Memories

I decided to join The Summer of Color 5 hosted by Kristin Van Valkenburgh. Color makes me happy and I can use a large dose of happy about now!!

This is week 1 and the colors for the challenge are blue, blue, green!! I had fun playing with fluorescent colors, it's a bit outside of the norm for me. It feels very summery to me!! 

Memories, sometimes I wish we had a delete button.....

Begin Again

Since October of last year there have been far to many tragic events surrounding myself, my family, and close friends. Art is my saving grace and it's where I find balance. I am grateful for that. 

Let Go. 

Breathe. 

Trust. 

Smile. 

Madness. 

Courage Dear Heart. 

Conceal. 

Hope. 

I hope to start blogging again, but maybe not. Instagram seems to be my media of choice. It's much easier to share photos and life there. I'm looking forward to a summer filled with family, friends, creating and most importantly calm and healing. 

Big hugs,

Christy

My Inner Artist Guardian

Life Book 2014! Wow, this journey is far exceeding my expectations! I have never considering drawing, I didn't think that it was something I could accomplish. Thanks to Tamara LaPorte I was able to complete my first face. The lesson was to draw your inner artist guardian and Tam made it so easy to follow, step by step. She also prompted you to pick a word for the year and include it in your painting. I like this idea much more then setting a new years resolutions that I never keep beyond February! lol 

My creative juices are flowing and I can't wait to get back into my studio and create more art! 

Mondays are my new favorite day of the week!

Stay tuned for more Life Book inspiration!

You still have time to sign up! Link is below!

Life Book 2014

Big hugs!

xoxoxo

My Lifebook Journey

Wow, its been a while huh? The last few months have blown by so quickly, but I'm back at it!

We have a bit to catch up on :)

Back in October I started searching the Internet for a local art retreat. I was longing for a deeper connection in the art world and desperate to learn more about mixed media. While web searching I stumbled upon an AMAZING artist, Tamara LaPorte and her website Willowing Arts. On her website I learned about a year long mixed media e-course called LIFEBOOK. It is taught by 23 different teachers with a lesson or bonus released each week! There is so much I want to say about Tamara and Lifebook, but this post would be entirely too long! She is amazing and the course has already changed me.... This course it not only about amazing art, but also about healing. You don't have to participate in the healing lessons if you don't want to, its just there as an added bonus. You can learn more about it here. Plus, its super affordable and you still have time to sign up!! 

Anyway, back to the story :)

I was planning on asking hubby to purchase it for me as a Christmas gift, but before I even had a chance to ask him I received an email update from one of the blogs that I follow.....CREATIVITY UNLEASHED by Traci Bautista (another amazing artist). She happens to also be one of the teachers for LIFEBOOK 2014. She was hosting a giveaway for the upcoming Lifebook 2014! So obviously I entered and I bet you will never guess?!?!?!?! I WON! I was so beyond excited and grateful for this opportunity! I was in the car when I found out that I had won the giveaway, don't worry hubby was driving! However I did scare the crap out of him with my gasping and squealing! LOL

So fast forward to now....staying true to myself....I am already behind on the lessons! 

Lessons started January 1st, I'm not too far behind so there is hope! So far the journey has been amazing and its not even February yet! I cant imagine what this year has in store for me...

So here is my first finished lesson from week one. It was just a warm up to get your creative juices flowing. It was fun to just sit a play while following directions given by someone else! Following along with Tam took away the dreaded blank page syndrome. It was so relaxing to just sit and play along....

                                

 

Here is a sneak peek at what is coming up next. This lesson is all about drawing your inner artist guardian for 2014. My drawing is complete, I just have to add some paint! 

I will be back soon with my finished guardian and many more completed lessons from Lifebook 2014! 

It is going to be an amazing creative year!

Big Gentle Hugs!

xoxoxo

Journal background using Vaseline Resist Technique

This is another journal background I completed for the mixed media resist challenge over the summer. I learned the technique of using Vaseline as a resist from Julie Fei Fan Balzer. You can watch her video demonstrating this technique here. 

Beware....This is a VERY messy technique, but you get a cool look on your project.

I started by covering my journal page in black gesso.

