trim added to the front, along with a nifty little oval label.  I'm pretty happy with that. And of course some beaded "feet" to elevate the whole shrine. I didn't like it flat on the surface.


Then, and at last, Frida herself.  

How tarted up should she be?  This definitely required quite a few minutes of thought.  More digging in the stash.  I was pretty sure I wanted her to be wearing blue, symbolic of The Blue House.  So I selected my Peacock Blue Copic marker and colored her top.  I added the very tippy edge of some lace trim I had, fussy cutting it very carefully and affixing to the edge of the top. "Lipstick" was applied with R29 Lipstick Red Copic Marker, and highlights to her cheeks with V01 Health Copic Marker.


A beautiful woman must wear jewelry, right?  More digging. Aha!  Seed beads were the perfect thing and the perfect size. So a "necklace" was created to cover up the printed one, which I didn't care too much for.

Now, I must pay attention to her hair and her head.  Frida seemed to always wear some type of adornments in her hair.  More digging, of course.  Flowers, jewels, and there it was......a crown. That was it!  This cute little crown was sent to me in  Happy Mail. And curiously enough, some of the gals at AMG call me the "Queen Bee" so it seemed just fitting my MY Frida would have a crown.  But it was plain and boring.  Out came the gold Stickles.  I selected several graduating size "jewels" for her crown and got those all applied.  Very happy with that, and then another decision.... straight? angled left? angled right?   I finally settled on the jaunty angle to the right. Gave her some great attitude, didn't it?  I have attitude.  So it worked for me.

And while the Stickles was out, little dots were added to the center of the flower trim around each shrine, giving each a touch more glimmer and shine.  Can't have too much bling, right?

So now, I step back and admire the handiwork.  Loving it!  So I eagerly got busy and finished up the other two so I could ship both off to my assigned partners, albeit with a late mailing date.  Both were similarly prepared with fussy cut lace textiles, Copic markers, seed beads, and since the other two were planned to go to members of my mail art group, I made both just alike, with a flower and jewel hair adornment on each, both with decorative paper on the inside of the box by PapayaArt.  Both oval buttons were alike but different, giving each her own little flair.  And, there can only be one Queen, right?

Don't you think my trio turned out super cute????

Overall, I was very pleased with these little kits. The price on each was reasonable, ordering and shipping was user friendly and blessedly fast. They were very easy to assemble and made my Frida project way more fun to finish and get off to their intended recipients.

So if you love all things Frida Kahlo like I do, this little project would be a great addition to your collection.

My Queen Frida now lives on a bookshelf, adjacent to my art desk where she watches over me, giving me inspiration from the great beyond...ever watchful that I get as much joy working on my new projects as I had working on her.

Keeping it artful~~








Betty

"MIXING IT UP" LOVES COTTONWOOD ARTS BLOG HOP

Welcome to the Mixing it Up loves Cottonwood Arts Blog Hop!

This is a closed blog hop just for the members of the Mixing it Up Every Day Face Book group so that we can get to know each other better. Having said that, if you are not in our group, please feel free to leave a comment anyway and come join us over on FaceBook. We would love to get to know you better too. Here's are the links to everyone's blogs. Remember in order to have a chance to win the prize package from Cottonwood Arts you must:1. Be a blog hostess 2. Leave a comment on everyone's blog

BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS:

Sandee Setliff http://inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/
Tiare Smith Woods http://www.tiaresmith.com
Martice Smith II http://www.uneekart.blogspot.com
Tiffany Goff Smith http://southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com/?m=1
Anna Turner Ely www.foronemoment.blogspot.com
Cat von Hassel-Davies http://www.catseyestudio.us/
Terri Sproul http://www.terrisproul.blogspot.com
Sharon D. Estes http://grannyskornerstudio.blogspot.com
Betty Guffey Richardson http://artyauntie.blogspot.com/
Tommy Jo Vilello Anderson http://www.tommyjovilello.blogspot.com
Melissa Willard Edwards www.melissaedwards.org
Donna Simmons Lueders http://www.damseldesignsbydonna.blogspot.com/
Jean Marmo http://pagesintime.blogspot.com/
Tamiko McCurry http://mikosspot.blogspot.com


                                                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We were asked to answer the question: Are you a journal hoarder?

