Stencil Test Drive - Hands!

Hey there everybody!  I'm behind the wheel for another Stencil Test Drive for my friend Jessica Sporn!

 

This time I've been playing with Jessica's Hands Stencil, which looks like this...

 I chose this stencil to play with because I love to use hands in my art journal pages.  To me they symbolize so much.  A single hand can symbolize self, identity - I am here!  Hands together can symbolize connection, which is what I was thinking about when I created my piece for this hop...

Here's what I came up with...

 This is a little tribute to Michael and I moving to a new home this fall.  I loved using the hands stencil to create a layered background which peeks through the big hands silhouette. Can you see them?

 Here are a few process photos...

 I used lots of different yellow and orange spray inks to create the first layer.  After spraying through the hands, I also flipped the stencil over and pressed the inky side to the paper, to take advantage of the negative images too.

Then I applied some clear gesso over the top to seal the ink.  That way I can add a second layer with out the mists mixing and turning to mud.

 Next I did the same thing with a bunch of blue and teal spray inks.  I also used neocolor II crayons around the edges to create a frame.  Followed by another coat of clear gesso. 

Here's a closeup...

Next step was to find a silhouette on the web of two people holding hands.  I printed it out, enlarged it, cut it out, and traced around it.  Then I filled it in with a fairly thick coat of glossy accents to create a resist...

 Then some gesso, applied with my hands.  I used a baby wipe to easily wipe off any gesso that got onto the silhouette image...

Added some doodles and a title, and here's the finished page again...

I'm so happy with my page!  Every time I look at it, I will remember this exciting time for us.  Thank you so much Jessica, for including me in the Hands stencil test drive!

Please check out Jessica's blog, and the other test-driving artists to see more ways to use this awesome stencil!  - but before you do, be sure to leave a comment here because Jessica is giving away a hands stencil to one lucky winner, and every comment in the test drive will be eligible to win!  The more times you comment, the more chances you have to win!

Jessica Sporn (designer and host)

Natasha May

Carolyn Dube

Marjie Kemper

Maria McGuire

Janet Joehlin

Kristen Reed

Thanks so much for visiting today!  I will see you again soon!

Project Life Tuesday...

Hi friends!  This week's project life update is from April 22 - 30, 2013.

Here's the spread:
Page protectors used:  WeR Memory Keepers 4x4" pocket design on the left, and Project Life Design F on the right.

 What's happening here?  I started a new workshop and took a trip up north for work. I used bits from the Jade and Midnight PL kits, plus stuff from my stash to complete this page.


 Detail of the left side...

The number flair buttons are from Ormolu.  Unfortunately, I don't think they're available anymore.  Ephemera used on this page is the instruction page that came with my new colored pencils, and part of the bag from the pizza I ordered for delivery while traveling.  Pizza Luce is the best!!!


 Detail of right side...

The photo of the seagulls is a postcard I got on my trip to Duluth.  Other ephemera used here is a little note Michael left for me on the counter when I arrived home.

Thanks so much for visiting!  Please feel free to leave a comment or question.  I love hearing from you!

P.S.  On Thursday I will be back with another Stencil Test Drive for my friend Jessica Sporn, so be sure to stop back then!  See you soon!

Fun with Mood Boards...

Hi friends!  I'm excited to tell you one of the reasons I've been so busy lately...

We're moving!  Yep, Michael and I found a new home, and we are moving this fall.  Our original plan when we got married in 2007, was to sell both of our homes, and pick out a new home together.  Then, as you may remember, the housing market crashed and made that impossible.  Soooo, six years later, we are doing it!  We're staying in the same general vicinity, but we'll be a little further out in the country.  Yeayyy!

Anyhoo, I've been having fun creating mood boards for our new place, and I want to share them with you.  I've only created two so far, and I did them both at polyvore.

Keep in mind that I don't plan on purchasing any of these items.  I'm just creating color and style schemes.  I started with the colors of the walls and built from there...

Livingroom:

Livingroom by michellelapoint

and Art studio...

Studio by michellelapoint

Do you ever make mood boards?  Polyvore is a lot of fun to play with.  Check it out here.

I'm excited to take you along as I work on creating my new studio space!

Moving, as well as going on Honeymoon Seven will make for a super busy (and fun) autumn for us!  I will still be here as often as I possibly can, but it may be a little less than usual for awhile.

Take care, and thank you sooo much for visiting!  I will see you again soon!

Project Life Update...

