Inspiration Everywhere

A Year In The Life of an Art Journal... "Imagine"

2012-02-15T22:03:00.002-06:00

I had so much fun with this page for the "A Year In The Life of an Art Journal" group! The guidelines for the challenge were:

THE PROMPT: Imagine
ie: what's in your imagination or where do you imagine yourself
THE STUFF: Pictures or words from magazines/newspapers etc
ie: Words, letters or images that develop your idea
THE TEChNIQUE: mask/stencils
ie: can be anything from flowers, letters, rubberbands or professional mask or stencils

I ended up doing my page in my Vintage Record Album Journal, on one of the LP Sleeves. Here's how it turned out...

My journaling reads: "Let the images in your head spill onto the page without judgment. Follow your "what ifs" to find out the answer. Let your imagination run free."

The model in the magazine image had a slicked back ponytail, so I fixed her up a bit to be more of a flower child, with a china marker, acrylic paint and a rub-ons from Basic Grey.

The masking and stenciling may be hard to pick out. I used masking fluid from Maya Road on the bottom layer - there are some words on the bottom, a doodled border and scallops around the hole in the middle of the sleeve. I used a stencil to make the "bubbles" floating out of the urn in the middle of the page. The black and white illustration is done by one of my all-time fave artists, Maxfield Parrish.

The new prompt at "A Year In The Life" just went up today. Check it out here!

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

Project Life - The Fun Continues!

2012-02-14T22:28:00.002-06:00

I finished my Project Life layout for February 6 - 12 last night. The last couple of weeks I've started taping the week's page protectors to my wall, and adding tidbits as the week progresses. It's really been helping to see it evolve that way.

Here's how the layout turned out (click the image to see the details)...
Please excuse the glare on these photos. I had a particularly hard time getting rid of it this week; and this is the best I could do.

Closeup of the left side...
The creativity quote is from pinterest. When I went to the dentist this week, I was delighted to see free coloring sheets on the kids table! I had to grab one, even if the other woman in the waiting room, did give me a funny look - ha. I love how the Cocoa Daisy kits always come with a little card with a quote on it. A nice little perk. :0)

And here's the right side...
I'd been meaning to order some of Aunt Lydia's crochet thread ever since Amy Tan recommended it at her Scrapfest class in September. I finally did it, and it came this week. Gorgeous colors and so cheap! The tissue paper on the Wednesday card was leftover from that day's art journal session. The quote is something I heard at work, and thought it was a very wise thing to remember. Not everything has to be perfect! I asked Michael if I could take a pic of him in his paper-making uniform and he reluctantly obliged - ha. The rest is pretty self-explanatory I think.

This week I'm going to try an experiment. Complete each day's Project Life addition by the following day. I will let you know how it goes...

I hope you are having a fabulous Valentines day my friends!!! Big hugs from me to you!!!

"Art" at Scrapping The Music - check it out!

2012-02-13T21:51:00.003-06:00

The new song at Scrapping The Music is "Art" by Tanya Davis! I am super-excited about this one!!! I love the song AND the video, and of course, the subject matter is so close to my heart.

If you're not familiar with the song and video - you've gotta check it out! It's very unique - click here to go to the challenge.

I chose to do an art journal page for this one...
The lyrics to this song remind me of a journal entry, so I thought my art journal would be the perfect place for them! This is one of those pages that I turned to to get rid of extra paint after painting on other pages - do you do that too? For example - where it says "trust your heart," I had used that stencil on another page, and I just used this page to wipe the extra ink off the stencil. I actually ended up liking this image better than the intended one. Anyways, all I added to this page to finish it off was the photo of myself journaling, the lyrics, and the word "Art."

Come on over and play along with us at Scrapping The Music this week - we'd love to have you! Click here to go to the challenge!

Hand-Carved Stamps...

2012-02-12T13:47:00.002-06:00

I'm currently on lesson 4 of Stamp Carving 101, and I'm having a blast! Check out my banner stamp set - I just finished it last night...

I bought some Speedy Carve to make these, cuz I found out the hard way that the Moo Carve I was using doesn't work well for detail work. It's too soft. I am LOVING the Speedy carve!

I still have lessons 5, 6, 7 and 8 to do to catch up - eeek, I better get busy!

Have a wonderful Sunday my friends! See you again soon!

New Project Life Setup...

2012-02-11T12:54:00.004-06:00

Once again, I've rearranged a few things in the scraproom; and I've created a new Project Life Station that I love, love, love! I'm so excited to share it with you!

Here's an overview picture. The red table is from Ikea. (I couldn't find a link-sorry) The big white organizer thingy is from Making Memories (also discontinued, but here's something similar)...

I love it because it's organized, and everything is easy to see. It's also much more compact than my original setup. I also like that it has it's own table, with nothing else to mess it up...

Now for some closeups...

This is my most exciting discovery! I realized that BOTH of my Core kits - Cobalt AND Clementine fit into this 7 Gypsies Library Drawer! I used the monthly dividers to separate the kits. Everything fits here - the 4 x 6 cards, the stickers, the filler cards and the journaling cards. Plus there's room at the back for 6 x 6 pads, and room at the front for misc. printable journaling cards. It makes it so easy to just flip through and find exactly what I want!

To the left of the library tray is this Stampin Up organizer box. I use it to keep oversized things that I think will work especially well with PL. Rub-ons, stickers, alpha stamp sets, etc...
and right in front of that is a little paper mache box (from Michael's) with misc. goodies; such as Sassafras paper whimsies, printable month calendars, and Amy Tangerine Envelopes...

Next to that I have another paper mache box filled with ATC-sized goodies, such as October Afternoon wild cards, tiny bags and tickets. Next to that is a vintage bowl filled with OA flower sack, and other punched bits. Next to that are two Stampin Up tiny alpha stamp sets. In the white drawers behind them are various numbers to use as dates - chipboard, epoxy, stickers, etc...
In the Making Memories organizer, I've got the Clementine Cardstock papers, plus rub-ons, and misc other doo-dads that fit in the pockets. Those Ormolu number badges are one of my favorite things!!!

And lastly, my vintage Olympiette typewriter. My pride and joy has a handy spot so I can type on the journal cards when the occasion calls for it.
So that's my little Project Life Station. If you are doing Project Life, how are you organizing your stuff? I'd love to see!

Thanks for visiting, and I will be back soon!

Project Life - Week of January 30 - February 5, 2012...

2012-02-07T18:01:00.006-06:00

I've decided to quit counting which week it is of Project Life (as in "week 2, week 3, etc") because I already lost track (Ha). I just finished the spread for January 30 - February 5, 2012. I had a lot of fun with this one, but it took an enormous amount of time...

I am loving using all the different styles of page protectors! It's like a game figuring out how to fill all the little pockets!

Here's how it turned out...
It was a super busy, hectic week, but no big events to speak of. I used a couple of pieces from the cobalt kit this week, but everything else is from my stash.

Closeup of left side...
Bottom left corner is my Project 12 page for January. I decided to keep them very simple, and to put them in my daily writing/chronicles journal. (Still working on a post that talks more about that journal process). I included an ATC that I made a long time ago (middle row - second from right). I never quite knew what to do with my ATCs, and I am ecstatic that they fit so nicely in these pockets! Yeayyy! The dog is a drawing I did in a 2006 journal. I was going through my old journals this weekend and found him. I had never posted him anywhere, so I thought he deserved a little place of his own on this week's spread.

Here's a closeup...

and here's a closeup of the right side...

I hope you are having fun with your project life (if you are doing one). This week I am going to try to do a little each day, so it's not such a big project at the end of the week.

Thanks for visiting and I will be back again soon!

Hey Soul Sister is at Scrapping The Music...

2012-02-06T22:05:00.002-06:00

It's a super fun week at Scrapping The Music! The new challenge just went up and the featured song is "Hey Soul Sister" by Train! Here's how my layout turned out...

My favorite lyric in the song is "Ain't that Mister Mister on the radio?" It's just so random and quirky! I thought about incorporating an actual Mister Mister song in my layout, but then I remembered this photo of my sweet hubby Michael and his dad Stan - it was the perfect match for the lyric. There they are - Mister Rydell and Mister Rydell. So alike inside and out!

Come on over to Scrapping The Music and check out the challenge! I hope you will want to play along!

Thanks so much for visiting and I will be back soon!

February Collage...

2012-02-05T00:16:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone! Gosh it's been a busy week! I've been running full speed ahead all week, with barely any time to create! EEK! Thank heavens, yesterday was my monthly girlfriends crop. It was just what I needed. Time to slow down, spend time with my friends, and create. I finished my February collage and envelope. Here's how it turned out...

click on image to enlarge

I took my time and used tons of stuff. Sheet music, magazine images, scrapbook paper, wallpaper, painty paper towels, washi tape, 7 gypsies printed tissue paper and some Basic Grey rub-ons from the Lauderdale and Wander lines. The right side is the front of a 6x9" manila envelope, which I will use to hold my receipts, online class materials, and other miscellaneous stuff from the month.

Here's the back of the envelope and the other side of the collage...
This is all part of the daily writing/smashbook style journal ritual that I am developing. I am planning a post to show you more of the details of that whole process. It's evolving as it goes and I am totally loving it!

I'm finishing up my Project Life spread for the week. Should be able to share that tomorrow.

Oh, and I'm also working on re-numbering all of my journals! It's a big process, but it will be so worth it when I'm done! I will share my progress soon...

Thanks so much for visiting and for your comments! Have a fabulous Sunday my friends! I will be back soon!

Project Life - Week of January 23 - 29, 2012...

2012-01-31T22:08:00.003-06:00

With each new week I am learning things about Project Life. I can't get over how much fun it is, trying to capture little details of our everyday life! This week again, I tackled it a little at a time, as the week evolved, and then at the end of the week, I added the finishing touches and journaling.

Here's my spread for January 23 - 29 (click on image to enlarge)...

Closeup of left side...
This week I worked a lot on developing my new system for keeping track of both my work and personal life. The "think, create, record" bit was a sleeve around one of the new journals I bought at Target for the aforementioned system. :0) The wolf/peace collage is a photo of an art journal page from the week. The bottom left corner is a piece of a Papaya Art Calendar, with alpha stickers attached to spell dream. They were red, so I colored them black with a sharpie.

Closeup of right side...

Highlights here are Michael's handwriting on the little brown bag with the purple napkin stitched in. It's a personal reminder for him of a special memory of the week. In the top right corner is an email from Renee that I wanted to remember. It's about attending a special retreat in September. More to come on that. I cut a piece of a calendar photo to create the 4x6 backdrop. My fave photo of the week is the black and white of Willie. It captures the peaceful feeling that surrounded our whole week.

I'm absolutely in love with Project Life. To find out more about it, click here.

Now I'm off to start on Project 12 for January. I've been struggling with how to incorporate Project 12 into my Project Life album; but I have an idea. I will let you know how it works out! For more info on what Project 12 is, click here to go to it's creator's blog - Davinie Fiero.

Thanks for visiting and for your comments. I really appreciate them!

Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews at Scrapping The Music...

2012-01-30T21:34:00.003-06:00

The new song is up at Scrapping The Music! It's "I'm Alive" by Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews! I hope you will want to come and play with us! Here's how my layout turned out...

I just love driving the quiet roads of northern Minnesota. I go up there every month or two to see clients, and it's a wonderful time for reflection. There's something so peaceful about it. On the particular day that I took this picture, there had just been a sun shower and the sky was brilliant and sparkly!

I used some of my Studio Calico Field Guide kit, plus Julie Balzer's Clouds Stencil, and some lemondrop twine from The Twinery. The little orange bird is a rub-on from Paper House, and the splatters are OA Sprinklers.

