Catching up on posting art journal pages

Hi all, hope everyone is having a wonderful day. 

I've been missing in acting, busy with all kinds of stuff, but jumped back in in February.  Made a bunch of scrapbook pages and am just now getting around to posting the pictures.  Please forgive the quality.  I wanted to get it done quick, and didn't bother with my photo cube.

This was done in my handmade journal and says,

"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."

After layering a tree cut out from a magazine,

I used a bunch of stencils and acrylic paint to add some of my favorite colors.

The sentiment was computer generated from one of my many quotes I collect.

This one turned out better than I expected.  I'm not a green person, but wanted to have

the trellis look, so I layered some modeling paste through a harlequin stencil then painted green and let it drip through the stencil area.  I also used a hear stencil for the blues and my finger to create the circles.  The picture is from Etsy.  The frame is actually kraft card stock that I used distress ink and post it notes to cut the corners and swipe the ink across to create a woodgrain effect.

The sentiment reads:

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you truly are"

Just like I don't care for green, I'm not huge fan of orange, but I'm trying to move outside my comfort zone and try new things.  I layered a bunch of old book pages that I god from Etsy and then added some circles with modeling paste.  I then used Gelatos to shade the circles.  Yummy texture!

I used some glossy accents for the small circles after doodling on them.

The sentiment reads:

"To eliminate the inner turmoil, we must focus or attention inward and act with loving kindness to ourselves and each other".

Okay, this is me.  I found the girl online from clip art and colored her with my Copics before cutting her out.  I used the art script stencil and another one with words on it (believe/Hope).  I mixed some color with the modeling paste for the words.  Lots of bottle cap circles and bubble wrap as well as some script stamping & doodling.  The quote reads:

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tunes without the words and never stops at all.

I love the pink, teal and blue mix here.

 Uh Oh, orange.  And who would have thought orange and teal look good together?

The background is Tim Holtz' mélange tissue paper with an orange wash.  I then added depth by going darker orange around the edges with acrylic paint before stenciling some chickenwire.  I added some modeling past for the small boxes (tiles?) by coloring it with some orange paint before applying.  The circles were colored & shaded with Gelatos (love, love, lovin' 'em).

I also stamped some random stamps, (homemade ones are the corners and the hearts) and a Penny Black flower.  I drew the 3 hanging hearts, colored them in and added some glossy accents.

The quote reads:

"Life always offers you a second chance, it's called Tomorrow"

 This one was done in my altered Composition art journal dedicated for Julie Nutting images.

(I took out 1/2 the pages and glued 2 pages together before coloring them with various shades of gesso).

Apparently, loving the pink and purples, huh?

Started off with a multicolored circle tissue paper and then painted with acrylics over the top with a darker shade of pink around the edges.  I then added some strips of joint mesh tape from the hardware store before stenciling some purple circles, after which I doodled with my white Posca pen.

I mixed a little bit of orange into modeling paste for the smaller circles, added some script in archival potting soil and a heart stamp on the right.

This Julie Nutting image was paper pieced (love script/print as skin) and then colored her with Copics before decoupaging her down.  Final touch was the hanging hearts I drew and added glossy accents to.  The quote reads:

"Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional.  Let this be a sign that you have a big heart and aren't afraid to let others see.  Showing your emotions is a sign of strength" by Brigitte Nicole.

Okay, can you tell just by looking at this that I was having a bad day?

I started with some modeling paste in the center of the 2 pages and combed it out to the top and bottom.  I then added some turquoise and blue acrylic paint around the edge with a little bit of that mesh joint tape.  I have an UNUSED fly swatter (lol) that I tore apart and stenciled through to give the white grid.  Probably the only positive thing about this page is that I finally broke down and ordered some Cambric from France Papillon (#LOVEHER).  I colored with Dylusions (starting to HATE that they're water soluble, bad me) in blue (see left below the crazy).  I colored the modeling paste with some copper paste and hand wrote the quote, which reads:

"Dear Stress ... Let's break up"

Good way to get feelings out, because I felt better after it was done.

 Ahhh ... back to pretty in pink. 

I started off by decoupaging some polkadot scrapbook paper randomly on each side.

