Day 11: Fauxbonichi/Bullet Journal...

Hi friends!  It's day 11 of the National Nonstop Journaling Month (NaNoJouMo) challenge!  Today's page is in my Inkwell Press Journal, which I'm using as a combo bullet journal (task list) and fauxbonichi (daily writing and drawing).

I combined a bunch of stuff on this page, so it took me awhile.  Two prompts from the Fauxbonichi Journalers group (Tangle Tuesday and Hand-lettering Graffiti Style); and the Decade Thirty Question (What do you want to remember from today)

Day 11:
Fauxbonichi

For more info on NaNoJouMo, click here.
For more info on the fabulous Inkwell Press Journals, click here. (They are out of stock now, but will be restocked after Jan 1st.)
For more info on the Decade 30 prompts, click here.
For more info on the Fauxbonichi Journalers Facebook group, click here.

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

Day 10 of NaNoJouMo: When You Don't Have Much Time...

Hi again friends!  Today's page is another example of what to do when you only have a few minutes to spare, (which was my situation today).

I hate to waste paint; so when I am working on a project, and there ends up being leftover paint on my palette, I swipe it into a number of journals that I have, that are set aside specifically for that purpose.  Eventually, after I do enough paint slapping, it starts to look like something, and then I go in and finish the page.  It's fun and low pressure.

This is one of the journals I use for this purpose.  It's actually a book that I purchased when I was on a getaway with my girlfriends to Door County, Wisconsin.  We visited a super-inspiring indoor/outdoor art gallery, and they had this recipe book for sale:

I wasn't too interested in the recipes, but I loved the title, and the fact that there were beautiful pictures inside of the artwork in the gallery. So I brought it home; and now I'm using it as an art journal.

Anyhoo, I had this page almost finished, so today I just added the quote and a little doodling and I'm calling it done!  Here's how it turned out...

Day 10

"Walking Each Other Home"

If you don't have a "leftover paint swiping" journal, I encourage you to try it!  It's lots of fun, and it makes for some quick and easy journaling when you are short on time!

For more info on the NaNoJouMo challenge, click here.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I appreciate you!

Day 9 of NaNoJouMo: Weekly No Excuses Journal Update...

Hi friends!  For day 9 of the challenge, I completed the weekly layout in my No Excuses Planner Journal. These layouts take a long time, but they are loads of fun...

Day 9:
No Excuses Journal for November 2 - 8, 2015

I attached a Hello Kitty pocket as a tip-in, to hold some notes I took during the week...

For more info on NaNoJouMo, click here.
For more info on No Excuses Art Journaling, click here.

Thanks so very much for visiting! I wish you a wonderful week!

Day 8 of NaNoJouMo: Gluebook Party...

Hi friends!  Last night was the monthly gluebook party on instagram - have you heard of it?  It's hosted by Christine Hiester (@barebranchblooming) and its lots of fun! It goes from 7 - 9pm Central time and there are prompts and prizes!  Anyhoo, I finished three of the four prompts, so I'm counting the series as my journal page for today.

Day 8:

Gluebook Party Series:

(prompt one - "orange and gray"

(prompt two - "trees and leaves")

(prompt three - "home")

For more info on the NaNoJouMo challenge, click here.
For more info on the monthly gluebook party, click here.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I hope you Sunday is sunny!

Day 7 of NaNoJouMo: The Only Way Out...

Hi again friends!  We are already one week into NaNoJouMo, can you believe it?  If you are participating, how is it going for you?

I'm still having fun, and I must say it feels really good to be back journaling every day.  For today's page, I am working on a lesson by Tangie Baxter for the Radiant II - Art Journaling Workshop.  Tangie's lesson deals with making cutouts in your page.  For some reason, it's been a challenge wrapping my head around this one.  Challenges are good though, right?  They keep your brain growing!  Anyhoo, Tangie created a set of three pages that all go together to tell one story as you turn the pages.  As totally awesome as that was, I couldn't come up with a three-part story that I wanted to tell in this way, so I changed it up.  I am doing three totally separate pages, that are tied together only in the fact that they each have cut outs.  The third one is already done (I won't reveal which one that is yet, although you have already seen it on this blog).  For today's page, I tackled the first one.  Here it is...

DAY 7:
"The Only Way Out..."

You can see the holes a little better from this angle...

It was a super-interesting lesson, which I am sure I will use in different ways in the future.

For more info on NaNoJouMo, click here.
For more info on the Radiant II - Art Journaling workshop, click here.

Thanks so much for visiting!  Have a super duper Saturday!

Day 6 of NaNoJouMo: Sometimes I Pretend...

Hi friends! For day 6 of the challenge, I chose to do another lesson from the Radiant II - Art Journaling Workshop.  This was a lesson by Nolwenn Petitbois, and it was TONS of fun!!!

DAY 6:

"Sometimes I Pretend..."

Mixed Media

Sometimes I feel this way - do you?

 (quote from pinterest - don't know who originally said it.)

It all started with the raven, who showed up, fully formed - including one white and one gold eye, while I was making the background. I added some outlining and the magenta glaze on his belly for effect...

 

I created the words with a white, poster paint sharpie marker.  I wanted them to really pop, but they kept soaking up the blue spray ink that was underneath.  So I went over each word with matte medium, and let it dry, which sealed the color in.  Then I was able to go back over the words with my paint pen, and they stayed much whiter.  You can see the difference here.  The "etimes" was done after the matte medium was applied.  Just thought I'd share, in case you could use this tip.  :)

 

For more info on NaNoJouMo, click here.

For more info on the Radiant II - Art Journaling workshop, click here.

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

Day 5 of NaNoJouMo: Fauxbonichi Journaling...