The design team did some seriously inspiring work for this challenge! Click here to check it out. I hope you will want to play along with us!

Tomorrow I will be back with Project Life Week 5. Thanks so much for visiting!

Right Now...

2012-01-29T14:17:00.002-06:00

I'm playing along with the Studio Calico CHA-Ganza Online crop this weekend, and having tons of fun!

I've also been meaning to work on some of the Log Your Memory Time Capsule prompts, so I decided to combine the two, and here's the result...
The Log Your Memory prompt is part of the "Projects and Pursuits" section. It answers the question about what kind of journal(s) your keep. I go back and forth between having tons of journals going at once, or just a few. These are the ones I've got going right now. If you want to know more about the LYM Time Capsule prompts, click here.

The two CHA-Ganza challenges I played along with on this are 1. Use a doily, and 2. Use stitching for texture. Check out the challenges here.

Now I'm off to work on this week's Project Life, and hopefully, find time to do some more CHA-Ganza challenges too. What are you up to this weekend?

Thanks so much for visiting my friends!

A Year In The Life of an Art Journal...

2012-01-25T21:37:00.003-06:00

I'm so excited to be playing along with "A Year In The Life of an Art Journal" again this year! The theme for 2012 is "Whatever and Whatnot;" and they are working this year to bridge the gap between scrapbooking and art journaling, which sounds pretty cool to me!

Here are the basics for the first prompt:

THE PROMPT: Word
ie: along the lines of One Little Word, choose one word that embodies the way you want your year to be LIVED.
THE STUFF: Imagery
ie: Use images, clippings... all to create the FEELING of the word you choose.
THE TECHNIQUE: PAINT/DOODLE
ie: paint and doodle on your images to further create the emotion of your word.

Sound like fun? I thought so too. Here's how my page turned out (click on image to see the details)...
The word I chose for this year is "Peace." Sometimes I feel like the world is spinning around me and I can't keep up! (Maybe I've mentioned that before?) HA. 2011 was a difficult one. I felt like I was missing my inner peace; and I want to bring it back. So, peace is my word for 2012.

Imagery includes clouds (using Julie Balzer's stencil), a wolf (cut from a greeting card); a butterfly and meditating woman (from O magazine); a moose at a mountain lake (from a thrifted photography book); and the large daisy (cut from a cocktail napkin). There are lots of little images too, snuck in with stamps and rubons. My favorite part is the bubbles. I've never drawn bubbles before, and it was fun to give it a try. When I get stressed, I sometimes imagine my worry being encased in a bubble and floating away; so it seemed appropriate to add them to this page.

The doodling part was done with a small paintbrush and acrylic paint mixed with gesso, to make it stand out against the dark background.

If you want to find out more about the "A Year In The Life of an Art Journal" prompts, click here!

Thanks so much for visiting my friends! I appreciate you!!!

Stamp Carving 101 and Project Life Week 5...

2012-01-24T20:56:00.002-06:00

I've got lots to share today and I'm so excited about it! I'm taking Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's "Stamp Carving 101" workshop and I'm having tons of fun! I've always wanted to make my own stamps, and Julie's teaching style makes it seem so easy!

Here's my very first stamp, along with some Project Life journal cards that I made with it....
I used "Moo Carve" and I really like it. It's rubbery, like one of those white erasers. It's also super thick so it's easy to hang onto when stamping.

We are on lesson three already, and each one gets progressively more involved. I will share more soon!

and now, on to Project Life Week 4! It was a busy week, full of social events, activities and projects.

I tried something new this week - I worked on my layout a little each day. I LOVED doing it that way, and plan to continue! It made it much easier for me! At the end of the week, I just added some finishing touches and I was done - yeayyy!

Here's how the layout turned out (click on image to see it larger)...

Closeup of left side...Special things to note: I included a copy of a beautiful ATC that my sister Renee made for me awhile ago. I love it so much I keep it displayed in my scraproom; and it was a perfect fit to honor Martin Luther King day. I also included a post-it note from Michael that was waiting for me when I returned from my Scrap Retreat! (I asked his permission first tho - thanks sweetheart!) I also included one of my new heart-stamped cards, along with the advertisement for Julie's class. The pink quote is a free printable.

Closeup of right side...
Things to note here: I copied a Netflix envelope to back the photo of the series I am watching (Damages - love it!). The black and white building is a postcard from a place I went for lunch this week. I also LOVE that Michael agreed to write the journaling for the 21st - yeayyy! The black and white tape is 7 Gypsies paper tape - one of my go-to styles. The green tongue photo is my fave of the week! HA. Michael sent it to me via iphone, along with the photo of the fun-dip he was enjoying at work. :0)

So, that's it for this week! Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

"I Feel Good" at Scrapping The Music!

2012-01-23T21:16:00.002-06:00

Happy Monday everyone! The new song is up at Scrapping the Music, and it's James Brown's "I Feel Good"! I had so much fun doing my layout - I gave it a little twist on the lyrics. Here's how it turned out...

Come on over to the STM blog (Click here) to see what I had to say about it and find out more about the challenge. Hope to see you there!!!

Project Life Week #3: January 9 - 15, 2012...

2012-01-22T05:32:00.002-06:00

I finished another week of Project Life my friends, and I am telling you this project is fun, fun, FUN!

Here's how it turned out...
My main activity for the week was a scrapbook retreat with my girlfriends, so there is a lot about that; but also some random photos of everyday life, combined with lots of misc. stuff.

Closeup of left side (click to enlarge)...
I included the little Geico Gecko cuz, well, I like him! And I am thinking little bits of pop culture are great to include, cuz looking back on them will be fun as the years go by! The photo of Johnny (our cat) is a black and white that I altered by painting the background and highlighting his eyes. Also noted was the arrival of two new magazine subscriptions (I just cut the subscription card in half and it fit perfectly!), the daily weather (I got my notepad at Blick, but it's also available online here), the sticker from my latest Cocoa Daisy kit, and a cat food refill day photo (grin). The Georgia O'Keefe quote came from O Magazine.

Closeup of right side...
The photos of my retreat center came from the web. Also included a photo of a text I got from Michael while I was gone, a scan of my new iphone case (LOVE), my morning clif bar package, and a couple of art projects I created. The journaling card on the bottom left is from the Clementine kit, and the one second from the right on the bottom is from the Cobalt kit.

If you are doing Project Life this year - how is it going for you? I'd love to hear!

Thanks for visiting!

Heaven is Beneath our Feet...

2012-01-20T22:43:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone! I've got a couple of quick shares for you today. The first one is a layout I created while at my girls scrap retreat last weekend. It was inspired by the quote, which I got from my friend Lynn - thanks Lynn! The photo of the tulips was taken by Michael...

I used a combination of elements from my Cocoa Daisy December and January kits, plus some bits from my stash. The blue clouds were cut from the back side of the Sunshine paper and glued onto the front.

The next one is last week's Scrapping The Music project, which I can't believe I forgot to share with you! Ack - what is wrong with me??? Oh well, anyhoo, it was inspired by the Selena Gomez song "Who Says"...
I love the line in the song that says "It's like a work of art that never gets to see the light." It makes me think of so many women I've known (including me in the past) who can't see their own beauty because of someone pushing them down. That inspired me to make this art journal page to celebrate the beauty that is in all of us!!!

I finished my Week Three of Project Life and once again had a BLAST doing it! What a fun project!!! I will share soon.

I wish you a wonderful weekend my friends! And p.s. There's still time to join this week's challenge at Scrapping the Music! Click here to check it out - you won't be sorry!

The New Challenge is up at Scrapping The Music!

2012-01-16T20:09:00.002-06:00

Hey there everyone! The new challenge at Scrapping The Music this week is the song "Care" by Kid Rock! I chose this one cuz I love it, and I thought the lyrics were perfect for Martin Luther King day, which we celebrate today here in the United States. I loved making this layout! Here's how it turned out...

The big photo of the earth came from my Living Earth iphone app. The middle photo is one I took on one of our neighborhood walks, and the bottom one is of me meeting our new niece Georgie for the first time. I used my Studio Calico "Field Guide" kit for this one, plus bits and pieces from my stash.

Come on over to the Scrapping The Music Blog to check out the challenge! I hope you will want to play along!!!

I've been at a Scrap Retreat for the past four days and had so much fun! I will be back soon with some things to share from the retreat, plus a Project Life post.

Thanks so much for visiting and see you again soon!

Project Life Week #2: January 2 - 8, 2012...

2012-01-12T21:58:00.002-06:00

This was a significant week for me, and it was a challenge to capture it in a Project Life layout that I'd actually want to look at. If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember that my mom was killed in a car crash almost a year ago now. Here's the post I wrote about it back then. This past week Michael and I flew to California for the conclusion of the court proceedings in her case. It was both a very difficult week and also a good week because it brought some closure to what has been a painful process. The Orange County Register did a really nice job with an article about it that you can see here.

In the end, I am really happy with how the layout turned out, and I'm really excited to share it with you! Here we go...

This week I used the the Clementine kit, memorabilia and stuff from my stash.

Here's a closeup of the left side...
Noted: A meeting I attended at Interact Center (I love the look of their sign and building); Lunch at the Veggie Grill in California (people were blurred out for privacy), Scrapping The Music's first week of 2012, Michael's current novel, and the beginning of Nat Kalbach's online creativity summit.

The January Calendar is a free printable from Owl Barn. The journaling spot is one that folds open for lots of writing space. The quote on the grey striped paper is from the Fray - it seemed appropriate for this week.

Here's a closeup of the right side...
Noted: a new favorite eating spot, my sister Renee's new condo, a trip to Blick, and our hotel room in California.

The pink and white striped background on the top left is actually the toilet paper wrapper from our hotel! HA. It was just so cute I had to use it. The image of the brownie torte is from the internet. I also included our keycard from the hotel (it's grey and white) - again - too beautiful to pass up. The "faith" bingo card is from Jenni Bowlin. I tucked a copy of my victim impact statement and the newspaper article behind the Los Angeles postcard. Then I don't have to see it each time I look at the spread; but it's there if I ever want to.

Thanks so much for visiting and for your comments - I really appreciate them!

Answering Your Project Life Questions...

2012-01-11T21:11:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone!
I want to thank you all for your response to my first week of Project Life! I want to take some time to respond to your questions and comments.

Keep in mind that I am just a beginner at this, and I know I will be tweaking my system as I go along!

Candy Bryant said:
Interesting that you chose Monday through Sunday.
I'm pretty sure the rest of the Project Lifers' work Sunday through Saturday. I do! Especially since the first was Sunday.
It's true - starting on Monday was a bit awkward since the first was on a Sunday, but here's the scoop: My brain just tends to see weeks as starting on Monday. I work full-time, so my work week starts on Monday and ends on Friday, with the weekend finishing out my week. Also, I use a MyAgenda planner, which also (conveniently for me!) starts weeks on Monday. My Project Life just follows that pattern.

Dawn asked:
Was wondering how you will decide what items and photos to put in your Project life and which ones for art journal? Now that I'm doing both for the first time would love to see your thoughts on this.
My approach to this is that Project Life gets first dibs, if that makes sense. I've been taking photos and collecting "stuff" randomly. The photos stay on my computer organized by date, and the "stuff" goes in a pile, unsorted. Then, when it comes time to put together my Project Life page, I choose the item(s) that best tell the story of my week and use those. I look at what's left after I'm done; and either put it in my art journal or throw it away.

Ravenous Rae said:
I had no idea your song journal pages were so small! Interesting to see the actual size!!
My song journal pages are actually 12" x 12". I just took photos of them and printed them out 2" x 2" for my Project Life layout. I thought the photos were a good way to tell the story of my week.

