Dreams by Amanda Scott

Hi all, many apologies for my extremely late entry for Meg's Bucket List journal. I've never had one...I called mine Dreams instead as that has most of the same characteristics.
My first step was to gesso then to add various papers for texture and visual interest. Then, I sprayed the pages using my metallic colours of silver, bronze and gold. Nest, I used some homemade small stamps to add further visual interest plus some bought phrase stamps from my stash. I stencilled the word Dreams using Distress Oxide ink by Ranger.
When I thought about my Dreams I came up with events I'm attending and places I hope to visit in 2020. I wrote my 'dreams' using various coloured pens, using a white pen to highlight my title and printing...as if to convey clouds. I cut up metallic patty cake cases to further highlight with some pictures included.
Meg you have a wonderful journal to cherish and enjoy. xox

Maasai Costume / fasion

World fasion, hmm I am about as up with fasion as I am american football, and that is zilch.  However traditional costumes interest me and I was flicking through a magazine with striking Maasai women and they have distinctive costumes, layered free flowing fabrics, fine beadwork and very little hair.

Once I sketched it and added some watercolours I looked them up and found some sisters who are sadly oppressed and need help.  If you would like to support the Maasai girls education fund please do. 

Its not a very bright and cheerful page but the world is not always a very bright and cheerful place.

My Book Page Art Journal is home!

I received my journal in the mail a week or two before Christmas, and what a lovely present it was!

Thanks so much to everyone who did a spread in it - it's thick and juicy! 

And thank you to everyone who struggled with ripping up a book.  The first one is always hardest, but old books look fab incorporated into artworks!

So here's my completed journal.  The cover was made with book pages made into petals, and a teabag covered book page in the centre. 

Next was my contract and an example of black out poetry.

Jenny did an amazing underwater spread with lots of gorgeous elements!  The photo doesn't show how shiny and glossy it all is. 💙

Melissa's spread was called Round & Round the Garden and included some great black out poetry, plus a lovely garden scene.  So cute!

Sallyanne came up with a fairytale scene with the requisite dwarves, a wolf, and princess, with music paper and book pages collaged into the background.  Lots of great texture!

Next is Janie's fabulous medieval scene!  Amazing print in the background, with heaps of stamps and imagery, including a lovely tree of life.

I did another black out poetry page in pink. 💗

Sharon did a spread based on Alice in Wonderland which included old pages from the book in the background - she found a cheap copy at a market I believe!  Lucky!  Always love a bit of Alice!

Next page is by - I think, as it hasn't been signed - Amanda.  Lots of cute fairies and toadstools, with words collaged into the background.  Love, love, love the colour scheme in this one!

Just love the colour scheme on this next spread too, which is by Meg.  She's used an old crossword as her base - great idea!  All of the circles really work with this cute spread.

This next page was a joint collaboration by Pam and Louise, using Pam's stash 💚.  Heaps of collaged book pages, with a wonderful sentiment in cut out letters!

Louise's spread is awe inspiring: stained fabric and book pages shaped into a Ghost Ship.  I'm really drawn to the muted palette in this!

Robyn did a wonderful tree with book page flowers and a painted book page background.  It's so cute, and I certainly don't mind that it's upside down!  Think we've all done that at some stage!

Roz did a lovely peaceful beach scene with a book page background.  Would like to be sitting there right now!  

And lastly was a pocket page with some book pages in it (for those who were hesitant to rip up a book of their own!) and the posting order - teabag covered book page flowers.

Thank you all so much for my lovely journal!

I look forward to the next journal round starting soon - happy arting all!

Cheers, Lisa xx

Art Deco

My double page in Roz's Art Deco Journal printed background and pasted the figures on the background hope you like it Roz will post it off to you as soon as I can xxxxx

Gaia Journal owned by Louise Kirby, Page by Meg Atkinson AAJSG round 7

Gaia 

Page by Meg Atkinson

Louise;s Journal AASG Round 7

Final  Journal page for Round 7

I started by sketching a Large tree for my base of the project

Than using watercolors i added the trees shape,

I then added bits of collage paper and serviette with some Medium Gel

Colored with water crayons and used a paint brush to spread the crayon with water

Added a image printed onto baking paper , which was colored in with water coulors and Copic pens 

Jenny's Bees knees.

With the hot weather not being very condusive to acrylic paint and glue activies. This truly is a mixed media piece. 

I started with a bit of acrylic paint but it really was to hot and went all sticky and lumpy. So I switched to a bit of ink and some Uni Posca pens.Now my dear friend Jenny is not a big fan of Gelatos but I find I can blend them quite well with a brush or finger,  plus use them with a stencil and baby wipe.  ( be warned they do take a while to cure ) All of which was easier to play with on my dinning room table, indoors with the aircon going.

Now every piece of mixed media gets to that,  oh help,  what am I doing stage. This is a mess!

However I find if I step away for a few hours, have a cuppa, then things generally sort themselves out. 

So once I returned I felt the need for some collage. So with a few images from an old calender and some painted letters, I was nearly done.

Just the face to play with and a few gold pen dots and swirls. 

Now what has all this to do with the topic of The bees knees. 

Well anytime I can sit and play with all of my art supplies, that's the Bees knees to me.

Arts Decoratifs

Rozzie's lovely repurposed book journal has been gracing my desk for too long, my appologies fellow artists.

I have been in a bit of a slump and really just working lots and not doing much else. The above pages are mums spread. I used her materials and hope she likes it.

These pages are my spread and I carried the gold stencilling across to join us together.

Its a new year and I need to try and get on top of things.

Under the Sea...!

by Lisa for Melissa

Melissa's journal is a hooge journal full of beautiful papers - I didn't really want to paint over it! 

But I did.  Lots of lovely sea creatures in this journal already, and I decided to go with some fascinating creatures - jellyfish.  Brainless, spineless, dangerous, but strangely beautiful!

I found heaps of lovely photos of jellyfish on Unsplash.  Thanks to Unsplash contributors Karan Karnik, Michael Jasmund, Octavian Rosca, Arushee Agrawal and Kanyon Bollinger for your pics that I've based my jellyfish on!

Firstly I painted my background using acrylic paints.  Whilst I love the colours of the Dylusions paints, I obviously don't use them often enough - sadly they dry out.  My Dylusions Polished Jade was on its last legs, so I mixed it with some other paints in colours of teal and phthalo blue, and sponged it on.  Funnily enough, because the jade was a lot thicker than the other paints, if didn't blend properly, creating a lovely background!  Win!

Next I drew my jellyfish onto the background using my General's white pencil.  It's a bit hard to see in this pic, but it's there!

I coloured my jellyfish using pastel pencils.  And the colours looked beautiful, but pastels are very hard to seal - so it was a bit stoopid of me to use them for a journal!  Sigh, I should have taken a photo of it at this stage.  Oops.

To seal the pastels, I sprayed the pages three times with a sealing spray.  And yes, it did work, but it dulled the colours considerably.  So much so, that it just didn't stand out at all.  A bit of swearing happened here, and then I got out my daughter's Derwents.  And proceeded to colour the jellyfish all AGAIN.  

Next I sprayed the spread again, and added gel pens for highlights.

I also came up with a haiku to add to my right hand page:

Undulating blooms

Glowing in the murky depths

Dangerous beauties

Doing this made me think of Pam... 💜

And here's the whole spread!  Hope you like it Melissa, and here's hoping that 2020 is a great year for all.  Happy Arting!

Cheers, Lisa xx