Lisa Playing in Deb's Alice Journal!

I love all things Alice!  So many interesting characters in these books (and movies.)

I decided on a collage, and wanted to add a page or two of the book as well.  I found this double spread online which fit perfectly!  Plus it was free 😊.

Next I drew some characters based on the 2010 movie, on a thinner watercolour paper, watercoloured them, and fussy cut them.

I added some vines to the book pages using some music paper which I then watercoloured.

Finally it was just a matter of adding my elements to the page!

...And then adding just a bit of journalling.  Here's the final page!

Hope you like it Deb! 💗

The Cheshire Cat

I've always loved Alice in Wonderland so painting something with this fabulous theme was absolutely awesome. I loved every moment, even when it wasn't going so well (I messed up the background and started again). Thanks for choosing this theme Deborah, its been a good boost to the ego cos he's turned out to be a bit magical looking! So happy... I'm grinning like he does! lol :) Hope you like him too!

above : the one, the only, the amazing... Cheshire Cat!

Portrait version of the finished happy cat... I used only a few treasures : Dylusions acrylic paint, Jane Davenport Gesso, paint brushes, a watercolour pencil for sketching out the cat after painting the background and coloured pencils for deciding upon the colour scheme.

I was going to add a quote but forgot all about it after I started the actual painting! I remembered after I sent the book to Sharon. It was going to say either “If you don't know where you want to go, then it doesn't matter which path you take.” or “I am not crazy, my reality is just different from yours.” or “which way, that way, here, there, anywhere” (with arrows).

Scribbling out thoughts, deciding upon design, characters and choosing colours. So many fantastic characters from these books that are fun to portray in art!

The final design is based upon the original sketch of the Cheshire Cat by John Tenneil when he (CC) was telling Alice the best way to go.

Round and round and round I went with the paintbrush ... Dylusions paint in After Midnight (dark blue), Laidback Lilac (pretty purple), Vibrant Turquoise and Black Marble.

Adding white splatters of paint is much easier using a splatter brush than the old toothbrush! But then spilt some paint so turned that into a spiral. Next thing I knew, I had all these spirals over the page...

I drew the Cheshire Cat's basic shape and a rough tree branch in watercolour pencil after the background had dried properly.

Ground Coffee tree branch decorated with Melted Chocolate swirls... sounds delicious!

Quite a nice combo, the two browns. Pre-mixed colours make life easy :) I love mixing colours, even just adding a smooch of white or spot of black to anything makes me smile...

The leaves were painted in layers, one colour at a time ... first I used Melted Chocolate, then Dirty Martini (yummy earthy green, my fave). With this paint, the colours underneath show through adding a bit of depth.
Next I added a line of Lemon Zest (yellow) along one side of each leaf then waited for them to dry before painting over it with Cut Grass (bright green). then a line down the centre with the brown.

Next was the cat himself... I painted his basic shape in Jane Davenport's white gesso. Its not as thick as some, its more like the Liquitex gesso - smooth and creamy. Anyway, I painted his stripes and features a few times to get the shape and stripes looking how I wanted.

Once the white shape was ingrained into my head (don't ask), I mixed up some Laidback Lilac and Vibrant Turquoise to get a blue-purple mixture. I painted the Cheshire Cat in the purple and blue, then where the colours met, blended it with the new mix.
I should mention that I don't clean the paint brush inbetween the purple and blue... which why having a palette is so important - it keeps your pots of paint clean :)

Don't forget, if you use pots of acrylic paint like Dylusions (and live in warm dry climates like Australia), to add a spritz / mist of water into the pot before closing the lid. This puts back any moisture that evaporated while the lid was off. I didn't do this with my black and it looks like black cottage cheese! lol Still works :)

The Vibrant Turquoise and White Linen makes it look mystical and magical :) So pleased with how its turned out.

A splash of white, dash of black, smoosh of turquoise and he's a completed cat.

Oh, and it has a strip of Jane Davenport Washi Tape down the edge because I made a mess :) lol

Hope you like him Deborah!

Thanks so much for reading this blog post :) Hope my Cheshire Cat inspires you to get arty and crafty!

Happy Creative Day!
:D
Jenny

Lisa J - Working in Lisa GG's Enchanted Journal

When I received Lisa's "Enchanted" journal from Joan, I discovered just how much Lisa loves Alice in Wonderland.  As I had been wondering what to do in this journal, I asked Lisa if it was okay if I did an Alice page too.  She said yes!

I had seen a fantastic journal page on The Mad Hatter years ago, and had always wanted to draw and paint him too, so this was the perfect opportunity.  My page is nowhere near the standard of the original (coincidentally, by another Lisa!) but I'm really happy with it.  I have to stress that I didn't copy Lisa's page; I used a Google pic.  Here's a link to Lisa Cheney's Flickr account, where you can find her Mad Hatter page.  If you haven't seen her work, please check it out - it's all gorgeous! 

I glued two pages together so that the watercolour wouldn't bleed through - this journal has heaps of pages, and the coil binding makes sticking pages together easy!