Marcia asked:
Are you planning to add things every day of the whole year?
I'm planning to represent my whole year, but not necessarily add things each day. I have to take a loose approach to this project or it could drive me crazy! My plan as of right now, is to average a week to each two-page spread, but that could change as I go along. If I miss a day, or a week I'm not going to worry. This is definitely an experiment for me!

I hope this helps! I'm working on a post for Project Life, week #2. It should be ready by tomorrow some time. Thanks so much for visiting, and I will see you then!

The New Challenge is up at Scrapping The Music!

2012-01-10T00:15:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone! I'm working on my Q & A post, but in the meantime, I want to let you know that the new challenge is up at Scrapping The Music!

The song is "Who Says" by Selena Gomez. The lyrics are full of inspiration for scrapping! The challenge goes until Sunday evening, so head on over to check it out! We'd love to have you play along!

See you again soon!

Q & A Post Coming...

2012-01-05T09:17:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone!
Thanks for your kind response to my first Project Life post! I just want to let you know that I will be away from blogland for a few days tending to some family business, but when I return I will do a post answering the questions you've been posting.

Please feel free to add more questions to this post or the Project Life post, and I will do my best to answer them when I return.

Have a great weekend!

Project Life Week #1: December 26, 2011 - January 1, 2012

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

I finished my first week of Project Life and it was so much fun! I feel like I have a whole new medium to play with. I don't usually work with a grid that much, plus having all of these little pieces to fit together feels like a game! I actually lost track of time on Sunday night and stayed up all night! All of a sudden the sun was coming up and I wasn't even tired! HA.

Anyhoo, here's how my layout turned out...

Closeup of the left side...

Closeup of the right side...
This week I used the Cobalt kit, plus items from my stash. Deb Duty had asked if I was going to use both Clementine and Cobalt in the same book, and the answer is yes! I loved them both so much I had to buy them both! So I will be mixing and matching. Thanks for the question Deb!

I was especially excited to use some of my new Ormolu flair badges. I used a Fact or Fiction Days of the Week on the left side, and a numbers on the right side. Miscellaneous ephemera included Caribou coffee sleeve, sticker from my new shelving unit (on the bottom of the bright rainbow-colored journaling tag), and two candy wrappers - one from Christmas Candy and one came with my new Noel Mignon kit.

This is my first blogpost about Project Life, so I'm still trying to figure out the best things to include. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them!

If you have started Project Life - how is it going? Are you having fun???

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again very soon!

Scrapping The Music is Live....

2012-01-02T21:00:00.002-06:00

I'm so excited because the first challenge of 2012 is up at Scrapping The Music! The song this week is "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin. It's a classic rocker with great lyrics for scrapping!

Here's how my layout turned out...
I've been thinking alot about STM lately, and how much it means to me. I'm so excited to be back, and I'm really hoping we bring some fun inspiration to our participants! It seemed like the perfect time to put my feelings in a layout!

The photo is a collage of some of my earliest Scrapping The Music layouts. (click on the image to see more details). They include the first one I ever did as a participant; the first one I won a challenge with, and the first one I did as a design team member, plus a couple of other personal favorites.

I hope you want to play along with us! Click here to check it out! There's a fun prize, a video of the song, and all of the other design team members layouts!

Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year!!! - It's Time for Project Life!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

2012 is finally here and I couldn't be more excited about it. New Year's Eve is my favorite holiday, and it feels extra-good this year to be letting go of the current year and welcoming a new one.

This is my first official Project Life post - yeayyyyy! I've been waiting to start this endeavor for months now, and it's so much fun to finally get started.

Here's how my title/intro page turned out...

It was even more fun to put together than I hoped it would be. I loved playing with the colors, pulling things from my own stash to complement the PL products. I used the Clementine kit, plus magazine cut outs, rub-ons, stamps, and various embellies. I think color is going to be my driving factor with these pages.

Here's how my Project Life station looks...
The tall white organizer thing (I think it's from Making Memories?) on the left is holding the Clementine Patterned Papers, and other papers that I'm planning to use for this project. The little drawers on the bottom hold various chipboard and sticker numbers that will be good to add dates to the pages.

Next to that is a box (from Stampin' Up but I think it's discontinued), that holds alpha and number stamps, and various stickers and rubons.

The two tiny boxes are two sets of alpha stamps, and next to that is a Cigar Box with yet another set of alpha stamps.

Here's how I set up the Project Life Kit...
In front I have the official Project Life core kits. Cobalt on the left, and Clementine on the right. I took the cards out of their individual boxes, and sorted them by type. Journaling in the back, and filler-type cards in the front.

I tipped the box lids upside down and used them to store miscellaneous Non-Project Life journaling cards, plus labels and other doo-dads that I hope will come in handy.

I'm going to keep this set up right there on my desk along with my album, so I can work on it in bits and pieces if I want.

I will let you know how it works! If you are starting (or already doing) Project Life - I'd love to see how you are organizing your supplies! Please feel free to link us up!

HAPPY NEW YEAR my friends! Thanks so much for visiting my blog!!! I really appreciate each one of you!!!

The Top 2000 Songs of All Time - The Final Day!

2011-12-31T00:01:00.001-06:00

It's the final day of Marit's Top 2000 party! This has been so much fun! I have been singing these songs all week, and it's so much fun to pay tribute to them on paper!

Today we are counting down from #272 to #1! My song choice is #40 - "Black" by Pearl Jam. I have loved Pearl Jam's music ever since they started, and I can't believe they have been around for over 20 years already! To me, Eddie Vedder's combination of poetic songwriting and super-emotive singing makes this song a masterpiece. Here's how my layout/poster turned out...
I tried to capture the idea from the lyrics of his world turning to black (at the love lost).

Edited to add: Linda asked how I did the combination color/black and white photo. Good question, and it's super simple! I just printed the photo twice - once in color, and once in black and white. Then I drew the dripping bit on the black and white; cut it out, lined it up, and pasted it on top of the color photo. Easy peasy!

I just love this video of Pearl Jam doing "Black" during an unplugged session on MTV. I hope you enjoy it too...

To see Marit's final blogpost for the party, and all of the other participants artwork for today, click here.

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Thanks so much for visiting! Stay safe and I will see you again soon!

The Top 2000 Songs of All Time - Day Six!

2011-12-30T00:12:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's already the second to the last day of the Top 2000 Countdown! Eek! Where has this week gone??? Marit's Blog Party is still going strong! Today, we are counting down #586 - #273. The song I chose is #289: 1970's "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens.

I just love the depth of this song, and how Cat actually sounds when he's singing, like two different people having a conversation. It's one of my all-time favorite songs. Here's how my layout/poster turned out...

Here's Cat singing "Father and Son" live...

Click here to go to the blog party, and see the songs that all of the other participants chose. I think it's so much fun to see what everyone is coming up with!!! I hope you are having a great week, my friends! I will see you again tomorrow for the last day of the Top 2000 countdown!

The Top 2000 Songs of All Time - Day Five!

2011-12-29T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today, for Marit's Blog Party - we are counting down from #893 to #586 of the Top 2000 Songs of all Time.

My choice is #716 - "Georgia on my Mind" by Ray Charles. What a beautiful, classic tune. Here's how my layout/poster turned out...
The image of Ray is a press photo and the bottom image is the Atlanta Skyline, as taken by dsigning.

I hope you enjoy this video of Ray singing this classic song...

I will be back tomorrow with day six of the countdown. If you want to find out more about Marit's Top 2000 blog party, click on the widget at the top of the sidebar.

Thanks so much for visiting and I will see you again tomorrow!

The Top 2000 Songs of All Time - Day Four!

2011-12-28T01:01:00.002-06:00

Today we are counting down #1209 to #893 of the Top 2000 songs of all time! My choice for today is #1061 - "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette. Here's how my layout/poster turned out...

I remember the first time I heard this song, I was like WOAH this woman is TELLING IT LIKE IT IS! Ha! I loved that - YOU GO GIRL!!!

Here is the original video (censored version) from the 1995 release of "You Oughta Know..."

I hope you are enjoying Marit's Top 2000 countdown party! If you want to play along, it's not too late! Click on the widget at the top of the sidebar. To see everyone else's art for today's songs - click here.

See you again tomorrow! Thanks so much for visiting!!!

The Top 2000 Songs of All Time - Day Three!

2011-12-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

The song I picked for today's layout comes in at #1214 in the Top 2000 songs of all time. It's "Peaceful Easy Feeling," by the Eagles.

Here's how my layout/poster turned out...
I love this old photo of the band - it's so 70's. The hair, the patchwork jeans, the embroidered shirt, and the beads - LOVE IT! The background paper is from the Sass Lass Sunshine broadcast line. The title is hand-drawn, and I put the lyrics around the edge of the page.

I was only 12 when this song came out in 1972, but I remember feeling much older than that - lol. Amazing how that works. Anyways, it marks the beginning of my love affair with singer/songwriter-style music.

Check out the video of the Eagles playing "Peaceful Easy Feeling" live...

You can see all the songs everyone else chose, along with their artwork on Marit's blog here!

I hope you are having a great week so far!

The Top 2000 Songs of All Time - Day Two!

2011-12-26T01:26:00.002-06:00

The song I chose for today is #1651 "Refugee" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers!

Here's how my layout/poster turned out...
"Refugee" was released in 1979 - I was 19, and Tom Petty was my rock god! I just loved the rebellious sound of his songs. The photobooth pics of Tom were an insert in his first album (that I still have). I think of this song and I think of the color red, cuz the album (Damn The Torpedoes) had a red cover. Just hearing it brings back so many good memories of those days! Isn't it amazing how music is so strongly connected to our memories? I will never stop being fascinated by that.

Here's Tom, doing "Refugee" live in 1979...

To see everyone's song picks and artwork for day two click here!

See you again tomorrow for day three of the top 2000!

P.S. for more info and/or to play along - click on the badge at the top of my sidebar!

The Top 2000 Songs of All Time - Day One!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.004-06:00

It's time for the Netherlands Top 2000 Party!!!! Are you playing? I've played along with Marit for the last two years, and it's been so much fun! This year promises to be the best year ever!

The way it works is like this. There is a Netherlands Radio Station (Radio 2) that has a vote each year to determine the "Top 2000 Songs of All Time," and then they publish the list; and for the last week of the year, they count down the songs on the radio.

So, for each day of the countdown, I am going to join Marit by creating a layout inspired by one of the songs that will be played that day. I add the following additional guidelines for myself...

1. The layout is about the song itself (as opposed to something about my life that is "inspired" by the song) if that makes sense...

2. The artist must be represented on the layout in some way...

and this year I've decided to go with the style of a poster - advertising the song.

So, here we go!

Today's list goes from #1843 to #2000.

The song I chose is #1881 - "As Long As You Love Me," by none other than the Backstreet Boys!

Here's how my poster turned out...
What I love about the Backstreet Boys is the smooth, flowing sound of their songs, so I tried to portray that with the background lines. The thing that stood out to me in this song's video, was the beautiful colors, especially the intense blues, so I used colors to reflect that.

"As Long As You Love Me" was released in 1997, and spent 56 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics talk about a man who professes to love his girl no matter what she has done in her past. Hmmm, it's a romantic notion, but it does make me wonder what she did that he's willing to overlook? Especially when he says "it doesn't really matter if you're on the run, it seems like it's meant to be..." Interesting!

Check out the video and see if you can't help singing along - I know I can't!

It's not too late to play along with the party! Check out all the info on Marit's blog by clicking here!

