Sweet Lovely Day Art Journal Spread

Working in my Photos art journal again with a different color pallet. I'm definitely not one for pink, however all of our granddaughters say it's their favorite color. So this one's for Katie, Penny, Dixie, Faith, Adelaide and Jesse.

This gorgeous Queen Anne's Lace was dried and given to me by a friend. While my super heavy gesso was still wet, I laid it down slightly patting it in. It stuck perfectly.

This texture was created with Tim's Speckles Layering Stencil and light molding paste.

I sprayed and dabbed on some color using Lindy's Pink Ladies Pink Flat Fabio, and Starbursts in Cotton Candy Pink and Salt Water Taffy. When they were thoroughly dry I sponged on Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, and Evergreen Boughs Distress inks.

The Sweet Lovely Day stickers are by My Mind's Eye.

The papers and tissue were all scraps...

and I fussy cut the butterfly from a scrap piece that I believe is vintage Bo Bunny.

Just a bit of stamping with a Tim Holtz text stamp from his Nature Walk set using Jet Black Archival ink.

I defined the lines with my black Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush pen, smugging with my finger. Then to top it all off, I went back over it all with my extra soft charcoal pencil to give a bit more depth in some areas.

Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Eternity Art Journal Spread

Good morning, friends!

Today I'm sharing a spread I did last week in my Photos art journal that I created for a guest spot at the Eclectic Paperie blog in 2014. I later went on to revise the cover and instead of a family photos journal I'm using it as my weekly art journal. I love working on the old book pages as opposed to blank pages.

My texture is coming from layers of Super Heavy Gesso by Liquitex under and over lots of stickers from Tim's Lost & Found Salvage Stickers. I hardly ever use these things, so this gave me an opportunity to not feel bad about buying a great product and leaving it lay in storage.

I love the underlying colors and the bits of text that peek through.

I sponged on Brushed Corduroy, Frayed Burlap, Ground Expresso, and a touch of Festive Berries Distress inks and finished with outlining and smugging with an extra soft charcoal pencil.

The butterfly is from Tim's Crowded Attic SS pack which I definitely have used more (I'm a neutral girl when it comes down to it). The sentiment Eternity is from My Mind's Eye Record It Heirloom Alpha & Word Stickers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thankful and Blessed Art Journal Spread

There has been a drought in Bolivar this year. 

Not just the lack of rain, but the lack of art journaling. I have not remotely had any interest in working in my journals... until this week. I ran across Marta's YouTube I had bookmarked, and after viewing her latest, remembered how much I liked her work and how motivating she is. I grabbed my inks and got to work.

This is a fairly simple spread... just heavy gesso, Distress inks, charcoal pencil, and a bit of stamping. The base is some very old colored tickets, paper scraps and old lace.

The sentiment is Tim's Big Chat stickers.

The Distress inks are Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, Carved Pumpkin, and Vintage Photo all sponged on with Ranger Mini Blending Foams.

The edging is extra soft charcoal blended with my finger. The stamping is an old autumn set from Joann's inked with Archival Jet Black.

I'm loving' this and may just have started on a revival of art journaling. Who knows!

Thanks for stopping by!

Art Journal Every Day 2016, Enjoy Simple Beauty

I've been following along with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's Art Journal Every Day for several years now. However some time in 2015 I began to slip. Slowly at first, but nevertheless gathering speed and finally grinding to a halt. That being in the past, I'll forget those things which are behind and move forward... trying to do better and be more consistent. Sounds like life, doesn't it? Keep in mind, my One Little Word for 2016 is "Hope".

My art journaling for the most part has consisted of lots of mixed media with very little journaling. Looking at this page, it brings to home how little I seem to have to say (written word, that is). Something else to work on.

My page was an experiment in using Ranger's Perfect Pearls powders in combination with stenciling and stamping. On the base of tissue and gesso, I blended Distress Paints by Tim Holtz. The stencil is one of Donna Downey's by Prima.

I'm linking up my journal page at:

Blazer Designs - Art Journal Every Day

CHA opens this weekend, and I'm anxious to see all the new products. Can't wait for the videos to start showing up with all the new paper and mixed media goodies to tempt us. 

Thanks for stopping by... I really appreciate your visit!