Hi friends!  I just got back from a scrappy retreat with my girlfriends, and we had so much fun!  Four days of scrapping to our hearts content - yeayyy!!!  I worked on Project Life the whole time and guess what?  I'm all caught up!!!!

I've got a spread to share with you today from April 11 - 21, 2013...

Page protectors used are a Snap Pocket Page on the left, and a WeR Memory Keepers 4x4" pocket design on the right...

 What's happening here?  Well, the biggest thing is that we were still having winter storms in April!  In fact there was a big storm that hit on the way to bring Johnny in for some diabetes testing, and it took 2 1/2 hours to get to the vet (usually a little over a half-hour)!  All three of us (Me, Michael and Johnny) were a little stressed out by the time we got there - ha.

Here's a closeup of the left side...

 The big image with the colored pencils is from Studio Calico.  It's supposed to go in their "handbook" mini album, but I just trimmed it a little bit and it fit in the 6x8" pocket perfectly!  The only ephemera used on this page is my name tag from the crop I attended.


 Here's a closeup of the right side...

Ephemera used on this page is a wrapper from a tiny clif bar (a new size for us).  It was fun using square pockets for a change of pace.

Speaking of square pockets - did you see that Project Life has come out with a new Core kit that features square cards?  I like the teeny 2 x 2 pockets!  Check it out here.

My 29 faces project has fallen by the wayside for now, but I do plan to finish it.  Probably not til later in the fall when things quiet down a bit.

How is your September going?

Thanks so much for visiting!  I appreciate you so much!  I will see you again soon!

It's Time for "One Little Word!"

Hi friends!  I'm so excited to finally share with you my first journal page as a "One Little Word" design team member!  EEK! 

The new word we are working with this month is "DO."  It made me think of a quote that I love, by Howard Thurman.  Here's how my page turned out...

I had so much fun working on this page!

 Here are a few process shots...

I started with a simple background of text papers and masking tape...

 Then I did some stenciling with titan buff paint...

 (stencils are by coffee break design and Jessica Sporn for Stencil Girl)

 As I added some of my favorite spray inks, you can see the paint starting to act as a resist...

 then I collaged some words on, and added a light gesso wash...

I used a variety of blues, greens and purple acrylic paint over the whole background (forgot to take a picture of this step),

Then I tried something new.  I did the rainbow by coloring with neocolor II crayons, and then using a small amount of paint instead of water to blend them.  I was delighted to see the bright, transparent color it created.  After that I lightly sketched in the cloud with a white pastel pencil...

and here's the finished page again...

The cloud is painted in with gesso, and the word "do" is handcut from a photocopy of the background.  The white words are handpainted, and the black words are done with this Amy Tangerine Stamp set.  The little figure standing on the cloud was stenciled onto inked text paper, and cut out.

I love the idea of working with one word as a journal prompt - the possibilities are endless!  What does the word "do" make you think of?  Come on over and play along with us!  Any type of creative project is welcome!  Click here to go to the challenge - I hope to see you there!

Just a quick update...

Hi everyone!  Just popping in to let you know that things are wildly busy here.  I'm going to be away from blogland until next Tuesday, although I hope to schedule an auto post for my first One Little Word project, which will go live on September 15th.  I'm super excited to share it with you!

Have an awesome week, and I will see you soon!

Project Life update...

Hi friends!  I've got another Project Life Upate for you today.  Moving right along with the catch-up posts, today's layout is from April...



April 4 - 11, 2013...

Page Protectors used are Design A on the left side, and a Snap Pocket page on the right...

What's happening here?  It was a busy week.  We were still getting used to giving Johnny his insulin shots; we celebrated Michael's mom Sue's birthday, and I was taking two online workshops.

 Detail of the left side...

 I used a combination of the Clementine PL kit and my stash here.  The only ephemera included is a button I picked up at my eye doctor visit.


Detail of right side...

Those adorable cat feet belong to my sister Renee's cat Henry.  Ephemera included is the pet taxi magnet that we picked up at the local pet lodge when we toured there.  Along with photos, I also included some notes I took from the Book of Days workshop.

So that's it.  It was a busy week full of fun memories.  I'm so glad I have it documented!

Thanks so much for visiting me today!  I appreciate you!  Have a wonderful Saturday, and I will see you again tomorrow!

Faces #4 and 5...

Just stopping in real quick to share my 4th and 5th faces...

Face #4...
 Mechanical pencil on deli paper.  She is part of a vision I have for an art journal page.  I may or may not end up adding her to the page, but it was fun to try a profile.  They are much  harder for me to draw than a front facing portrait!