I will see you tomorrow for day two of the countdown!

December Daily Update and Getting Ready for the Top 2000!!!

2011-12-24T14:46:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I have a little December Daily update for you today. This one is from December 15 and 16...

I was at the grocery store on the 15th and they had the cutest Olivia the Pig coloring and activity book. I had to buy it of course! and I included one of the stickers on my page...
The woodgrain stencil is from Crafter's workshop, and the papers are from October afternoon.

On the 16th I received the most adorable handmade santa ornament from my coworker Claire! The christmas card is from a group home that I work with. I just loved them both so much! The trees are cut from giftwrap...

Tomorrow - December 25th, is the start of Marit's Top 2000 Blog party! Are you going to play along? I am! It's going to be a lot of fun! Here's my plan:

Each day from December 25th through 31st I will post one layout.
The layout will honor one song that will be played that day from the top 2000 songs of all time list.

I've already got my songs picked out!

You can check out my previous Top 2000 layouts here:
2010
2009

I will see you back here tomorrow for day one of the 2011 Top 2000 party!!!

2011 Artwork Collage...

2011-12-21T00:27:00.003-06:00

The "No More Excuses" assignment for December is to make a collage of all of your NME assigments for the year. I didn't actually do that, but it gave me another idea...

I decided to make a collage of some of my art projects of the last year to put in my planner. It was easy and a lot of fun to do! Here's how it turned out (click on the image to see it larger)...
It's kinda fun to look back over the year and see the mosaic of pieces as a brand new whole!

Here's how I did it...

I opened a blank canvas in photoshop the size of my planner page.
Turned on the grid feature.
"Placed" each of my project photos on the canvas, and drag to resize the photo to fit in the grid.
"Flattened" the image.
Saved.
Printed and trimmed to fit my planner page.

I am a complete novice to photoshop, so if I can do it, anyone can - believe me!

On another note, there is a new post up over at Scrapping The Music. It's a tribute to our awesome design team member Yvonne, who is stepping down from the team. Check out the slideshow of her beautiful work with STM here.

Erin asked in the comments, if I would do a post about my setup for Project Life. I am planning to do that in an upcoming post - thanks for the suggestion Erin!

I hope you are having a great week! Thanks for visiting!

December Daily for Dec 11 - 14...

2011-12-19T22:03:00.004-06:00

I'm still truckin' along with my grungy December Daily. Here are a few more pages for you...

This t-shirt is a recent thrift store find. I was so excited that I saw it, and it was my size and everything - yeayyy!!!

I had this vision in my head of new black and white striped knee highs just a few days before finding these at Kohl's - no lie! Talk about synchronicity...P.S. The little sponge in the corner is just there to hold the book open. The pages are getting quite curly from the paint!

Loved this image of the two dogs that I found in the Oprah magazine recently. Thought it went with the theme pretty well...

I kinda went crazy buying baker's twine - ha. I'm calling it a gift from Santa to lessen my guilt. (grin)...

I'm preparing my Project Life workstation for January! So excited about this!!!

Speaking of Project Life, did you see that Studio Calico is offering a new online class? It's called "Photo-a-Day," and it looks like it will be great inspiration! The cost is only $12. Check it out here.

That's it for now. I hope your week is starting off great! Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!!!

Art Journal Progression, and a new blog for Scrapping The Music...

2011-12-17T16:14:00.005-06:00

Hi everyone! I'm so excited because our new blog design went live on Scrapping The Music today! It's fun to start the new year with a new design! Click here to check it out! Thanks so much to Linda Phinney (aka Phin) for all of her help with the redesign. It was truly a team effort. Thanks Phin!!!

I've also got an art journal progression to share with you today. This is from December 7 - 10...

I forgot to take a picture after the first entry, but here are the entries for the 7th and 8th...
Turquoise duct tape was first, then I used some Tim Holtz Distress Stain for the background, along with some watered-down gesso. I covered the photo with packing tape, so I could wipe off any drips and make sure the photo still showed.

On the 9th I added some stamping, doodles, rub-ons and more tape...

On the 10th, I was messing around with possible slogans for the STM blog, so I added that here, along with some turquoise paint on the earth stamp. Journaling went around the edge of the right page...

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

December Daily for Dec 7th and 9th...

2011-12-14T01:59:00.002-06:00

I've got a couple more December daily pages to share today. I'm keeping it super simple...

December 7th...
The huge #7 is a coaster - part of my Studio Calico December Daily kit. Also used Gaffer tapes from 7gypsies and Sistv. The photo of Willie and Johnny is 5 x 7, which gives you an idea of the album size.

This page is about as far as you can get from holiday-ish: Vampires and Sci Fi - LOL. But I thought it was a good thing to capture from our daily life...
The images are from the internet, and the alphas and Friday tag are from the December Daily kit. That's gesso spread on with my hands behind the images.

I've also got a completed art journal progression to share, but it will have to wait til this weekend, because it's got secrets about the new Scrapping The Music blog on it! I plan to get the blog up and running this weekend, so I will share after that. :0)

Tomorrow I REALLY hope to get my Project Life kits. YEAYYY. I've got a Project Life station all set up in my scraproom, just waiting for the kit to arrive so I can get started!!!

I hope your week is going well! Thanks for visiting!!!

December Daily for Dec 5th and 6th...

2011-12-11T15:34:00.002-06:00

A couple more December Daily pages comin atcha today...

On December 5th I spent some time with my new "Log Your Memory" planner! I'm super excited about using it to plan my project life and other creative projects in 2012! (Look for an upcoming post about that). Anyways, here's how the page came out...
The gnome and fox is from a thrifted children's book. The date page is from my "365 days of peace" calendar that I got from my sister - Thanks Renee! And the star is from my October Afternoon Santa's sack package!

And here we have a page about the aforementioned Santa's Sack!
P.S. The Santa's Sacks are a great deal if you love October Afternoon products! I was so happy with mine!!! You can check it out here if you're interested.

I had a great time at my girlfriend's crop yesterday! I worked on my Scrapfest Smash Book. I will share when it's all done.

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

December Daily for Dec 3rd and 4th...

2011-12-08T23:52:00.002-06:00

On Saturday December 3rd, Michael and I went to a fabulous play called "Joy" at the Interact Theater. Interact is a theater company where the actors are mostly people with disabilities. I've been to a number of their plays, and they have all been fantastic. This was the first time for Michael and he and I both just loved it.

So, here is Saturday's page(s) in my December Daily...
I photocopied the advertisement postcard so I could reduce it to fit on the page. The envelope holds a review from our local paper. The word joy is handcut.

on the next page I did some journaling, and taped the program right into the book with packing tape...

Here's December 4th's page. It was a day where not much happened, but those are some of the best kind of days for us!!!
The "snowflake" is a tissue embellishment from Studio Calico. I made the number four in the middle with my beloved Epiphany Crafts Shape maker tool. (I love that thing!) The word cozy was handdrawn and cut on dictionary paper.

Here's another view where you can see the back of the play's program that I taped into the book...

On another note, did you see that the Project Life Core kits are available now??? Yeayyy! I ordered one each of Cobalt and Clementine - I couldn't help myself!!! Click here to check them out.

My friend Linda Phinney and I are hard at work revamping the Scrapping The Music blog; so look for a reveal some time before the new year!

Oh, and speaking of music - my friend Marit is hosting her third annual "Top 2000 Blog Party" and I am excited to play along again! If you are not familiar with it, the basics are that there's a radio station in the Netherlands that counts down the top 2000 songs of all time (according to the voters) between Christmas and New Year's; and she invites everyone to pick one or more of the songs and create some art that is inspired by it. I've participated each year and it's always a lot of fun! I try to make one layout or journal page for each day of the party, but you don't have to. If you want to play along click here to check it out!

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

New Art Journal Progression...

2011-12-07T04:28:00.005-06:00

I was inspired by this post by Nathalie Nayer over at Julie Balzer's blog; so I thought I'd try the technique with the masking fluid. I had some Maya Resist (which is basically masking fluid) on hand, so I used that. If you're not familiar with masking fluid, it's this stuff that comes out in liquid form, then dries to a rubber-like substance, which you can peel off. It's pretty cool. I glue-sticked (not a word, I know) a piece of paper from a 1902 Choir Club Notebook down first, then used the Maya Resist over the top, then covered it with acrylic paint and gesso. I Here's how it looked before I peeled the Maya Resist off:

And here it is after I rubbed the masking fluid off...

The next day I added some blue and red paint, scrapbook papers stamped with one of my new favorite stamps from Studio Calico, and a leftover photo from a different project. The journaling was done with a pink sharpie poster paint pen...

On the 5th, I added some Kaisercraft Rub Ons and a little piece of striped tape...
and on the 6th, I finished it up with some October Afternoon snowflake rub ons and the final bits of journaling. Do you see something funny about this finished spread?
Ummm, yeah.... I journaled for December 5th TWICE. LOL. I journaled on the 5th, and then on the morning of the sixth, I thought - oh I forgot to journal yesterday, better do it now. Nice memory Michelle. And the funny thing is - I wrote almost the exact same sentences. HA.

Anyways, another page done, and on to the next tomorrow! Thanks so much for visiting!!!

December Daily Journal...

2011-12-05T23:36:00.003-06:00

I started my journal for December. I ended up making a very simple, ribbon bound journal. This cover is cotton fabric backed with Sticky Back Canvas that I misted. The inside pages are pieces of kraft paper - leftovers from Michael's paper mill. Here's how it turned out...

The cover is plain for now, but I plan to do some stitching on the front and decorate it more as the month goes on...

On the inside I used a variety of different blue and purple mists on the cover. It's just one signature - (pile of paper) that I folded in half; punched two holes with a cropadile, and strung ribbon through. Super simple!

Inside the back cover I used a moon and stars stencil I got ages ago from Stampin Up...

Here are the first two entries...

December 1

December 2

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

Big News (and an Art Journal Progression)

2011-12-03T02:46:00.004-06:00

I am soooooooo EXCITED to tell you (drumroll please)............................

I'm going back to lead the Scrapping The Music challenge blog again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited??? I am absolutely GIDDY about it!!! Back in June, I stepped down from the Scrapping the Music team, and I had such mixed emotions about it. You can see my post about it here. I hated to do it, but felt I had to with what was going on in my life at the time.

Well, I sure have missed it. I have missed the inspiration of working with such wonderful women artists, I've missed the music, and I've missed being inspired by the beautiful artwork we get from the participants. STM was a part of my heart, and I'm so glad to be back! We are taking December off for the holidays, but we will be back in January! The design team and I have been brainstorming some changes that we think you will like, and we can't wait to get the new year going! STM is going to be more fun than ever!!! Yeayyyyyyyy!!!! I hope you will want to join in on the party!!! I will keep you posted as our plans progress.

Now, on to art journaling...

I started this spread on my last day of Julie Balzer's "30 Days In Your Journal" class....
The background is an acrylic paint wash (paint plus water), dictionary paper and Cavallini paper tape on the bottom, and some huge stamps in the corners...

On the second day I added some teal paint and doodles...

and on the final day I added some images and rubons and white doodles. So much fun!

The class may be over, but I still have lots of pages left in the journal, so I plan to keep going until it's full.

Did you see the Project Life Binders are in at Amazon.com? I ordered two of the Clementine style and I should get them next week. I don't know why I'm so anxious for them, cuz I'm not starting Project Life til January 1st, but I can't wait!!!

Alrighty then - that's it for today. Thanks so much for visiting and I will see you again soon!!!

Designing an Alphabet...