THIS IS A TRICKY QUESTION!  I suppose you first have to determine what IS a hoarder. To me, a hoarder is a person who has things, but doesn't necessarily use them. Most hoarders keep useless, random things just for the sake of keeping them. I do have a tendency to purchase new journals to use as I make and give away journals all the time, so I do have a large stash of journals on hand. Would you consider this hoarding? Maybe. Do I? No way!!! Those blank journals are inspiration to create something new and fresh on those clean, pristine pages with "opportunity for healing" on the inside! I also do buy Moleskin and Picadilly notebooks to give away for prizes when we hold contests in my mail art group, Artful Mail Groupies. I did stock up at the back-to-school sales in late August on Composition Notebooks (a whole case!). I make a ton of these, altered, for beginning art journalers like women in crisis and others who could benefit from the experience of journaling and creative art therapy. I host a small journaling class once a month at our local rural library, in addition to working with battered women's shelters, residential rehabilitation facilities, local cancer treatment centers, the local Dept. of Human Services caseworker for our area and I volunteer once a month at two assisted living centers where we make art, be creative and have lots of fun!  Giving back makes me happy. Putting a smile on a woman's face that really needs one is one of my greatest blessings.

Here's a look at the journals I am currently using, most of which have a distinct purpose for each. My current cache of working journals are:



1. "Thoughts & Inspirations" - a little pocket ledger that I use to record quotes and sayings that appeal to me throughout the year, with a few simple sketches, or pen & pencil drawings.  The paper is quite thin.

2. "Art Exploration" Journal - This journal is for play and experimentation with supplies, media, techniques and where I also document all my supplies of pens, markers, paints, etc. It became so fat I had to remove the spiral binding and replace with binder rings to hold it together. It has about reached its maximum capacity so a new "play" journal is on the horizon in my art world. It started its life as a mixed media journal, but now it has every kind of paper in it imaginable.

3. "Create Everyday" Journal - this has been my go-to journal to create pages just for me; it is a place I feel happy, safe and alive and where I use goodies that I have received from around the world in the many wonderful happy mail packages arriving in my mailbox. It too is nearing its end, only 1 more page left, so I will get to start fresh once again.  This journal started its life as mixed media journal from Strathmore.

4. "DLP Planner/Journal" - This is my daily planner/journal that I started in January with The Documented Life Project. Sadly, I am behind in the art prompts, but I do record all my events, appointments, happenings, and life bits. Next year, I definitely will use a different style planner because the tip ins really make this thing fat and chunky. I am fearing by the time I am totally caught up with all the art prompts, it may come apart.

5. "Red Journal 52" Journal - This journal is for the weekly art prompts at Journal 52 where one prompt is given a week to incorporate into the journal. I do a lot of actual journaling in this book, where I am also way behind on the art prompts. Life-interruptus has way-laid my art of late.

6. "The Striped Journal" -- This is an el-cheapo journal I picked up at our local dollar store to record favorite poetry, to write my own poetry and short stories in. About the only "art" i can put in here on the super thin pages are sketches or pen and pencil work. This journal helps keeps my writing skills "up to snuff" and allows me the time and the space to contemplate things on a higher plain.

7. "The Inspiration Journal" - This little journal is the place I make notes about ideas I want to try, where I smash in pictures, articles and all sorts of things that inspire me. Sadly, most the things I have saved that do inspire me need to go IN the journal, not in the box where they currently reside. This little book gives me some mojo when I need it, that little glimmer of sunshine to spark more creativity.

8. "The Coffee Journal" - this journal is dedicated solely to all things "Coffee". Yes, I am a coffee junkie. Hot, cold, luke warm, leftover. I am in love with the dark, robust brew that is truly my comfort beverage. Happy? Make coffee. Sad? Make coffee. Give up my Keurig? NEVER.

