Journal 52, Week 9 - Hate

Journal 52, week 9, prompt "Hate". Hate is a word that I try to avoid using in all seriousness. I will use it for silly things, like "I hate cold days", or "I hate chocolate" (WHat???? No, I don't hate chocolate LOL!). But, I won't use it to hate as in a person. Anyway, I had a pile of stuff, don't you love stuff?, all over my desk and thought, well, use it.
I had a background pre-painted in blues and greens. I added some spackle  that I mixed alcohol ink into for color through some punchinella. A dotted stamp, ephemera, dimensional paint, Dylusions Inks, a slop of white paint and some journaling filled the page.

Thanks for taking the time to visit. I love reading comments!

Journal 52 - Week 8 - Skulls

Week 8, Journal 52. Prompt "Skull". Don't you just love her little bow? I told the hubby that when I go I want to be buried with a bow in my hair! Black journaling done with paint in fine tipped bottle and white is an acrylic paint pen. Background crafting paints are from Target. They are clearing them out so I purchased a few and I love them. So shimmery!

Thank you for looking!

Beneath My Feet for Journal 52 - Week 6

Journal 52, Week 6, has the prompt of "Beneath Your Feet" or an alternate of "Above Your Head".  Well, a lot of things go over my head these days, so I chose beneath my feet.

The background, covered recipe book pages with gesso, was colored with Pan Pastels. The shells were printed from Morgue files which are free images. I had these feet as a stencil, can you believe, and used acrylic paint pounced with a sea sponge (appropriate, don' you think?). I added some stamping with the tiny dots, shadows with a Pitt pen, white acrylic pen for the waves, and printed out my thoughts about beneath my feet.

Thank you for stopping by. I enjoy reading your comments!

Journal 52, Week 5, Monochromatic

Journal 52, Week 5, prompt is Monochromatic or Psychedelic. I was in a monochromatic mood and was thinking of coffee. So, browns it was. I also was thinking that I have so many die cuts and stamps that I should try to incorporate them into my journal page.

I used a light brown acrylic and added molding paste with a darker brown through a Dylusions stencil. The cups are Tim Holtz and I used brown cardstock and corrugated paper. I added the beans and sentiment from a Fiscars set. I had to go over the sentiment since I used a Signo pen and it smeared :(   Pitt pens were used for the edges and shading.

Thank you for stopping by. I love reading your comments!

Journal 52 Week 4 - A Full Moon over a Moon Garden

The prompt this week for Journal 52 is Full Moon, or Lunacy. I like the darkness of an Edgar Allen Poe poem combined with the beauty of a moon garden (flowers that bloom in the night).

Acrylic ink base, texture paste with white gesso over, white pencil, pastels, and white ink pens. Blending done with a baby wipe.

Thank you for stopping by. I love reading your comments!

Journal 52 Week 3 David Bowie's Major Tom

Week three for Journal 52 was: “Favorite David Bowie song/lyric.” The only song that really spoke to me by David was Major Tom. It certainly does take a lot of courage to go through the door when you do not know what is waiting for you on the other side. I'm glad that I have opened many doors in my life. No regrets that way.

Gesso over recipe pages, Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers and Broken China. Door from Morguefile and colored with Copics. Stamps in black ink, sentiment printed and edged with Vintage Photo Distress Inks. Molding paste through stencil, star stamp embossed with white.

I purchased an old recipe cookbook awhile back intending to make a journal out of it. I thought it would be good for my Journal 52. I still need to finish the inner cover.

Cover

I like that I can take the pages out to work on them, and I like the smaller size pages (5 1/2 X 9"). I also like that I can write the important information on the back of each page. 

Open

Inside

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Journal 52 Say YES or NO

Journal 52, week 2, prompt: What are you saying YES to in 2016, or NO.
I am saying yes to saying no. Humm, let's explain. I have always felt it necessary to say yes to anything that was asked of me. After all, I was a wife, mom, friend, employee. Everyone expected me to say yes. Now, I am finally old enough to know that it is okay to say NO. If I don't wanna do it, I don't have to! Period!! What a relief it is. If my doctor says, "Will you stop drinking coffee?" I can say NO, instead of saying yes and then feeling like an awful person if I had a sip of coffee. (Just an example: I can have all the coffee I want.) When my hubby asks if I would like chili for dinner, I can say NO. If I sign up for an online commitment of some kind, if asked, by myself, are you enjoying yourself?, do you want to keep doing this?, I can say NO!, and not feel guilty. That's the problem with yes. Often you just can't do everything for everyone. Just say NO!

The background is Gelatos. I added some joint compound that I pressed some stamps into and sprayed with Dylusion Inks. The letters are die cut and sprayed with Dylusion Inks. The woman is from Ghoulish Girls Paper Doll set from Dover that was colored with Polychromos colored pencils. A honeycomb stamp in white, a white paint pen, Stabillo pencil and a bit of Washi Tape and that's it. Should I add more? Yes. Will I? NO!!!

Thank you for visiting. Your comments are most appreciated!