For face #5 I decided to try an experiment.  I misted a splotch of spray ink onto my little journal, and told myself, however it looked when it dried, I was going to make a face out of it.  Here's the splotch...

and here's how she ended up...

I think she's my favorite so far.  :0)


This 29 faces thing is really broadening my horizons!

Thanks so much for visiting, and for your kind comments!  They really brighten my day!

See you again tomorrow!

Project Life Tuesday and the struggle of taking photos...

Hey everyone!  How's it going?  It's Project Life Tuesday again, and I'm super excited!  I finally got some halfway decent photos of my layouts!

After struggling for a long time (without success I might add) to take photos of my PL spreads without having HUGE amounts of glare; I finally broke down and bought a photo lightbox setup.  $69 on ebay and it included 2 nylon boxes (a large and a small), two lamps, bulbs, a tripod and 6 different colored background inserts. Totally worth it if you take a lot of pics, if you ask me.

So tonight, I got it all set up and took photos of all of my finished PL spreads.  Three months worth!  Here's what the set up looks like...

At first I was taking pics with the overhead lights on, and couldn't figure out why I was still getting so much glare - HA.  Once I turned out the lights it was much better.

Here's how it looks when you are looking down into the box with your camera.  P.S. that is not this week's spread - it's one I will be sharing later on, so please ignore...

Moving right along, here is today's layout from the end of March, and beginning of April...
(Page protectors used:  Design C on the left, 8.5 x 11" insert, and Design A on the right)

 What's happening here? This week started out rough, because our cat Johnny had just been diagnosed with diabetes; and we were so worried about him.  By the end of the week he was feeling much better tho - yeayyy!  Also included is a little bit of sketching and some John Denver nostalgia.  The calendar is a printable by Tamara LaPorte (available here).

 Left side detail...

Lots of miscellaneous stash used this week.  Ephemera here includes the package label from my new sketchbook.


Here's the back side of the calendar insert...

An article from American Songwriter, I think.  Anyhoo, I had to save it since I'm a John Denver fan from way back!

Right Side Detail...

 Here you can see poor Johnny not feeling so good on the top right photo; but feeling much better on the bottom left, and back to snuggling with his brother again - yeayyy!  Ephemera included here is the followup card for Johnny's vet appointment.

I will be linking up to Project Life Tuesday as soon as it's up.  Check it out to see others PL layouts for the week!

Oh, and p.s, here is face #3 of 29...

This is a 2 x 3" pencil sketch, done in my big grid journal.  I decided to try a new shape for the eyes, and from there he just magically turned into a sleepy professor.  Ha.

Thanks for visiting today!  I really appreciate you!  Have an absolutely awesome Tuesday, and I will see you again tomorrow!

Winner of the Giveaway and Face #2...

Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing for the Book "An Illustrated Life." 

The winner is.....

CARLA!!!

Carla said...

Oh, I would love to win a copy of this book. Keep the blogposts coming Michelle, love your work

August 30, 2013 at 12:23 AM

Congratulations Carla!  I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have!  Please email me at michellelapoint@yahoo.com with your address and I will get your book in the mail to you asap!

I do plan to have more giveaways in the future, so if you didn't win, stay tuned for that!

I will leave you with Face #2 for the 29 Faces challenge...

This one is done with pencil in my 4" x 5" journal.  She was inspired by this photo on pinterest.

Thanks for visiting, my friends!  I will see you again tomorrow!

 

Last Day to enter for the Giveaway, and 29 Faces, Day One...

Note: The "Illustrated Life" Book giveaway is still open, and today is the last day to enter the drawing.  Click here to check it out!  And don't forget to leave a comment, okay?  The deadline is midnight tonight, and I will be drawing a winner tomorrow (Monday, September 2).


Twenty Nine Faces in September

I've decided to play along with the 29 Faces in September challenge, which is being hosted by Alaya Art.  I've got a tiny book to work in, and most of my faces will go in there (although I may do a few big ones in my art journal too - I'm keeping my options open).

Here's my tiny, 4" x 5" journal...

and here's my face #1...

I made a huge blunder with the ink pen on her nose; so I just cut out a piece of paper from the back of the book, pasted it right on top and kept going.  This is just about practice, and that's what makes it fun for me!  I sketched her with a pitt pen and colored her with watercolor pencils. 

If you want to check out the 29 faces challenge, click here for more info!

Thanks so much for visiting, and for your comments!  I love hearing from you!