Stamping on the Go - Art Journal Friday

There is no reason why your stamps shouldn't travel with you, whether you're going to the office, a crop, or a getaway. On this day I wanted to do a little art journaling and stamping in my Midori Traveler's notebook, during the day, so I found this little makeup bag perfect for taking a couple of ink pads and a few stamping supplies because it zips all the way open. Just what I needed!
The bottom was not even expanded all the way with the supplies I packed, so I know I could get more ink pads and stamps in here!

 
I've been quite obsessed with my "dolldori" lately, and I love the art journal booklet I made for it out of watercolor paper, because it will take any medium. I've never doodled sugar skulls before, so for this October, I want to make a lot of flowerly sugar skulls!

My Dolldori

 If you'd like to see a flip-thru of my homemade fabric Midori Traveler's Notebook, click here. I use it for planning, listing, and art journaling. It's like your life wrapped up in one book!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch

Art Journal Friday

Well...I didn't have my art journal. I didn't have my art supplies. But I did have a few minutes, a few colored pencils, and my little sketch pad in my bag.

Just felt like being creative in the middle of a busy day. Happy Friday!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Go

Art Journal Friday - Stenciling 101

One online stenciling class from Balzer Designs, and I was back into my art journal! This is not the best example of my stenciling so far--but it was my first play in my art journal in a while.

I love taking the online class--you can go at your own pace. I started playing around with some good thick purple acrylic paint and a fun stencil from Balzer Designs I bought a while back and had been wanting to use. I rubbed in some gelatos and sprayed some orange here and there and now I'm ready for the next unit and the next idea! Happy Friday!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Stencil

Art Journal Friday--Shh! It's a wig, not a cross-stitch.

This page smashed together what I happened to be feeling that day. First, I was going through a basket of UFO's (unfinished objects) when I ran across a pathetic little piece of cross-stitch. Once upon a time, it was going to be a flower basket motif--but for whatever reason, I didn't get past the flowers. I started snipping around it wondering what I could do, where I could patch it in, and this was while I was working on an art journal page. When I turned it upside down, it hit me.

My first cross-stitch wig!

Suddenly it had a place on a page where I was celebrating summer, celebrating back to school, and putting on  a wig of happiness...so thankful for my family, the beautiful weather, and all the fun things that come with this time of year.

Layers of papers, paint, stamping, gelato, marker, ric rac and fabric.

I love filling up my Smash book.

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Journal

Art Journal Friday--Paper Sack

 A paper sack page in my upcycled art journal just needed a few words today. This page torn from a Panera Bread paper sack (one of my favorite places) was partially prepared with a little water color and some punched-out tags from scraps. So it's all pretty scrappy, yet inspiring to me. The white paint came next...just slapped on with the paint left on a brush after I had painted a table. The edges were inked and another page was done.

You can click here to see how the whole upcycled art journal was made.

Happy Friday!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Journal

Art Journal EveryDay Fridays--Upcycled Art Journal Page

An upcycled art journal is freedom. It's that simple! No rules, no special shopping, and nothing is a no-no. It's a world of "Yes!" Here is a page from my new/old upcycled art journal...let me tell you about it. The page began with a file folder--the word "happiness" stamped on the index tab. I ran a scrap piece of decorative paper through the embossing boutique, and layered on a piece of the instructions from a vintage dress pattern. This is why I keep my fun scrapbook paper scraps.

Lately, I've really enjoyed using my typewriter to type on vintage dress instructions, after I cut them into usable square pages. I made my own diecut little apron, used a dress tag with a flower and grommet added in the upper left corner, added a little tag, and then some lace, ribbon, inking and stamps.

This page is so fun, with so much texture--and it has some of my stitching to-do list!

 

So, here are the front and back covers of my upcycled art journal. Tthe original vintage file drawer divider I made the covers from is shown in the middle.

Yesterday I posted the whole story of my journal if you'd like to see more here: A Summer Art Journal. Happy art journaling everyone!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Upcycle

Art Journal Friday - Enjoy Your Mornings

Your art journal can be a good place to start your mornings and get you going for a busy day!

On this page, I used water colors, gelato crayon, permanent marker, and a scrap piece of scrapbook paper. Having scrapbook paper around comes in handy for so many things beyond the scrapbook: cards, art journaling, tags, and framing photos. I don't know where this lovely morning face came from--except maybe, the sea. The Little Mermaid was one of the first books I had when I learned to read at age 5, But, it was not the Disney version. It was a big, shiny black book with a 3D picture on the cover. I had three books like that--I wish I knew where they were! The Little Mermaid has a really sad ending--so I loved when the Disney version came out. I must have been in touch with my inner mermaid when I was doodling this page about mornings. Who knows!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch

Art Journal Friday - Art in the Soul

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A little water color goes a long way in doodling up a face in your art journal to go with your journaling. I love looking in my art journal for a dose of inspiration every day.

Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch Your Thoughts.

