MY TREES FOR LOUISE

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and Many Blessings for 2018.

Working in Louise's journal themed TREES, I, at first, couldn't think of what to do...yep, the theme was right there for me but I wanted some sort of different trees, something that showed a little dimension...I ended looking at  so many pictures of trees that my mind became waterlogged and I lost my creative urge and this then put me in a slump to actually get something, anything on the page. So over the course of about two weeks I slowly started to work in Louise's journal...

I decided to split the pages up and use the right hand side of the larger page for this spread below. I put a layer of paint on the background and then softly sketched the tree I wanted. I used a brown and cream paint to paint in the trunk and branches of the tree and cut a leaf shape from a kitchen sponge and used a few shades of green to paint the leaves.  I was very happy with the way the leaves were progressing but the tree trunk and branches were way to plain so I decided to use hot glue on them and add some texture. A light shading of gold paint on the trunk when the glue dried and a trace around some of the leaves with a white signo andit bought my tree to life.

I re-sized and cut my sitting person out of a piece of patterned paper, placed her under the tree, added a little shade and then finished it off with the saying...

"SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE SHADE TODAY

 BECAUSE SOMEONE PLANTED A TREE A LONG TIME AGO."    

        -Warren Buffet-

Below is a close up of the texture using the hot glue.....I so love it!!! lol

I started on the left hand side of the page roughly the same way as the right side. Put a layer of paint in the background, sketched a tree, in a different style and the painted the tree in.For the texture on this trunk I used some wood shavings, gluing them onto the trunk and branches. Now for the leaves, something total different...I went with these awesome tealy coloured feathers. Watching leaves fall from trees reminds me of delicate, soft feathers, yep, so why not use these feathers for the leaves.

It also added another texture, a softer one, to my layout. I went over the background but the right side bottom of the page looked too plain so I added some stamped images of trees and then the saying by Robert Louis Stevenson. I really love the outcome of this layout.

Below a close up of the textures using the wood chips and feathers...really cool!!!!

This only left the little flap on the left side... and as I am still a sort of silhouette frame of mind, I decided to go with a dark full moon night and just stamp a tree image on the page using a stazon ink. A very simple but effective layout. I glued the word GROW down the bottom and called my flappage finished.

I hope you are pleased with my work in your journal Louise, after finding it hard to get started, I ended up having fun trying out some different textured materials for the tree trunks. You can also view the video of my process below...Thank you xox

A Page of Happiness for Wendy

I choose happiness... for this book and for always. With so many to choose from for Wendy's awesome theme, I ended up using one that inspired me the most. Once I got the word, the rest seemed to fall into place :)

I started the page with those little banners in the pic above. Each one is handcut and painted using (omg, time to get something different out I think, I'm a bit obsessed) ... ta da - Jane's Mermaid Markers. Its the colours that draw me in every time. They're so vibrant and gorgeous! I mean, its not like I don't have any other watercolour markers or paints :D lol I guess we all go through these fazes!

Anyway, the tags are watercolour card and coloured in my fave colours then left to dry for a couple of days while I decided how to start.

The lettering is from a sticker alphabet that used to be silver (white paint). The stitching is instead of adding pegs (testing out Jane's "Inkredible" fountain pen)... couldn't quite decide if I should call it bunting or an old fashioned clothesline. The poles are border stickers from the Dylusions Sticker Book. The heart is a paper clip from a pack of Dylusions Dyary Clips.

Above : Tim Holtz's "Paper Cut Bird"

While still on the pic above, the ladybugs are clear stickers found in our local cheap shop, added last of all - I needed something else on the page. When I found them years ago, I bought a pack, then another 3 - just in case they stopped selling them! But guess what? 10 years on and they still sell them :) Awesome!

The bird is beautiful creation of Tim Holtz and Sizzix called Paper Cut Bird. Its a Thinlits Die for cutting and embossing. Its just so pretty!

I cut the whole design out of 2 different sheets of Tim's Christmas paper from his latest collection. I then cut it all apart to get the bird. The background of the bird is leftover watercolour paper from cutting up the banners.

The flowers were trimmed, flipped, turned, flipped again as they moved all over the page many times, then eventually I added a bit of extra colour with Mermaid inks and stuck them down :)

In the photo above you can see the many layers of ink and paint in the background. I started with a sheet of scrapbook paper (Tim's Wallflower 12x12), cut it apart and glued back together to fit the page. Then I painted it all with an ink blending tool using Dylusions Lemon Zest and Mushy Peas... lovely semi translucent paint that allows fab layering.