2011-12-01T01:20:00.003-06:00

I've got another art journal progression to share with you. It's our next spread in the "30 Days In Your Journal" class; and we designed our own alphabet! I showed you the first day here. Here are the rest of the days...

Super super super FUN!!! Who knew I would love creating journal pages in little steps so much? I'm used to thinking I have to finish a whole page in one sitting. Sometimes I will still want to do that, but what I've learned is that when I've got other things going on, I can still fit my art journaling in by just doing a few minutes a day. Yeayyy!!!

Today was our last day of class (sniff), and we started one more spread, which we will be finishing on our own. I will keep you posted on that one...

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

Smashbook Update November 22 - 27, 2011...

2011-11-29T20:40:00.003-06:00

I've got a few more Smash book pages to share with you today...

This one has a photo of Johnny and Willie that I took with my new camera+ app on my iphone. I never get tired of seeing them snuggle together...

On this one, I just had to add my own two-cents to the knock knock joke! I used Golden Fluid Acrylics, Neocolor II Crayons, Stampin Up alpha stamps, and Poster Paint Sharpie markers...
A little page about our quiet thanksgiving. I am so in love with how Willie holds Michael's hand! Glad I captured it in a photo...

Speaking of in love, this horse is SOOOOO CUTE!!!! It's my favorite page in the whole book! I decided it was time for another "currently" check in...

Tomorrow is the last day of November - and the last day of this Smash Book! Now to decide what to use for December's journal...

Thanks for stopping by! Have an wonderful Wednesday my friends!

One More "30 Days" Page is finished, and another one starts...

2011-11-26T00:26:00.003-06:00

I know I've said this before, but seriously - you know a class is good, when you simply can't wait for the next day's lesson!!! That's how it's been since day one of Julie Balzer's "30 Days in Your Journal" class! I'm having so much fun that it makes me sad to think that there are only five days left!

Anyhoo, I showed you the first day's progression of the following page in an earlier post
here. So here are the rest of the days entries...

November 21. I added neocolor II crayons for shading (I can't tell you enough how much I LOVE those things!), and a Sassafras Lass border stamp...

November 22. More neocolor II shading...

November 23. I added some marker for definition and tissue to knock the border stamp into the background a little more...

November 24. Finishing touches on the shading, and a quote with india ink. I must say I feel really good about how this spread turned out. I quite like my woman! :0)

So now, off we go onto the next spread! Here's the first day's progression. We are designing our own alphabet! Yeayyy!!!

That's it for today my friends! I will leave you with yesterday's photo of Willie and Johnny in the scraproom...
The three of us say bye for now, but we will be back soon!

Handmade Journal Winner...

2011-11-25T04:48:00.003-06:00

Hi there everyone! I'm happy to announce the winner of my Wizard of Oz handmade journal!

It is........

Ashley said...

This journal is amazing! I hope that I am able to win a piece of your work. You are awesome! :)
I'd love to have this to carry around with me everywhere I go!

November 19, 2011 7:28 PM

Congratulations Ashley! Please email your address to me at michellelapoint@yahoo.com, and I will get the journal right out to you!

Thank you so much to everyone who visits my blog and who entered the drawing! You truly make my world brighter! I appreciate you all!

Smashbook Update - November 14 - 18, 2011

2011-11-22T20:57:00.004-06:00

I'm still having so much fun with my Blue Smashbook! Here are my latest pages...

It's so much fun having a way to use up alot of my treasured, but older embellies!

This one was done using my new Cocoa Daisy kit! I especially loved working with the Balzer Designs Stencil that came with the kit! I sprayed it with October Afternoon Sprinklers. Have you tried those? They are wayyyyy cool! Different than regular spray ink/mist. More opaque. More like paint. And I love that they come in groovy retro colors...
Not the most attractive photo of me ever taken - HA. But hey, this is just the way it is sometimes! (grin)

I made a page to commemorate my latest blog milestone...
Oh, and p.s., that kraft colored chicken was on a different page in the Smashbook. I didn't want to cover him up, so I tore the page out, trimmed around him and added him in here. There are so many ways you can use the art in your Smashbooks!

and just miscellaneous tid bits of life here...

Don't forget - you've still got time to enter my handmade journal giveaway! You've got through Thursday night at midnight CST. I will pick a winner on Friday. To enter click here to go to the giveaway post.

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

Finishing the Black Page and Starting a New Page...

2011-11-20T17:14:00.002-06:00

We finished up our black journal pages, in the 30 Days In Your Journal class! Here's how mine turned out...

and now we are on to another new one! Here's my first day's progression...
I've had a china marker forever, and never used it til today. I must say I just love working with it! It made sketching the woman really fun! It's like you get the texture of a pencil, and the boldness of a marker, at the same time!

P.S. Thanks for all of the interest in winning my handmade Wizard of Oz journal! If you haven't entered the drawing, there's still plenty of time! Click here to go to the giveaway post.

I will be back next time with a Smashbook update. Take care and have a wonderful week!

Handmade Journal Giveaway!

2011-11-18T23:33:00.003-06:00

This past week, my blog got to 70,000 hits! As a thank-you to all of you who are kind enough to visit me here; I am giving away this journal I made with a vintage Wizard of Oz book...

It's size is 5.5" x 7.75," perfect for tossing in your tote bag!

It's got a hand-stitched binding...

and 114 pages of all different kinds of papers, including kraft paper, sheet music, scrapbook paper, envelopes, and some of the original pages from the book...

and including a map of Kansas! (where the story takes place)

If you would like to give this little journal a home, just leave a comment on this post. I will pick a random winner next Friday (November 25).

Thanks so much for visiting!

70,000 Hits Means A Giveaway is Coming...

2011-11-17T01:12:00.002-06:00

Thank you so much to all of my blog readers for helping me get to 70,000 hits! Yes, that is you! To celebrate I am planning a little giveaway - so watch for the next post and I will have pics and a chance to win something handmade, which I hope you will like...

For today, I am excited to share the beginnings of my next art journal page for Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's class! Here's the start of my page - from November 15th. We are working on black this time...
The background is black acrylic paint; and I just love how my neocolor II crayons show up against it!

and here's the progression for November 16th...
I am doing my doodling and journaling with a white poster paint sharpie.

How is your week going? What creative projects are you working on?

I am off to work in my Smashbook now - I will see you soon (hopefully tomorrow) for the giveaway!

Finished Journal Page and another Cocoa Daisy Challenge...

2011-11-16T00:56:00.002-06:00

I am really learning alot from Julie's "30 Days In Your Journal" class! One of the biggest things I am learning is the art of building a page bit by bit. It's becoming quite the adventure to see how the page progresses from day to day!

Here's my final page for November 11 - 14...

On the last day I added poster paint sharpies to fill in the circles, acrylic paint for the splatters, and Lumocolor pen for the doodling. This page was an absolute joy to create!

The next page we are working on is something totally different! Can't wait to share it with you!

I also finished another one of the Cocoa Daisy Fall Crop Challenges. This one was called "Home Baked." The rules were to follow this recipe:

FLOUR - Something white (I added white labels)
SUGAR - Something that sparkles (pink glitter across the top border)
BERRIES - Something red or pink (red gerbera daisy, pink watercolored piece behind photo)
AND LET IT RISE - Add some texture (orange fabric banner, turquoise pom pom trim)

I haven't done any challenges in a long time and I'm having so much fun! For this page in my daily record, I included leftover bits of patterned paper from my table, and a doodled flower and ladybug that I had done during a phone conversation. I love that I have somewhere to put these little bits of life. The photo was taken on my walk with Michael.

If you want to check out the Home Baked Challenge, there's still time - click here!

Did you see that the teachers lineup for the 2012 "21 Secrets" Art Journal Workshop has been posted! It looks like an AWESOME lineup! Check it out here!

I hope your week is going well! I will see you again soon!

30 Days Journal Progression - November 11 - 13, 2011...

2011-11-14T20:06:00.002-06:00

I've been having a lot of fun with this next journal page! I forgot to take a picture on the 11th, but here's the progression through November 12th...

and the additions on the 13th...
The butterflies are 7Gypsies rubons, and the image is from a thrifted photography book.

Tonight I'm working on finishing this page up. I will show you how it turns out tomorrow.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Cocoa Daisy Crop Challenges and Smashbook Pages...

2011-11-13T15:51:00.003-06:00

Hey there everyone! I had a great time at my monthly girls crop yesterday! I worked on a couple of the Cocoa Daisy Crop Challenges and can't wait to share the results with you!

The first challenge was Vicki's Sketch Challenge. You can see the challenge by clicking here. Here's how my layout came out...

That's son Stevie this past summer when he met his little cousin Georgie for the first time. I just love these photos - so it was fun to have a chance to scrap them! I used my new Studio Calico Handmade kit.

I also did Lisa's "Creative Label" challenge. You can see the challenge here. Here's my take...
I did a smashbook page about my crop yesterday; and included the labels from our Jimmy John's lunch and our trip to Caribou Coffee. The girl in the gingham dress is a vintage valentine I've been saving. I thought she went with the smashbook background paper just perfectly!

I also have a couple more smashbook pages to share with you today. These were just daily pages - not for a challenge or anything. Here's the one for November 10...
p.s. I made the little kitten button (next to the felt apple) with the epiphany crafts shape maker. I love that thing!

and here's the one for November 11...

Today, as soon as I get myself woke up, I'm going back over to Cocoa Daisy to do some more challenges - the crop is still going on! Come on over and join the fun!

Thanks for visiting!!!

30 Days Journal Progression - November 10th...

2011-11-11T00:34:00.003-06:00

When I get stuff in the mail from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, it ALWAYS has the cutest animal pictures on it! Even their envelopes are ADORABLE! So, when I got my latest newsletter this week, I knew right away what I wanted to do with the envelope! Use it on my journal spread...

The kitten was already printed on the envelope - isn't she cute? I painted around her with orange and magenta acrylic paint and glued the whole envelope right on the page. Other things I added include:

Studio Calico journaling stamp
SiStv "Be Creative" sticker
7 Gypsies tissue tape
7 Gypsies #10
White poster-paint Sharpie for journaling.

If you want to see some of the other "30 Days In Your Art Journal" student's pages, check out the flickr group here. It's super inspiring!

Have you heard about the online crop over at Cocoa Daisy this weekend? There will be challenges, tutorials, games and other stuff. It sounds like great fun! I am planning to participate - how about you? Check it out here.

I wish you a wonderful weekend my friends! Thanks so much for visiting!

Progress on "30 Days" Spread #2...

2011-11-09T23:18:00.004-06:00

I'm excited to share my progress in my "30 Days In Your Journal" class! Here is the progression from November 6th through 9th...

November 6:

November 7:

November 8:
November 9:

You know a class is a good one when you can hardly wait for the next lesson! LOVE THAT!

I hope your week is going great! Thanks for visiting!

Daily Record Smashbook - Week of October 31st to November 6, 2011

2011-11-08T23:02:00.003-06:00

Another week at the Rydell household. Fall weather, two birthdays and typical projects for Michael and me. Here's how my Smashbook spread turned out...

And some closeups:
I wanted a little extra color on this page, so I backed the Smashbook paper with some Sass Lass.Other things used on this page include pink Amy Tangerine tape, stickers from Sass Lass and October Afternoon, and polkadot Smashbook tape.

More Sass Lass stickers. Plus I printed out the blog badge for Julie's art journal class, and included it with a photo of my first spread.

This page in the Smashbook had a fun retro picture of a guy on it. I hated to cover it up, but it didn't go with our week. Instead I put - you guessed it - more Sass Lass Paper - ha...
What I love about this page, is that I got Michael to contribute. I asked him to write down what he said to me about having the kids over, and he agreed! More Amy Tangerine tape here too.

