Saturday, September 6, 2014

My Creative Summer continues....

Hope I didn't bore you too much last time with that very loooonnnggg and photo loaded post!

Time for some more doodling again!  This spread was totally inspired by a Pinterest Pin! As you have now discovered, I am totally hooked on doodling right now - this one was a lot of fun!

Simply started with one side and created a collage of boxes to fit the page.


then started doodling in each box! Yes, it really was that easy.  The hardest part is figuring out what to put in the boxes!




Before I called it 'done for now' I went over each box (and sometimes the doodle) to make it more prominent.  That was so much fin, decided to do it all over again! 



TaDa! I so loved doing this one!  Pretty sure I will do another one along the way....oh idea (squirrel)...next one will be in circles!! 


Time for some color!  I used my Koi Water Color Brushes - so love using these!  Thinking I need to find some more colors though!






Next comes something that I have been putting off for....ya, about 8 months!  Here is my Moleskine Planner (18 month) so kinda worked out good for me to decorate and use in my Documented Life Project.  The project calls for watercolor paper as the add on, but ya - I couldn't do just that!  I used Watercolor, Mixed Media (two different kinds) and then some pages from some of my vintage dictionaries!



Cut all the papers and slide them into the pages... 


Now it is time for some color...Washi Tape!!


That was fun!  Now thinking I should probably document something!! 


This Art Journal page was inspired by an image I had seen while I was on vacation in Turks and Caicos this past winter - fortunately for me and the artist - it looks nothing like it!!

Started the page with a good coat of Gesso applied using my palette knife!


Here are the colors I chose to use and you can see that I brought out an OLD tool that I know I haven't used in more years that I care to admit - my Brayer! Paints are all Heavy Body Paints (Dina Wakley and Liquitex) aside from the brown which is simply an acrylic.


After putting a dab of each paint along the page(s), I spread it using my brayer.  On a note for next time....use a lot less dabs and only do two rows at a time!!


This is so cool!! But of course a tad to clean for me...


....so time to add some water! So I sprayed it pretty heavily with water, and once again used my Brayer to move it around.



It is pretty wet now, so need to let it dry totally before moving onto next step!

Well that took a long time to dry (over night)! Now it needs some black of course!  Once again used the brayer to spread!

 
I like it, but not what I was after....


yup, time for some water! 


and my brayer....


originally was goign to try and do the entire page using only the brayer - ya, not gonna happen - then was only going to do horizontal swipes - ya, too normal!


added even more water and watched it go! To see a video on this, head over to my Facebook page to see it in action! 





I might have added a tad too much water...but hey - what's the worse that can happen?  Need to add more paint?  I didn't add any more black as I really love how it looks like canvas now - very cool! 


Now it is time for a red solo cup! 


Any mixed media/art journal 'artist' (trust me, I am by no means an artist in the technical term anyway) will always tell you use what is right in front of you and be sure to look at everything in a different light (not always for its intended purpose), so that I did!



 

Now it is time for a bit of 'jazz' - we all know I have a hard time NOT using Gelatos on my pages - I so LOVE them!! And would you believe I did not have a yellow?! I had to go to the 'store' and get a pack (thankfully I don't have far to go)! 


I roughly apply the black inside the circle.


blend with my finger...


add some blue...


blend with my finger...
add yellow and blend some more!


add some white...blend some more! 


I thought it needed yet some more color, so I added some oranges and yellows to the bottom to make it all come together!



a bit more blending, this time I dipped my finger into water and blended more and then of course had to add even more black (so much for the solo cup part)!



Thought the top needed some white, so thought why not bring out my new handy dandy droppers and Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen) as for the life of me I can't find my White India Ink!!



a little water never hurts either right?!



Well gang...that concludes my July and August Creative Burst!  Let's hope the fall continues on with some new and interesting stuff.

Be sure to head over to W2 Scrapbooking to see all the wonderful products available for your Art Journal/Mixed Media projects...not to mention Scrapbooking!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

That really was one creative summer!

Man, that was one busy summer!  How about yours?  Mine went by so fast, thankfully I was able to spend some quality time with my journals.

Looking back over my blog I see once again I neglected it, I did however get better about posting on Facebook so if ever in doubt, be sure to check that out too (would love it if you 'like' me at the same time)! So having said that, sit back and enjoy the boat load of photos of my journals from the summer...here goes!

