Good evening! I am a little bit late in getting this post published, but better late than never! Today I am very happy to be sharing my process video for an art journal spread that I have recently done in my 2018 Soul Book. The …
It is better late than never… I am happy to announce that my Art Journal Thursday video has been posted out on YouTube! The supplies I used this week were: White gesso Art Advantage Acrylic Paint: Permanent Green Light, Phthalo Turquoise, Cerulean Blue Dina Wakley …
I am happy to announce that my Art Journal Thursday #23 video has been posted out on YouTube!
This week the materials I used were:
White gesso
Tissue paper – two different patterns, the teal and white chevron patterned tissue paper was from Paper Source
Gel medium
Dina Wakley Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints: Lime, Magenta, Tangerine, Night
Apple Barrel Craft Paint: White
Balzer Designs Stencil: 12X12 Stones Divided
Balzer Designs Stencil: 6X6 Mini Fifties Clock
Dylusions Stencil: 9X12 Flossie
Fineline Bottle with White Acrylic Craft Paint
Distress Ink Reinker: Festive Berries
Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Pen
Pilot Permaball Black Pen
#2 Pencil
Scissors
Uhu Glue Stick
Well, what can I say about my Art Journal Thursday this week? I was so excited to be finishing up with this particular art journal that I really had no idea where to begin. So, maybe that is where I will start in my explanation for this week’s art journal – my art journal. The journal that I have been using is a Strathmore 500 Series, Mixed Media Paper Journal, which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this brand, and the paper is SUPER tough, and is so CREAMY to work on…the problem that I have been having is the S.I.Z.E!! I saw that Donna Downey (who I LOVE, by the way!!!) was using this size, 11×14 sized pages, I thought, “I CAN DO THAT!!!” Well, when you are a newbie art journaler, which I am, and you work full time at a non-artsy kind of job, which I do, and when you have committed to yourself to do a two page art journal spread EVERY SINGLE week, and NOT ONLY that, but to record your process and post out on YouTube EVERY SINGLE WEEK, which I SOOO INSANELY DID – you quickly come to the realization that THIS IS A LOT!!! 😉 You DO NOT want to make things harder for yourself by buying the LARGEST art journal that you can possibly find!! What was I thinking???
So, the next art journal, which I will start using in next week’s art journal video, is a MUCH more manageable 8.5 x 11 size!! I CAN’T WAIT!!!
Anyway, back to this week’s spread! When I started I didn’t really have a plan, I usually don’t, but I knew that I wanted to use this AWESOME new tissue paper that I had found a Paper Source!
Once I got my colors, patterns, and textures started it was very VERY tricky for me to reign it in, but I was having some good fun playing, and staying in my head!!
I decided that I wanted to use all of that pattern as an element that would pop off of the page by covering a lot of it with a dark color, and a silhouette stencil. Once I had done that I wasn’t really sure where to go from there, but I had some deep, stop-and-listen-to-your-soul-cuz-she’s-a-speakin’ kind of thoughts going on, so I decided to grab my Fineline bottle with some white acrylic paint, and decided to journal some of those thoughts out onto my page.
“She knew that she was going to have to get out of her own way if she were ever going to make her dreams come true. No one was going to do the hard work for her. She knew it was going to have to be all up to her!”
Yeah, I am not sure where that came from, because it came from someplace deep, deep down, and even as I write it now, I KNOW that it is the TRUTH that I am living with right now!
I am not sure if I really love the design of this finished spread – when I look closely it is kind of a bit of train wreck, and I know it definitely had parts of it that I would do differently (for example, the Distress Ink Festive Berries never did really dry – even after 48 hours!! UGH!!! I should’ve used my Dylusions spray ink with a dropper!), if I were to do it again, but for some reason that this spread really resonated with me, so my final thought is that I really LOVE it!!
What do you think? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!! 🙂
Also, if you have any ideas, or techniques that you might like to see me try in one of my future layouts, please let me know in the comment section and I will see what I can do to be accommodating! Also, I really do LOVE answering any questions you may have about art journaling, mixed-media, or anything you might have seen me do here! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments, and I will try and get back to you in a timely manner!!
Good morning! I am very happy to announce that my Art Journal Thursday video #21 is up on YouTube! The supplies I used this week were: Gesso Dina Wakley Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints: Tangerine, Magenta, Lime Tim Holtz Distress Ink Re-inker: Peeled Paint Alesa …
Good morning! I am happy to announce that my Art Journal Thursday Video #19 has been uploaded out on YouTube! 🙂 The materials I used this week are: White Gesso Dina Wakley Mixed Media Acrylic Paints: Lime, Turquoise, Sky, Magenta, Lapis, White Baby wipes Dina …
I am happy to announce that my latest Art Journal Thursday post is now up on YouTube!