Use What You Have

This is the first week of Journal 52.  The first prompt is for the "word of the year". I really had to think about this one. I'm not one for resolutions, I'm not unhappy, I don't think I need to change anything about myself or my relations. Suddenly though I had this thought. Maybe it's time to USE the things that I have instead of acquiring more and more. The point hit home when I got a surprise package from my niece. She sent me a small box with some wooden stamps and punches that she no longer uses. I was thrilled until I tried to squeeze them into my craft room. That's when I realized that "I have a problem."

I'm sure many of you gave all you had to your family. You worked hard to make sure they had everything that they needed and much that they didn't need. You sacrificed, no, it wasn't a sacrifice because it was of love and you never felt anything by the joy at seeing them happy. But, now, suddenly, some of us are finding ourselves in a position where it is our turn. Now, we can think of our own needs and wishes. I have become the kid in the candy store. I mean, really, how many different types of glue does one really need? Each book I read, each video I watched, made me feel that if I had this paper or that tool, I certainly would be able to do the quality of work I was watching or reading about. Now, many different glues, colored pencil types, stamps, paints, brushes, dies, cutting machines, papers, etc., etc., etc., cram every nook and table top in the room. I can barely breathe! So, now is the time to USE. Use the things I have and stop buying more and more stuff. Anybody with me?

I used some of the new stamps I got from my niece on top of  gesso and acrylic paint covered recipe book pages. I added some masking tape and used the punched our stencil letters that have been sitting in my stash for years. I played with different kinds of pens in the hearts and used leftover gears that had been sitting on my desk for weeks. A little dribbled black paint and white embellishments remind me to USE the things I have.

I love reading comments, so if you have a lot of things you should start to use, let me know. I'm interested to hear your stories!

I Am a Round Thinker - Journal 52

I am a round thinker who sometimes rolls off the table.

This is the last week of Journal 52 and the prompt is "Circles". I so enjoyed doing all the challenges this year; however, I won't be doing it next year. My goal is to always grow and learn, so you will find me following and participating in different groups next year. So, next week, be prepared to be surprised!

I started with an acrylic pink background, added gesso then different color Gelatos. Placed all of my round stencils over and "erased" the Gelatos with a baby wipe leaving behind all those yummy circles. Added some black acrylic circles and collaged with some cut outs of my Zendallas that I had shrunk, recolored, printed and cut out. Glued and sealed with matte gel medium.

Happy New Year to you all, and keep leaving those comments as they do motivate me more than you'll know!

Entered:
Art Journal Journey

The Simple Song Chased My Blues Away

Journal 52, week 51 had a prompt "Sing a Song". I coverd white cardstock with a sheet of music, sprayed Dylusions in lots of colors. Added some gesso here and there, and added stamps of a keyboard, sheet music, and notes. Then I added the white bird with Hero Arts white ink, some white dots with a stencil and white acrylic paint, the black bird with black acrylic, words and white gel pen highlights.

Sparkle and Shine Even When the Lights Go Down

This week's prompt at Journal 52 for week 50 is "Sparkle and Shine." I don't know about you, but I find trying to catch sparkle with a camera or scanner almost next to impossible. Is there a trick someone could share? Anyway, the background is a Balzer Design stencil called Mini Aboriginal that I just love. I put it over black cardstock and sprayed with Dylusions. Then I added some shiny gold flower cut-outs, and went to town with shiny gel pens and glitter glue. I really wish you could read, written in sparkly gold, "Sparkle and Shine Even When the Lights Go Down." Yes, we must all remember that we should sparkle for ourselves too :)

Keep warm, Ms Snowman!

Keep warm! That's what people used to say when I lived in the land of snow. Thankfully, I live in sunny Arizona now so I need not worry about snow. Although, if I want to play in it, it's only a couple of house to get right to it!
Build a Snowman, Journal 52, week 48: I started with a blue and white acrylic background on tagboard. Heavy bodied white acrylic was added through a star stencil and Hero Arts white ink was tapped on with a snow stamp. The snowman was made with circles that I cut with a die cut and then run through an embossing folder. I added Stickles for the eyes, nose and mouth. The arms are toothpicks and the hat was cut from a magazine. I crochet her a scarf to keep her extra warm :) The head is raised with a foam circle. The sentiment is stick on letters in white, and the snow is shredded cotton balls.

Entered:
Altered Eclectics
Artistic Inspirations

Alice in Wonderland Wisdom

Wise words. That's this week's prompt for Journal 52, week 47. Alice in Wonderland has always been a favorite of mine and there is a lot of wisdom to be found. I know that life has a way of knocking us down and the people that win are those who keep moving forward.

I did a background of gesso and inks before changing over to collage. Alice is colored in Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I got a free download today from Altered Upcycling with tons of great Alice pictures to color or cut; perfect timing! I added some Aquarellable Stabilo pencil, white Signo gel pen, and Pitt pens for highlights and shadows.