I then applied the Vaseline through my Donna Downey/Prima 12x12 Floral stencil. After I finished applying the Vaseline, I painted the page with some acrylic paint mixed with Liquitex glazing fluid. I used short strokes so the Vaseline wouldn't shift too much. Once the paint dried I wiped off the Vaseline with several TONS of baby wipes...once again, this is a very messy process! LOL

This is what you are left with! I love the look! I think I will have a hard time journaling on this page, its just to pretty :) I may have to try this on a canvas.

Thanks for looking! Have a great week friends!

Hugs!

Water Colors and Black Glue Technique

While participating in a few mixed media challenges over the summer I created the art journal pages below. The challenge was to use watercolors and some black glue. I had never heard of this technique before and it intrigued me. I had fun playing with the black glue!

On this first page I created my circles with the black glue and let it dry. I then added the color with my Caran D'Ache NeoColor II crayons (Naples Yellow, Jade Green, and Turquoise). I activated them with water and let it dry. I then dropped some fluid acrylic inks in pink and blue and added the stamped words. 

On this page I put down the color first with my Reeves watercolor set. I then sketched out the tree with a pencil and then went back over it with the black glue. The inspiration for this came from a tree painting I saw on Pinterest. I tried and tried to find it again so I could link back to it, but sadly I could not find it again. If I ever come across it again I will come back and add the link....

Thanks for looking! Gentle Hugs!

Donna Downey Gel Medium Resist Technique

I recently participated in a mixed media challenge with a group of girls on Facebook. 

The challenge was to create a resist on your journal page and then paint it. I created this resist with Golden Gel Medium. After getting the gel medium on the page I embedded some leaves I found on vacation near the beautiful Truckee River into the gel medium. While that was drying I mixed some artist quality watercolor paint in Quinacridone Gold with Liquitex Glazing Fluid and painted it in the page. I let it sit for a couple of minutes then wiped off the paint with a baby wipe. The color remained in the nooks and crannies. I picked up this technique by watching a few TONS of Donna Downey Inspiration Wednesday videos! It worked beautifully! Now I have a gorgeous background for a art journal page! :)

Thanks for looking! Gentle Hugs!

Gelli Prints for my Art Journal!

Gelli, Gelli, Gelli! I have spent at least 12 hours playing with my Gelli Plate over the last three days! I love how every print is different and unique. Its almost impossible to duplicate a print twice! 

I thought I would share some of my favorite prints, but I will break it up into a few different blog posts since there were so many. 

This first post is all about the prints I created as backgrounds for my art journal. 

I first removed the pages from my Mixed Media Strathmore Visual Journal for ease of printing. This is one of my favorite journals to work in. The pages are 9x12 and the paper can handle anything I throw at it! The pages can accept layer after layer of different mediums without compromising its integrity. 

I used many different stencils for my prints from Crafters Workshop, Balzer Design, Prima, Heidi Swapp, and old stencils from my scrapbooking days. Stencils are definitely my favorite tool to use when playing with the Gelli Plate.

I also used many different types of paint from Sargent Arts, Amsterdam, and cheap craft paint. I have to say that my favorite paint to use on the Gelli Plate is the Amsterdam paint. It says wet for a decent amount of time and is thick enough that I can pull several prints from one application.

I will try to list the stencils used under the picture, but if you have any questions at all about what was used for a particular print PLEASE feel free to ask me! 

Hope you enjoy!

Balzer Designs Mini Silhouette Script, Heidi Swapp Tiny Hearts

Crafters Workshop Harlequin

Crafters Workshop Harlequin, Folk Art Pebbles

Prima Wood grain, Prima Raindrops

Prima/Donna Downey Floral

Heidi Swapp Heart Cluster, Prima Wood grain, Prima Raindrops, Heidi Swapp Sunshine

Balzer Designs Mini Silhouette Script, Heidi Swapp Heart Cluster

I have many many more stencils to try on the Gelli Plate, including several homemade ones. They are my favorite tool to use while creating with my Gelli Plate.....stay tuned!

Hope you enjoyed!Gentle Hugs!

Weird is a Side-Effect of Awesome!

I saw this quote somewhere in the world of Pinterest and I fell in love with it. I just knew I had to add it to my art journal! 