9. "The AFTHAS Journal" - a tarted up Picadilly writing journal that I use everyday. Purchased from Art for the Heart and Soul as a contribution for their non-profit projects. Some artwork in here, but not so much. This is where I really get in touch with my days. There is another, in-waiting, of course.

10. "Little Blue" - this is a new pocket journal made by Graphique with fantastic paper inside, to carry in my purse for the endless hours spent waiting at the doctor's office, for oil changes and elsewhere.

On top of these "working" journals, I have several albums that I store incoming postcards, Artist Trading Cards and artwork in. Each is treasured for the love that is contained inside them, because that is what they are to me. Filled with love from friends new and old from around the world and to my little corner of the earth.

I recently purchased 3 "GreenDesign Works" notebooks to try out for journaling. The paper is very nice, are 100% post-consumer recycled materials with soy ink and are a nice size for toting around (A5). The pack of 3 came with a blank, a weekly planner and a lined notebook. They are still in their pristine form at the moment so they anxiously await some fresh creativity. It was my idea to use the "planner" one for monthly "mini art". The pages are divided into boxes for the month, which would be ideal for creating approximate "Twinchies" each day of the month, filling the page with miniature art for 30 days. Here are some of the newbies, awaiting fun inside!

This journal was a recent purchase that just had my name all over it. Made by Recollections and designed by PapayaArt. The imagery is just lovely with a nice chipboard cover, beautiful decorated pages that will surely be full to overflowing in a few months time.

This altered composition notebook is one I am currently working on for a young lady in crisis who wants to start journaling and creative therapy to help her with her own healing process. I will be delivering it to her in a few days time with a cache of supplies and prompts to help get her started on her journey. These projects bring me great joy to be able to give back to women in my area who need a friend, a helping hand, a word of encouragement and some emotional support.

Sooooooo, the end result of this self-examination? I think I might be seeing a pattern here. Maybe I am a journal hoarder in the eyes of the world around me. To me, no. Each individual journal has a purpose, and each is ready for a new beginning. I look around and see them tucked here and there, some hidden away, some readily accessible for when the mood strikes. They do get used and there are times when there are no "new" journals hiding or lurking anywhere in my home. I am in denial? Maybe. Am I going to change it? Definitely not. The feel of a new journal, the paper, and the smell of that fresh clean paper always excites and invigorates me and my brain. Why would I take away that glorious feeling of knowing they are there??!

SEE THAT GORGEOUS PRIZE OVER THERE--->>>>>>> ??? I am anxious and hopeful that I will be the lucky recipient of this great Cottonwood Arts "prize" for our bloghop. I have heard many wonderful things about their products, but have not been able to get any to play with so far, so the fingers are crossed. If someone else is the lucky winner, I will be happy for them, and get busy and get a Cottonwood Arts Cold Pressed journal for my own use and to have "on hand" and ready to go when my journals are full.

REPRESENTATIVE PAGES FROM SOME OF MY JOURNALS

Here are a few of the pages from some of my journals. Some different styles and techniques that I have had fun playing with.

I love this image of Audrey Hepburn and just had to use her based on a prompt in Daisy Yellow to use the color "Red". Collage elements on red acrylic background with Sakura Gelly Roll pen, Scarlet Lime pen, Copic marker and Derwent Inktense block.

This page was just for fun, full of out-and-out play and genuine wild abandon! Definitely a departure from my customary style. Background done with Derwent Inktense color blocks. I also used watercolor, acrylic and Copic markers.

We did a Kandinsky-inspired ATC swap over at Artful Mail Groupies a few months ago, and it was so much fun, I made a whole journal page to keep enjoying the experience. Wassilly Kandinsky is one of my favorite artists, so I enjoyed trying to emulate his style. There are some collage elements, all watercolor on cold press with acrylic embellishments.