I'm thinking I might start doing more than a spread per week in this Smashbook. I'd like to finish it this month, because after November is over I will be starting a December Daily, and I don't really think I need to do both at the same time. Not sure yet, just mulling it over.

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

Three Cards...

2011-11-08T00:58:00.002-06:00

I haven't made any cards for awhile, but I had a chance last week! We had a few family events going on.

This first one was for a baby shower for my niece...
It was fun making this one because everything I used was from my Sass Lass Grand Finale Box, which I just received! The only thing I added was the white and black doodling.

We also celebrated two family birthdays - son Stevie turned 20, and daughter Becca turned 22...

The chipboard 20 on Steve's card was also from my new Sass Lass box of goodies! The paper is from the American Crafts "Campy Trails" line; the arrow is a Sass Lass stamp which I shaded with colored pencils.

Finally we have Becca's card. She is our girly girl so I always try to include a little bling and/or glitter...
Most everything on this card is from the Pink Paislee Soiree and Daily Junque Collections. The velvet flower is from Maya Road.

I'm very excited because I received my Project Life Page Protectors today! I got the big variety pack, plus some extra A's and G's! And Speaking of Project Life, Lisa Truesdell has an awesome post about her Project Life process on her blog right now! It's full of tips and photos - check it out here!

I'm excited to be featured at the Smashbook blog today! I'd love it if you come on over and leave me a comment! Click here to go to the post.

That's all for today, but I will be back soon with more updates! Thanks so much for visiting!!!

Oops! Now I'm really truly done...

2011-11-05T19:31:00.002-05:00

Just when I thought I was done with my journal page - Julie busted out another lesson on adding details to finish the page! I'm so glad! It's amazing how adding those finishing touches makes me feel like the page is complete!

Here's the final final page...
This time I added punchinella stenciling with pink and orange acrylic paint. I also managed to add another day's journaling right under the word "acceptance."

Tomorrow we start a new page! I'm so excited!

Thanks for visiting and I will be back again soon!

Day Four - The Completed Page...

2011-11-05T02:10:00.005-05:00

It was fun to finally finish my journal page! Here's how it turned out...

One fun thing that I am learning is that I don't need to preserve the ability to read my journaling. Just getting it down is the therapy. Once it is down sometimes I actually don't want to read it again; and other times, I just feel like doodling something over the top of it and I can go ahead and do that without thinking about it.

This time I added:
Black and Teal acrylic paint
More Neocolor II crayons
Misc. bits of tape
Magazine words
White Poster-Paint Sharpie
Pitt Pens

Aundria asked what type of journal this is. It's a new one for me and I just love it! It's a little bigger than 8"x10" and it's made by Global Art Materials...
Here's a link if you'd like to check it out.

I can hardly wait to see how we are going to start the next page!

I wish you a wonderful weekend my friends! Thanks for visiting!

Day Three of "30 Days In Your Journal..."

2011-11-04T00:27:00.002-05:00

Still playing in my "30 Days" journal and loving it!

Yesterday Kelly asked if we are going to be fitting all 30 days onto this one journal page; and the answer is no (thank heavens!) I wouldn't be very good at that. I write too big. Ha. I know there will be multiple pages; how many remains to be discovered! It's really a different way of working for me, and I love that.

Here are my day four additions:

I added:
Neocolor II crayons
the words "needs love." doodled with a pitt pen, and filled in with a signo uniball white pen.
a Prima #3 sticker
and more journaling, of course. :0)

I can't believe it's already Friday - can you? These weeks seem to fly by faster and faster.

Thank you again so much for visiting and for your supportive comments! They really mean a lot to me!

The First Two Days of "30 Days In Your Journal"...

2011-11-03T01:01:00.000-05:00

It's day three of Julie's "30 Days In Your Journal" class, and I'm having a blast! I love my new journal, and building a page a little at a time is new to me - so much fun! Here are my first two days results...

Day One...

and Day Two...

I can't give away any details about the class, but I can say that it's tons of fun, easy to do, and has a really neat, supportive community going! There's a widget in the sidebar you can click on for more information.

I hope your week is going well! I wish you sunshine and creativity! See you again soon!

The Daily Record Smashbook - Week of October 24 - 30, 2011...

2011-11-02T03:00:00.000-05:00

I tried something new with my Daily Record Spread for this week. I wanted to be able to see the whole week at a glance, so I tore out a page from further back in the book, and taped it on the right side with some Smashtape, and now it's a fold out...
It's hard to see in the photo, but I only taped the left side of my postcard...

so I could flip it open and put some more details behind...
I love including little details that I would not think to put in a 12 x 12 layout, like this little bit about who we are rooting for on the X-Factor...
My fave part of the week is the conversation I heard between our cat Willie and Michael, which I jotted down and then transferred to the blue Smashpad page (above).

Thanks sooooo much for visiting and I will see you again soon!

Last Page in this Journal for Awhile...

2011-10-31T23:22:00.002-05:00

I'm so EXCITED to start Julie's "30 Days In Your Art Journal" workshop tomorrow! Yeayyy! I bought a special journal to use for the workshop, with watercolor paper pages (click here to see).

So that means that this page is going to be my last one in my record album journal for awhile. It's from October 30th...

I've had so much fun working in this journal so far! If you are interested in seeing all of the pages from this journal - click here to go to my flickr album.

Tomorrow I will share my Daily Record Smashbook pages for last week.

Thanks sooo much for visiting and I will see you again soon!

OMG It's a Scrapbook Layout...

2011-10-30T14:05:00.004-05:00

It's been a long, long time since I've felt like scrapbooking, but this weekend I got out my supplies and remembered how much fun it is! I finished this layout (click image to see details)...

I can't take credit for the design. It was an October Afternoon project class from Scrapfest. I'm quite proud of myself for finishing it because, quite frankly, alot of the times my half-finished projects from Scrapfest get put in a box after the event, and I never quite get around to them again. Aargh. It's embarassing. Anyhoo, this time I did, and here are a couple of closeups...

I love, love, loved playing with the OA Sprinklers (the light-colored splats in the background)! They are so different from other spray inks/mists I've tried. They are opaque - like paint! Very retro, very cool!

I did change a few things - added some paper tape, extra embellies & changed up the photo sizes; but basically I stuck straight to the project design they gave us. I love how it came out. Now I am all keyed up to start scrapbooking again!

Speaking of scrapbook supplies, have you seen that Sassafras Lass is having a huge box sale? It's their final one, since they are no longer going to be manufacturing products (soooo sad). Click here to check it out.

One more fabulous thing I wanted to let you know about - it's a fabulous and FREE online art journal workshop! The super-talented Tracie Hanson is generously offering it up on her blog, and it's a good one! Perfect for beginners and advanced art journalers alike. Check it out here.

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

New Journal Pages and a Little about Organization...

2011-10-28T23:28:00.003-05:00

I did something I almost never do with the last couple days of journal pages. I turned them sideways (gasp)! The reason had to do with that little wolf on the left hand page right next to the number 26. See him?
The base of the left-hand page is a map, and that wolf was part of it. I really wanted to use him on my page, which meant turning it sideways. I decided it was better to turn them both sideways, than just one, so that's what I did.

Here's how it looks if you twist the book around so you can see it right...

Closeups...
The image on this one came from a songbook from my childhood, and the lizard is a stamp that I inked with a poster paint marker. I punched some holes in the paper just for fun. :0)

On this one I wanted to tone down the busyness of the map, so I painted it with blue acrylic, but first I used some clear crackle paint over the wolf, which acted as a resist. I pasted tissue paper strips on top with a glue stick for journaling.

Lou asked about how I organize my collage images; so I thought I'd share a few pics with you all...

In my studio I have this rolling cart which contains collage ephemera. I just divide it into three categories: Images, Journaling (tags, spots, and ledger paper, etc), and backgrounds...

For crops I have it organized even better. I have these four folders which fit perfectly into my rolling cart:

I can't remember who makes these things (cropper hopper?), but I got them at Archiver's and they're fabulous! Here's a closeup of the categories...

and here's how the specialty folder looks when open...
Specialty paper is a broad term I give to papers that are a little out of the ordinary, like tissue paper, gift wrap, handmade, wallpaper, etc. I love how these folders give you pockets for different sized pieces. It makes it easy to keep track of the little bits.

Here's the text/ledger paper folder when open...

I also have a big jumbled up box of stuff that has no organization at all - ha. What I tend to do is grab from that box when I need to refill my organized boxes. So far it's working great.

I hope that is helpful!

Thanks for visiting and see you again soon!

Where I get my images, and a Journal Page...

2011-10-25T22:44:00.003-05:00

I want to share my journal page from October 24th...

Alison had asked where I get my pictures from:

I get a lot of them from magazines. Some of my fave mags for images are:

Oprah (great quotes, photography and images that empower women)
Birds and Blooms (gorgeous photography)
Best Friends (Adorable Animal photos)

I also carry a camera with me everywhere, and take a lot of pictures of random stuff to add to my collection.

Another thing I do is look for children's books and coffee table books at thrift stores. Thrift stores are a great resource for fabulous photography and images.

I encourage you to look for images everywhere you go. If you are getting coffee, check out their free brochures, look at napkins at fast food places, shopping bags at the grocery store or the mall. There are opportunities for collecting images everywhere - it can be addicting!

I hope this info is helpful. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Thanks so much for visiting!

The Daily Record - Week of October 17 - 23, 2011...

2011-10-24T22:35:00.002-05:00

I'm loving this style of documenting in my Smashbook! This week took up three pages...

The lime green quote card is from Becky Higgins Project 365 (2009); and the Round silverware sticker is Cosmo Cricket;

I think it's fun working with the designs that are already on the Smashbook pages...

Closeup of left side...
The brown tissue behind the ephemera on the bottom is what my burrito was wrapped in at Chipotle. It was too cute not to keep!

Closeup of right side...
The big orange flower was on the wrapping that came with my new journal;

and if I back out a little bit, you can see that my Smashbird bookmark is holding my place...

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

I finished a couple of pages at the crop...

2011-10-23T16:53:00.005-05:00

My monthly girls crop was fabulous! We always have such a great time together. I'm mad at myself for not taking a picture this month tho - ack! I got so caught up in the fun that I forgot all about it. Oh well. I did do a bunch of backgrounds and collages in my art journal, which I will share as soon as I finish them up with the journaling. Here are my last couple of days' pages...

I originally titled this one "Little Wonders," because of my fascination with birds. Then it made me think of the song by Rob Thomas, which sent my journaling in a whole different direction. I love it when that happens...

I know I've got some questions to answer and I have not forgotten - I will get to them soon, and if you have anymore, feel free to leave them in the comments! Thanks so much for visiting!!! I appreciate you!

Coyote Love and More...

2011-10-22T00:17:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I've got three new art journal pages to share with you today! This first one is from before vacation. The journaling is about a dream I had, which leads me to believe I have a new animal totem in my life...
It's done on the back side of this one. Dawn had asked if I was going to put anything inside the sleeve. This time I'm not, simply because I love the way the other pages show through.

Here's one from October 19th. Check out the temperature difference since the one above. Aargh...
The background on this one is a map, which I covered with little bits of leftover scrapbook paper, to form a mosaic. Then there's gesso, then paint, then the collage stuff over the top. The last step was the writing.

And lastly, a page from October 20th...

I'm heading out to my monthly crop with my girlfriends today, so I should have more to share tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting!!!

October is Magic...

2011-10-20T00:22:00.003-05:00

The No More Excuses theme for October is Magic. So perfect. For the quote page, I used a piece of My Mind's Eye paper from the Meadowlark collection...

