Join Me for Day 26!

Well hello!  For those who saw my sneak peek, earlier, welcome back.  If not, you're still in a for a treat!

Today I'm sharing the next page in my mini art journal for the September Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 26 - Replenish

I'm also entering the following challenges:

Creative Fingers Challenge #264

Crazy is Our Fame Challenge

For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  And Rae's Instagram account here shows what she made for each prompt. I made a little art journal out of envelopes and baker's twine.  Simple but effective.  Though what Rae did with her pages was amazing, while also being simple.  She has this chunky journal with a fabric cover and she used tape to add her challenge pages to the existing journal.  Really amazing.  It reminds me to not stick to doing things only one way.  That there are always options when it comes to art.

To replenish usually means to refill, in a sense.  However, sometimes, if you take a break to replenish, you actually change something.  Taking time to replenish also is a time for introspection.  Sometimes that involves change.  You realize as you're refilling the tank, that you need to make changes to refill the tank.  What do you need to replenish?  How do you do it?  Have you ever taken time away to refill your tank and realized you needed to make changes in order to do that?  Or to make your refill last longer?

Sometimes I get intimidated by a blank page, and sometimes I get intimidated by a page filled with color and marks.  The background for this page is a small section of underpaper.  I really liked what was on the paper, but I still struggled.  I wanted to keep certain parts but I wasn't sure how.  So I decided to cover it up a bit and then add to it.  I first used a scribble stencil with some black paint.  And I thought about how while replenishing my energy, I've realized I've had to make changes.  I grabbed a couple die-cuts that were in that vein, and then used some card packing I had saved with the graph paper design and cut a scalloped border to go along the bottom, outlining it with my orange Uni Posca paint marker.

The fairy and the heart are digi stamps, from Oddball Art and Octopode Factory respectively, and colored with Tombow markers and colored pencils.  Then I used my Sakura Solid white paint marker and emerald green Uni Posca paint marker to make my top scalloped border.  I use paint markers a lot, and while I could use regular paint and a think paintbrush, a paint marker with a fine point works much better, especially if you're in a situation where you can't have the extra supplies.  It also helps with doodles.  It's much easier to doodle with a paint marker because it's like a pen.  So I have several paint markers from a few different brands.  Although not all paint markers are the same.  Some paint markers have different tips, so it is important to consider what you want to do with the paint markers.

In general, getting my paint from here works out very well for me.  Even the store brand is good quality.  Sometime you have to do a couple layers to get a good coat, but it all depends on how opaque you want the paint layer.  I find that sometimes I like the thinner layer so the underneath layers peek through.  That gives my art texture and dimension, which I love.

Thank you so much for coming by and I hope you enjoyed this art journal page.  Bye for now!

Sneak Peek Time

 Please enjoy this sneak peek and tune in later to see more!  Enjoy and see you soon!

 

 

Thanks for visiting!  You're not going to want to miss this.  Bye for now!

Join Me for Mini Art Journal Day 24

Hello there my crafty friends!  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the next page of my Art Marks Challenge art journal.  The Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene is technically over, but I was delayed, so I'm sharing my journal pages a bit after the fact.

Day 24 - Build

 

I'm also entering my page into the following challenges:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge

The Crafty Addicts Challenge

For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  And Rae's Instagram account here shows what she made for each prompt.  For those who haven't seen my previous posts yet, I'm working in a mini art journal I made out of envelopes, but you can use different whatever materials you have on hand, including scrap or underpaper.  That can result in some pages already having stuff on them.  A hole punch and some baker's twine later and a mini art journal for the challenge ready for art!

Different challenges cause a person to think and possible create art, a certain way.  What I love about art journaling is it allows for whatever level of art.  Depending on why you keep an art journal, your deepest thoughts can make it onto a page.  Sometimes a good brain dump on your art journal page is just what you need.  Whether it's actual writing that you incorporate, writing and your art covers it up, or the art itself represents the brain dump.

For this one, Build was a tough one.  Questons like what do I want to build?  Can I build on something that already existing?  In general, I'd rather build something up then tear something down.

My background is a part of a gelli print.  I used several stencils, including Tim Holtz Patchwork Circle.  I then used a large arrow stencil with Ranger Archival black ink. 

 

I added a few die-cuts from my stash and doodles with my Sharpie pen and my Uni Posca water-based white paint marker.  I also added one of my favorite things in art, ink drips.  These were made with Liquitex Liquid Ink in Yellow Medium Azo.  To do the drips, I put the tip right along the edge of the paper and tap the paper to get the ink to roll down.  Then came the hardest part: waiting for things to dry.

But waiting is worth it.  It allowed me to build up the page without sacrificing what I wanted to do.  And in general art journaling and mixed media is all about communication.

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my art journal page.  Bye for now!

Join Me for Day 23

I'm so glad you're back!  I'm sharing Day 23 of my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge that was hosted by Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.  The challenge already ended, but I'm still catching up.  So today I'm sharing my page for the prompt Invent.

Day 23 - Invent

 

I'm also entering Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge.

For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  And Rae's Instagram account here shows Rae's interpretation of the prompts.  Rae made tiny cards and put them into this gorgeous little pocket journal, which is super thick.  I think it has fabric covers as well.  Swoon!  I love chunky journals and textures

 So for the prompt Invent, I remembered when I had been playing with gelli prints, I had used a small stencil from Balzer Designs that's a light bulb.  It's blurry, but I like how it turned out.  And I knew it was perfect for this prompt.  I was also thinking about the process of inventing.  When you're inventing,you're usually writing and drawing.  So I used some patterned paper with words all over it and ran it through my Cuttlebug using Altenew's Flat and Fold Alphabet Dies.  I did some of the letters backwards, whoops!  Then I thought, when you're inventing, things happen.  So I kept the backwards letters.

