Artful Journeys Week 35 - Sweet Memories

It's funny.  When I first started planning this prompt, I was grousing and grumbling about how I was already over it and hadn't even started the damn thing yet, lol.  But once I got started painting it, I knew I had to finish it, because the memories it brought back were ones I had almost forgotten and now I never will.  Before my folks split up in 1976, we used to go to the lake all the time to fish and camp.  One of my most favorite things to do was to catch fireflies after dinner, and while my mother was freaking out about ticks and whatever else she could think of, my daddy was in the bushes with me, helping me catch fireflies.  I never kept them for long, certainly not more than an hour, but that hour was long enough, and the memories are so wonderful...sometimes the most irritating noise, or a seemingly aggravating prompt, can refresh our memories and bring a smile to our faces after all.  

So let me tell you what I did...

I actually painted over a background in my altered book because I didn't like the way it had turned out, so down went 4 shades of red, some orange and some purple...once all that was dry, I then went across the bottom of the page with black, making trees and bushes for my fireflies to play in.  I used a nail art tool and a toothpick to create my little fireflies, then added some acrylic inks to give the image of the setting sun reflecting off the clouds in the sky...I added a few stars as well, then my little quote.  I ended up having quite a bit of fun with this quote even though I was not even close to being jazzed about it when I started.  

The initial layer

After the "trees" were added.

Here it is after the acrylic "clouds" and fireflies were added.

And here with the "stars" and the quote.

Left page

Right page

close up of the quote.

That's usually how it goes for me, although occasionally I will find one that I still don't like even after I'm done with it.  But that's what art and this group is all about...pushing yourself to step outside of your comfort zone and try new things...even if they're only new to you.

So there you have it....my take on this week's prompt.  I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks so much for stopping by.

Later, y'all!!

Artful Journeys - Week 24 - Sail Away

It's hard to believe we're almost halfway thru the year already, and at Artful Journeys we're still have a great time working thru our prompts...well, most of the time.

This prompt...well, this prompt really had me stumped...I don't draw...at least not well, so drawing a boat for this prompt was out of the question unless I used a template...but as I was cruising around Pinterest for a free template of a sailboat, I found this super cute origami boat that I knew would work perfectly for the idea that had finally come to me late yesterday evening!  So I got busy...

First, I painted both pages of my spread with Delta's Ceramcoat in in Caribbean Blue...then I sprayed a couple of paper towels with every blue/teal/green/turquoise spray ink I could find in my box, and even spritzed a little purple down on it, too.  Once those were dry I tore them into wonky strips and glued them down at the bottom of the spread to be the "waves" of my water.  Not bad, but I felt like it lacked depth and dimension, so I grabbed this amazing textured scrapbook paper I found at Michael's, and cut out some more waves, and glued those down between my strips of inky paper towels.  Next, I grabbed a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper (nothing too thick here, or the folds won't work out right), and cut it into four (4) 6x6 pieces to make my boats...then glued those down in the "water".  I have to say, I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.  Here are some pics for you, including a few close-ups.

Here's the spread...you'll notice, I did the right side first, not thinking about creating some texture and dimension with the paper towels as I went.  Oh well!

A shot of the left page

I am also including a few of the index cards I completed for the 2015 ICAD Challenge.  I really had a lot of fun making these, and even though I'm behind, I am NOT giving up or quitting.  

Nothing too fancy or detailed here...a painted circle from a book page, a paper doily, a paper circle with some stacked writing, some washi and a stamped quote from a dear friend.

I can honestly say I spent more time painting the wood die cut than on the card itself, lol.  If those were real glasses, I would totally wear them!

Acrylic paints, masking tape, bubble wrap and some India ink

I think this is my favorite from this week.  I wasn't too keen on the original background, so I decided to add more by pressing it down onto my damp inky paper towels, to give it some additional color and depth...one more layer never killed anybody - I'm just sayin'.  I then cut some partial circles and glued them down, added some washi and hand drawn marks, along with the word, "Love".  I used my TH tiny attacher to staple the card to the tag, then glued it down on to the index card using ZipDry.  

This week has been a busy week for me.  The hubby and the kids went up to OK to see his mom, and I stayed behind with the dogs to get some much needed and WAY over-due cleaning/purging done.  My closet and bedroom and the youngest daughter's room were at the top of the list.  When I was done, 13 bags went to charity, and 11 bags of trash went to the curb...it was fucking awesome!  I have one more bedroom and 2 more closets to do, not to mention my "studio" (please read this as the dining room - as that's where all my arting gets done), but instead of trying to do it all in 3 days, I can space it out over the next couple of weeks.  I'll be sure to share pictures of it all when I'm thru.

That's all I have to share with you this week, but I hope you'll take the bull by the horns and work to create a daily habit of creating something new everyday.

Later, y'all!

Artful Journeys - Week #22 - Resists!!!!!

Hey, y'all!  Well, I'm back again, and this week over at Artful Journeys we did resists.  Now I am no perfectionist by any stretch of the imagination, but even this one originally pissed me off...lol.   

I started by trying a crayon/watercolor resist....can you say, "EPIC FAILURE"?  Here, let me show you!

The bottom one was AFTER I tried scraping some of the paint off the crayon, but I am going to say that my crayon was just defective...yeah, that's it. HA!!!

But!  I didn't let it get to me (that's not true - I cussed.  A lot.  Enough that it got the attention of my sailor husband, lol)  but I kept going.

So, just for shits and giggles, I tried it again, this time in my large Dylusions journal.  Um, no, this was even worse than the damn index cards, look

Here's the entire spread...what do you see?  You can SORT OF see ONE damn flower in the middle of the left page.