The supplies I used this week were:
Golden’s Fluid Acrylic Paint: Teal
Delat Ceramcoat Acrylic Craft Paint: Pop Pink, OJ
Decorated deli paper, and cardstock
Golden’s Matte Light Gel Medium
Golden’s Matte Medium Bodied Gel Medium
Palette Knife
Balzer Designs Stencil: Blazonry
M Graham & Co Full Bodied Acrylic Paint: White Titanium
Hero Arts Artsy Circle Border Stamp
3 miscellaneous circle stamps – I don’t know brand or name
Stabilo Black Pencil
Paint Brush
Black Pilot Multiball Pen
Uhu Glue Stick
Dylusions Ink Spray: Calypso Teal
If you watched today’s video, you will already know that I did not have any kind of plan for today’s layout. I just knew that I had three or four colors in mind when I first started and I wanted to just let the page take me where it wanted to go!
I also knew that I had some leftover deli paper and cardstock pages that I had decorated using a Gelli plate that I wanted to see if I could somehow incorporate into today’s spread.
After getting all of my colors on my layout the way that made me happy, I then decided I wanted to use one of my previously unused stencils, to overlay all of the bright color with some white – to help tone it down!
Then I created black marks with my Stabilo pencil, and black doodling pen, and I must admit this page was turning out to be a very happy spread!!
I know that this week’s sentiment is very close to the sentiment from a few weeks ago, but this message just kept popping up in my head over and over, so I just went with it, and put it down! I am so glad that I did! 😉
I am just loving how bright and colorful this spread is!
Yep, it’s official – this spread might be my favorite to date! 😉
What do you think? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this week’s art spread!! 🙂
Also, if you have any ideas, or techniques that you might like to see me try in one of my future layouts, please let me know in the comment section and I will see what I can do to be accommodating! Also, I really do LOVE answering any questions you may have about art journaling, mixed-media, or anything you might have seen me do here! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments, and I will try and get back to you in a timely manner!!
Good evening! I hope you all had an excellent weekend! My weekend is Sunday and Monday, so I am just now coming to the end of my weekend, and it has been pretty relaxing! Before my weekend ends completely, and I get back into the …
Good morning! I am very happy to announce that my Weekly Art Journal #11 video has posted out on YouTube! The supplies I used on this week’s layout is as follows: #2 pencil A couple of different kinds of erasers Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Tissue Paper …
This past weekend, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to spend the entire weekend taking four, in-person, art journaling classes with one of my FAVORITE artists, Dyan Reaveley!!!
YEAH!!! WHOO!! HOO!!!
Meeting Dyan Saturday morning was literally like meeting a ROCK STAR!!!!
Her GORGEOUS bright red hair, her FABULOUS one-of-a-kind vintage-inspired dresses, her KICKY SASSY attitude, was less than two feet away from my AWESOME front row seat in class – ALL WEEKEND!!!!
Yes, I was that sad, silly, groupie who pretty much just stared in awe, with my mouth agape like a lunatic, but even now, I can still hardly believe that not only did I get to meet her, I got to be involved in four of her AMAZINGLY CREATIVE classes!!
The classes…OH MY!!!
Well, wait, let me back up a little. The classes were held at my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE arts and craft store here in Salem, Runaway Art & Craft Studio! When Christy Wood, of Runaway, told me that Dyan Reavely would be coming to teach classes, I immediately told her to SIGN ME UP!!! I didn’t care what they cost, or what the topics were going to be, Dyan could have been teaching SQL computer programming, or the benefits of biofusion on our political economy and I would have been there, with bells on, in the front row, smiling like a crazy fool, just excited to be able to be in the room!!
Also, for some unknown reason, all of the class samples that Dyan had sent ahead of her arrival never actually made it to the store, so none of the participants really knew what to expect for any of the classes, but I for one was pretty much just game for anything, and was feeling pretty excited just to be there – the making of anything awesome was just going to be an extra perk of the classes!!
So, on Saturday, I awoke early, got showered, dressed, ate my breakfast, and pretty much just paced around the house, full of anticipation, until it was FINALLY time to get to class!! After stopping off to get a GINORMOUS peppermint mocha (which was really just a distraction technique), I was FINALLY seated and ready for the first class to start, which was the Technique Tag Book class! The class lasted 2 1/2 hours, and Dyan basically took you through how to use her Dylsion spray inks, which I am now a firm believer are ESSENTIAL to my art journaling stash!! The class was vert fast paced, but not too fast that you couldn’t keep up with what was happening! The time flew, and before I realized it, the class was over and I had in my hot little hands my very first Tag book!! That I had created!!! Who knew????