I used a bunch of stencils (using White Linen, Mushy Peas and Lemon Zest with the blending tool again)... all Tim's! Surprise! lol :) They were Wildflowers, Zigzag, Floral, Rays, Speckles and Plaid. I remember using Tinsel too but its not listed so must have been for something else... I write down what I'm doing as I create the page. The memory isn't as reliable as it used to be.

The last thing I did to the background before adding all the elements was splatter white paint everywhere using my splatter brush. I used to use an old toothbrush for doing this but this fab brush gives me bigger splats :)

So that's it... a happy positive page full of bright colours and lots of energy! Hope you like it Wendy :D

Thanks so much for your time, reading this blog post. I hope it makes you smile!

Wendy's Layout in Jenny's Tales of Bros.Grimm

 HANSEL and GRETEL

I based my layout on the tale of Hansel and Gretel for Jenny's journal. This is a well-known fairy tale of German origin and published in 1812.Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister kidnapped by a cannibalistic witch living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children escape with their lives by outwitting her.

I started by putting some colour on the page using gelatos and then decided to do a collage spread. The left side being the imagery of the children walking in the forest where Hansel is dropping pebbles on the ground so they could find their way out. And the right hand side being where the children come upon the house made from all kinds of sweets.

I collaged the trees on as well as the images of Hansel and Gretel and in the center of the layout is where they were coming out of the forest finding the witch's cottage.

I tried to make the witch's cottage look child like, for something different, so I used some patterned paper, cut the cottage shape out and they collaged some sweets on the front.

Not forgetting about the witch, the front of the cottage flips down to reveal the wicked witch with the imagery of the flames around her from when Gretel had pushed her into the fire. I drew the face of the witch from an image I found off google, coloured some flames around her head using coloured pencils and printed the title on the flip down side of the house.

By Wendy Mason

WORD- Louise plays in Wendys journal

Wendy's gorgeous lacy journal arrived 

with a very open theme- use a word that inspires. 

 Nature inspires me,

In endless ways I am inspired by the colours and patterns and variations, the movement and the texture and sheer breathtaking beauty I find all around me. 

The pages were a little light for me I am a messer, so I collaged them with plenty of words- book pages.  Then I chose to play with my new DK artists inks in Wendy's journal and the day I sat down to play I had a beautiful blue parrot on my shoulder. so I started with blues and feathers. 

I had fun playing in your lovely journal Wendy. 

Natasha's Goddess Journal

Natasha joined our swap group and our journal swap a few rounds back and created a gorgeous journal with the theme of Goddess

I have had the great pleasure of hosting this journal in my home and It has been like a visiting art exhibition! I have shown it to almost every visitor and looked at it many times myself. 

This is the full opened cover- it is just gorgeous!

This gorgeous page dedicated to Lakshmi is created by
 Robyn Osbourne. 

I think we can all do with a little Lakshmi in our lives.

I love how Robyn altered and did her tag for Tash as well-

Very clever Robyn.

Our lovely Roz Willoughby is next and her pages are just beautiful.

Roz worked with Kwan Yin

in line with her deep appreciation and inspiration with all things Asian.
Roz has 2 opening flaps so added her research
and beautiful symbology in those areas. 

Next we are off to Ireland and Jan Mullanes beautiful page for Brigit

I have a personal fondness for the Celtic Pantheon

and I adore Celtic knotwork.

Jan even has Brigit's well I would love to visit one day. 

I love how Jan works, her pages are always gorgeous and I am really thankful to those artists who come back and join another round ( or 2) of the AAJS because it is a real privilege to share their own personal development and in a very different way we get to know each other.

Gail Bourke bought Artemis into the journal 

And Rachel Thomas who loves working with flowers so much

bought the Goddess Antheia to the page

She is the Goddess of Love and Flowers

Then we have these incredible pages!

Jenny James you have outdone yourself. 

This wild and wooly Goddess is Calypso

and she has a host of characters
and quirky details you don't see at first.

Jenny I love this entry. 

Another long term contributor

 Sharon Williams

has bought her own style

 and I alway love Sharon's work,

I cant imagine who else would have Lucille Ball

and I love Lucy :)

as Hesta

but what a perfect domestic Goddess she is. 

This page to Gaia is unsigned but thanks to my co detective Pam Parker we tracked it down to Lee Hynes who also made this amazing hanging Goddess 

I love Wendy's amazing Moon Goddess page

I also love and so appreciate how Wendy will just jump into any theme and create her own gorgeous interpretation, usually generously sharing her process and inspiring everyone else. 

And lastly I got to play as well and created my pages for Demeter and Persephone. 