Art Journal Friday--Tags and Doodles

I am sharing a page that is not artistically brilliant--no gorgeous painting like some of the finest art journalists--and not a page I would normally share. But, it is just pure art journaling. It was November, my birthday month, and boy I made the most of it! I think I have three or four pages about what I did in November! Anyhoo...this page was built with five tags for me to doodle on. I recorded my schemes, dreams, and happy thoughts. There's even a chocolate mint wrapper from my birthday lunch at Olive Garden for heavens sake! I even have a typo in my journaling, and I don't care--the important thing is, I wrote something down that I like to look back on!

Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch Your Thoughts

Art Journal Friday - Celebrate a Simple Moment of Your Life

Here is one of my favorite things about art journaling--there are no rules. If I just want to stick a Facebook photo on a page and doodle stuff--I can! Like a picture of my daughter and I goofing around. Love it.

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch...and celebrate an everyday moment.

Art Journal Friday - Journal Like a Queen

Isn't it sad how we don't print our pictures anymore? I've seen quite a bit about this in the news lately, because it's a big trend, and for some good reasons. We don't have to print all our photos in order to view them and still enjoy them. Printers, ink, and paper is more expensive than ever. And now, with digital cameras, we take hundreds and hundreds of pictures--so it really can take some time to sort through it all and make decisions!

Still, it's always worth it to get them printed out--especially the ones you really like. Frame your photos--scrapbook them--Lifebook them--and art journal them. I just printed out a bunch from some Little Theatre shows I had been in, and I am ashamed to say, I had not printed them out before this! I had done everything else with them: Facebook, Instagram, computer backgrounds, but no hard copies. I knew I needed to do some fun things with these pics from shows! One of my recent favorites was playing a wife in The King and I, so, of course, I had to do an art journal page with one of my favorite snapshots backstage! I did some journaling right on the page, and then I put in a tag that also has some journaling on the back of it. Simple. Special. And it reminds me of one of the most ornate, beautiful places in our city--our Little Theatre.

Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch in your art journal.

Art Journal Friday--Don't Be Sad--Art Is Medicine

One of my best cures for a general sadness...lack of motivation...mini-depression...is pure inspiration. So, no sad movies or books, not allowed to be tired...I find some inspiration. 

The other day it was a marathon of one of my favorite paper craft shows on PBS. I had recorded several, and let them play into an afternoon marathon--and I got so excited! 

I art journaled, I made things, wrote, glued, colored, created--it was so fun, therapeutic and energizing. Art truly is medicine. So here's a happy version of me that I doodled--flowers in my hair, cupcake skirt on!

Eat, Write, Dream and Stitch Yourself Happy.

Art Journal Friday--Colored Pencil Doodling

It is really a shame when life and all its busyness takes you away from your art journaling! I had not written or doodled or glued or colored anything for two weeks. And it was making me too sad. Thank the heavens for a three-day weekend, and a chance to get inspired and write things down! I got out my tin of my favorite colored pencils, and doodled away!

My sweet mom, who is 86 years old, will often surprise me with various magazine subscriptions. I was reading through my Better Homes & Gardens, and catching up on a couple of issues I had gotten in the mail, clipping out recipes and ideas when I came upon a one-page article. A lady had turned her formal living room into a full-fledged craft room. Her and her husband had built an island-style table in the center and beautiful shelves with the supplies nicely tucked into pretty, decorated bins, so it didn't look bad at all! She said that even when they had dinner parties, the guests and family would always end up in the craft room, with stools around the crafty island, having fun.

I stuck the article into the opposite side with a bit of washi tape so that I can read it again!

Don't you love that idea?

I couldn't get it out of my brain--so, of course, the thought ended up in my art journal!

I love that idea too! Wild, wonderful thoughts and dreams belong in your art journal.

But seriously, wouldn't it be wonderful if every time friends visited your house, they made something?

So cool.

Eat, Write, Dream of a Living-Craft-Room, Stitch

Art Journal Fridays

One of my favorite things about art journaling has to be the fact that you can start a page--anytime you want, with anything you want--and not finish it or even add to it until you feel like it. I had done a page about my thoughts on simple living, and I put blank tags on the page across from it--had no idea if I would journal on them, put favorite quotes, or photos. 

Over a month later, I'm relaxing with my art journal, and realizing I want to lay down a few plans for the coming months. Why not do the first quarter of 2013, using a tag for each month. Suddenly, this page of blank tags had a purpose! After writing and doodling to my heart's content I realized, I will be making a page like this for the next quarter, and the next--all with different kinds of tags and doodles--perfect!

Also, thought I would share this. I found a page on Julie Balzer's blog (Balzer designs) where she talks about what to do when you don't feel like art journaling. And of course, if you don't, it's the worst! So I printed it, glued into the very back of my art journal, doodled all around it, and look at it often.

 Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch in your art journal daily.

Art Journal Friday

I had just a few thoughts about January 2013--it has been a wonderful month! But I feel like I had to take a few scraps of happiness, here in the dead of winter, to make this an amazing month. So this page came together with scraps of paper, an oatmeal package, ribbon scrap, a button off the floor, a dress tag, a stray cross-stitched heart, and my thoughts. I journaled around the page, and then layered on it some more--so some of the journaling was covered up with stamping, gelatos and markers. But I know it's there, with layers of meaning. Love it!

Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch in your journal.