Hi friends!  It's time for day 5 of the NaNoJouMo Challenge!  For day five, I created a page in my Fauxbonichi Journal.

You may already know this, but just in case you don't - A Fauxbonichi is based on the Japanese art of Hobonichi Journaling.  A Hobonichi is a specific journal you can buy, that has a page-a-day, grid format. It is used in all kinds of ways - here's a link to a  promo video. The first time I saw that video I was like WOAH - I'm in LOVE!  But I didn't get around to getting one of the journals or trying it, until I found the Fauxbonichi Journalers group on Facebook.  This group is so much fun!  They have a new challenge for most days of the week, which makes it fun and easy to fill up your pages, plus they are a super nice and supportive group of people! 

For my "faux-bonichi," I am using a Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebook, and writing/stamping the header each day. For this particular page, I combined their "Tuesday Tangle," and "hand-lettering" challenges, along with my journaling for the day.

Day 5:

"Much Ado About A Notebook"

Pitt Pen, Tombow Marker and watercolor.

For the hand-lettering challenge, I referenced this video on youtube...

For more info on the Fauxbonichi Journalers Group, click here.
For more info on the NaNoJouMo challenge, click here.

Thanks so much for visiting!  I appreciate you!

Day 4 of NaNoJouMo: It's About The Process...

Hi friends!  I'm still having fun journaling every day this month!  How about you?  If you are doing the challenge, are you having a good time?

For Day 4, I decided to take on Chelle Stein's Bonus Lesson in the Radiant II - Art Journaling Workshop.  For this lesson, the focus was on following her creative process.  Chelle's process is a lot of fun, and very similar to a process I sometimes use. 

Here's how the page looked after about 15 - 20 minutes...

and here it is, all finished...

DAY 4: 

"Wild and Free" 

(acrylic paint, misc ephemera and magazine images, paint markers)

For more info on NaNoJouMo, click here.
For more info on the Radiant II - Art Journaling Workshop, click here.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Day 3 of NaNoJouMo: Memory Keeping Planner...

Hi friends!  Today's page was a more time-consuming one.  It is this week's page in my memory-keeping planner.  These take a full evening, but they are lots of fun - like putting together a puzzle.  I am currently using an Erin Condren Life Planner, but I am not happy with the paper quality, so I will be changing to an Inkwell Press Planner for next year.

Anyhoo, here's today's page. It incorporates elements of the No Excuses Journaling System, and this week, I included some prompts from the Fauxbonichi Journaler's Facebook Group too. 

DAY 3:
Last week in my Planner

For more info on National Nonstop Journaling Month (NaNoJouMo), click here.
For more info on Erin Condren planners, click here.
For more info on Inkwell Press Planners, click here. 
For more info on No Excuses Journaling, click here.
For more info on the Fauxbonichi Journalers Facebook Group, click here.

Thanks for visiting and I will see you tomorrow!  Have an awesome Tuesday, my friends!

Nonstop Journaling Month - Day Two... A Quick Page

Hi friends!  My journal page is done for day two.  This one is not for a workshop.  It's a quick one in my tiny journal.  I had started this one awhile ago, and just finished tonight. 

TRUST

Watercolor, acrylic and ink 

4" x 5"

Thanks for visiting!

It's National Nonstop Journaling Month - Wahoooo!!!

Hi friends! I recently found out that November is National Nonstop Journaling Month (also known as NaNoJouMo).  How fun is that?!!!

Dawn Devries Sokol hosts this annual challenge on her blog.  She explains more about it here; but basically it's about working in your art journal each day in November.

I think this is just the kick in the pants I need to get going again!

The official challenge is pretty open, but I am setting a few guidelines for myself.  Here they are:

1. I will finish a page each day.  If I have hours to put into it, great.  If I have only a few minutes, I can still finish a page.  I will just make it simpler.  

2. I am using this opportunity to catch up on the bazillion unfinished lessons from various workshops I am taking (or have taken).  That will be my focus, but it's not a rule.  

3. Any kind of journal page counts.  Painting, mixed media, collage, drawing, doodles, sketches and anything else that can fit on a page.

I will post each page here and in my instagram feed.

Let the Festivities Begin!

DAY ONE:

MAKE ART EVERYDAY (in honor of NaNoJouMo)

This is lesson three from the Book of Days Facing Forward Workshop.

Click here to find out more about the NaNoJouMo challenge.


Thanks so much for visiting!  I appreciate you!

Art Journal Every Day - Pages from Radiant II

Hey there friends!  One reason I'm excited to get back to blogging, is so I can join in on Julie Balzer's "Art Journal Every Day" project again.  This week, I have two pages to share with you - both inspired by lessons in Effy Wild's "Radiant II-Art Journaling" workshop. 

Each lesson in the Radiant II workshop is actually two lessons.  First there's the lesson provided by the guest instructor.  And then there is another lesson where Effy does her own take on the guest teacher's lesson.  I hope I explained that okay.  Anyhoo, for me that is so valuable, because it demonstrates how you can learn from another artist, and still come up with something that is entirely different and uniquely you.

Anyhoo, this first page is inspired by Effy's take on Dyan Reavelry's lesson on hidden journaling.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I used hidden journaling in two ways on this page.  One is the journaling on top in silver...

and the other one is hidden behind the silhouette...

This page is inspired by Felicia Borges' lesson.  It involves a background resist technique with acrylic paint and distress stain (you can see it in the background - it's the hot pink and dark blue.).  The lesson goes on to explore a unique take on portrait-making; but I got so enthralled with the resist idea, that I went off in a whole different direction, trying different resists and layers; and then I ended up with this...

 To find out more about the Radiant II - Art Journaling Workshop, click here.

To find out more about Julie's "Art Journal Every Day" series, click here.

I wish you are a super-duper Saturday my friends!