I used tiny punchinella and modeling paste for the dots and then colored with pink, letting the darker color drip down and sideways.  I finished with some random stamps and added two laser cut chipboard butterflies and a leaf around the Penny Black flower stamp.  The sentiment reads:

"Inhale confidence, Exhale Doubt.

I really liked this one.

Okay, back to my Julie Nutting journal - ugh, green, you say - again, trying to not restrict myself to my favorite colors.

I started off stenciling embossing versamark/powder and the basketweave stencil before adding some Tim Holtz Melange and old book pages.  Then I started with the greens and yellows.

After making the circles with Gelatos and shading them, I randomly stamped some chickenwire and a couple of Julie Nutting's borders.

The butterflies and the circle butterfly were done with modeling paste through a stencil.  Afterwards, I rubbed some gold paste over the top gently.  I drew the caterpillar and paperpieced the Julie Nutting figure before shading her with inktense pencils.  Her crown has been Stickled (the only glitter in my house is that which has been encased in a glue!).  The sentiment reads:

"When you find yourself cocooned in isolation and can't find your way out of the darkness, remember that this is where the caterpillars go to grow their wings".

Okay, so green's not so bad, lol.

 I just adore all things Victorian, as well as purples and pinks, can you tell?  This one was fairly simple.  I criss crossed some strips of scrapbook paper and then shaded them with inktense pencil.  Home made flower stencil was pounced with some pink acrylic and then doodled on.  Very little stamping on this one.  The beautiful lady is from Etsy, and again, the frame is kraft cardstock, smeared with Vintage Photo distress ink.  The quote says:

"Confidence is not - They will like me ...

Confidence is - I'll be fine if they don't"

Love that saying!

 Once again, back to my Julie Nutting journal with this cute image.  She was paper pieced and shaded with Copics.  I first layered some scrapbook papers at the corners and then washed a purple background.  Used a heart stencil and purple before doodling.  The circles were made with Gelatos and my finger.  I added some Tim Holtz ephemra as well as some Julie Nutting borders.  Brain fart on where the butterflies came from, but I colored them with Twinkling H20's and some script stamp.  The quote reads: 
"You are amazing, remember that!"

 Okay, this was another dark day - maybe that's why I used orange again, lol.

The background is the Tim Holtz Melange tissue paper then I added a color wash of orange with darker edges.  I flipped the journal upside down and used some watered down green for drippage to create some greenery before stamping some flowers and then painting color on them.  I added some circle stamps and reverse text and then doodled a bit.  The circles - oey, again? - were made with Gelatos and my finger.  The sentiment reads:

"Living with anxiety is like being followed by a voice; it knows all your insecurities and uses them against you; it gets to the point when it's the loudest voice in the room ... the only one you can hear."

 Started this one with a light pink wash and then used a stencil for the grid with modeling past before  dripping some darker pink from the top and the bottom.  I added some masking tape strips and shaded them with my charcoal pencil.  I used a circle stencil for the pink dots and doodled around them.  I then added some modeling paste hearts through a stencil.  Note there is only one red heart.  The sentiment reads:

"A woman's strength isn't just about how much she can handle before she breaks, it's also about how much she must handle after she is broken"

 Back to my Julie Nutting journal.  I used a lot of book page strips before applying modeling paste through a stencil with circles, numbers and letters, as well as the 3 hearts through a homemade stencil.  I then started adding the colors, blues, teals, dark blues.  After the color, I put on a couple of more book page strips and white-washed with watered down gesso.  I embossed around the hearts with red and then doodled.  The image was paper pieced and shaded with Copics before decoupaging her down.  The sentiment reads:

"Leave footprints of Love and Kindness wherever you go"

Let's all be kind to each other, huh?

 Okay, broke one of my rules ... This is my "Julie Nutting Journal", but there's no Julie Nutting images - what's up?

I started with scrapbook papers from the sky down to the grass.

I then used the drippage from watered down green acrylic for the flower stems.

I had some paper I colored with my Gelli plate and cut out different sizes of circles & pasted them down.  I used back end of a paintbrush for the petals before doodling.

The bottom looked bare, so I used modeling paste and a floral stencil, wanting to keep it green, but just to add texture.  I ended up dotting the centers of the flowers with the petal colors to tie it in.

I also added modeling paste through the art word stencil where I wanted my clouds to be.

