Thank you, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer - (cont'd)

Julie wrote an article in the Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors about blogging that hit a chord with me. I've had my blog for a long time, started out as a scrappy blog and eventually turned into a semi art journal, altered items, scrap-whenever, blog-whenever type blog. B O R I N G. And I know B O R I N G. I read a lot of blogs, especially art journal blogs, and I like them. Really like them. I don't like mine. That must be why I don't pay much attention to it.

So I'm taking Julie's advice and making some changes. I'm going to post more often and show more of what I'm doing. I'm committing my blog to art journaling because that's what I care about now, not scrapping. I've learned enough in the past two years to start sharing some knowledge instead of just posting a picture and saying "look what I did." I think at long last that I can give a bit more information about what I've done and what I've used. I'm learning from some of the best people out there, and I want to share that with you. All of it. You ready?

Altered Canvas

Finally! After making a mess out of a beautiful background, I started over and ended up scrapbooking the canvas. I'm pretty satisfied with it now. I love the vintage look and this will fit in nicely.
 
I actually started with Prima Printery paper as a background that I intended to journal on. Scrapbooking wasn't really what I'd planned, but nothing was coming out right. Enter Gesso! I gessoed the canvas thoroughly and let it sit to dry....for a month! This time I used a vintage tag I made for a swap and an image I picked up from Roxycar's site. The grandfather clock in the upper left corner, and the stamped lady in the lower right are from Roxy also. Little gifts she added to a purchase I made, and so perfect for me!
 
The background is Dylusions Ink Spray over gessoed Prima Printery, I added some Webster's paper and the large 12x12 sheet is from K and Co that I bought about 6 years ago! I was saving it for something special and I'm glad I did! I'm so happy with this piece!

Digistamp Fun

Found these adorable digistamps at The Octopode Factory thanks to The Norsu Girl on YouTube. Of course, I'm seeing them everywhere now and I'm beginning to look at other digi sites as well, but I won't go full digital...ever.

Steampunk people from The Octopode Factory Etsy site.

I have no idea how I'm going to finish this one, but I used my clear stamps here, not digital.

Faux Mail Art

Another swap at Your Paper Pantry, this one was for Mail Art. The theme (why a theme? Sometimes I really hate themes) was "gone postal" so I used a bunch of images from the internet and no real "art" at all. The first group I made was done on white envelopes, and they came out looking really cute...until I grunged them. It must have been late at night, in the dark, without my glasses, because in the light of day they looked horrid! Recreating them on regular brown envelopes certainly didn't improve things. I didn't feel very creative on this round.

On a happier note... I ordered some Dylusions ink sprays by Ranger, and I LOVE them! The colors are SO Vibrant! SO bright and cheery! It's remarkable stuff. You can ghost images into the ink just by using water...very cool. Watch a video from Ranger, or Dyan Reaveley and you'll see why I love these sprays! I plan on playing all weekend with these beautiful colors, some stencils and stamps, and hope I actually journal a page or two!

Upcycled Lunchbags

I joined a couple swaps this month at Your Paper Pantry. One is Mail Art which I'm still working on, and the other is for these cute little altered lunchbags. I'm stunned at what I've seen so far, and thrilled that five new bags will be returned to me! What fun!

Come on over and join us!    Your Paper Pantry

Marion Smith Journals

I downloaded Marion Smith's hybrid Journey journal because they're popping up everywhere and I HAD to try it! It was SO simple to put together. Even though I did a lot of things wrong, I learned so much! I have her Primrose journal as well and can't wait to put that one together! The cover really does look like leather!

Working on a Canvas

Oh my goodness, I did it again. One of these days I'm going to look for my blog and I won't be able to find it. It will just disappear into the vast wasteland of cyberspace, poor ignored blog.

I've been busy! Finally getting caught up on real life stuff and getting back to my paper and crayons. Even when I'm not scrapping or journaling I manage to put in a few good hours on the internet, so I keep my love for paper alive! I'm always amazed by the talent, the beautiful art pages and journals, and the fantastic ideas out there. I always WANT to create, but I don't always feel like it...if that makes sense.

So life marches on and I've been playing with a canvas. Just throwing some paper down and loving how it looks.

I didn't want to do anything further and cover all that gorgeous paper but you know what? I did. And it doesn't look anything like this now. I'm anxious to see how this ends so stay tuned.