Oh what fun collage can be. This definitely has a distinct "sewing" theme where I used some favorite goodies I received in happy mail. "Aged" with a Memento stamp pad in cocoa and faux stitching with my trusty Scarlet Lime pen by Christy Tomlinson.

This page was about "mixing it up" on a very down day for me and getting rid of my "black" mood. All done in black, grey and white. the "rain" added with a Sakura Gelly pen. After it was all said and done, I go back and find it to be quite powerful. It surely helps me remember and be grateful for all the blessings in my life.

This page has tons of layers of acrylic paint, stencils, collage and hand embellishments. I see it, I smile. It is a constant reminder to me that the world is truly my oyster. 

A fun page with an asian-inspired theme and an adorable stamped image also sent to me in happy mail by a great friend. The background paper, also written in some asian language (which I do not know what it is).

Of course this ATC is in my Coffee Journal, and made for a coffee-themed swap I did in one of the groups I participate in from time to time. I made little pockets for each card to live in, coordinated with the "cup" 

This is my most recent journal page, in the Create Everyday journal. I love pigs and chickens, and this vintage image just spoke to me. The background is in acrylic with the piggys collaged on, aged with Memento Cocoa stamp pad, and colored with Prismacolor pencils and some Copic markers in cool gray for additional highlights.

Thank you for stopping by for a visit and I hope you enjoyed my little journal tour. I'd appreciate a comment or two! Be sure and visit all the other participants in this blog hop and see what great things they are all doing! If you aren't subscribed to my blog, I invite you to do so, and I will surely be subscribing to yours.

Ciao, bella!
Make it an artful day!

Betty

Friends Helping Friends

SHOUT OUT!


My beautiful and talented friend, Tiffany Smith over at Southern Gal Designs is having a giveaway for reaching 300 followers on her YouTube channel.  Tiffany is very talented and makes some really wonderful tutorials that are easy to follow.


You will enjoy her melodic southern voice and her videos. So hop on over to her blog, or her YouTube channel here and see what great things Tiff is working on & learn something new, or perhaps a new and different way of doing something and make something exciting for your art!

Junk Mail Rejuventated!

Seems as though many of us who are into the paper arts never throw anything out that we can use in our art. Junk mail is some of our favorite fodder for our journals, our planners, our mail art. So tonight, I've recycled the inside of a security envelope to make these adorable flowers!

I have a huge stash of wooden popsicle / craft sticks that I use periodically for projects.  And this one couldn't have been simpler!  

DIRECTIONS:
First, I cut open a security envelope, and colored it into 4 sections with Copic markers.  I used Maize, Peacock Blue, and Shock Pink for these flowers and a small section in New Green for the leaves.  Once colored, I pulled out 3 circle punches in 1-3/4", 1-3/8" and 5/8", and punched out 3 in each color.  Freehand cut 4-6 "leaves" out of the green section.

 I doodled on one of the flowers to see how it looked and on one of the leaves.  Certainly adds dimension.  You could also use some other paints like Acrylics,  Stickles, Liquid Pearls, or even fabric paint to add dimension and shine!

Layer the 3 circles in your color preference, and  using an awl or ice pick, poke a small hole through all 3 layers. Insert a small brad and spread it open on the back.

Color your craft stick with paint, or as in my case, I also used a Copic marker in  New Green.   Glue the "flower" to the top of the stick.  Add your leaves, and  you're done!

Now, wasn't that easy and fun?

These are going in some happy mail packages that are due out this week...... so watch your mailbox!  More to come in future packages!

We're saving the planet, one piece of junk mail at a time.

Happy creating!
~Betty



Overnight update:  I had so much fun making those you see up at the top of this post, I played the rest of the night and in-between drying times on some large background papers I've been working on, I made more fun flowers.