I used Gelatoes to create the clouds and then stenciled some white gesso to brighten it up.

At this point, I really liked what I came up with and thought it was too vibrant/busy to add a Julie Nutting image.  The quote says:

"Blossom by Blossom, the spring begins"

This is a canvas board I made for one of my girlies in cheer.  Lots of texture, stencils and doodling.  She's a fan of pink.  I added some flowers, some lace butterflies, as well as a sparkly "A" sticker before finishing.  I love these beautiful laser cut chipboard flourishes (forgive me, they're either Blue Fern or Dusty Attic).  There's a ribbon on top for her to hang it up on her wall.

Here's another one of my girlies - fan of mint, but couldn't keep away from the dark edges.

Again, lots of modeling past through the hearts and harlequin stencils.  Added some flowers and laser-cut chipboard flourishes and some lace to the photos and sentiment.  Can you see the sparkly 'H'?

2 of my "adopted daughters" at the Sugar Factory.  Lots of texture and stamps - this one's favorite color is purple. 

Same girls, this one's favorite color is pink.  Lots to texture and doodling on this one.

Lots of chipboard, stenciling/modeling paste, glossy accents, liquid pearls and distressing here with the flowers to finish it off.

Whew ... I have to consider uploading these one at a time.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you liked a little of what you saw and are inspired to try something like any of these.

Have a wonderful day!

It's been awhile ...

Been busy around the house lately, just started back up again with art journaling and making handy chipboard storage pieces for my artsy area.

This is my first attempt at making anything out of chipboard.  Based on it's size, it means that I can't buy any more distress ink pads or reinkers.  So sad ...

This baby was built in sections from videos I found on You Tube (type in chipboard projects and they'll come up).  I made each of the 4 sections separately from a medium weight chipboard, then boxed them together so there would be one on each side.  I'm glad I modified the measurements to be a little wider, because after the fact, I went in and put dividers in each slot for the reinkers to sit next to the color of ink pads.  This thing is full.  Afterwards, I made a box to sit on top with some sections to hold the remaining Vintage Photo and Black Soot that I use most of the time, so quick access, plus other things relating to distress inks, like the glaze, and so forth.  Don't binge shop - wait until your orders come in, so you don't end up with duplicate reinkers because you don't have them at the time, lol.

After painting the entire thing black, I decorated the sides using a faux leather technique and kraft cardstock for the uprights, ad some pretty toile print for the top box.  There are some metal corner pieces that I put here and there.  I finished this baby off by attaching a 5 inch carousel/lazy susan/spinner, or whatever you call them, so that it can spin and I can find the color of distress ink that I need.

Check out You Tube by typing in chipboard projects for the construction, and faux leather for the sides.

Hope you enjoyed this one ... now for the next one ... it's actually a Stickles carousel.  I tried making the above for a Stickles carousel, but the shelves ended up being not high enough, so I modified it to the distress holder.  This one, I measured twice and then cut once, lol.

The construction for this one was almost exactly like the above project, only smaller.  There is room for 3 stickles on each shelf, all the way around.  I left off the box on top of this one because this is my whole Stickles collection and figured I'd have more than enough.  There is room to add something to the top at a later date if I find I'm running out of room.

I decorated the shelves and sides with some pretty pink scrapbook paper and used one of my pink Pitt pens to add the shading around the diamonds on all 4 sides.  Once I was done, I attached this one on a spinner/turntable/lazy susan measuraning 5 inches across.  It spins perfectly and is a God send!

This next project I started making from 1/4 hobby wood.  I made the shelving unit with a 3-part box on top with the wood.  I then backed it with some heavy weight poster board.

Because I didn't measure as I was cutting and nailing this chest together, each of the boxes had to be started from scratch, as no two are the same size, but they're close.  This box is going to be used for Tim Holtz findings like brads, hinges, corners, etc.  The thing is full and I have tons more stuff, so another one is on it's way.

As you can see, I lined each of the drawers with pretty cardstock, then put the same pink floral on the front of each drawer, then got some pink candy stripe for the top, sides and back.  I just love this look.

Since I'm already bursting, with more stuff on the desktop that needs a home, I started making another one .... Measure, you ask?  Only so it would be square, lol.  I'll have to back it with more heavy poster board and make the drawers individually.  This has been on the backburner for about a month now. 