The background was created with various spray inks and stencils. I just wanted to get a feel for the different sprays I have been collecting. I used some homemade sprays, Heidi Swapp sprays, and Dylusion sprays. I then added a layer of stamps for a little texture. I stenciled in the quote with an old lettering stencil from my scrapbooking days and then painted the letters in with some Bombay India Ink. The adorable owl is a stamp that I picked up from Typo.

Thanks for looking! Hugs!

Do it today....

This is a journal page I created in early May. It is a reminder to love, create, and smile everyday. I need a little reminder every now and then :)

The background was created with some cheap craft acrylic paints. The poppy stamp is from Donna Downey's Poppies and Peonies Collection. The butterflies were cut from a wallpaper border I picked up on a clearance table at Walmart. The faint circles you see are from stamping with the end of a wine cork :)

I know I'm not covering everything I did to this page, so if you have any question please feel free to ask!

Remember to find time to love, create, and smile friends!

Hugs!

Summer Love

The last few months I have submerged myself into the colorful world of art journaling. 

I. Am. In. Love. 

I think I have found my true crafty passion. I love everything about art journaling. It gives me a type of freedom in my creativeness I have never experienced before. I love all the different mediums and experimenting with them. However, I was really starting to miss my favorite Saturated Canary digi images and my beloved Copic markers! 

Then it hit me...DUH! 

I can totally color my images and add them to the journal! I'm a little slow these days! Lol

The background was created with Pan Pastels (Yellow Ochre, Magenta, Orange, and Permanent Red Tint) and 2 Heidi Swap 12x12 stencils (Sunshine & Tiny Heart). 

The Saturated Canary image is Cali Girl and she is colored with Copic markers. I finished this page just in time to enter it in the Saturated Canary challenge #44 Hair that is different... 

link----> http://saturatedcanarychallenge.blogspot.com/2013/05/challenge-44-hair-thats-different.html

The tag started out as a white canvas tag that I treated with some canary yellow craft paint. I also added a little bit of my yellow Twinkling H20 watercolor to make it shimmer (hard to see in photo). I hand wrote i love summer with a white paint pen.

The big heart is a cardboard piece by Maya Road treated with Faber Castell Gelatos. The smaller hearts from the stencil were treated with some Stickles (fruit punch) for a little sparkle.

The butterfly I found at Ikea of all places! lol I am always on the lookout where ever I go! You never know when you might find an item that can be used in your crafts! I just recently bought a roll of camera gaff tape at the Sony production lot for my art journal! The cashier looked at me like I was nuts :) 

I took this picture to show the stencil process.

I hope you enjoyed my summer journal page. I am so glad that the warmer weather is finally upon us. I guess I have finally turned into a true Cali girl! It took me almost 20 years, but finally my heart belongs to Cali! lol 

((Hugs))

Keeping my sanity with an art journal!

So I have been housebound and laid up the last month because of a couple of herniated discs in my lower back. This has given me a lot of time to search Pinterest and watch art journal how to videos via YouTube. I have always admired people who could art journal and I have always wanted to try, but wasn't sure how to start. I have learned so much during this not so convenient down time! Lol Not to mention the inspiration I have received from other artists! There are so many talented artists out there and I'm so grateful that they share their experience and work with us via YouTube, blogs and on the various social media websites!

Now comes the fun part! I have been playing like crazy! Every chance I get I disappear into my studio, pain permitting. I am having a blast finding my own style and technique. There are so many wonderful products to try! What a journey I am on......

Here is my first completed art/inspiration journal. I hope you enjoy my pages and that you find a little inspiration of your own.

 

This is the cover of the journal. There are several layers. I used Tim Holtz tissue paper, Pan Pastels, and Faber Castell Gelatos. I used Tim Holtz Grungeboard letters to spell out art. They are colored with the Gelatos as well. The edges are covered with washi tape.

This is the book I started with. It is just a cheap little book made for scrapbooking. I didn't want to buy a mixed media journal until I played a little and was positive I was going to enjoy the whole art journal process. It is now my passion.

Close up of cover

The small hearts are chipboard covered in Gelatos.

This is the inside cover and the first page. I adhered more Tim Holtz tissue paper to the inside cover. I will add more to it when inspiration strikes. I'm not sure what to do there... maybe some actual journaling! lol

I covered the first page in white gesso and then painted it with cheap craft paint. I used modeling paste through a circle stencil, swirly stamps, heart punch outs, and Gelatos to add color to the modeling paste.

