Tap Tap and In My Garden - Art Journal Pages

Hello all!  It's been a while since I had anything to post on my beloved blog, and I have missed it.  Sadly, my dad was diagnosed with cancer in August.  To say that it's been a rollercoaster ride is an understatement.  And even though I know in my head that doing some art would be good therapy for me, I also knew that my heart just wasn't in it.  However, I think I've finally reached the point where I *need* to make some art.

So tonight I went to an "art journal junkie hangout" at a local art studio.  This was not a class, but simply an evening to spend working in your art journal.  Now, I would not say that I am an art journaler.  It's something I aspire to, and I have several different journals that I've started working in (one dating back three years already!), but I just haven't been able to establish a routine and stick with it.  Still, I haven't given up on myself.

I threw that old journal and a bunch of supplies into a tote bag and headed out for a fun evening with 10 other art journal enthusiasts.  One of the main supplies I took was a 12x12 plastic container stuffed full of paper scraps left over from previous projects.  In that container I found this woodpecker illustration and some sheet music with the lyrics "Tap, tap, my sturdy fellow."  I used watercolor pencils to extend the tree to the top of the page. That's some washi tape on the left side.

The other half of the spread features the remnants of a watercolor painting I did a year ago, a butterfly cut out of some Tim Holtz tissue paper, scrapbooking paper and the title of a song.  I actually did this page first.  Oh, and I should tell you that both of these pages already had some green patterned papers glued onto them, that I covered up with a layer of white gesso.

I'm not sure if either page is fully done yet, but for tonight I can't think of anything more I want to add to them, and I'm not going to force the issue.  The main thing is that I enjoyed myself tonight and created two pages that make me happy.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x8 Visual Journal and other supplies as noted above.

The New Art! Bah! Envelope Mail Art

This is the altered envelope I sent to my September partner.  I thought the quote from an old novel was fun so I built a collage around it using random items from my stash.

The base is a 6x6 red envelope by Bazzill made out of textured cardstock.  I gave it a thin coat of white gesso and then removed some of the gesso by laying a honeycomb stencil on top and wiping with a baby wipe.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

You Are Here - Tag

I haven't felt like creating much lately, but I did manage to squeak out this small tag that will make a sweet bookmark for someone.

I found the "You Are Here" stamp at a craft store and thought I could have some real fun with it, since I like to use old maps a lot in my designs.  I used a scrap of a map on this tag, although most of it ended up underneath the photo booth picture which is a Tim Holtz product.

Thanks for dropping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Tag from The Paper Studio; vintage map and textbook scraps; photo booth image by Tim Holtz; You Are Here stamp by Stampabilities; Little America postal cancellation stamp by Inkadinkado; splatter pattern background stamp by All Night Media; alphabet stencil by Tim Holtz; peeled paint, tumbled glass, gathered twigs and vintage photo distress inks; Ranger black Archival ink; Wendy Vecchi watering can Archival Ink; polka dot washi tape; Stabilo black All Pencil; gold seam binding.

G is for Gymnast

Sometimes I agonize over a collage for far too long and still am not happy with the results.  Other times a collage comes together as easily as hitting a home run.  What?  You don't think it's easy to hit a home run?  OK, maybe it's not.  And yes, I know I'm mixing sports analogies here.  But if you've ever played baseball (or softball), or even just watched a game, you know almost instantaneously when that bat has connected perfectly with the ball.  The batter's swing appears to be effortless.  The ball takes off at an optimal arc.  And you just know that baby is going over the fence.

This collage was kind of like that.

It started with the perfect pitch:  an 1897 magazine article (with awesome photos) on the training of professional gymnasts.

The magazine images connected perfectly with a "G" card from a 1938 game called Quick Wit.  G?  Gymnastics!  Anything with legs?  My fabulous gymnast doing a one-armed hand stand.  (I didn't get a scan of the complete "G" card I used, so here's a sample of an "O" card.)

An effortless swing through my vintage ephemera netted a graphic from a 1942 math textbook.  It showed a group of children playing a bean bag game (G!  Game!).  Turned upside down, the circular image made a perfect mat for my gymnast to balance on.  And hey!  More legs!

Finally, to put my collage over the fence: a bingo card with the exact same yellow and red tones as the other images.

Home run!

As I leisurely round the bases, I have time to tell you that the style of this collage was inspired by Randel Plowman, collage artist and author of The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired.  It's one of my go-to collage art books and never fails to energize me.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go out there and swing for the fences.

Extra! Extra!

The brother that is receiving this 4x4 chunky for his birthday will also receive this card.

I adhered patterned paper to a chipboard circle and colored it with distress inks to match the other patterned papers (all by 7 Gypsies).  The buildings were stamped directly on the background with black soot distress ink which helps to make them look like they're in the distance. 

The cute little paperboy from Artistic Outpost was stamped on a scrap of vanilla cardstock, colored with Prismacolor pencils, and cut out before being adhered.  I stamped "extra" twice on patterned paper and again used distress inks to tint them.  They are attached to each other with a garment pin from my stash.

I can't believe it's the last day of August already!  Make it a great one.

Supplies:
Brown cardstock by Bazzill; very vanilla and crumb cake cardstock from Stampin' Up; patterned papers by 7 Gypsies; stamps from Artistic Outpost; Ranger Archival black ink; dried marigold, tumbled glass, walnut stain and black soot distress ink; titanium white acrylic paint; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; punchinella; circle chipboard shape from Hobby Lobby; Martha Stewart border punch; Nestabilities lacy round die from Spellbinders; garment pin by Making Memories; pop-dots.

Test Yourself - Mail Art Postcard

I created this 5x7 postcard for a mail art friend who likes my collages that include vintage photos.

For the background I used pages torn from old textbooks.  The cute graphic on the left is from a math book, and there's also part of a spelling book lesson and a geography book map under there.  The young woman in her cap and gown is my Aunt Sarah.  (I've used this photo before because it's such a classic.)  I used various stencils, stamps and washi tapes to create layers and to tie everything together.  As a final step, and to bring more color into the collage, I outlined the photograph with a blue Gelato and rubbed it with my finger. 

This postcard has to go all the way to Portugal so I'll be popping it into a clear cellophane envelope for protection and sending it on its way.

TGIF!  Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x7 watercolor postcard; pages from vintage textbooks; alphabet stencil, Harlequin stencil, music washi tape and clock rub-on by Tim Holtz; clock stencil by The Crafters Workshop; clock stamp by Graphic 45; black soot and mustard seed distress ink; alphabet washi tape unknown; black Stabilo All Pencil; Faber-Castell metallic blue Gelato; reprint of family photo.

Happy Chunky Birthday

I created this mixed media chunky for my brother whose birthday is coming up soon.  That's his picture when he was just a little tyke.

I started by covering a 4x4 cradled wood panel with patterned paper and scraps from an old book.  I used blue, green and white acrylic paint to create a grungy background that is interesting but not too busy.  I stamped on some text and the splatters, then added texture by stenciling on the circles using modeling paste and a Tim Holtz stencil.  Once the modeling paste dried, I tinted the circles with distress ink and acrylic paint. 
 

For the pedestal, I used an old wooden drawer knob.  I painted it with acrylics and applied a crackle product, then played around with distress inks and a charcoal pencil until it looked similar to the background on the panel.

The porcelain knob has a funny family connection: it came off the laundry chute door in the bathroom of our childhood home.  We completely remodeled the bathroom last year and when my mom told me she was going to buy a new knob for the laundry chute door, I asked if I could have the old one.  It's not original to the house, but it does have a cute vintage look to it.

This project was so much fun.  I think I need to make one for myself!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a fabulous day.