I just wanted you to see what it starts out like - for me - again, this is all 1/4 inch hobby wood that I got at both Hobby Lobby and Ace Hardware.  It's been like this for over a month, but I got distracted with the next project.

This is a beautiful suitcase inspired by Alexandra R on You Tube.  She created a suitcase like this with a photo album attached, but for my purposes, I just wanted to try the suitcase empty.  If you make one of these, be prepared - it takes lots of brads.  I had to put it on hold for a bit because Michael's and Hobby Lobby were out or the brads in the bronze look, so had to wait for them from shopping online.  I put a vintage stamp that I colored with inktense pencils on kraft paper and then used glossy Bindex (several layers) so it looks like it won't wear.

The leather straps are made from kraft cardstock folded and glued together lengthwise.  After that, they were stained with Antique Linen and then I used some crackle paste, bending at the corners and curving the straps as I went along.

I used some digital burlap paper on the outside (burlap with doilies) and plain burlap on the inside.  You can't see it from the pictures, but there are hinges on the bottom that were attached with those bronzed brads, as was the clasp.  The bronze "D" rings attached the straps to the strips of "leather" on the sides.

Alexandra R put 2 clasps on the closure side, but it looked too crowded to me, so I just went with the one.  It's not sturdy enough to use as a regular bag for very long I would think, but I'm making it for my bestie and filling it with cards I've made so she can have a sort of stationary case.

This is the inside with the plain burlap. 

This really does look cool.

Yes, it was involved, but I stuck with it and finished the project.  Thank you, Aleandra R for the inspiration.  I know mine doesn't even come close, but I'm happy with it, and think the bestie will like it too.

Well, those were my Chipboard crafts that I've made so far.

I have to say, I wish that they sold some of those MDF shelving kits here in the US.  It seems Australia has the corner market on laser cut chipboard kits.  I don't know if I waiting and the trend is no longer there, but it's near impossible to find them.  But I'm okay, because if I can't find one, I'll build it - either out of all chipboard, or with 1/4 inch wood strips and chipboard.

Thanks for stopping buy.  Check out the next post ... it'll be an accumulation of the art journal pages I've been doing since the first of the year after my hiatus.

Paper ala Mode challenge at The Outlawz

This week over at The Outlawz, the challenge was "Fall is Here" - using fall colors or a fall theme.

I'm a bit early for Halloween, but that's what I always think of when I hear "Fall".  I chose one of Rick St. Dennis' images called "Grave 2" and colored it with Copics.

I used red and orange cardstock to go along with the colors.

 

Here's a close up of the image:

 

Feels good to get back into coloring ... can't wait to do more.

 

Have a blessed day,

The Outlawz Challenge - TAG IT !

This week at The Outlawz' Paper ala Mode challenge, our theme is "TAG IT".

You can use a tag and add to it, make your own tag, incorporate a tag within your image or add on a tag with a sentiment - it's open for all.

This week, our sponsor is the wonderfully artistic Rick St. Dennis.  Please check out his Zibbet store HERE to see all the lovely images he has.  If you're in to creepy, he's got loads of wonderfully ghoulish images as well.

 

I chose to use his Cassiopea image.  Anyone who knows me won't be surprised how much I love his beautiful ladies.

 

I colored her with Copics and then distressed the edge with Vintage Photo ink.  I made the tag to fit my own dimensions (4x6 inches) and then rounded the top corners and punched a hole to hold the strands of bakers twine (brown/white that I ran through a red stamp pad).

I've added a distressed doily and a couple of more layers of papers as well.

I finished it off with some distressed roses, greenery and red seeds, then added a lovely silver charm.

 

Please check out The Outlawz Challenges - there's one for every day of the week, with new challenges every week.

 

Please also check out Rick St. Dennis' Facebook Page and

Rick St. Dennis Blog for more of his images.

 

Have a wonderful Day!

Here is my DT inspiration piece for the Ching Chou Kuik Facebook page.

I used Lilies Commitment for this one and kept everything soft blue.  Her scales are a combination of lavender, blue and yellow.  I like the way it turned out.  All Copic markers here.

I added some shabby white frantage and distressed the edge.  While it doesn't show much, I flipped the lace up to look a bit like waves.