I'm not sure what to say about this page! When I had the first couple of layers down I really disliked it so I just kept adding more and more layers! lol Now I'm not sure what I think of it, but that's ok because I learned a lot about different products from this page. I started out with a layer of gesso and plain white tissue paper. I then added lots of splatters with Twinkling H20's (LOVE this product!), acrylic paint, bubble wrap dipped in paint, heart punch outs, heart stencil, and Bombay india inks. There are probably more products on there, but I cant remember because I keep going back and adding to it trying to fix it! lol

I love the color of this page. I used various Dylusion spray inks and then wiped it down with a paper towel and it left me with a soft mix of colors. The heart flowers were made with a stamp and heart punch outs from a dictionary. I then covered the hearts with a mix of the Twinkling H20's. I also used modeling paste through a circle stencil and stamps for the hanging twigs and bird.

On this page I started out by covering the page with a butterfly napkin I found at Tuesday Morning using Collage Pauge by Traci Bautista. I also added the paper doilies to the corners using this Collage Pauge. I watered down white gesso for the drip affect and Bombay india ink for the splatter drops. Once again I used modeling paste for the circles and the clouds are from a punch.

I had so much fun with this page. I had no idea what I was going to do when I started. I just started by laying down a few of my favorite paint colors. I used a very cool pebble stencil that I found at Michaels by Folk Art. Its hard to see, but I used the end of a wine cork dipped in black paint for a little bit of texture. There are also a few drops of Bombay india ink, washi tape and an alphabet stamp by Stampabilites found at Hobby Lobby.

This was another page that I didn't like in the beginning, but now I LOVE it! I started out by laying down white gesso and then I covered the page in drywall joint tape that I found at Ace Hardware. I added the flowers that I fussy cut from some junk mail and then added several layers of Dylusion spray inks and acrylic paint. The feathers were created with modeling paste and a stencil designed by the fabulous Julie Fei Fan Balzer called Peacock Feathers. While I was waiting for the modeling paste to dry an amazing thing happened! The modeling paste absorbed the color from underneath it. I had no idea this would happen! I LOVE the way it turned out! I completely left it alone after this point. What you see is exactly how the modeling paste absorbed the color! Gorgeous!

Close up of feathers

This page makes me laugh :) I have been taking some VERY strong pain meds for my back. One day I told my hubby that it made me feel floppy and he laughed and told me I should put that in my journal. So I did :)

I started by covering the pages in black gesso (which I love!) and then used modeling paste and the circle stencil to add some texture. I used the Twinkling H20's for the drips that also ran over the modeling paste. I stamped the hearts and funny face with some white pigment ink. Easy Peasy Fun!

I love tea and have been drinking TONS of it lately since I can't mix my beloved nightly glass of red wine with my pain meds. As you can see Tazo Calm is one of my favs so it had to be put in the journal! I started these pages with a layer of black gesso and some acrylic paint. I layered the tea bag wrappers, white doilies, and scrap pieces of white lace with Collage Pauge. The two tea sayings are from a 12x12 paper pad by The Paper Studio. I also used a little bit of lace tape in the corners.

My last page is also one of my favorites so far. It was an easy and relaxing page. I covered the page in white gesso and applied a few different blue acrylic paints with a foam brush. I then used a palette knife to apply some gorgeous gray acrylic paint. The swirls you see are from a swirly stamp using black ink and traced with a white gel pen. I covered a phone book page with orange, green, and gray acrylic paint and then punched out the clouds. I also used this phone book page with Tim Holtz Umbrella Man die. I outlined the clouds and Umbrella Man with a black Faber Castell Big Pitt Artist Pen and a white gel pen. The stamp is also from Tim Holtz. 

Close up of Umbrella man. The light blue circles you see are from a stencil using a light blue acrylic paint.

If you made it to the end I thank you for looking! I hope you enjoyed the pages as much as I enjoyed making them! This is definitely my new passion! I have always enjoyed being crafty, but I feel like I have found my truest of trues! 

Gentle Hugs!

Happy journaling!

If you have any questions about any of the pages please please feel free to ask!