no rest for the weary - art journal page

One of the first tips I learned from Paula Phillips on your UStreams is to take any of your extra paint, spray from using templates/stencils, inkings from stamps, etc and put them on a blank page in your art journal.  This is great in so many ways!  First of all, it puts some color on that white paper.  Sometimes that's all I need to get an idea....seeing some color.  It's also wonderful because you don't waste a thing!  That extra paint you scraped off, or left on your palette gets used and not left there to dry.  And, those sprays!  When you use a color spray, Glimmer Mist, etc on a stencil, your stencil gets covered.  And those sprays aren't cheap!  Well, or I'm just a cheapskate, because I hated thinking about wiping them off and wasting that.  But, slip that template in your journal somewhere and all of that color goodness soaks into the paper and you hardly waste a drop.

So, the pages that you see below are some of the first pages that I started doing this in.  Any time I used anything green or blue, I put the extra on those two pages.  There are also some stamped images from leftover ink on a stamp and even some molding paste scraped on there.  Just a hot mess of color and products really! lol

I pulled out some green and purple acrylic paints and started trying to blend the two pages together so that they would work as a two page spread.  While I was painting, my little one was beside me and she painted some green and purple on a strip of paper and gave it to me as a special gift. ;-)  It matched my page so well and I asked her if I could put it in my journal.  She was thrilled!  Then, I found an ATC that my friend Jamie made (she sent it along with her beautiful background papers that I received-I share the papers I made here).  It was sitting on my counter, because I had shown it off the other day.  It matched perfectly, too, so I added it in the top, left corner of my page along with the strip of painted paper by my little one.

So, here is a perfect example of how doing this can really jumpstart a journal page:

the before....

and the after.....

 Jamie's amazing ATC and GG's painted strip of paper

 talk about layers!

more of GG's painted strip of paper...

So just for fun....here's a before and after side-by-side:

Thanks for stopping by and happy arting!
God Bless!
di

music=life - art journal page

One time while shopping at Hot Topic, I picked up a little button that said, "music=life".  I totally agree.  For me, music has always been extremely important and a constant background to everything that's I can ever remember.  I think that I can probably remember almost every song that was playing during any experience that I happen to remember.  Or, hearing a song can bring back memories from long, long ago.  So, when I saw my little button the other day, I knew that I had to do a journal page about it!

I have to tell you that this was one of those times when I didn't know if I was ever going to like the end result.  I hadn't working in my journal for a few days and I was starting to feel anxious and needing to do something creative fast.  I tried a new technique from a book that I recently bought and it flopped on me.  Add in an over-talkative and bored 3 year-old and a tired 5 month-old (who couldn't sleep because the 3 year-old was talking so much!) and I probably don't have to tell you how stressed out I was while trying to work on this! But, I persisted, my little one finally had a good nap, my noisy one finally quieted up a bit and my brain started to clear so that I could finally listen to my Muse.  More and more I am learning to listen to her and I'm always so happy when she finally perks up her head and tells me what to do.....so, thank you to my dear Muse, you saved my journal page for sure....

Oh how I wish I had taken photos as this progressed.....it went through a lot to get to this finished page!

Take care my friends and God Bless!
di

Spread your Wings - art journal page

I had to do some seriously late night (or should I say early morning lol) art journaling last night to work off some stress and satisfy my neglected muse..........

Here's what I created...

I played with my VersaMark ink pad and some Pearl Ex on this one so there are shimmery butterflies all over this that you can only see at the right angle.... :-)

I sure hope to do some more creating this weekend!!!  We've been so, so busy with my mom here and I'm worn out!

God Bless and I hope you are able to do something creative this weekend too!
di

Be You - art journal page

I haven't hard hardly any time to do much of anything for the past two weeks, because my mother has been staying with us.  But, I started working on this one day and kept working on it here and there over a couple of days until I finished it.  I can't tell you how desperate I am for some quality art time! :-(

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do and stumbled upon these sticker tags and then this little drawing that my daughter made.  I decided to use those are my inspiration and went from there.  My daughter used to draw the cutest little stick people and I have a few of them saved.  I just love them and they always make me smile.  I do have to tell you that I actually went back and forth trying to decide if I should put this in my journal.  But, I ended up telling myself that this little drawing was very special to me and it deserved much better treatment than just being stuck up on the inside of my cabinet door in my studio.  I want to treasure it and what better way than giving it it's own journal page?  ;-)  It's much better than getting lost in the shuffle of papers and never being seen again....that's for sure!

God Bless!
di

Harry Potter postcard....

When me and my dear friend, Fran, decided to do a swap I knew just what to make for her.....a Harry Potter postcard!  She loves HP, just as much as I do, so needless to say, we were instant friends! ;-)  It took way too long for her to get my postcard and I told her today (after she finally received it in the mail) that I was getting ready to send the owls out to rescue it.  I was so worried that it had been lost!

But, now that she's received it, I can share it with you all.....I'd been waiting until she got it first. ;-)

I'm so glad that you liked it, Fran!!! :-)

Happy crafting friends!
di

friendship is the sweetest flower - art journal page

My mom has been visiting for over a week now and it's been really hard for me to find some time to work in my art journal.  But, luckily I was able to sneak in some journal time late one night this past weekend.  I had no plan whatsoever on what to do, I just knew that I HAD to create something or I was going to start going a little bonkers.  Art journaling is like therapy to me and when I go for days without creating anything, I can really start feeling the stress build up in me.

I had recently gotten some happy mail from Unity Stamp Company with the Suzi Blu stamps that I had ordered.  I have been wanting some of her stamps for awhile and I was so excited to finally get them.  So, I picked out on of her stamps and kept in mind that Paula (a.k.a. Journal Artista) has a stencil challenge going on at her blog right now.  I have to tell you that I really struggled with this one for quite a while.  It just wasn't going how I wanted it to, I was so tired but so desperately wanted and needed to work in my journal.  But, a new day and some much needed sunshine (my mudroom is really dark at night when I work in there!) and I was able to finish this page up and I am really pleased with how it turned out.  This is another fine example of how you just have to "work through the uglies" as Paula likes to say.  It is so true!  You just have to keep plugging away and most important for me, listen to your muse and don't second guess it!

Suzi Blu stamp - Spring Flower Chic colored in w/ chalk pastels and a colorless blender pen

I used two different stencils on this page.  A flower one from Prima and "Harlequin" from Crafter's Workshop with some of my Ranger Color Washes. ;-)

I hope you all have a wonderful day!
God Bless!
di

background paper swap....

I finally finished some background papers for a swap that I'm in.....they were all created on plain, white computer paper that I gessoed first.  This was really challenging for me, because I'm used to working with thick paper in my mixed media journal.  Here is what I came up with!  I can't wait to find out what I get in return! :-)

God Bless!
di