Join Me for Day 30!

Well hello!  It's time for the last page of my little Art Marks Challenge journal!  I also have some news, but we'll get to that later.  For now, I hope you enjoy this last page of my journal.  I feels like forever, but I'm glad.  Even art projects shouldn't go on forever.  You can make a few layers, leave it, come back, all that kinda stuff.  But it's good for projects to come to an end to move in to something new and exciting.

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 30 -Joy

I'm also entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  It was hosted by Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.  Rae's Instagram account here shows what she made for each prompt.  My art journal was made from envelopes and baker's twine.  Art journals can be simple or elaborate.  Rae's journal, which she taped her pages into, is small and chunky and has a fabric cover.  It looks so gorgeous!

Joy is something really wonderful.  Everyone needs joy in their lives.  Without it, you're going through the motions.  Everyone find joy in different ways.  Some in a quiet night reading, some spending time with friends and/or family.  Some like going out.  And some would love all of those.  It can be hard to find joy, especially every day.  Sometimes you have to work at it.  It can be a struggle for sure, but so worth it in the end. 

I used a gelli print for my background, but definitely added to it.  I mixed some purple paint, and a touch of blue with gesso to lighten the paint color before putting it through a stencil by Traci Bautista.  Then I pounced black paint through two different stencils, both the words and half a heart from a Dina Wakley stencil.  I also added details using a Sharpie pen and a paint marker.  I grabbed a tag from my stash, used my palette knife to add some leftover paint to the tag, then added a word sticker and some punchinella.   finally added some phrase stamping.

Some people can be very particular about where they get certain supplies.  I try to keep my options open, and one option that works well for me is here, from Dick Blick.  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 solid 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.

I really liked making this page, and I hope you enjoyed me sharing it with you.  And now onto the news.  I'm not new to crafting, but I am new to this blogging thing.  I also have other respnsbilities, hubby, kids, regular 9-5, and my short foray into blogging has shown that while I really love the craft, keeping up the blogging as well is becoming more difficult than I anticipated.  But have no fear!  The blog will continue, just under new management.  A wonderful crafty friend of mine, Tracy, has graciously agreed to take things over.  Our styles are quite similar, we've been arting it up together for years.  We even have a lot of the same supplies because we loved them so much.  I'm also getting her into the affiliate side of things, so she can share with you all of her amazing talent and you can enjoy making art along with her!  I will say she can be a bit snarkier than me, but I love that about her.  And I know she'll take great care of this blog.  And who knows, I may make a guest appearance sometimes.

Please know I hate to give this up, but I also want you to have the best experience possible, and I cannot give that at this point.  So instead of ending this, I want it to continue.  I do want to say thank you for joining me on my short journey, and I so appreciate you coming along for the journey.  I really hope you continue to visit, and I know Tracy will do an amazing job, and create some seriously awesome art.

Thank you, Georgie, for that fantastic introduction, and I'm going to do my level best to live up to that high praise!  As she said, our style are quite similar, and yes, I think we can be accused of loving the same supplies so much that we both got one of different stencils, stamps, stickers...the sky was the limit! :)  Great minds think alike, right?  I do a lot of art journaling, mixed media, tags, ATCs, and I do like to experiment.  Gelli printing, embossing, die-cutting, oh yeah, I like to play.  I love texture!  And layers, and color.  I will be the first to admit I'm not a huge fan of brown, however, I have been known to art up some kraft paper like crazy.  I hope you enjoy the art as much as I love making it.  Thank you, truly, for coming along on this journey.  I can wait to play and show you what I make

Join me for Day 29!

Hello and welcome!  I'm so glad you decided to join me!  Today I'm sharing the next page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge by Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

 

Day 29 - Uplift

I'm also entering the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps 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 simple but very interesting.  She just used tape to add her pages to this chunky journal with a fabric cover.  Really amazing.  It reminds me to not stick to doing things only one way.  That there are always options when it comes to art.

How do you uplift yourself?  Or someone else?  Do you give a kind word, a hug, or are you the kind to bake cookies?  What does it mean to uplift someone?  And can you uplift yourself or just someone else?  And what does it even mean to uplift someone?  At the very least it means to lift someone up that would otherwise have stayed down.

The background is a gelli print that I actually didn't do a lot with.  I added some more color and some details with a Sharpie pen.   Then I stamped and colored an image with Tombow markers and added some die-cuts and sticker words.

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

Time for Day 28!

Greetings everybody!  Welcome back and thank you so much for visiting.  I'm sharing the next page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge by Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 28 - Believe

I'm also entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

For some Art Marks Challenge history, you can click here.  And Rae's Instagram account here shows what she made for each prompt. My journal is very simple.  A bunch of envelopes held together with some baker's twine.  Rae actually taped her pages into an already existing super chunky journal, which I think it an awesome idea.  It helps me to remember to think outside the box.  And to remember that there are always options when it comes to art.