Wanting to play in my art journal with Tim Holtz's Found Relatives was the inspiration for this page.  I also wanted to use my new Lyra Aquacolor Water Soluble Crayons as had been wanting them for so long.  I really enjoy using these crayons as they work like magic with water and your finger!  This time I had to use a tool though as the photo is the size of a playing card.  These cards are fun, but with the finish on them, made my job a little harder - but I was up for it.



scribble and blend... 




more scribbles, this time I added some water!


used the green crayon to get hazel eyes (or demon as my son would say)!



now onto the next level - kraft paper, tim's collage paper and some ink! Here are photos that pretty much speak for themselves...







 



Dylusion Ink Sprays and Mini Blending Tool are a great addition to your Art Journal kit!












time to put it away for now - at a crossroad not knowing what I wanted to do next!  So my theory has always been, "When in doubt, don't."

This next series of photos is what was inspired by a Dyan Reaveley video I watched on YouTube (went looking for it and can't find it, if and when I do, will post the link for it). It is a resist(ish) technique using Gesso as the stamping medium.  I applied it using a sponge to the stamp (Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions Write Words)





I know it is hard to see on the computer screen, but it is there of course.  Then I tried to see if I could use a Crafter's Workshop Template Branches to act a mask, didn't quite work out as good as I had hoped.  Hard to see, perhaps to small of a template!





Time to add some color - Dylusions it is! 


Add water then dry off with a paper towel roll. 






layered a few more stencils on top and sprayed away! 








Kind of cool isn't it?! Then I decided to add some doodle with my Black Fude Ball Pen!




Added more color using Dylusions Ink Spray and a Water Brush





added some paint for more color and used my finger to the edges




thinking it needs some yellows



that was fun, let's see what is next!

Doodle time!! This is done in a Moleskine and doodled with Gel Pens and Markers  - lots of fun. Does it make sense, nope - but that is okay, I had fun!






Thsi next one is inspired by Joanne Fink's style of 'Zenspirations' this entire doodle was done using Gel Pens.






more doodling (or should I say scribbles or sketch)...





 

 







I so enjoy this sketchy process!  Now if I could only master the lines around the outside of a page!







Now it is time to get back into my Art Journal!  This time was a challenge from Lisa over at The Pink Camera - take an image from the internet that inspired you (I got mine from Pinterest). I used some of my hidden stash of Pink Paislee's Artisan Papers (resist images).  I cut these into rectangles then 'adjusted' the lengths as needed to make fit!


Adhered them using my Golden Matte Medium. 




 Now it is some time for color I.  wanted to keep it somewhat monochromatic...








yup, time for some color!  This is all resist papers and/or embellisments (Pink Paislee and Heidi Swapp) 






ya, thinking I need some more color! 



here are all the colors I used...mostly Dylusions and one Color Shine.





Washi Tape always seems to help too!


Thanks Lisa - that was fun! Here is the link to the image that caught my eye!

Looks like it was back to my Doodle Journal...
the writing is my thoughts of the day and of me in life so far. I was a tough day for me as I was remembering my Mom and how she was my biggest supporter and how she taught me to be ME and be STRONG as I am no different than anyone else and am just as good as anyone else (note: I grew up with four older brothers).  Not to mention I celebrated my 50th Birthday and that my son headed off to college - way too many changes for this chick!  But all is good, writing and doodling is good for the soul!



time to bring out the water color brushes!





 

yup you guessed it - more doodling! I bet by now you are wondering what the heck does this girl besides doodle (that is if you are actually still even here), this is something I can do while sitting with hubby at night whether he is watching tv or even me sometimes, it is just the fact that we are together aside from me always being down in the shop and us not even seeing each other (not a good thing)!


where do I get my inspiration from?  Why the internet of course!  I love so many styles of doodling, one right now that really catches my eye every time is Stephanie Ackerman, her flowers and simplicity blows me away every time. 
 



  

Well I am thinking I should probably sign off for now as this is one very long and photo loaded post!  The process as you can see is very simple and can be very rewarding. A journal can be a very personal thing or simply something fun!  I find all my pages very rewarding - are they always my new favorite, heck no!  Some are real bombs but honestly that is all part of the creative process for me.  Each and every page is a learning experience for  me.  If they do nothing for you, that is okay - if they inspire you, that is great.  I know I am inspired by so many images and individuals on the internet on a regular basis.  Use what is available for you, create with it and learn from it - then move on.





 






That Other Neutral Triptych

  That Other Neutral Triptych wrapped canvases 10x10x1.5" (x3) professional grade artist materials I worked on this smaller series at ...