Mini Art Journal Day 17

Hi there my crafty friends!

I'm so glad you're visiting!  I have another page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 17 - Poise

 

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

Creative Fingers Challenge #262

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, and I do plan to post them all.  This challenge has been very interesting thus far, because it makes you think.  Not that I mind thinking.  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 day's prompt, Poise, what defines poise to you?  What gives one poise or how is it expressed?  Being poised could mean to be balanced.  It can also mean holding oneself or an object in a certain manner.  I've heard being poised and being graceful can go hand in hand, which is certainly one way to look at it.  I like that my page shows being balanced between having fire while not sacrificing respect for yourself.

My background is another gelli print, a simpler one.  I was experimenting with sprays, which I really love.  I love the effects you can create with them.  They dry fast, but depending on how you spray, they can stay wet long enough to mix colors.  I also love using the top part for adding drips or tiny drops.  I was using a Dylusions stencil with some Heidi Swapp Color Shine sprays.  They're sparkly, but not overwhelming.  I don't mind some sparkly, but I don't necessarily go fully glitter, sequins, etc.  So these sprays are really nice.  I used Teal with the Dylusions stencil.  The Color Shine sprays came in many colors, like Sweet Mint, Raspberry, and Ocean.

 

I added a border out of gelli printed deli paper that I made using various paint colors, some die-cuts, doodling with my Sharpie pen and my Uni Posca white paint marker.  The butterfly is from a package of corrugated cardboard shapes from my stash, colored with a red paint marker.  I also added stamping with Archival black ink.  The tag is actually an experiment.  I used an acrylic stamp from Badass Art on some scrap and I really liked it, so I cut it into a tag to use later.  Enter later.  My Sharpie outlined the edge, I added a tiny heart from Oddball Art.  I also traced a Dylusions girl mask near the bottom for some added punch.

 

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

Mini Art Journal Day 16

Hello there my crafty friends!  I'm so glad you could stop by!

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

Day 16 - Notice

 

I'm also entering my page into these challenges:

Creative Inspiration Challenges #6

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, and I do plan to post them all.  This challenge has been very interesting thus far, because it makes you think.  Not that I mind thinking.  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.

What do you notice about the world around you?  What do you notice about your own life?  I've been noticing both aspects of my life that I'm not super happy about as well as other aspects I do like.  Or something I need to alter, but not necessarily get rid of.  Then there are simply aspects that I want to notice, to remember, because I am reminded that moments are fleeting.

My background is another gelli print on deli paper, and I really like the color combination on this one.  It's a little different, not always something that's usually found.

Now normally I'm not a fan of brown.  I much prefer to use colors, though I do find that I am, on occasion, freely using pieces that are brown or gray, such as plain chipboard.  I have also found myself just painting paper just to see what happens.  I will at times just grab my collage papers and cut out different shapes.  That's what I seemed to do in this case.  I used the gelli print for the background, and then cut out the top border from some brown paper that had a bunch of paint randomly strewn on it.  Then I used some black paint through my small sized (6x6) punchinella stencil.  I like adding pops of black or white to my page.  I like how it adds interest and I feel it helps showcase the colors more.  I also used a stamp set that had not been used at all really.  Sometimes you find that happening.  You grab a product because of a sale, or you really like the designer or the stamp design itself, and then it sits.  Gather dust while you use other products.  That's what apparently happened with this one.  And I'm really glad I used it.  It's almost like you need to give yourself permission to us a supply that you've been neglecting for whatever reason.  In this case, it's a Dylusions background stamp, one of four different patterns.

 

I used a stamp I've actually used before from Dina Wakley called Boy Star with a Distress Ink mini pad in Salty Ocean and cut out with my Tonic Studios scissors.  My trusty Sharpie pen got a decent workout on this page, but my Uni Posca white paint marker wanted to play too.  After I added a cut up die-cut and phrase die-cut from my stash, I went to work with my Sharpie pen, adding lots of doodle details.  I do have to be careful, because if anything is still wet or a bit tacky but not quite dry, the pen will pick it up fast.  But on a dry surface, it's wonderful.

 

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

Mini Art Journal Day 15

 Hi there my crafty friends!

I'm so glad you're visiting!  I have another page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 15 - Evolve

 

What does it mean to evolve?  Usually it means what you don't need anymore goes away and what results is something better.  For some reason, a butterfly immediately came to mind, or rather the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly.  My brain works kinda weird, because I was then thinking not caterpillar but work, and that led me to bookworm.  I love books.  My taste in books have definitely evolved.  Perhaps it's inevitable because some books you grow up with you also grow out of.  Or the books help you on our journey through life.  So I decided to make a book butterfly with lots of doodles.