Oh, look, a swirly, that you can see if you get about 3 inches from the damn page

Here's part of a flower

And I believe this is the flower you can see in the pic of the whole spread.  Gah

So clearly the defective crayon went to a place we shall call "File X".  So, I walked away for the night, disgusted and discouraged and not entirely sure how this whole thing was gonna work out.  How can I blog about a resist if I can't get any resistance?

So, the next morning, after the hubby went to bed for the day, I pulled out some gesso and some Dylusions spray inks.  I KNEW this one would work, because I'd done it before after seeing it on Pinterest!  Grabbing a couple of index card dividers, I tarted them up with my gesso.

Nothing too fancy, just a paintbrush, and a credit card...it was fun!  Then of course, I had to wait for it to dry...luckily I had to go get the kids from school (or unfortunately depending on how ya look at it), so there was an hour of built in drying time...woohoo!!!!!!!!

Next came the inks!  Lemon Zest and Vibrant Turquoise on one, and Ripe Tangerine and Funky Fuchsia on the other!

How damn cool is that!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!

Encouraged by success, I moved it over into my journal on a larger scale, and came up with THIS awesomeness!!!  

Here's the full spread...sweet baby Pete how I love the way this came out!

The left page

The right page

Another shot after I added a couple of elements...I know it's not finished...DEFINITELY needs more, but for now, I'm good.

A stamp from a set called All About Me by Kaiser Craft that I was led to by the amazingly talented Tracy Scott.

It's funny how sometimes, when you're dismantling a dictionary, you come across a few definitions that seem to be talking to you, or about you.

Further encouraged, I took the advice of my dear friend, Betty, and grabbed a white wax pastel, and tried THAT with some watercolor, and got this surprising (to me) result that I also love.

I did this on a big chunk of watercolor paper.  Looking at the picture I realize it's kinda hard to see the white in the yellow, but I assure you it's there!  

That's not all I've created over the last couple of weeks, either!  Check these out!

This is what happens when you art just to art, lol.  I decided to screw around with a different color combination (definitely one I do NOT normally play with) and really shocked the hell out of myself with this spread.  I absolutely LOVE it!!!

This page actually started with that little piece from a journaling card and some leftover pink paint smeared all over the pages.

This one came from me forcing myself to create something when my muse was busy ignoring me.  I figured out later that she didn't care for the way I had rearranged the dining room table (my studio).  Once I put my stuff back where it belonged, I could immediately feel the difference.

So, that's what I have to share with you this week...although, before I go, let me just show you what crazy rainfall will do!

See those black poles, just past the yellow caution tape?  That is where the edge of this parking lot actually is...Those trees are way underwater.

See the fence?  That fence is running down the 3d base side of a softball field...that is completely under water.  Crazy, right?

And as I type this post, it's raining...again.  So, I'm gonna go grab my rain boots and dance in a couple of puddles, y'all go create something beautiful!  Thanks for stopping by, and please, leave some blog love!

Pre-Launch #3

Wow...I'm looking at the calendar as I type this and realize there's only a week and a half until Christmas. Are YOU ready???  We've gotten all but ONE of the big gifts bought...the rest can be picked up in bits and pieces as they're found...

But!  That's not why I'm here today...no, I'm here to share with you my take on the Pre-Launch #3 prompt, Winter Wonderland.

the full view of my 2 page spread...

A close up of one side...

And a close up of the other side...

Keep in mind, please....you do NOT have to create a 2 page spread every time you do a prompt, or any kind of work in your journal...it's a personal preference thing...there are no rules other than being true to yourself.

Supplies used:

Acrylic paints

Stickles

Liquid pearls

Cardstock

Inka Gold

Scissors 

UHU glue stick

450 glue

Stabillo Marks all pencil 

White uniball Signo pen

The order in which I did this stuff may not be true to how I actually did it, and I forgot...again...to take pictures as I went...I'm sorry.I'm still trying to get used to blogging with an instructional mindset...

I painted the background first, then cut and laid down the white cardstock to make my snow drifts.

The trees are plain white cardstock, painted with 2 shades of green using a makeup sponge, then folded and fussy cut on an angle to create a tree once it was unfolded...super simple, really.

Once I got the trees into place, and glued down using my 450, I went to work on decorating them...Stickles and Liquid Pearls were my weapons of choice here, and like everything else down here in Texas, there's no such thing as too much...I loaded those trees up!  I believe the best looking trees are the ones that look like they could collapse under the weight of their ornaments.

Once the Stickles and Liquid Pearls were dry, I went around the trees and snow drifts with my marks all pencil, then used a waterbrush on the marks...a little depth, tho if I'm honest, I suck at that part...lol.

Next came, for me anyways, the MOST fun part...MAKING SNOWFLAKES!!!!!  Yes, I do have a thing for snowflakes, just in case you didn't "snow" that by looking at the background.  Using my white, Uniball Signo broad tip pen, I made snowflakes all over the blue sky, as if it were still snowing there.

Then, feeling as tho my trees were still lacking somewhat, I made little white dots all over them around and between the ornaments...call it snow, call them lights...whatever...it worked.

I also used the crystal Stickles on the snow drifts...all along the edge to give it a little "shimmer".  Once I was sure everything was good and dry, I took some Inka Gold in Silver, and using my finger tip, lightly swiped some across the page, to resemble blowing snow.  At least, that was the idea behind it when I did it...lol

And there you have it...Winter Wonderland for Artful Journeys!  Hope you enjoyed reading about my process!