Gratitude

The new word prompt is nearly upon us, and I am just getting my page for the previous two weeks posted. Oh it has been a busy couple of weeks. I have been getting my girls ready for a 3 day pioneer reenactment trek, and with school ending they have had something going on every day it seems. I am hoping now when they get back from their pioneer trek that they will get summer jobs.
Anyway, back to my page. This last two weeks prompt was Gratitude, and the challenge was a pocket with insert on the page. I used the pocket/insert idea loosely, because I had this idea to use a hand to hold flowers with the things I am grateful for written on the back. I started out the page with some rose Wallies, and then added a few light layers of gesso.  Then I scrunched up a decorative napkin and applied it in the spots where there weren't flowers showing through from the Wallies. Then a light brushing of gesso over the top of that. My Quincy thinks I have a gesso addiction. She may be right, but I don't think that it hurts anything.
Next I attached my image of a hand leaving the fingers loose to allow for the insertion of the flower bunches.  Which I printed several of and cut out, then wrote things I am grateful for on the back of. I used a little brown watercolor crayon around my image to add some dimension and distress, and then added the lace border before inserting the flower bunches into the hand.  Here is how it turned out:

 

Sorrow

The word this week is Sorrow, and the challenge- a used envelope.  I have to admit the used envelope has kind of thrown me for a loop. First, I don't typically save envelopes, so it is not like I have a variety hanging around to choose from. I do have bubble envys, but that was WAY stretching it for me. I don't have a letter from someone who has passed, or from a sad event. So I was really stuck on what to use for an envelope, but then I remembered that I had received a RAAK in the mail a little while ago, and the envelope had been stamped on, so I saved it. Now how to incorporate it into my journal page. Ugh.
Well, I knew I wanted to use an image of a cemetery angel, but how to make it all work together? I decided that I needed to use my Walnut Ink spray to age things a bit, and that seemed to tie things together. I also used Distress Ink to age the paper doilies, and distress the edge of my page. I know it is rather simple of a page, but I didn't think I could bling it all up when the topic was Sorrow.
Here is how it all turned out.

Integrity

Wow, I am getting slower and slower to post. Actually, I had hoped to find some different foiling material, and change my layout, but in all my mess, I don't know where I put it. So alas, it will stay as it is for now.
The word this time is Integrity, and the challenge- foiling. Now there are many kinds of foiling and foiling techniques, but I only have a couple of different kinds in  my stash, so I was feeling a bit limited in my creative process. I was at first a little stifled as to how to attack this prompt, but then it came to me to use the verse from Job 27:5 which states: Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Also, I really liked the quote from the Strength of Youth booklet that states:
I will have the moral courage to make my actions consistent with my knowledge of right and wrong.
I think that this statement and scripture really sum up the meaning of the word integrity, and have such a powerful message to the world.
Here is my page. (sorry the photos are not really great, I had a terrible time not getting a glare and/or reflection off the transparency that the words are printed on.)
In the last photo you can see where I added different colors of foiling to the swirl stamp designs.

Another great giveaway!

I would love to win this book, how 'bout you?

Green Isles Crafts: Art Prompt Book Giveaway and Demo Video

www.greenislescrafts.com

Create a page today that combines several techniques.. They don’t have to match.. if fact, it’s better if they don’t – there’s no rhyme or reason to it.. just do it. Sooo make a page for No Reason today.

A new giveaway

Christina is having a Blog Celebration Giveaway! Don't miss it! Awesome stuff to win and great crafting ideas on her blog.
http://www.craftingwithcristina.com/p/blog-celebration-grand-prize.html

A Suzi Giveaway

Suzi Blu is having a giveaway, and I am really excited about it. I would love to win, so I am posting the link above.  Please click on the image above, and go to her blog, and read all about her Easter giveaway!

Wonder

This last weeks word is Wonder and the challenge is to use a natural element somewhere on the page.
I am a little slower than usual getting my page done this time for some reason unbeknownst to me. I guess I just didn't feel as inspired as I have on the other pages, but I knew right away what I wanted to do for my page.  When I think about the meaning of the word Wonder, I automatically think about Winnie the Pooh, and how curious of a bear he was. The stories I read as a child, and loved, come flooding back to me. So naturally I wanted to use Pooh in my layout. I remembered as I was finishing up my page that I had a tiny little Pooh bear that was just sitting in a bin of found objects, so I tied him to a leather cord and attached him to my page. I think he looks pretty cute hanging around. :)

Trust

This week's word is Trust, and the challenge- to alter a photograph. There are probably a ton of ways to alter a photograph, but I was looking to keep the image fairly intact, so I used a sanding block to wipe out the outside of the image, and to scratch the focal point of the picture. I tried doing some other things to the photograph, like spraying with walnut ink, which was pretty much a fail! I even tried just moistening the photo with water, looking to age it in a way, which was also a fail! So I stuck with my original idea of just the sanding. I am thinking it was the inkjet photo paper I was using, because the ink was not very set, but after the third time, I just wasn't willing to keep printing and throwing the images away. lol. I like the vintage, rustic look that they are, so I decided to just leave them as they were.

