Fussy cutting

One aspect of scrapbooking and art journalling that I seem to always fall back on is fussy cutting.  I not sure why I find cutting out bits and pieces from pattern paper so relaxing but I do.  Whenever I am looking at piece of paper, I tend to deconstruct it.  Trying to reorganize the various elements into other arrangements or layerings.

I love the Graphic45 violets from the Sweet Sentiments line.  I ended up buying 6 sheets of this paper specifically so I could fussy cut out the groupings and layer them.

The background is made up of gesso, gelatos, pearl mica, ink and pencils.  A number of different stencils were used with the ink, gesso and pearl mica to create the patterns.   The gelatos were just smudged on.  I am still playing with gelatos trying to figure out how to use them and what effects that I can get with them.

Even though this page seems a little unfinished to me, I am going to stop here for now.  I am not sure what to add next but the nice things about art journalling is that you add anytime you want and change it up.

Happy Monday....off to play some more.

Yet Even More Art Journalling

Zangles and doodling are something that I have been looking at for quite sometime but haven't really played with that much.  I keep stalking blogs and reading books but that is as far as it has gone so far.  I was perusing Valerie Sjodin blog yesterday and decided to give her style of doodling a try.  It reminds me of peacocks and butterflies.

I gathered up my sharpies, pencil crayons and stickles and this is what I came up with.  I also like cutting the edge of the paper to give visual interest to the page.  I am going to have to do more of that in this book.

Now that this page is finished I am trying to figure out what technique I should try next.  I don't seem to want to stop now that I am on a roll.

Happy Friday.

More Art Journal Playing

I am really starting to enjoy art journalling.  I like just playing and not worrying about the outcome.

For this page, I just took sections of dictionary paper and mod podged them to the art journal.  I covered them with a light coat of gesso, threw my tea bag from my cup of tea on the paper a few times.  I, then, inked over a couple of different stencils to create the background.  Washi tape, bits of pattern paper fussy cut, a rub on and some doodling finished up the page.

I am not really into the journalling part of art journalling so you will not see much on my pages.  I enjoy more of the collage and trying out different techniques side of art journalling.

I am thinking for the next page doing some cut out work.

Happy Thursday.

On a Roll

Oooo...two blog posts in two days.  I am on a roll. :-)

After I finished my card yesterday, I still had part of the dictionary page that I used for the card image left over.  Instead of filing it away for later, I decided that I would glue it in my art journal.  The next thing I knew, I had sprays, paint, bits of ephemera, washi tape and my cup of tea next to me....and soon all of it was on my page....even the tea.

Just playing like this seems to have unblocked my creative flow.  It is nice to have the time to be able to play again.  I have even started a second page today....who knows, I might even have another post again soon. :-)

Have a good Monday.

My Poor Neglected Blog

Alas, I am afraid to say you have fallen by the wayside lately.  Life has gotten away from in the last few months and crafting has been the furthest thing from my mind.  I have spent the last few months shutting down our office and dealing with all the employees that we laid off.  I, myself, will soon be looking for work as well.  I only have a few more weeks left.  It has been an incredibly busy few months and it feels very strange to be thinking about looking for work after almost 17 years at this company but I am looking forward to doing something different....just not sure what that will be yet.

It is not a doom and gloom situation.  I am leaving with a good severance package that is going to enable me to take the summer off with the kiddos and spend it goofing around and exploring our area of the world.  I expect to have lots of pictures and layouts to share.

After months of not doing anything, I finally finished a card that has been sitting on my dining room table since January.  It is a very, very, very late birthday card.  The person for whom the card is for is coming to visit in a couple of weeks and I thought it would be nice to have it finished for them when they arrived.

The image is from an old French/English dictionary that I discovered someone throwing out at work.  The paper is fabulous for art journalling and other crafting projects.  This particular image has to do with metal working with is perfect for the person who will be receiving this card.

It is nice to get back into crafting and hopefully I will have more to share here soon.

Happy Sunday and Happy Easter.