I thought that this quote went really well with the picture of the Hatter that I was doing.  These letter stamps were a bargain find from Target a while ago!

And here's the Hatter!  I drew him and then outlined him with a Pitt pen, then used watercolour.  I love how he's quite crazy looking but also quite cute (I mean Johnny Depp, yes please!).

When I'm sure that he's totally dry, I'll seal the pages using clear shoe polish.  I tried this on some ATC's last week and was pleased with the result - and also pleased that the smell dissipated after a few days!

Hope you like this entry Lisa, it was really enjoyable to do and I think I shall do some more Alice work in the future too!

Joan's page in Lisa's "Enchanted" Journal

I started by using a thick gesso on both pages, as I wanted to use dylusions dyes I was worried they would seep through the previous page.  Even with that, and working with plastic sheets between the previous and next pages, because of the holes in binding it still leaked a little, so I ended up gluing two pages together.

I used spray dyes, dylusions paints, watercolours, gellatos, twinkles and collage on page. 

 The fairy and the Cheshire cat were coloured in using markers. I stamped some flowers and used texture paste with stencil to create some foliage. The title is stuck on and outlined in white and black pen.  The Cheshire cat is designed to stand out away from page if book is standing up and open.  

On the left page I made a pocket with the previous page and put some Alice in Wonderland related journalling cards in there, I used one to sign in, as there is no designated place in journal to do so. I added a little decorated paper clip to close the pocket.

A Touch of Alice -

When Sharon's gorgeous travelling art journal arrived I could not wait to see what was inside this beautifully created book case. It was like a birthday present.

It opens right up to reveal a beautiful art journal, wont you come for a wander through the woods with Alice to see all the beautiful pages created so far.

This is Sharons cover, a lovely mixed media page using some papers I have in my own stash and they never look so good when I play with them.

Sharon has obviously lavished love and attention onto her gorgeous journal and included beautiful gifts for us all - this is her front page, I covered up her details with a dragonfly for the picture.

Sharon also did this first spread and it has an extra surprise in that cuppa, 

and with the mad hatters tea party a scene from Alice we have lots of  tea taking pride of place in Danielle's spread.

I have fallen in love with Nicoles distinctive quirky style and her page is adorable. 

Jan takes us back to the tea party with this gorgeous stack of cups and so many Alice inspired details and layers.

Roz's page actually inspired me to read Alice and Mr11 and I also watched the Alice movies one weekend. I dont think I had ever read it before. 

Janene's pages are so lovely and whimsical and textured. I love the variety of interpretations and styles we are collecting in our journals.

These are my pages I wanted to play with the woods and the checkerboard landscape.

I even gave Alice a themed package to wing her way off to Reniet and there is my handy dragonfly to cover up another address.

My next journal was.....'A Touch of Alice' from Sharon Williams

I had a lot of fun with this one...decided to get inspiration by watching Alice in Wonderland with my daughter Isabella.

Jan gets some Wisdom from Alice

This was a beautiful journal to receive, so well made and inviting.

I have taken my lead from the Wisdom of Alice. Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end. Then stop.

I looked at a few sayings from Alice and the one I chose really took my fancy.  I liked the tea cups theme too and with help from a UTube by Vicky Papaioannou , I had fun creating my page.

This was the base I worked on, I collaged on some images of cards. Then I collaged on the tea cups I created and some vintage Alice images.

I also am in love with my special helpful hint envelope with a lovely picture and saying.

Creating a Touch of Alice

For me, art is a lot like swimming in cold water. You stand at the edge, dangling your toes in trying to acclimatise.  Then you take a deep breathe and jump.  There is always a moment of panic where you wonder why you ever started. But before long you are swimming and you suddenly realize you are having fun.

"A Touch of Alice" was a lot like that.  So many decisions to make.  Not to mention a few false starts.  The final one was the smallest.  I was concerned about the cost of posting, knowing it was only going to get heavier.  I created it from canson paper and I think it was called edition.  It is the replacement in the local art store for stonehenge and at least twice the cost!

This is me off to one of the false starts.  This version was way too heavy but perfect for a new journal for home.  It now has a beautiful blue canvas cover.

Teesha Moore finally gave me the idea I needed.  A whole book from 2 pages!  Perfect.  This is the beginning of the layering of the cover art work.

Close up of title.

An image transfer of the white rabbit from my childhood copy of Alice in Wonderland.

I was concerned that not everyone might be familiar with Lewis Carroll so I began to do some research and this image from my visual diary captures a modern Alice.

The beginnings of some hints with small drawings on the back to help inspire everyone.  I've created a pocket on the back inside cover for them so don't forget to claim yours when the time comes.

Along the way I got side tracked by making my own gelli plate from gelatine, sugar, glycerine and water. I was too impatient to wait for a real one to come in the mail.  Not knowing what a real one is like, I think this one works well.   I have had fun decorating my little gifts.  I hope you like them.

The idea of my theme is that Alice is leaving home for the first time and you, the gifted guest journaler will provide her with guidance along the way in the form of quotes from Lewis Carroll.  I hope you enjoy the challenge.
Sharon