It's a Lovely Day for Make-Believe

The Documented Life Project May Theme is: Touchy Feely (Texture), and the May 30 Art Challenge is: Textured Paper. The Journal Prompt is:  I'm So Not Feeling It! 

I had so much fun doing this piece. I started with some Distress Paints blended with a baby wipe for the base. I die cut corrugated cardboard for the butterflies and then I used my embossing folders to get texture on cardstock for the die cut flowers. I made the texture "pop" by adding some Distress Inks over top. The white is texture paste through a stencil. I added Gold Pearl Pen dots to the center of the flowers and then used it to define the butterfly bodies. All pieces were outlined with Distress Markers. I just wish you could touch it!

Dealing with Criticism

Tam, Willowing.org, had a free lesson called "Feeling Feelings Through Creativity!" Of course, I went my own way, but I was really happy with this until my hubby came into my studio and asked why I was painting an Indian. Then he asked if I knew how to divide the face up so that my eyes wouldn't be crooked! Talk about bursting one's bubble. I was so happy, and now I am vaguely sad.

I used acrylics, Neocolor 2 crayons, Posca white marker, Pitt pens, white gel pen, graphite crayon, Dystress and Tombow markers. I added some bits of a pretty napkin for the designs.

So, how do you handle criticism? I, of course, laughed it off seeing as he doesn't really understand what art journaling is all about. But, it did hurt for a bit.

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Paint Party Friday

Never Look Back

The prompt for The Documented Life this week is "say cheese"! We were to use cheesecloth in our journal page and I think, perhaps, I went just a tad overboard. I don't know how I will close the book when we reach a year's worth of projects. Suggestions?

I sprayed the cheesecloth with different colors of Dylusion sprays, covered my page with gel medium and put every bit of it down on the paper. I added some white gesso through some stencils, and paper letters that were stamped and colored.

Opposites Attract - Playing with Spectrum Noir Aqua Markers

Life Book, Week 21. Bonus: Black & White Cookie with Lynn Whipple. Great lesson in comparisons. All about the lights vs. darks, the good and the bad, the shadow side of things. It made me think of "opposites attract" and so I went for the storm, the flowers and the rainbow that bridges the two. 

I got my new set of Spectrum Noir watercolor markers yesterday and was just itching to play. I did the technique where you color on your stamps and spritz with water before stamping. That was a lot of fun. These flower stamps, from Totally Tracy, gave me the space to do some tangling as well. I did add a white paint pen, but everything else is my new markers.

Puttin' on Those Big Girl Panties

The Documented Life Project, May Theme = Touchy Feely (Texture) - May 16 Art Challenge:  Modeling Paste - Journal Prompt:  Rising to the Occasion

 Gesso, paper scraps added with gel, Poster paints, black Gesso with Molding paste through letters, old book with discard paints to cut out panties, lace, elastic, Pitt pens, stamps

Always Look Twice

Week 20, Unravelling through Mark Making with Jenny Doh, really had me excited to just let the lines flow. The base went down perfectly. I wanted to do a face with a pallet knife, like Jenny did. Oh, what a disaster. I looked in horror at the black mess on my paper. Not going to let it beat me! Nothing is is stone! This is fun. Smeared some white acrylic (with my pallet knife) and filled a fine tipped bottle with black acrylic and let the face come out as it pleased. I am loving this!

Laugh the Pain Away

The Documented Life Project: May Theme = Touchy Feely (Texture) May 9 Art Challenge:  Stitching
Journal Prompt:  "All that I'm after is life full of laughter."

Great lessons. Lots of ideas! It made me think of a photo that was taken by a friend. (A bit fuzzy, but just look at that joy!) We both realized, at the same time, that we were taking pictures of each other with our iPads. We got to laughing so hard. It was a special moment. I truly believe that laughter IS the best medicine!

 Sewed the two added pieces randomly around the edges in black. Added stamping in black and white with a bit of scrawled journaling and some faux stitching.

Photo for Page

Gelli Printed Background

The Choices We Make

 Life Book, Week 19, Stamping Shadow and Light with Jessica Swift.

I love handmade stamps and have a bit of a collection, so this was fun to do. I wanted to just one page and have the transition from dark to light, as life usually happens. I wanted the dark to represent what we are not in control of, the swirls represent how life can toss us about, and the light represents how we deal with those things.

The two stamps on the top, I did today. The ones on the bottom are older ones. I had intended to use these but wound up not using the bottom star and adding a curved piece that I carved but had not photographed.

Here's Looking at You

Life Book, Week 18, Here's Looking at You!, with Kristin Van Valkenburgh. We had our childhood self write a letter to our current self. My childhood names are on the paper doll dress as well. I kind of went my own way with this one. But, don't we all? That's the fun of art journaling, no rules! 

I used acrylic for the background, added my own washi style tape, Peacock feather and clock stamps, dress stamp by Dyan Reaveley colored with Spectrum Noirs and Neocolor ll crayons. My childhood names were added in black. She was fussycut and outlined with a china marker and then a gray Neocolor ll. White for writing and accents.

A Rip in the Fabric of Your Life

The Documented Life Project had a prompt of "The Fabric of you Life." Well, I know my fabric has been torn apart many times over. I think, instead of try to fix rips, you should just get up and get some new fabric. It's worked for me.

I used Dylusion Sprays, dimensional paste in white and gold, gold pearls, actual torn fabric that I attached with gel medium, stamping in colors using a peacock feather stamp, black stamped letters, pen written journaling, and white drizzle paint.