Wendy's Layout in Janie's SIMPLY WHIMSICAL

Before I started work in Janie's Journal, I thought to myself how far I have grown when it comes to working in another artists journal. I remember my very first swap and the feeling of being so very nervous that I would make some sort of mistake in that person's journal. Then I looked down at the blank page in Janie's SIMPLY WHIMSICAL journal and couldn't wait to start experimenting...lol.

I gave the page a light layer of gesso and have wanting to try the 'streaking' or dragging effect for some time, so why not now! I can always paint over it if it doesn't turn out. After the gesso dried, I used a paint spatular to drag a few colours from top to bottom and bottom to top to get the streaking I was hoping for. Not quite happy with the way it was going by using the spatular, I ended up using a dry hard bristled brush and found this gave me the more smudgier look, which is what I was looking for. I then used a few stencils using the same paint colours that had already been placed on the background.

When I was happy with the background, the whimsical feeling arose when I thought about using some of my 'skatter cats'. I had recently used a few of these cats in another journal and as I save all my templates of anything I draw,,,yep!...too easy...I grabbed my skatter cats, gave them a bit more colour with some watercolour paints and they were ready to be placed on the page. I used a tacky glue to adhere them and then went round the cats with a wash on white paint and then highlighted then with a black watercolour pencil. The final touch was to write the word 'FRIENDS' above the middle skatter cats and my simply whimsical layout was finished. I really enjoyed just playing in Janie's journal and hope you all enjoy the outcome as well. Thank you.

P.S. I have also included the video below, if you would like to watch the whole process.

HAVE A GREAT DAY !!!!!

Believe AAJS5 - Wendy's Word Journal

I got to work in Wendy's Word Journal to kick off Round 5.  I chose the Word Believe and a fairy came to mind.  I decided to play with some of my new stamps from Carabelle Studio and Distress Oxides for this spread also.

I started by Painting my background with a mix of acrylic paint colors.

Next I used my Distress Oxides with a Circle Stencil from The Crafters Workshop and a little bit of mark making with the Union Stencil from Stencil Girl.  This was followed by some stamping around the edges and a few circles.  This was the first time I had played with these Carabelle Stamps.  My fairy however also from Carabelle has graced a few projects before now.

I stamped out, colored and cut out the fairy and stuck her down.  The Inktense Water Color Pencils used to color the fairy were also used to color in my stamped word Believe (I think this was a Rubber Dance Stamp).

I wanted to keep things simple, but felt something was missing.  A bit more color perhaps?  I took out my yellow Posca Pen and added a touch more color around the stamped borders.  I still felt a touch more magic was needed and thought a touch of shimmer was the perfect touch for a fairy.  I smeared and smudged it around the fairy and stamped circles.  The last finishing touch was some stamped butterflies using stamps from Darkroom Door.

ROUND 5 : JOURNAL MADE AND READY TO ROLL!! Wendy Mason:

I have spent the past five days getting my round 5 journal ready to send out for another exciting adventure. While deciding what I wanted to make, I came across the lace covered envelope that was sent to me by Faye in a recent flowish journal swap and I knew I really wanted to use this as my cover. It is sturdy and flexible and light wieght, and would be great for traveling around our beautiful country to other artists.

 This is what the fabric covered envelope from Faye looked like on the outside.

This is the inside of the cover also showing the cardboard strips for the spine

I cut the size I wanted, 7inches by 9 inches which to me is a comfortable size to use. Then I grabbed my bronze acrylic paint and brushed it over the outside cover...I was in a 'bronze' coloured mood...LOL

 I had to strengthen the spine so I cut two rounghly 1 inch strips that I used to place on the inside and outside of the spine. It wasn't staying glued with the wet glue I had on hand so I ended up sewing the strips together using my old but working sewing machine and even though a little crooked, it turned out fine. I also painted the strips in bronze to match the patch painting I had on the cover.

 Sewing the two strips on for the spine wasn't as hard as I first thought it would be. I just took my time and went slow so I didn't break the needle.

 I was very happy with the way the outside cover of my journal was looking but for the inside I wanted something a bit different, so I glued down a heap of magazing words onto a piece of paper and then photocopied the word covered paper in black and white.

This is the sheet of paper I used to glue down the magazine words then photocopy

I then used black paint to paint around the edges of the inside cover.

And then used double sided tape and a glue stick to glue down the photocopies on the inside front and back cover of my journal...I liked it a lot and it was different.

Once happy with my cover I ripped the 130gsm pages, 7x9 in,  for the journal and used a basic phamphlet stitch with three holes and using organza ribbon to sew them in to the cover.  As you can see in the picture above.

I am very happy with the look and feel of my journal for Round 5 in our Australian Art Journal Swap and I look forward to seeing and working in all the other journal in this round. Thank you xox