On this new batch, I cut up some scraps of scrapbooking papers, the remnants of some background pages that were laying on my desk and cut small ovals this time out of some free paint chips in green for the leaves.  I embellished some of the flowers with Stickles by Ranger and added flat backed "jewels" to the centers instead of brads. I experimented with several different permanent black pens including Faber Castell's Brush tip, Sakura Gelly Pen, Sakura Micron, LePen, my favorite Scarlet Lime  pen and two other generic black roller ball ink pens and all worked equally as well.

I purposely drew squiggly lines around each section of the flower, and tried to makes the leaves have more of a steady hand, just for definition.  The possibilities for exploration are endless on these flowers.

Part of the fun for me was of course playing with the punches, then mixing and matching the assorted papers. I didn't realize I had pulled soooooo many blue colors.  Must have been a blue kind of night! LOL.

I will be tucking these into future happy mail packages and as tuck-ins for some of my swap exchanges.  Everyone needs a happy flower or two, right?

If you don't have circle punches in assorted sizes, certainly you could use a circle template and fussy cut them all out, or cut your templates from heavy cardstock and just outline your template.

Somewhere I have a circle template with scalloped edges.  Going to play with that one next.

Can't wait to see what YOU come up with!

Again, happy creating!
~~Betty

Recycling, Again!

I love to recycle, upcycle, re-use and re-purpose ordinary things that would normally hit the trash bin. As a crafter and artsy-phartsy type, everything has artistic potential if you open your mind to the possibilities.

As any crafter and most artsy types know, organizing our supplies and ephemera is always a challenge, and keeping this stuff off our desks so we can have more room to play, is our bane. Digging through a jumbled up mess is a time eater and spending an hour digging through a huge box for one piece can drive you crazy. I like things organized and in their place. Can you say OCD?



So, I've been saving cracker boxes.  Big ones, square ones, smaller ones.  They are generally very sturdy and seem to be the right size for storing ephemera, journaling cards, small, clear stamps or whatever you need to store.  I like to put seasonal items in these boxes and then they are safely tucked away until the next time they are needed.  Tonight's project: Christmas.  There is so much Christmas / Wintery stuff in my ever-growing collection, it is time to sub-sort.  Enter the cracker box.

<------Turn this ordinary box into an easily recognizable box of goodness ------> that can happily live on a shelf or in your closet and be picked in an instant.  And yes, these crackers are delicious!

The whole process took about 30 minutes from start to finish.  You will need:

• two matching 12x12 inch pieces of scrapbooking paper, with the pattern of your choice 
• Some ModPodge, DIY Podge, glue or spray adhesive
• Scissors
• Ruler and/or scoring board

Trim about 1-1/2 inches off the bottom of your papers. This will leave overhang on the bottom.  Start by coating the side with the slit in the box opening with with adhesive of your choice. 

Cover liberally.

Folded Paper on Box Bottom

Working quickly, line up the edge of your paper to just below the slit on the flap and smooth out to the bottom.  Here you can use a brayer, but just smoothing with your hands works well.  Then move to the side of the box, coat with adhesive and continue around the box until fully covered, smoothing after each section to remove any air bubbles.  Trim paper to fit after you get all the way around. Cut down the side of the flaps to trim out the paper so your box will ultimately close.  Then turn your attention to the bottom.  Fold the short sides in and crease as you would on giftwrapping.  Then fold down the long sides.  Apply your adhesive to the bottom of the box. Fold in the short sides, apply more adhesive, then fold in the long sides.

Now, I gave mine 2 coats of glossy ModPodge after I finished it to give it a more durable surface for repeated handling.  And a final blast with Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze.  I am the impatient type, so I hit the box all over really well with my heat gun in between coats so I could finish up quickly and move on to the next one.

• Think about Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter, Fall, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Hannukah, Ramadan or a special theme that you have a collection of goodies for!  Maybe you just have a few seasonal items for these special holidays, and they get lost in the grand scheme of things.  This is a great solution!  By choosing themed paper to match your "stuff" you will easily recognize it and be able to grab and create immediately without wasting any time!

Enjoy recycling, and happy creating!
~~Betty