I usually do the monthly writing and collages at the beginning of the month, but they got put off since I was on Honeymoon Five. It was fun to do this stuff last night. My October collage spilled over onto the monthly envelope...

and the back of the envelope too...
I will be putting lots of random stuff in the envelope; like receipts, the NME assignment sheet, and anything else I want to keep for future reference.

I got some fun happy mail today! My new journal that I bought for Julie's class...

It's even more beautiful in real life than this picture allows. The linen cover is just gorgeous, and gets my mind going about all the different ways it could be altered. Paint? Stencils? Mist? The watercolor paper on the inside is really thick and has the most scrumptious subtle texture to it! I can't wait to try it out!!!

I also got this little travel watercolor kit that I've been wanting for a long time...
I haven't tried it yet, but it's so cute and small and will be great to carry around with me.

Thanks for visiting!!! It means a lot to me!

The Daily Record...

2011-10-18T15:01:00.003-05:00

So, I've been obsessing about Project Life for about a month now. I am loving the concept of documenting our life thru photographs and memorabilia, and think it will be a nice complement to my art journaling. Now, if you know me, you know that I'm not very good at waiting. Once I feel inspired to do something, I want to do it NOW. HA.

I always end up starting projects early. In 2009, I started Project 12 in December, rather than waiting for January. This past year, I made a Pre-Smashbook Smashbook, cuz I couldn't wait for the Smashbooks to come out. And now, I've been thinking - how can I document my life for the next three months, while I wait for the new Project Life designs to come out?

Here's what I came up with - I am using a Blue (Retro) Smashbook and calling it...

The Daily Record!

I started with October 1st, and I'm going to try to make this book last until the end of the year. Sometimes documenting a day at a time...

but I plan to most often document a week at a time...

whatever seems to work best at the moment...

I'm not journaling a lot, just enough to explain what the pics are about. It's proving to be a lot of fun and very low pressure! One thing I love about Smashbooks is that you can make them whatever you want them to be; and this is turning about to be a super fun way to use one of mine!

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon with lots more updates!

Honeymoon 5 Travel Journal Beginnings...

2011-10-16T21:59:00.002-05:00

I finished the title page for our travel journal today! Here's how it turned out...

The photo is one we had taken with the Monsters, Inc. guys at Hollywood Studios. They were so cute! I drew the blue letters with a Poster-Paint Sharpie; and the rest of the title was stamped. The word bubble is from Studio Calico.

Now I'm off to work in my art journal. I'd like to finish it up before the end of October, cuz I bought a new one for Julie's class, which starts on November 1st.

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

We're Back!......

2011-10-16T00:17:00.002-05:00

OMG We had so much fun on Honeymoon 5!!! We went to Orlando to visit Disneyworld and Harry Potter's Wizarding World!!! Most of the photos are still in my camera, but here's a shot of us at Downtown Disney this past week...
I know I've talked about this before, but Michael and I got married in 2007. It was a second marriage for each of us, and we talked alot about how important it is to celebrate and nurture a good relationship. One of the things we decided to do was to go on a honeymoon every year, and we have kept our promise!

Each year, I have made a travel journal to document our journey. I make the journal up before we go, and collect postcards and memorabilia to add to it along the way. Each evening I jot a few quick notes about the day's activities, and then add photos and finishing touches after we get home. Here's the beginnings of this year's journal:

Not too long before we went, I happened upon a Harry Potter board game at a thrift shop. I snatched it up and used the game board for my journal cover. Here's the outside of the journal, which I covered with paper towels and then painted with acrylic paint...

on the inside you can see the board from the game...

On the inside pages, I used a combination of painted watercolor paper (left side), and collaged papers (right side). Here's how the first two pages look so far (click on the images to see the details)...

I used a sewn tapes binding technique to bind it together...
As I finish the pages, I will be sure to share them with you. I took about 400 photos, and I have a pile of ephemera to incorporate. It's going to be fun fun fun!

Thanks so much for visiting! I hope your weekend is going great!

Honeymoon Five...

2011-10-14T14:38:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been a little quiet - Michael and I are having a blast on honeymoon five right now, but I will be back really soon! I can't wait to tell you about it and share my travel journal!

Art Journal Page for October 5...

2011-10-07T22:01:00.002-05:00

This page was done on another one of the record sleeves in my current art journal. The layers went like this:

acrylic paint, lace, fabric and paper tapes, gesso circles stamped with card board tape core, more acrylic paint, magazine images, 7 gypsies sticker, hambly rubons.

Did you see that Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is teaching an online art journaling class? She is so inspiring and fun! I can't wait! Check it out here.

That's all for today, but I will be back again soon. Thanks so much for visiting!!!

Art Journal Page for October 4...

2011-10-07T22:00:00.002-05:00

I'm loving working in this journal! Each page is a different size, color, and/or texture! It's never boring!

I'm also getting unbelievably excited about starting Project Life in 2012. I've still got three months to wait - Eek!

Thanks for visiting and see you again soon!

Changing it up a little...

2011-10-04T02:49:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well on this fine Tuesday! I've changed things up a little with my No More Excuses process, and I want to share the changes with you...

The first of October, my plan was to go from doing a collage page a day, to making a whole week fit onto two pages. The reason being that I wanted these mini-collages to be a warmup for my actual art journal work. What actually happened was I was taking so much time with the "warmup" collages, that my poor art journal was just sitting there, neglected. (Poor thing.)

So, anyhoo, I got the whole rest of 2011 all mapped out in my NME journal, ready for my mini collages, and guess what? The first one I did (on Oct 1), I realized I did NOT like doing them this way! HA. Since I had already made up the whole book, I thought - I'll try it for a week and see how I feel. On Oct 2, I was SURE I didn't like doing it this way! It felt cramped using this tiny space. Here's how the first two pages turned out...
So that was that. The tiny collages were not gonna happen. Trying things is how you learn I guess, right? In any case, it brought me to my new way of journaling, which I am LOVING, so it's all good!

I am just doing daily entries right in my art journal! DUH. Why didn't I think of that before??? I love it!

I taped an October divider page right into my journal (on the right)...

and then I taped my page of unsuccessful journaling on the back (left side), cuz I don't believe in throwing things away. Then I started with the next page that was already in the journal (right side)...

It was SO MUCH FUN!!!

Now, that may be way more info than you need - lol. But, I know some of you have been asking how I make decisions and what my process is like. I want you to know that I change my mind ALOT, and I consider that to all be part of what makes it fun!

Now, I know I'm doing it the right way for me, because I can't wait to do today's entry! Yeayyy! The different size and shaped pages are going to be a great challenge! I will keep you posted on how it goes.

I think I am going to try Project Life in 2012! Have you seen the new designs? They are so awesome! More on that later.

I hope you are having a fabulous week my friends! Thanks for visiting!

Spirit of Joy...

2011-10-02T22:46:00.002-05:00

Today's Art Journal Page...
The bird image is from Birds & Blooms Magazine (a great resource for beautiful images and it's affordable!). I also used scrapbook paper from my stash, dictionary paper, magazine text, handmade cloud stamps, acrylic and watercolor paint and gesso. Finished page is 8" x 10."

Dawn had asked me how long I work on a piece. It really varies, but I tend to be slowww. This one took a couple of days because I waited for my layers of paint to dry before moving on. The process went like this:

Looked for a quote to express what I was feeling yesterday, and found the Gandhi one.
Painted page with numerous oranges and pink acrylics mixed together.
Misted with White Studio Calico "Mr. Huey" mist.
Added paper collage pieces.
Stamped clouds
Glued on hummingbird.
4 layers of rays under the birds wings - black pastel, white gesso, yellow acrylic and neon orange for an accent.
Drew journaling lines.
Added quote.
3 layers of white sharpie poster paint pen inside the bigger letters.

How about you? Do you usually finish your projects all at one time? What's your process like? I'd love to know, and I bet others would too!

Thanks so much for visiting - I really appreciate it!

Mini-Collage and "In The News"...

2011-10-01T06:14:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I finished the last pages in my September "No More Excuses" journal!

Here's the mini-collage from yesterday...

and the September "In The News" pages...

I'm excited to start October's pages! I'm going to be doing them a little differently. I'll show you what I mean tomorrow.

Have a great Saturday and thanks for visiting!!!

As September Comes to a Close...

2011-09-30T01:15:00.002-05:00

Today's mini-collage...

and September's grid is all finished! Yeayyy!!!

The leaves are starting to change here, which is one of my favorite things ever! I hope it's a colorful autumn!

Just Playing in my Art Journals today...

2011-09-29T04:04:00.004-05:00

I'm loving doing these mini-collages! Here's the one for today...
Seeing happy dogs just makes my day! Have you seen the Sharky the Pitbull videos? OMG so cute! Click here for one of my favorites. If you like it, there are more in the youtube sidebar. What a sweetie.

And here's today's art journal page...
The background is a page from an old country-western magazine. The big daisy is a piece of napkin. I also used magazine and stationary images, gesso, paint, neocolor II crayons, tape and scrapbook paper scraps. It's so freeing to just play with random thoughts and images.

Now I've got two more card peeks to do to finish up for September.

Thanks for visiting! I'll be back soon with another update!

No More Excuses Update...

2011-09-27T23:38:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update for ya. I'm still going strong with the No More Excuses journal, and loving it!

Here's today's mini-collage...

Card Peek #2 for September (Sticking with the Sketchbook Challenge's "Unfurl" theme for this month)...

I've also started assembling my 2012 No More Excuses Journal! It's getting really fat, and I still have that whole pile on the right to add in...
For more info on the No More Excuses Journaling Workshop Series, click here. If you are looking to develop a fun daily ritual, I highly recommend it!

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!

ATC Deck of Prompts - Phase 2...

2011-09-25T12:37:00.003-05:00

Last night I completed phase two of my Deck of Prompts Swap. Here's how they turned out (click on the image to see it larger)...
This was my favorite one to make this time...

Here's the scribble I started out with...
Made me remember how much I liked that game as a kid. I used to play with friends, and we would each make a scribble for the other one. Did you ever do that?

Anyhoo, this swap is so much fun! When we get done with all four phases we will have a complete deck of 52 prompt cards. How great is that?

Today I will leave you with a shot of Johnny in the scraproom!

I will see you again soon my friends! Thanks for visiting!

Still Working on my September NME Grid...

2011-09-24T12:11:00.003-05:00

My September NME Grid is coming along nicely! I'm using Prismacolor Pencils and with gamsol...
If you haven't heard of gamsol, it's an odorless mineral spirit that works great for blending colored pencils. In the photo above, the grey square on the bottom has gamsol blending on the top half - see the difference? Here are a couple of closeups:

The grey background on the left is blended with gamsol, while the purple background on the right isn't.

Here's a closer view of the grey square.

For more info on gamsol, check out this video - click here.

I will leave you with a recent photo of Willie in the scraproom.

Have a fabulous Saturday my friends!

Scrapfest Was A Blast!!!

2011-09-22T21:19:00.004-05:00

I attended Scrapfest at the Mall of America with my girlfriends this past weekend, and it was a blast! I am making a Smashbook all about the event! I can't wait to share it with you, but it's not quite done yet. In the meantime, here are just a few photos to share...

Here we are getting our photo taken in the world's largest scrapbook page! Left to right is Anne, Christina, Me and Lynn.

KC and Melissa of My Mind's Eye were fabulous hosts of the Friday Night Crop Around Town! They are so much fun and full of energy!!!

I got to meet April, Nicole and Kelly of Studio Calico!!! They were so sweet!!!

It was great to see Amy Tan again, who I know from SiSTV days! I took her minibook class and it was AWESOME!!!