Journal 52, Week 46 Napkins ***Let It Snow***

Let It Snow. Do you remember snow days! They were the best ever! Remember sitting around the radio waiting to hear your school listed as closed! When it was, there was a huge whoop as we ran to get on all our snow clothes and go, where else, but up to the school yard to meet all our friends for some sledding. Some of us would sled down the big hills right into traffic. Fortunately, drivers expected it and none were ever hurt. (Except if our parents caught us, as this was strictly forbidden!) I, of course, never did this, but my brother did. I never told because he was older and I was always threatened with death! HAHA! Wonderful memories (except for the shoveling part), but I'm glad to live where we don't have any of that white stuff anymore. I am lucky that I can just drive a couple of hours and be right in it and then go back home and leave the shoveling to someone else!

Journal 52 Week 46

Blue acrylic mixed with Mod Podge for background. Molding paste through my new Pointed Star stencil from Jenni Bowling. Napkin below, Gel pens, embossing snow powder on bottom and embossing glitter black with letters. Snowman white is gesso and a few real buttons added for more texture. Finally, a quick spritz with Perfect Pearls.

Napkin Used

How You Loved Your Polka Dots

Journal 52, Week 45, is Thinking of You. I thought about this one way longer than most. I kept thinking about my mom, who passed away about 10 years ago. For some reason, her crazy love of polka dots kept going through my mind. She even wore shoes with polka dots! So, that's what I went with.

I took a piece of heavy dark blue paper and added some circles I had cut from yellow cardstock, painted with Distress Paints, and added circles with acrylics and a stencil. Then I added the smaller yellow circles for the sentiment with some Stickles dots. And, finally, I took a tiny cap and stamped with Hero Arts white ink. Mom would have loved this one!

Week 44 of Jounal 52 - Skyline

Skyline is the prompt for this week's Journal 52. I found myself a bit stressed this week with my presentation for The AZ Art Teachers' Conference (Mindfulness through Zentangle) coming up on Friday, my first post as part of the Design Team over at The Outlawz Twisted Thursday, and an illness in the family, so I really needed to go outside, and breathe!

I finally got a few of the Pan Pastels and was just itching to use them. First I covered my tagboard with some gesso so the pastels would have something to grip on to. I followed with a yellow acrylic but it didn't cover the previous printing on the paper so I went over it again with a darker purple. I tried the pastels, but the paper was too dark so I then sprayed some cream acrylic over that leaving a splotchy background to work on. Then I went in with the pastels using a piece of paper cut in wave shapes to push the pastels off on to the piece. I used green, peach, lavender, and white. I added some Pitt pens for the cactus and words, and just a touch of gel pens for the flowers, and some white gel pen accents.

Love, As Simple As a Bird's Song - Journal 52 Week 43

Journal 52, Week 43 = Stencil It!

How I love playing with stencils! I started with pink cardstock. I put a large piece of needlepoint plastic over the whole piece and sprayed with purple Dylusion Sprays. Then, I added the heart on top and criss-cross stencils and used my Copic air brush with a dark red over. Then, I used the bird and smaller heart stencils and dabbed with gesso. Small letter stencils dabbed with black acrylic, LOVE outlined from letter stencils and colored with Pitt pens. Bird is outlined with water soluble pencil, and a few music notes stamped with black and white. Just a touch of white gel pen for accents on the letters.

Sentiment: Love, as simple as a bird's song.

Hoping All Your Wishes Come True

Journal 52, Week 42 , prompt "Magic".

I had a sheet of glittery foam that I had just picked up in a package from the dollar store today. I glued it to tagboard, used Distress Paint in Picket Fence to make the swirl, used some glitter glues for stars, added a chopstick and a paper star on foam to raise it to the level of the stick, cut out letters in white, and added a few star embellishments. Last minute, added a bit of Wink of Stella to the star that had been sprayed with a yellow Copic marker and outlined with yellow glitter glue. The chop stick was also covered with glitter glue.

Mosaic Inspired Journal 52

Journal 52, Week 41, Mosaic Inspired

Can you even tell it is a pumpkin? I think they look evil at times with their cavernous mouths and wicked eyes.
Black tagboard, ModPodge, paint store chips cut down, left-over scraps of paper, gel pen in green, white gel pen by Signo.

Okay, I couldn't stand it and had to do another. I like this one better. Broken, shattered, yet whole and beautiful! Collage, black pen and Signo uniball white pen.

Journal 52, Week 40 - Experiment!

This week, 40, for Journal 52, the prompt was "Experiment!"

I fought doing this one, because I knew it was time to pull out my sewing machine. I have never added sewing to my journal pages and I don't like sewing so this has been a constant nagging in my little creative brain. I also just finished the laundry and had another one of those dryer sheets. So, I grabbed a piece of cardstock, sprayed it and the dryer sheet with Dylusions, sopped some up with deli paper, and dunked a tag on the deli paper (I don't like to waste any color.). Then I propped each of them up and used an eye dropper to drop alcohol inks and let the colors run. After everything was dry, I rolled up the dryer sheet and sewed it to the card. It reminded me of a creature escaping into the sky so I went with "Soar" which I stamped with my new white Hero Arts Pigment Ink in white. WOW! I love this white. I added some of my own stamps in white and blue and a few little glittery stars and decided to stop. Sometimes I think I cover too much and lose what I love about a piece, and

I like this one just the way it is!

Dylusions Sprays

Alcohol Drips

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