I'm also entering my page into these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge

The Crafty Addicts Challenge 5

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, but I do plan to post them all.  I do hope you're enjoying the pages.  Sometimes it's super easy to make the art, sometimes it's a challenge, no pun intended.  Or maybe I did?  Some challenges are simply design concepts, like stripes or circles.  This challenge has been very interesting thus far, because it makes you think.  Not that I mind thinking.  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.

 

I played around with a technique I've used before here.  I used a print from a gelli printing session, then used a Royal and Langnickel wash brush to cover the print with Liquitex titanium white and used the opposite end of the brush to make scribbles, allowing the pattern, color, or design to peek through.

 

The background has a lot going on, including lots of doodles.  However, I did use a background stamp of mini stars with Archival black ink in several places on the page.  I traced a Dylusions alpha stencil using a Sharpie pen. My Tombow markers got a workout with filling in the letters from the stencil, the red in the "tell your story" on the butterfly wings and the worm from my butterfly.  I also did a bunch of doodles using a Craftsmart purple paint marker (there's one in this set), a Molotow One4All shock blue paint marker, and the Sharpie pen.

 

The butterfly is a stamp I've used before from an old Balzer Designs stamp set through Impression Obsession.  The worm is a digital stamp from Oddball Art.  Confession: it's not actually a worm, though I thought it was originally.  I trimmed the "tail" to make it more worm-like.  I also added doodles that remind me of Teesha Moore using my Uni Posca water-based white paint marker

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

Mini Art Journal Day 14

 

Hi there my crafty friends!

I'm so glad you're visiting!  I have another page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 14 - Connect

 

How do you connect?  What do you want to connect to?  I think we all seek some sort of connection.  It can be a struggle for some.  I'm trying to reconnect.  And to deepen my connection to certain parts of my life.  One part that I think many of us adults neglect is our inner child.  I don't think it's planned, but we get caught up in life and lose track of having fun.  So my page for this prompt is about connecting with your inner child, and learning to love that part of yourself.

I'm also entering my page into this challenge:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Simply Create Too #194

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 posted either groups or individual.  We'll see how I'm feeling for the rest.

I really like blue, but I kinda wanted to be more subtle with using it on this spread.  I started with underpaper as a foundation.  I've come to love underpaper.  It's basically the paper your surface (desk, table, work surface of your choice) is covered with, and it gets covered with whatever you work with.  Ghost prints of stamps, paint swatches, swipes, test doodles, just about anything art wise.  Eventually it gets covered enough and can be used as collage paper, die-cutting, so many possibilities.  And I was able to incorporate things from the background into my page.

 There's plenty of stamped images, including a border stamp set from Dylusions rubber stamp set, a large mini star stamp and a bigger stars acrylic stamp from my stash.  I chose balloons to represent my inner child.  What child doesn't love balloons?  Thinking about it, what adult doesn't love balloons?  Balloons are fantastic in their simplicity.  I used a chipboard heart, a die-cut from my stash, and two digital images from Oddball Art.

I swiped the bottom of my page with my purple Sakura solid paint marker.  My chipboard heart is covered in gesso and some ink and paint splatters.  I used colored pencils and Tombow markers to color in the blue and green heart.

 

I also used my Uni Posca white, orange, and black paint markers for filling in the stars, x's, and adding my doodles.  I filled in a couple corners with The Crafter's Workshop Well Rounded stencil and Artist Loft red paint.  I used a Moodclue blue chalk marker to make the balloon strings and a Balzer Designs rubber stamp set for the x's on the balloon strings.

 

I also added some ink drips with Liquitex Phthalocyanine Blue Green ink.  Lastly I added a sentiment from my stash.

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

Mini Art Journal Day 13

Hi there my crafty friends!

I'm so glad you're visiting!  I have another page in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 13 - Whittle

 

This one was a real challenge.  Even though I have tried to rid my life of things are may not be as important as they once were, or I'm seeing things from a different perspective, it's still a process.  You can look at it as losing things, or as freeing yourself.  Could also be a combination.  I thought about it a lot and what it meant for me.  I have been trying to clean out my life.  Remove what doesn't work, and instead of seeing it as losing something, I'm trying to remember what I gain.  Space in a physical sense perhaps (such as having a garage sale or donating items you no longer want or need), or perhaps you can find peace is deciding what's important to you emotionally.  So in whittling away at my life, it is about remembering who I am, and that it's to help me care for me so I can life my best life.