Compassion

The new word for this week is Compassion and the challenge is to use stitching in your art journal page somewhere.
I started by painting a rose with my Pan Pastels, then I stitched around my painting with some lovely soft blue fibers. Next I tore some handmade paper scraps and adhered them to my journal page in a random fashion, to make a background.
Then I glued my rose painting on three sides leaving the top open as a pocket, and decorated a tag with distress ink and gesso. I then journaled on the tag and tucked it in the pocket I made with my rose painting.
It was a fun page to put together, and I had fun getting out my Pan Pastels again. They are so soft and smooth, and great to work with.

 Close-up of the rose.

 Close-up of the tag/pocket.

I totally want to win!

Chrysti Hydeck is having some great give-aways on her site in honor of the new release of Pam Carriker's book Art at the Speed of Life.
Check out Chrysti's give-aways here:
http://chrysti.squarespace.com/always-chrysti/ 

Courage

This weeks word is Courage, and the challenge was to use an image transfer in your art somewhere. After many tries, I am thinking I should have gone with a smaller transfer, and not try to do my main image for the transfer.  As you can see there is some tears in my image, but it was the best I could do, and there are some things I have learned from my experience. One is to burnish, burnish, burnish, and also to make sure the gel medium is totally dry before you start to peel the image away, and lastly I will not work on watercolor paper, but a smoother paper that doesn't absorb as much moisture and tend to peel away as you rub.  I suppose it is all OK, since the page is just for me in my art journal. A great place for all these experiments. I guess I am being courageous by sharing my page. :)

Hope

Word and challenge number 2 has been posted, and the word is HOPE, the challenge is to use some kind of a stencil in your work.
I quite enjoyed getting out my stencils and making lovely flourishes with gesso and then again with spray inks. The gesso is a subtle textural element where the spray ink almost looks like a stamped image on top of the words.

 This image shows some of my journaling that wraps around my blue bird.

 

A close up of the bird and the magazine clippings I used as a banner.

 A close up of the word HOPE and the subtle gesso texture behind it.

Love

I am participating in the Paper Traders Art Journaling Challenge. I am working in a handmade art journal done using Teesha Moore's 16 page watercolor journal instructions. Basically we will be receiving a word prompt and a challenge to incorporate into an art journal page, every two weeks. I finished my page today.  It was a ton of fun putting it all together. I am finding it difficult to photograph these pages, so you will see a couple of close-ups of certain details.

 

This is my page with the flap closed.

  

This is a close-up of the flap with the flowered lace edging.

 

This is the page with the flap open.

 

Close-up of the key and key hole assemblage.

  

Close-up of my journaling. It is difficult to read because it is done in lavendar metallic gel pen.

AJJ Day 24

Round and Round was the prompt, so I made art with lots of circles.

AJJ Day 23

 Today we were to make paper poems, by cutting out words or phrases found in magazines or other published works. This is what I came up with. Kind of funny how it turned out.

AJJ Day 22

Today's prompt was 'A day in the life of me'. It was hard for me to decide what to do, as I don't have a very interesting life. Most days are spend doing menial household chores or running errands, not much to journal about anyway.  So I decided it was best to just journal the real stuff. Lately I have been just trying to get my energy back from having had walking pneumonia, so my recliner and blanket have been my best friend, along with my favorite drink, a Coke Icee.

AJJ Day 21

 

Today the prompt was Bluebells.  I do enjoy a pretty flower.  I sure am missing Spring with all the snow falling outside, but hopefully soon we will see a few blooms popping up here and there.

AJJ Day 20

Today we were to journal our Front Doors. My front door is not very exciting, but it leads into my warm and comfortable home, for that I am grateful. 

AJJ Day 19

   

 

Today the prompt was Toy Talisman. I struggled a bit with this one, as I don't have any special toys sitting around to look at, so I went from memory with a teddy bear.  It is made from torn suede paper.

AJJ Day 18

 

Today is Lettering journaling. We were to use journaling as a main element for our journal page. I didn't get really into it, but the message was good.

AJJ Day 17

 

Today was plump pears. I made my pear out of torn patterned paper and a gesso wash mixed with aquacolor crayons. It turned out pretty good I think.

AJJ Day 16

Today was fun play.  We were to journal using our favorite number.  That is always cool for me because I have an unusual favorite number- 13! I know most people shy away from the number 13, but I have always liked it, and better yet my birthday is the 13th of March, so occasionally my special day lands on a Friday, and it is even better! No when it comes to 13- I am not superstitious.

AJJ Day 15

I really enjoyed today's prompt- women stories.  It was a lot of fun to try to tell a story through my art.  I guess technically that is what I am always trying to do, but for some reason it really resonated with me today.  These women tell the story of their love of life.

AJJ Day 14

Today's prompt was mirror, mirror.  Though this is not a true reflection of myself, it is meant to reflect the emotion I have.

AJJ Day 13

Today we are taking lines for a walk.  Basically I put some watercolors down on my journal page, and then tried to see if I could find any kind of image in my painting.  Here is what I came up with.  I am calling it my Alice in Wonderland page, because it is so full of nonsense, that no one could be absolutely sure what it is, even me.

AJJ Day 12

Daily Debris- what a great concept. I simply used what was laying around on my work surface, and a little pencil sketch to show how I have been feeling- spacey and blah. lol