Thursday, October 30, 2014

48 weeks: week 28

This is another abstract page in my 48 weeks journal.  It was an experiment creating layers of the same colors.  I tried to link my circles using lines and then painted a solid layer of color around them.  You can see the under layers in the small gap between the lines.




Wednesday, October 29, 2014

48 weeks: week 27

This cool textured page in my 48 weeks journal was made by embedding fabric, lace, yarn, German scrap, metal bits and paper flowers into joint compound.  I also love how my background orange bits come through my blue and teal color like a copper patina.

Close-ups:


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Documented Life Project week 29

This is my planner page for the Documented Life Project this week where the theme is to make a wish list. Always on the top of my list is to visit Prince Edward Island again. I was 19 when I first visited with my family and we were all inspired by the televised "Anne of Green Gables" on PBS with Meagan Follows and had to see Anne's island. I have my passport and could be ready to go at any time, there's just that problem with taking time off.........ahhh someday.......I'll continue to dream.




Monday, October 27, 2014

LifeBook 2014 week 30


This page is from Carissa Paige's lesson at LifeBook 2014 and uses a transfer technique I'd never tried. Her lesson taught about contact paper transfers using laser printed images.  I liked the way all my images combined together and how all the darks and blacks gave a cool place for writing with a white gel pen (which worked beautifully on the contact paper surface!)

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Class with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

A couple of weekends ago I was able to take classes with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer at eclectic Paperie in Exeter, NH.  She brought her mom along to keep us all in line!  I first met Julie 2 yrs ago in a couple of live classes, so I knew what to expect, and was not disappointed with all I learned.  The first class was about elements and principles of design to improve your ability to see the components of a good design and also to understand why it works.  I love having that understanding and then to look at my work critically and see what I can do to make it better and more complete.

These are my collages from that day:





The second class the next day was a fun folded book structure that we made after spending the day creating layered background pages and custom tape  with spray ink and paint, stencils, stamps and any other mark making tools you could dip into paint.

This is the front cover:
...and inside pages from one side:




...and the opposite side has a bottom fold that creates pockets:


I also took a project with me that is the end product of Julie's current online class making her Junque Journal.  This is the cover:

...and here are a couple pictures of the inside pages.  This book is perfect for an art journal that already has color in it so you don't have to deal with the fear of a blank white page.



I'm already having fun working in the journal :-)

Friday, October 24, 2014

48 weeks: week 26

This 48 weeks page uses oil pastels over a textured background.  I've only played with oil pastels a bit and am still learning how to blend them, but they do layer beautifully.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

The Documented Life Project week 28

This is the front and back of my Documented Life Project planner page where this week the challenge was to use a tiny photo.  I used 5 to show off my furry family.  As you can tell, they all were wondering why I was chasing them around taking pictures except for Metzger who rolled over and just looked cute like always.




Monday, October 20, 2014

Compendium of Curosities Vol. 3 Challenge Week No. 13


This is my project for week 13 of the CC3 Challenge sponsored by Inspiration Emporium that follows page 35 from Tim's book - altering a worn cover.  My project is done in a vintage gluebook style using random scraps of paper, photos and repurposed book text phrases from my stash.  The challenge was to alter the cover, but I was having so much fun creating little collages that I made inside pages too. I find the process of creating little vignette collages really fun and relaxing, and I just can't stop because I find little scraps that I want to use up.  All the inner pages are done using a piece of chipboard that I covered with vintage ledger paper to use as the base. 

Here are pictures of the pages so you can experience flipping through the book : - ) Hope you enjoy them!














LifeBook 2014 week 29

This week's LifeBook 2014 page is based on the fun, whimsical style of Marieke Blokland.  I used a picture of me when I was about 4 or 5 as a reminder to myself to find that child with a playful attitude when the stresses of my adult life become overwhelming

Friday, October 17, 2014

48 weeks: week 25


I LOVE this page in my 48 weeks big journal!!  Donna's inspiration with the dress was too cool - it's joint compound on fabric to hold the folds - such a fun effect!

Here's a close-up of the other texture on the page:
Did I mention that I LOVE this page? ;-)

Thursday, October 16, 2014

LifeBook 2014 week 28

This week's LifeBook 2014 lesson was by Tam Laporte; something about the way I drew my eye isn't quite right..... is it the eyelashes? ......is it the lack of an eyebrow?  Not sure.... BUT, I do think the iris is cool! I used a combination of Neocolor II watercolor crayons and watercolor pencils.  It's amazing how detailed and colorful irises really are when you study them.


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

48 weeks: week 24


Here's my 24th 48 weeks spread that has under-layers of inky, painty newsprint created by using that as an underpaper while creating all sorts of projects, and stream of consciousness writing. The quote I typed out on a vintage typewriter, then cut it apart attaching each word separately.  It reads "I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question."  It was fun to ponder on that quote while creating the page.


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

The Documented Life Project week 27


This week's challenge for the Documented Life Project was to use a crossword puzzle for inspiration. I enjoy doing them and try to see how fast I can complete them...or nearly complete them if they include Hebrew months or Greek letters which I never know.  And yes, I ALWAYS do them in pen :-)




Monday, October 13, 2014

LifeBook 2014 week 26

I have really started to enjoy drawing faces since I first was taught by Dina Wakley a couple years ago and then refined the process further in classes from Pam Carriker last year.  Recently I started really enjoying the portraits of Kate Thompson and the depth she achieves. I think I'm still at a stage where I'm drawing more of a cartoonish flat face, but really want to develop to draw artistic faces.  I was thrilled that Kate was teaching at LifeBook 2014 and this is my take on her lesson of drawing with charcoal. I couldn't draw just one face...I wanted to see what would happen if I made the nose longer or the face narrower, etc etc. I like the one in the center best.  Just for comparison, I did a set of faces using graphite where I feel more comfortable - well, just more practiced.  Charcoal certainly handles differently.



Friday, October 10, 2014

48 weeks: week 23


This is another 48 weeks spread with an abstract quality where my line is quite crooked - ha! I like the messy scribble that is reminiscent of handwriting, but doesn't actually say anything.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

The Documented Life Project week 26

This week's challenge for the Documented Life Project was to add a bible verse that inspires you. I lettered this one over a Stencil Girl stencil of Queen Anne's Lace that I momoprinted with Distress Ink.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

LifeBook 2014 week 25

This week's LifeBook 2014 page with Effy Wild was so much fun as it was done step by step over a week. It was nice to leave a bit of time each day to add to the page and just watch the whole process develop - definitely a fun way to be creative every day! So you can see the finished page....

...and it started out like this:

Here are the rest of the in-between steps:





Isn't it cool how you get to the end, and can barely see what came before?  I love how much depth you get in the finished piece because of all those layers and how you can take the time to just enjoy the process involved in making each one. It can really be amazing to see what develops when you give things enough time and not rush.