Best Intentions....

What do they say about best intentions....I had so many plans for the month of May.  I was finally going to take some time while the kiddos were in school and I was off work to get a number of things done around the house.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  The cold that I caught at the beginning of May is still lingering a month later and even though I have started on my to do list, it is woefully incomplete.  I think I have come to terms that it is going to be an ongoing battle instead of one all out conflict.  Whatever I manage to get completed is more than I had the day before.

Crafting has been slow as well but I have managed to make some headway.  I have finished an art journal page and started another.  For this page, I wanted to avoid the really wet mediums, such as paints and sprays, and went with layering inks instead.

I recently acquired a new Prima 12x12 stencil with a city map outline.  Using different colours of distress inks, I made it the central point of a two page art journal layout.  Another new Prima 12x12 stencil that resembled wood was used to add another layer of inking.  As much as I was avoiding wet mediums, I gave in for some sprays with a wonderful new Memory Box stencil.

I also dug out the modelling paste and a Prima 12x12 butterfly stencil.  Once the modelling paste was dry, I rubbed on Inka-Gold in green, blue and gold.  Pencil outlines helped to have the butterflies popped out a bit more.

Lots of bits and pieces of fussy cutting came next.  I was drinking coffee with cream today so the "tea rings and splatters" are actually diluted walnut ink.

I am trying to use up my scraps and old papers with the art journal.  Not being totally successfully with this but I am trying.  The new Graphic45 keeps tempting me -- especially the Botanical Tea collection.  As you can see, some of it snuck in here.

I am currently working on another page.  This one is messy.  Lots of gel medium, collage, gesso, sprays and inks.

Have a good Monday.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day

No celebrating by creating this year, I am afraid to say.  A wicked cold has knocked me flat on my back the last couple of days.  I did manage to get out of my PJs for a short time today to hit our comic book store for Free Comic Book Day and to take Pumpkin to her ballet class.

On the way home, we made a quick stop at my LSS so that I could celebrate by adding to my stash.  There were some really nice stencils, a few stamps, and bits and bobs that really needed to come home with me.  All of which are calling me from my perch on the couch under 4 layers of blankets to come play with them.  Maybe tomorrow.....

Have a good and hopefully healthy Saturday and a creative NSD.

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.