Linda

One Little Word - HOPE

With the work of our two shops, I let my art journaling go by the wayside. I'm determined this year to do better. This is a simple page I created to showcase my one little word for 2016.

The texture is created with a pale knife, Crafters Workshop Tile Texture stencil and Liquitex Super Heavy Gesso. I cut my word with Alterations Thinlits Celebrate dies. I used happy and love, cut the letters apart, and glued together the h, o, p and e. Sometimes we just have to make do, right?

The circles are paper scraps and the doodling was created with an ultra fine tip bottle filled with a mixture of Golden Airbrush Medium and Carbon Black fluid acrylic.

I had purchased a few distress markers and Tim Holtz distress marker Spritzer toward the end of last year. Thought I'd give it a whirl to add some color to my black and white design. I first scribbled on some color and blended to into the white with a water brush, then misted with my water sprayer and let the color run. Ooooh! I like this!

The marker colors are: Mermaid Lagoon, Faded Jeans, Lucky Clover, and Salty Ocean.

To finish it off, I used the Spritzer. 

I'm off and rolling... HOPE I can keep it up!

Thanks for stopping by... I really appreciate your visit!

Linda

Inspiration Wednesday Week Nine

Good night, here I am again, weeks behind in my Inspiration Wednesday classes. Yesterday I laid other things aside and worked on week nine's lesson. I can't give you any of the specifics other than to say that I didn't follow Donna's choice of paints, but went with what I thought would make me happy... Distress and Liquitex paints very much watered down.

If you check out Donna's work here, you'll see that mine only slightly resembles hers... but that's the point. This journal page is me using her inspiration.

The new Twisted Citron Distress paint.

Thank you for stopping by!

Linda

It is Always in The Midst of Your Troubles That You Find Your Serenity Journal Page

Aren't you lovin the new TH Distress colors?

I think my favorite so far is Cracked Pistachio. I used it in the Distress Paint on nearly every art journal page I done since it's been released. On this page I've teamed it up with Crushed Olive and Vintage Photo. 

With every new bottle I buy, I also purchase a stencil. This one is TH Stampers Anonymous Lace. I've used some Golden Light Molding Paste here with it.

The images were stamped with a Cloud 9 Design set I bought ages ago at Joann.

I colored them with Distress Inks, water and a paint brush. (Someday I'd like to have the Distress Markers, but for now this technique is working okay for me.) They have some shadowing with my black F-C Stampers Big Brush Pen. 

The sentiment was stamped with Artistic Outpost's Serenity.

I like that you can still see the TH Melange Tissue Wrap underneath the gesso coat and Distress Paints. 

Some splatters with watered Liquitex Gesso.

I'm linking my page up at:

Balzer Designs - Art Journal Every Day

Thank you for stopping by!

Linda

Coffee at the Center of Every Great Idea Journal Page

Not only am I addicted to art journaling, I'm hopelessly addicted to coffee as well. So when I watched Tim Holtz introduce his new line of stamps at CHA 2015 (here with Noell Hyman) my jaw dropped and I sat through the entire video with my mouth hanging open. Near the end there is a sample card using Fresh Brewed Blueprints, and that's what sealed the deal... I put it immediately on my wish list and waited patiently for it's release. This is my first attempt with the mug and sack of beans stamps.

My background is some tissue scraps glued down with Liquitex Matte Medium. Over that is blended Distress Paints - Crushed Olive, Mowed Lawn, Mermaid Lagoon - when dry a coat of Liquitex gesso. The Chevron Arrow stencil is by Crafter's Workstop (one of Julie Balzer's) used with Prima's Platinum Crackle Texture Paste and shadowed with my Nougat Stamper's Big Brush pen by Faber-Castell. 

I stamped the mug and sack on a manilla file folder, cut them out, and colored them with Distress Inks - Mermaid Lagoon, Broken China, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo - water and a paint brush. They're shadowed with Nougat SBB pen.

I did some additional stamping with a paper towel roll and a stamp from the TH Bitty Grunge set using Archival Coffee ink. The page is also edged with Archival Coffee.

The alphas are Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type.

I'm linking up my journal page at:

Balzer Designs - Art Journal Every Day

Thank you for stopping by!

Linda