We had about an hour to kill in between classes, and for me, and I am sure a lot of us who attended, meant SHOPPING!!! 😉 One of the cool things about taking any classes at Runaway is that Christy offers 15% off of any of your purchases that you make in the store on the day of your class – so you had BETTER BELIEVE I took ADVANTAGE of THAT!!! 😉
The next class was called Tags of Imagery, which is Dyan’s take on collage – bright, colorful, sassy, a little bit rock star, and LOADS OF FUN!! (Just like Dyan!!) Collage and I have never made great bed fellows, as I have always been too uptight/perfectionistic and collage has always seemed too loosey-goosey, and honestly has always just stressed me out! I am not sure if it was the way that Dyan taught us, or if it were the fact that she was the one teaching the class, but I REALLY LOVED this class!!! It made me want to go home and start ripping out images from every magazine I could get my hands on and start putting my little funky peeps together and plaster them on EVERYTHING!!! 😉 At the end of the three hours I walked away with three colorfully fun tags that I can honestly say are MAKING MY DAY when I look at them!!! 😉
There was even some news media that caught us in the act!! 🙂
The last class of the day was called Inky Watercolor Book which built upon everything we had already been learning throughout the day, but then Dyan gave us a chance to play with her Dylusions spray inks inside of the Tim Holtz water color brushes! I was really looking forward to this part of the class. She also taught us a book binding stitch – I can’t remember what she called it, but she has inspired me to get creating my own journals to share with friends and family!!! WAAAAAY easier than I ever expected! I LOVE THAT!!! 😉
I am not sure why, but I do not seem to have taken any pictures of this class, I think I was too heads down playing at this point, but I did find a pic of someone else’s project to share with you!
I went home, happy, and EXHAUSTED!!! Crashed in bed, as soon as my head hit the pillow, but unfortunately my brain was so excited to get back to class the next day that at 1:30 AM I was up and ready to go! I never did get to fall back to sleep that night, but that still didn’t seem to lesson my excitement any!!
Sunday morning, I was up and at em, ready and waiting in class, with another GIANORMOUS peppermint mocha to help get me through the day! That day was going to be filled with one 8 1/2 hour class, which was called Art Journaling Extravaganza! This class was all about putting it all together and creating a very personalized art journal using one of Dyan’s AWESOME Dylusion’s journal books, which just happens to have the thickest, richest, creamiest paper, formulated perfectly for using with Dyan’s Dylusions spray inks!
This class was hands down my FAVORITE!!! She gave you permission to rip out pages, make a mess, cut pages, get inky, have fun, be free, and try new things, over and over and over and over again, and not take yourself or the process too seriously!!! By the end of the day, we each had at least a half full journal started to collage, paint, write, and doodle in to our hearts content!!! I know that my Dylusions journal has become a very good friend that is going to be carried with me a LOT!!! 😉 Souds melodramatic, maybe, but take the class – I am sure you will feel the SAME WAY!!! 😉
Here are a few of my FAVORITE pages in Dylusions journal, just started, mind you, but well on their way!! 🙂
At the end of the day, we were all beat, but I wanted to stick around a little bit to chat with Dyan, and have her sign my journal, which she so graciously did – thank you, Dyan!! After some encouraging words from her, that literally left me speechless, I knew that this weekend was serendipitous, and I wasn’t meant to be anywhere else this weekend!!! 😉
My sweetie and I decided to stick around and help clean up, since the normally neat store looked like elephants had run through the place, which I guess we had – creatively FABULOUS elephants that is!! 😉 And if I didn’t think that my weekend could have gone any better, Christy invited my sweetie and I to join the Runaway team and Dyan for dinner…UHMMMMMM…YES PLEASE!!!! 😉 I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better weekend!! I mean what more could I possibly say??? I know I am gushing, but Dyan is really one of the most genuine, real, honest, no holds barred, women you could EVER meet, and at the same time she is generous, and creative, and beautiful, and WOW!!! SOOOO ENCOURAGING!!! 😉 Through her teaching of the classes and through our conversations throughout the weekend she really impresses upon you that you really can do seemingly hard things, if you break down into baby steps and you just do it piece by piece! That’s it – no need to make everything so freakin’ complicated!!
Ok, so I have rambled enough!! Don’t worry, Dyan, I will root you on from afar, (and hopefully get the opportunity to take many more classes from you in the future!) I promise no restraining orders will be necessary!!! 😉
Just one more thing, you should know, no one has paid me to say any of this, I am not affiliated with Dyan, or Ranger, or Runaway, although I am a SUPER HUGE fan of all three, all of the opinions expressed here are strictly my own and come from me!
If you have any questions, or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments section here, and I will be happy to reply as soon as I am able!! 😉
Here is to a FABULOUS weekend past, and FABULOUS week to come!! 😉
If you want to have a different life, live differently!!
Good afternoon! I am happy to announce that this week’s Art Journal Video #8 is now posted on YouTube! Here are a list of all of the materials that I used: Black Medium Sharpie Faber Castelle Gelatos: Red, Orange, Light Green, Dark Green, Light Blue, …