For Day 28, the prompt is believe.  Beliving in yourself is a powerful thing.  It's not always easy, and I don't know about you, but I struggle with it on a daily basis.  Belief in general is a powerful emotion.  It's capable of allowing you to do amazing things.  I'm not talking arrogance, but knowing you can do something.  Not exactly hope, but belief is also very powerful.  Belief can also be snarky, which is why I used a Dylusions stamp set for my sentiment on this page.

I started with a gelli print and used a white paint marker to outline a bunch of details.  I also smeared the page with a Sakura solid paint marker in fluorescent orange and used the end of a paintbrush to do some scribbles in the paint.  I used my Cuttlebug and a die-cut set to cut some flags from some scraps of patterned paper and grabbed the leftover scrap from a heart I had cut freehand.  I also added a skull digi stamp from Oddball Art that I colored with colored pencils and  Tombow markers and colored pencils.   I also added doodles with a sharpie pen and some lovely drips with some Liquitex Ink in carbon black.

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

Join Me for Day 27

Hello everyone!  Thank you for joining me, I'm so happy to see you!  Life has been busy to say the least, but I'm working to share my last three pages of my Art Marks Challenge mini art journal, that was done back in September by Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 27 - Rest

I'm also entering the following challenges:

A Place to Start 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.

How do you rest?  What does it mean to rest?  You can also be rest assured that you are doing the best that you can.  Sometimes that's not the usual path or sometimes some people are going to be completely against it, for any number of reasons.  However, self-confidence is important. 

The background is a gelli print that I just went to town on.  I added doodling with paint markers.  I added stamping.  I used a Sharpie to outline some of the stenciling.  I added some digi images from Oddball Art and Octopode Factory that I colored with Tombow markers and colored pencils.  I added digi images from Octopode Factory and Oddball Art and a sentiment from Dylusions.  I also used my a white paint marker for lots of splatter.  I pressed the tip against my work surface to get the paint to pool, then tapped the marker with the extra paint to get the splatters.  I also added a clear tag that I used a paint marker to cover the bottom design because it didn't work for me and then added a die-cut from my stash and outlined it with white paint marker.

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

Sneak peek time...

 Please enjoy another sneak peek of my next journal page...

Fun in My Art Journal on Day 25

Have you ever lost track of time?  Or lost track of days on the calendar?  Yup, I have so been there!  With all that we have going on in life, between marriage, kids, work, life in general?  Sometimes it's a wonder I get anything done, know what I mean?  I try to keep track of everything.  Reminders, lists, notes.  It can certainly be a lot.  And so it was that I discovered I had I completely overlooked this page from my previous sneak peek.  Whoops!

I'm backtracking and showing off Day 25 in my mini art journal that I made for the September Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.  I'm in the home stretch and I think you'll really like the rest.

Day 25 - Root

I'm also entering the following challenges:

A Place to Start 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.

Root can mean a lot of things.  Putting down roots usually means one's life is becoming more stable, like buying a house or perhaps someone getting married, even having a child.  It's usually a cause for celebration in some respect.  Putting down roots is something to feel good about, if not a bit nervous.  You can also root for something.  Maybe you're cheering someone on in a new endeavor.  Or patting yourself on the back for a positive change in your life.  Everyone needs a cheerleader.  It can help calm your nerves from a big event.  Sometimes even something that is not huge in the grand scheme, but big for you or someone you know, such as a big test or a personal milestone.  I find myself rooting for myself because as I said, everyone needs a cheerleader to help accomplish goals and celebrate when those goals are accomplished.

I started this page with underpaper and pretty much kept the background as is.  Using several different colors of paint and a few stencils, including Dylusions Stars stencil, I kept the white space already existing on this page.  Now I'll be the first to say I love layers, different colors, and getting texture going.  But I do try to experiment and step outside the box every so often.  Though funny enough I also have a box on this page, compliments of a rubber and wood stamp I have from Amy Tangerine.  I don't even remember where I got it.  I believe it was a set.  The wood is a big thick block with good old-fashioned rubber attached to give the image.  In this case, the frame.

Using a digi stamp from Oddball Art, I colored it with colored pencils and pulled a die-cut from my stash.  And used my Sharpie pen and Uni Posca white paint marker for doodles.  I really like my white pant marker.  Its solid and has a fine point tip, which allows for different types of markings, both thick and thin.  It can be hard to find nice white markers, especially because the tips can end up absorbing some of the color you writing or doodling over.  This marker creates lots of possibilities for using them in your art.

A lot of my paint comes from here.  There's so many luscious varieties to choose from and allow for layering without making mud.

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

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!