 

Hope you like it.

 

Make sure to check out Ching Chou Kuik's Etsy Page,

Ching Chou Kuik's Facebook Page,

and Ching Chou Kuik's blog for more beautiful designs created by the

Ching Chou Kuik design team members and wonderful fans.

 

Have a blessed day!

Ching Chou Kuik Inspiration Piece Scarlet Lips

This is my Design Team inspiration piece this week for Ching Chou Kuik's Facebook page.  I used Scarlet Lips ... I think the name is what made me choose the color of this beautiful mermaid. 

She was colored with Copics.

I found some fun paper that looks like water droplets, added some crocheted ribbon, faux pearls and a spray of red seeds.

 

Hope you like it.

Make sure to check out Ching Chou's Etsy Page,

the Ching Chou Facebook Page

as well as the Ching Chou Kuik blog for

lots more inspiration from the beautiful design teams.

 

Have a wonderful day!

Kit and Clowder's Orlando Retreat

Oh my, did I have a FABULOUS time at the Kit and Clowder Orlando retreat, or what?  Only thing that would have made it better was sitting down with Alyce Keegan in my craft room for about a week (probably holding her hostage!).  She's such a wonderful lady, and so very talented.  It was hotter than blazes, I think near 100*, but not as humid as usual.  Got a little bit of swim/sun time on the first day and the last day I was there.  Can't wait to go back!

If you get a chance, you HAVE to check out Kit and Clowder's coloring classes.  Alyce offers both markers (she gives substitutions for those of you that don't use Copics like me) as well as her new pencil classes.  She also has new classes that you can subscribe to where you get a new class every month - both in markers, and pencils, separately.  Once I have a bit more down time, I'm certainly going to sign up for those as well ...

These are the three projects we created while at the retreat:

This first one is a frame that we used all kinds of mixed media on.  I've dabbled a bit in mixed media in my art journals, but this was so much fun, using Lindy's sprays and stencils.  The image is from Saturated Canary called Dew Drop Fairy.  I colored her with Copics and then distressed the edges so it would be a bit smaller than the frame opening.  I also added some Shabby white frontage.  I just LOVE the way it turned out.

This next one is a card made using a LaLa Land image called Heart Cupcake Marci.  I colored her with Copics and did all kinds of distressing.  Isn't she cute?

This last card is made using Polkadoodles' Octavia Rose.  Again, Copics, distressing and some lace.  Isn't she pretty?

 

Hope you enjoy.  Anyone interested in starting a Go Fund Me account for Alyce to come back over here from Australia?  Or maybe send me OVER to Australia - yeah, that sounds like a better treat, lol.

 

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Ching Chou Kuik's The Ponderer

This beautiful young lady is called  Ponderer and she's a digital image from Ching Chou Kuik.  You can find her HERE, and can check out all the other lovely images from Ching Chou in her ETSY SHOP HERE.

This card was made as my Facebook Design Team Inspiration piece for this week.

I colored her with Copics and then added a touch of Stickles diamonds to the butterfly top wings.  I distressed the edges with Ranger Vintage Photo, as well as the designer paper.  After I put the pretty wedding lace in place, I used the diamond Stickles again to help anchor the lace and add a bit of sparkle to it.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.  They are fabulous!

I hope you have a chance to check out Ching Chou Kuik's Facebook page for lots more inspiration and to see what the other design team members have created this week.  Don't forget to check out the Ching Chou Kuik blog as well. 

Have a blessed day!

Ching Chou Kuik's Girl in Spring

Here is my Facebook DT inspiration piece for this week (thanks, Felisha, for switching days with me). 

This is Girl in Spring, and she can be found in Ching Chou Kuik's Etsy Shop.

I colored her with Copics and added some diamond Stickles to the butterfly's wings.

I fussy cut the top portion and left the bottom rectangular.

I distressed the digital paper as well as the rectangle portion of the image panel.

The image panel was popped up on dimensionals over a pretty spring green ribbon/bow.

Finishing touches were the distressed flowers from Wild Orchid and a pretty sparkler for the bow to tie in the peachy colors.

 

Hope you like it, and have a chance to check out Ching Chou's:

Facebook Page

Blog

Etsy Store