New art journal!

I recently purchased a new art journal - it's the Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media soft cover journal, 5x8 or so. The paper is really nice and perfect for all sorts of media. Here's the first page completed... a welcome to the journal page :)

Watch me sketch!

Happy Labor Day!

I have a little journal I've been carrying around, but I've been using it as a sketchbook more than anything. I recently made a quick sketch (took a little over 20 minutes) and recorded the process. I sped it up 4 times, so now it's a 5 minute video. Take a look:



Here is the completed sketch (I messed with it a couple more minutes):

And while I was taking a pic, I figured I'd share a few more:

Art Journal Week: Day 8

Last day of my art journal week! I can't believe I made 16 layouts in one month. Toward the end, I got motivated to finish it so I could move on to my new art journal that has really nice paper that can withstand various paints and mediums (unlike the paper in this one). It was a great starting place, and a really great way to use up some of my stash, so overall it was a really positive, fun experiment.

As I mentioned yesterday, for the last two spreads, I used Graphic 45 papers. This one with with "Halloween in Wonderland". I painted the pages black, and then used a Crafter's Workshop Harlequin stencil and sprayed it with white Dylusions spray. I then dabbed acrylic color on top to have it match the paper better and give it more dimension.

And here is my very last layout. The quote reflects the sentiment that ending this journal is just the beginning. I really love how this last page came out - I love the (G45) poppy flowers, the spooky tree (Crafter's Workshop stencil), the night sky, and the beautiful stars. To create the stars, I used a Prima stencil with crackle paste.

Thanks for joining me and taking a peek inside my art journal. If you're considering making one, I recommend you dive right in and give it a go.

Art Journal Week: Day 7

Welcome to day 7! Almost done! This first layout I'm sharing was created with the help of a really fun tutorial by Angela Anderson. She teaches art classes for kids and adults, so I thought this would be a fun one to try with my daughter. We bought some sea sponges and dove right in. The end result reminded me of a poem I really like, so I added it in.

This next layout came together when I dug out my stash of Graphic 45 paper. In fact, once I dug it out, I couldn't stop and all the rest of the journal was made using various collection from G45. What can I say, they have fun paper :)

I used BoBunny glitter paste to create the yellow (golden?) brick road, and the stars, and a BoBunny stamp for Glinda's magic "bubble". It's a messy bubble but that's what she gets for being in an art journal.

Thanks for stopping by, as always! And be sure to check out my post for tomorrow - last day of art journal week!

Art Journal Week: Day 6

Today I'm sharing the next two layouts in my August Art Journal. Be sure to scroll down for all the previous posts to see more. This first two-page spread was created using BoBunny's "Rose Cafe" collection and BoBunny washi tapes. I also used the music note stamp by BoBunny (it was part of a stamp set that came with an older Autumn collection they had).

I really love the effect you get by starting with a background of torn up papers and washi tapes. Most of it gets covered over, but there and there it still peeks through in interesting ways:

This next spread is created with the "Penny Emporium" collection by BoBunny. I again started with some torn papers, and lots of images cut out from the papers and from the Noteworthy pack. The tightrope was created with Pearlescents to give it more dimension, and the sparkly circles with BoBunny glitter paste and stencil. The black dots are a BoBunny stamp. This one is called "The Balancing Act":

Art Journal Week: Day 5

This layout I created based on a quote I saw on Facebook (it's always good for some odd stories and awesome quotes!). The quote is, "Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds." I really liked the quote, and I think the resulting layout is self-explanatory. I again created a base under-layer of torn papers and washi tape, and then went over it with paints, stamps, gelatos, and stencils. The girl is painted with acrylics. I stamped the clock on tissue paper before adding it, since I had a suspicion I would mess it all up if I tried stamping on the layout. It never comes out perfect that way.

This next layout was about trying a fun technique - do some cool praying and have it be the hair. I love the idea in theory, but it didn't work so well in this journal. The pages of the journal were pretty thin, so I had to cover them with gesso first. The spray mists did not adhere well to gesso, creating a mess of an effect. Oh well... my next art journal has nice, proper paper :) I painted the face with acrylics and added a little pit of gelatos and stars using a stencil.

Art Journal Week: Day 4

Two more spreads from my art journal here today :) The first one is a mermaid, and I used paints, gelatos, stencil from Prima, PITT Big Brush markers, and molding paste to create the background and the mermaid. The fish and the sentiment are from the "Boardwalk" collection by BoBunny.

The main idea behind this page was wanting to do something bright and fun and work with the gelatos some more to create a colorful background. To give it more of a distressed, uneven look, I applied the gesso with a scraper to give it some grooves and bumps. You can really see that in the finished page.

For this next layout, I wanted to try a vertical orientation, and I used a technique I found on Dina Wakely's art journaling book, where you create the background and then paint over it, leaving only circles unpainted to peek through. While at it, I also decided to try cutting out a magazine image and using it, and found this pretty ballerina. I painted over her skirt with acrylics to make it purple. I also used stamps, patterned papers, tissue paper, and the awesome stars Prima stencil with molding paste.

Art Journal Week: Day 3

Thanks for stopping by! Today I'm sharing the next two spreads in my art journal. The first one is based on the children's book "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss. It start with "Some days are yellow, some are blue. on different days, I'm different too. you'd be surprised how many ways I change on different colored days" (by the way... I remember the whole thing by heart, at this point LOL). I just love that book for kids - it goes through all the different feelings and normalizes them, and also has the most gorgeous illustrations.

I used BoBunny "Genevieve" collection, and BoBunny stamps and stencils. If you want a step-by-step guide on how to create this, you can check out This Post on the BoBunny blog.

This next spread is a little darker. I created the background by using s scraper to add black and white paint. I then added Prima silver crackle paste over a stencil, and painted the girl. The dots on her body were made using a Tim Holtz stencil and the black paint drips were made using a Crafter's Wrokshop stencil. At the end, I added some background print using a stamp.