I also took a class from Michelle Hill of Polkadot Whimsy fame. I have been inspired by her ever since I saw a video of her beautiful scraproom and adorable pug!!! She was just as nice and funny in person as she was on the video...
P.S. I tried to find that video to link you up, but I can't find it - aargh. If any of you know where it is, could you link us up in the comments? That would be fabulous!

I've got so much to share about Scrapfest! The class projects I made, my Smashbook, and a review of the event in general. All coming up soon!

Life is flying by so fast right now, I can't even believe it! Every week goes faster than the week before! Do you ever feel like that?

Thanks for visiting and for your comments! I really appreciate them!!! Have a great day and I will be back soon!

Sketchbook and Journal Fodder Junkies Challenges...

2011-09-13T02:49:00.003-05:00

The theme for September at the Sketchbook Challenge is "Unfurl." I decided to use that theme in this month's tiny watercolor sketches aka "Card Peeks," in my No More Excuses Journal. Here's my first card peek...

Unfurl:
verb
To open, unfold, open out, blossom, develop, progress.

Challenge #19 at The Journal Fodder Junkies is called "Come Out And Play." It asks us when the last time was that we went out and just played? I thought about it and realized that my art IS my play, when I'm doing it just for myself. Here's what I came up with...
The coloring turned out super messy (It's Pitt Markers on Magazine Paper); but since I was just playing, it didn't even matter - yeayyy!!!

How do you play? Click here to go to the challenge. They actually have a new one up too, so don't forget to check that out while you are there!

Thanks for visiting my friends and I will see you again soon!

List #8/30 Things That Remind Me of My Childhood...

2011-09-08T23:09:00.002-05:00

The photo is me, can you tell? HA. The goats were not mine however. (as much as would like them to have been). They are a magazine image.

Thanks for visiting! I will see you again soon!

List #6/30 and More No More Excuses Pages...

2011-09-07T22:47:00.003-05:00

I'm a little behind in posting my lists! Here's list #6: Favorite Color Combinations...
Image was found here, and is originally from this book. Also used specialty paper and poster paint sharpies.

I also have some more pages from my No More Excuses journal to share...

I hope you are having a fabulous week my friends! Thanks for visiting!

Journal Fodder Junkies "Show Up Like Magic..."

2011-09-06T22:41:00.004-05:00

The newest prompt over at Journal Fodder Junkies is called "Show Up Like Magic." It's all about the people in your life that show up for you just when you need them. There's the ones that you are close to, and then once in awhile, someone you would never expect is there for you - know what I mean? It's all magical in my opinion. :0) Anyways, here's the page I made for the challenge. It's in my Record Album Full Tilt Boogie Journal...
The bottom layer is all tape, then gesso, acrylic paint, neocolor II crayons, vintage contact paper, magazine image, stamped letters and gel pen doodles.

If you are interested in the Journal Fodder Junkies challenges - click here to go to the site.

Now I'm off to work on my list journal. Thanks so much for visiting and I will see you again soon!

August Tiny Sketches No. 3 & 4...

2011-09-05T17:44:00.003-05:00

My four tiny watercolor sketches in my "No More Excuses" daily journal for August are all done! Yeayyy! I'm happy I stuck with it, because I've learned so much with this practice. Here are the last two...

#3 was super fun...

#4 was a pain in the rear (lol), but good education for me...

In the comments after the 2nd sketch, Laurie had asked what I am going to do with these sketches, and I want to address her question. I am just keeping them in my daily journal as a record of my practice. I pasted the images I was drawing from on the left-hand page, and the sketches on the right. Hopefully as I go along in the coming months I will be able to see my progress! Here's a photo of how they look in my journal...

Thanks for asking Laurie!

So, now my August "No More Excuses"/daily journal is officially complete! It has been tagged as Journal #10 for 2011, and is going on a shelf today. Here it is...

I am having so much fun working the "No More Excuses" methods into my daily journaling practice! If you are interested in finding out about Gina's No More Excuses workshop - click here for more info. You won't be sorry!

Have a great Monday my friends, and thanks again for visiting and for your comments!

September List #4...

2011-09-04T02:25:00.002-05:00

Things to do on a Sunday Morning...
More to share, but I've got to catch a few zzzzz's first. See you soon!

Time for a New Daily Journal...

2011-09-03T00:18:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! It's the beginning of a long holiday weekend here in the U.S. (labor day), and I don't have anywhere I have to be. The cats and I will be hanging in the scraproom for three days straight - yeayyy!!!

September 1st started a new daily journal for me. I loved using the Papaya Art journal so much, I started another one. I'm totally in love with the artwork on this one. Here's the cover...

So far, I finished my title page...
The pages come with beautiful watercolor and doodle backgrounds. Love. I just added the words.

I chose not to do the list for today. The topic is "People I Love." Beautiful idea, but I have no idea how I would make a list like that. I would be afraid I would leave someone out and then I would feel terrible. My issue I know. It's just a list. HA. But still, I can't seem to do it. So let me just say I LOVE EVERYONE!!! Now I feel better. grin.

I wish you a wonderful weekend everyone! Thanks for visiting!

September List #2...

2011-09-02T04:53:00.000-05:00

I am happiest when...

Happy Friday everyone!

September List #1: Goals...

2011-09-01T18:04:00.001-05:00

September 1st List:
What are your goals for this month? Here's what I came up with...

Can't wait til tomorrow! See you then!

Blue-Footed Booby and Getting Ready for September Lists...

2011-08-31T23:18:00.004-05:00

30 Days of Lists is starting again on September 1st! Are you participating? I am all signed up and ready to go! I still have a lot of room in the journal I started the last time, so I'm continuing on with that. It's the one that my sister Renee made for me. I added a title...
They're doing it a little differently this time. It costs $6, but they have set up a forum and private blog, and they are going to have lots of prizes! If you want to get in on the fun, click here.

I finished the monthly theme assignment for "No Excuses," last night. The theme is Travel, and the assignment was to do a watercolor sketch of somewhere you would like to go. My sketch is inspired by this photo I found on the internet...
I think the blue-footed boobys are so cool! I'd love to meet one one day! Click here to see more photos of them.

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon my friends!

Two New Art Journal Pages...

2011-08-30T00:19:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! I finished a couple of art journal pages over the weekend that I can't wait to share with you! They are both in my vintage record album journal, which is the main one I am using these days.

The first one started off looking like this...
It's a page from a children's book called "I Walk At Night." It was being discarded by my local library, so I snatched it up. I just love the illustrations! They remind me of my own cats - Willie and Johnny!

I made it into an ode to our late nights in the scraproom (click to see the details)...
You can't really tell in the photo, but it's very sparkly. I don't use glitter that much, but this warranted busting out the stickles. Ha. Other things used include: miscellaneous scrapbook paper and ephemera, gesso, neocolor II crayons, Stabilo pastel pencils, Bienfang Watercolor Brush Pens, Sharpie Meanstreak, and Pan Pastels.

Back in November 2009, I took a month-long workshop from Kelly Kilmer called "A Prompt A Day," and I just loved it! In fact, I loved it so much that I took it again the next month! December got busy tho, so about the last ten prompts went unfinished. Until now! This page is inspired by one of the prompts from the class, which asks you to use a photo of yourself that particularly resonates with you. I pulled out this one, because I love how proud of myself I look! It was before the cultural norms kicked in that tell you to be modest - HA!
The journaling is one of my favorite quotes. It's by Marianne Williamson, and was used by Nelson Mandela in one of his speeches. Click on the image and you will be able to read it.

I will leave you with one of my new fave pics of Willie and Johnny. I call it "synchronized cats..."

Until next time - SHINE ON MY FRIENDS!!!

August News Page...

2011-08-26T04:23:00.002-05:00

I thought it would be fun to do one "In The News" page each month in my daily journal. Tonight I finished the one for August...
Nothing super artsy, but a nice mini-time capsule for future reference.

I'm putting the finishing touches on my August Daily Journal, and getting ready to start a new one for September. Can you believe it's already almost September? Where has the summer gone?

August Tiny Sketch No. 2

2011-08-23T23:37:00.002-05:00

Here's my second tiny watercolor sketch. It's 2" x 3.5," or the size of a gift/credit card. My goal is to do four by the end of August...
Done with Pelikan Watercolors, Stabilo Pastel Pencils, Neocolor II crayons and Pitt Pens.

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon my friends! Have a fabulous Thursday!

Tiny Watercolor Sketch...

2011-08-21T22:49:00.002-05:00

Part of my No More Excuses journal includes doing periodic little watercolor sketches. They are the size of a gift card. I think it's a great idea and it will help improve both my sketching and painting skills! Here's my first one...
This was done with Pitt Pens and Pelikan Watercolors. I recommend the Pelikan Watercolors highly if you like intense color. I have the set of 24 opaque colors, and I love it!

I went to my monthly girls crop day yesterday and had a blast. Worked on the back cover of my new journal from the art retreat. It's just about finished - yeayyy!

Thanks for visiting my blog! I will be back soon with another update!

An Amazing Sister's Getaway...

2011-08-18T23:27:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I've been absent for the last ten days. My sister Renee and I got together to go to an art journaling retreat! It was at a really cool place in Malibu called Artinfusio, which is run by Gina Armfield. The instructor was Pam Garrison, who besides being a talented artist is such an amazingly sweet person!

The first thing we noticed when we pulled in to the hotel was this amazing sculpture of...

THREE RAVENS!!! How perfect is that? Since the raven is my animal totem, it seemed like a good sign, plus the way the ravens were arranged, we thought that maybe it symbolized the two of us being watched over by our mom; who would have been so happy to know that we were having this time together.

Here's a photo of the retreat center, which overlooked the ocean - such a beautiful location...

playing with colors...

Our instructor - Pam Garrison...

The down side of the weekend was that after the first day of the workshop, I got sick (no fun!), so we missed day two. RATS. I didn't get my journal bound, but I did finish the front cover. Here's how it turned out...
Renee and I continued creating back at her place for a few days afterwards. It was so much fun just hanging out together. There is nothing like spending time with your sister - someone who understands you, shares your history, and makes you laugh like crazy! I love you kiddo!!! Can't wait til our next getaway!

I came back feeling super-inspired, so I will be back soon with regular updates to share! Have a wonderful weekend my friends, and thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Journal Fodder Junkies and Deck of Prompts Swap...

2011-08-08T23:01:00.005-05:00

I've got two new things to share that I'm so excited about!!! The first one is a challenge I discovered through this inspiring page by Rafael Lopez jr. The challenge is called Journal Fodder Junkies, and they have weekly art journal challenges. They started back in March, and I decided to go back and do them all!

The first challenge is to answer the question "Who Am I"? I've been thinking alot about music lately, so I decided to take a musical twist on the question, and here is what I came up with. I did the page on a record sleeve page of my art journal...
There is something about music that, when it touches you, you can find yourself within it. Know what I mean? I think that's where the magic is. (The owl image is from the Owl Barn Calendar.) The CD insert is from a Mix CD that I made for my trips up north this summer.

To add to it, I did this page on the back of the mandala that was in the record sleeve. It's lyrics from a couple of songs on the CD...

I'm really excited about the Journal Fodder Challenges - they really make you think! Thanks to Rafael for the inspiration!

My Soul Journal Group is doing an ATC swap called the "Deck of Prompts." Everyone is making cards with journaling prompts on them, so when we are all done with the swap(s), we will have a whole deck! How fun is that? Here's a sneak peek of mine - they are all different...
I envision filling up a whole 7 Gypsies drawer with these - wouldn't that be fun!?!

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again soon!