 

I added a few die-cuts from my stash. I also used two paint markers, both Uni Posca, in white and emerald green.  Then I used my Liquitex Liquid Ink in Naphthol Crimson to make some lovely, funky drips!

 

 

 Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my art journal page.  Bye for now!

Mini Art Journal Day 22

Welcome back my friends!  I shared a sneak peek, and as promised, this post will have all the details and pictures!  I'm so glad you could join me today!

I'm sharing another page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 22 - Less

 

I'm also entering my page into these challenges:

A Place to Start - October 2023

Creative Fingers #263

 

For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  And Rae's Instagram account here shows what's she's making for each prompt.  For those who haven't seen my previous posts yet, I'm working in a mini art journal I made out of envelopes, but you can use many different things, including scrap or underpaper, so some pages already had stuff on them.  A hole punch and some baker's twine later and a mini art journal for the challenge ready for art!

I've mostly posted individual pages.  This challenge has been very interesting thus far, because it makes you think.  Sometimes a good brain dump on your art journal page is just what you need.  Whether it's actual writing that you incorporate, writing that your art covers up, or the art itself represents the brain dump.

For this prompt, I had to really consider it, especially because I like putting more on my pages, not less.  However, there's more than one way to have less or be less.  I think it's more that some people need less self-doubt, less hurt, less being stuck.  So I think this page works well.

 

My page started as some mop up paint and and then I added part of a gelli print on deli paper to add more dimension.  One stencil I used on the gelli print is The Crafter's Workshop Pie Chart with green paint.  I added black paint from Artist's Loft through a Dylusions border stencil, and a eyeball flower digit stamp from Oddball Art.  

I also used the bigger plus signs/"X"'s from a Balzer Designs stamp set with Ranger Archival black ink, as well as a triangle stamp with ColorBox Blue Lagoon pigment ink.  You can also see where I added some doodles tracing the chevron part of the pie chart stencil with one of my favorite supplies, paint markers.  In this case, a Uni Posca paint marker in Emerald Green.  This paint marker is a weird one because the color doesn't look at all green, but it's still a wonderful color.

I also used my trusty Sharpie pen for some tracing and added my sentiment from a rubber stamp and the same Archival ink.  Here's a great place to get acrylic paint. There's several brands to choose from, the prices are reasonable, and they carry a huge number of colors and types of paint (like heavy body and free flow).

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my art journal page.  Bye for now!

Sneak peek

 My newest art journal page...come back soon for all the details!

Mini Art Journal Day 21

Oh hello!!  I'm so glad you chose to stop by today.  How are you, my friends?  I'm sharing the next page in my little art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 21 - Grace

 

I'm also entering my page into these challenges:

Crazy is our fame - October Challenge

To learn some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  And Rae's Instagram account here shows what's she made for each prompt.  If you're just starting to read my blog, first of all, welcome!  For this challenge I made a little art journal out of envelopes and some baker's twine.  You can be as simple or as fancy as you like.   If you use paper that's from other projects, it just means those pages will already have leftover painting, stamping, or stamping.  That's makes a great jumping off point, for those who have difficulty with a blank page.  That's a difficulty I run into, staring at a blank page and wondering where to start.  It can be fun, but also a chance to overthink instead of getting something down and just playing.  

Some days about this challenge have been, dare I say, a challenge.  I've thought about all of them, but a few have given me real pause.  A good brain dump can be helpful, though whether it becomes part of your page or covered up.  There's no wrong answer

In thinking about grace, I thought about all the different meanings, and there's actually a lot.  I looked this one up in the dictionary, because I was curious.  One of several definitions speaks to showing kindness.  And I would love more kindness in the world.  I think we all need to show ourselves a little more kindness.  Not a blank check for excuses, but understanding that one person can only do so much.

My background is another section of gelli print and I went to town on this pages with the doodling, mostly, if not completely, with my amazing Uni Posca white paint marker.  I seriously love this paint marker.  Finding a good white paint marker can be difficult, but my Uni Posca stays opaque and looks just wonderful.

You can see I used my Dylusions Stars stencil, as well as another Dylusions stencil with large numbers.  There's also spots of other colors, including orange and green.  I really like getting my paint from here because there are several brands available including bargain brands.  And I've found that bargain brands work quite well when creating all my tags, cards, art journal pages, etc.  And even the brand name products are well-priced, so it's a great deal all around.

I used several different stencils, which is the fun of gelli printing!  You grab some paint, grab your stencils or stamps, and just play.  Twist the paper at weird angles for different designs.  Use colors together that would normally make mud.  The possibilities are endless!  I added a star digi stamp from Oddball Art colored with colored pencils.  The arrow is a die-cut from my stash that I altered with supplies from my stash, including Sakura Gelly Roll pens.  These pens, oh my gosh, can I tell you?  I love them!  The coverage is opaque and the colors are delicious.

 

I did also stamp a border stamp from my Dylusions Inbetweenies stamp set and Archival black ink.  Have I mentioned how much I love Dylusions?  They're just so snarky and fun!  Yes, I love a bunch of my supplies.  I can't help it.

Thank you so much for coming by and I hope you enjoyed this art journal page.  Bye for now!