I'm also entering my page into these challenges:

Creative Fingers Challenge #261

Crazy is Our Fame September Challenge

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 posted either groups or individual.  We'll see how I'm feeling for the rest.

I have a lot of gelli print papers from printing sessions I've done in the past.  This background paper featured at least two different stencils.  You can see a backwards print of Dylusions numbers stencil.  When you're gelli printing, you can do reverse prints, masking, layered stencils, oh the possibilities!  I used Liquitex Basics in yellow, ultramarine blue, and free flow aqua green.

I stamped a simple message that I felt was a whittled down version of a speech one could give on being true to one's self.  It's a snarky phrase from a Badass Art stamp set I got from a company of the same name out of Poland.  You can also see a die-cut star from my stash.

I also added a couple strips of washi tape and a pair of legs from a larger stamp from a Dylusions set and colored with Tombow markers.

I also added the sentiment die-cut "Seize the Day" is also from my stash.  Lastly I added some doodles with my Sharpie pen.

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

Mini Art Journal Day 12

Hello there, everyone!  I seriously cannot believe it's already halfway through September.  How did that even happen?  I'm sharing Day 12 in my mini art journal for the Art Marks Challenge from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.

Day 12 - Unfold

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 just tuning in, 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 is born!

I'm planning to post all of my pages, though some may be individual pages and some may be in group.

This art journal page is actually on the simpler side and that's no necessarily a bad thing.  I went with a more literal interpretation of unfold, to essentially reveal. 

 

I used more gelli print paper to start my background.  I used Artist Loft Acrylic paint in red, neon green, and Liquitex Basics ultramarine blue.  Then added some stamping with my Balzer Designs stamp set called Really Useful Stamps.  That's for the triangles.  I'll go into the tag next, and then whats under the tag.  And yes, I said under.  All in due time.

 

The tag is from an old vintage set that I decided I wanted to resurface.  So I adhered some old patterned paper and cut around the edge of the tag.  Then I traced a compass mask I have and added the green with a Craftsmart paint marker, part of this set.  I added some washi tape to allow the tag to swing.

What gets revealed is a Dylusions stamp with a lovely head!  Now the heart is actually chipboard and it's from a set.  I got a set of gold foil heart chipboard at some point.  I didn't like the gold, so I covered the whole thing with gesso and then splattered purple and blue ink all over it.  I grabbed one of those and added some doodles with a Uni Posca Ultra Fine Point Red Paint Marker.  The body with wings is from the Dylusions Dependable Dotty stamp set.  I stamped the image using my Ranger archival black ink and colored it with my Tombow markers.  There is a head and legs, which I had cut off at some point and I used the legs on an earlier page in this little journal.

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

I am an Amazon affiliate, which just means I get to share links to products I love and get a commission when you make a purchase.  Thank you so much for your support!

And thank you for joining me!  Bye for now!

Join Me for Day 11!

I'm so glad you're continuing on this adventure with me!  Hello, again, and I've got Day 11 of my Art Marks Challenge journal to share with you today.  It's been pretty busy around here, but having a little creative time is just the ticket.  The Art Marks Challenge is from Rae Missigman and Sandi Keene.  It was technically last month, but I'm still catching up.

Day 11 - Change

 

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'm pretty jealous.

I'm going to be posting all my pages.  I've done a few groups, I'm still debating whether I'll do that again, but I'd like to.  

 

 

For the Day 11 prompt of Change, I was thinking of change in my life.  What changes have happened in your life?  Are these changes you wanted?  Or are they changes you needed?  I thought about all the different ways you can make changes and where you start.  You're living life, doing your thing, and sometimes you get caught up in the daily stuff and forget the big picture.  It happens to all of us.  You're on your road and it might take twists and turns, there might be bumps.  But in any road, there's signs.  For actual roads, there's actual signs.  I used road signs as a jumping off point for my page.

 

I used some gelli print paper for my background.  You might be able to see my Dylusions alphabet stencil as well as some green from a different stencil.  I grabbed a bunch of phrase die-cuts from my stash, and used my Badass Art Stamps with my Ranger Archival Ink in black.  I also used my Sharpie pen to do some doodles. 

 

 

 

I've been making a number of changes in my life.  One is an e-mail marketing system called Cliqly and it's great!  And I like toshare things that can help people that have helped me.  I can do it in about 10 minutes a day, I got a list of people to e-mail without having to scrimp and search, and anyone who signs up gets a referral link to help other while earning commissions.  Check it out if you're interested

I've also included affiliate links for the products I've used.  I earn a commission for any purchases you make, with no price increase for you.  I truly appreciate the support!

 

I'm also entering this in Crafting Happiness Challenge.

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