#PASC116 Art Journaling ... a challenge... I am there!!

I am totally loving working in my art journal. Are you an art journaler?? It is so popular right now. There have been people who have art journaled before it was even called that. They are wonderful inspirations and examples to us all.
What I personally LOVE about art journaling is that I am not afraid to make mistakes and take chances. If I mess it up no problem. It is only a piece of paper in a book, right??  I definatly try and attempt new techniques and crazy ideas in mine. Some of them do not work out so well, others however find their way into my go to technique mental tool box. :)
I usually art journal just what ever pops into my crazy brain box. Some times I roam the lonely internet looking for an art journal idea fix. :) There are tons of amazing prompts out there. In fact, there are entire pinterest  boards devoted to them. One such prompt group that I recently joined on Face book is called The Pic a Stick Challenge group HERE .  This month's prompts were:

• Create a title in YOUR OWN font
• use gears
• add a verse from a song
• build texture with a palette knife using any medium you choose
• create boarders/elements with scrapbook paper
• use sparkles
• add paint with a palette knife or card
• journal so that no-one can read it
• add a picture
• write on masking tape in a pen or pencil and add it to the page

Use the hashtag : #PASC116  if you make an art journal page or project using the prompts.
I actually made two projects using the prompts.  The first project, I will honest, I really am not sure how I feel about it. I like parts of it and other parts I really dislike.  The second project I used the same prompts, but I used them slightly out of order.

Project one:

Here is the complete two page spread. I am pretty pleased with the iceberg, but the other side, blech.

Here is a close up of the iceberg. I used the prompt about adding texture with a palette knife.

not really happy with this .

Here is the wet crackle paste. I just had such a hard time trying to incorporate scrapbook paper into my journal.

I was so much happier with the iceberg one it dried.

Now for project 2:  I unashamedly totally like this one better. It is so much more me.

I am so much happier. I even used a black backround!! Pretty new for me.

started out with a gesso(ed) page.

Guess who got the set of Dylusions paints for Christmas??

Sorry about the glare. That there is a seriously black page. GULP, I have never worked on such a dark background.

Yuppers, those are in fact the lyrics to There's a light at the Frankenstein place.

Drawing my focal image on scrapbook paper. I had thought about painting over the paper, but it just seemed to take on a life of its own.

Here is where I used the card to apply paint. I love the way the drag made the light glow.

I used the MT tape, my bestie got me when she was living in Japan. I wanted to blend it into the page.

I love these paints. Here up close the base of the lightbulb really looks copper or metallic.

Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze  in chestnut brown.

Prima color blooms  Empress gold. Oh yeah look at the sparkle.

Sparkle you say, here lets add more.

Adding the dreaded picture. HMMMM how can I hide this??

tada!! Hidden.

I added a little doodling at this point AAAAAAANNNNNDDDDD done. :)  I am happy that I did the challenge, I really am. I think this will work best for me to follow the integrity of the Challenge each month on one page and then do a second page  right next to it in my own order. Then write about what the challenge made me find out about my self and my creativity.

Another project using the left over paintbrushes

Hello Everyone!!

Here are a few more projects where I used the paintbrushes from the palette kit.

 This one was very simple, but I really like it.

Here is the other project using the pallet and brushes:

My local Joannes store was having an incredible sale on EVERYTHING Tim Holtz., so I thought I would get the vintage pictures and I must say that I really like them.  The metal pieces are from Flying Unicorn. The frame was a plain wooden one.

Here is a closer picture. I used texture paste, paint, inka gold.  I will admit that I am not happy with the pink as it sits right now.  I love the Maya road wooden bingo piece piece peaking out from the bottom. The doily is a piece left over from several projects I have made with it.

I love yard sale jewelry.

I just love flowers. Where do you find the best flowers on the internet?

 I hope you like these two projects. I am think since I have another pallet I may make another one. Maybe steam punk or more in the style of Finabair.

Inspiration

Hello Everyone!!
I have to tell you a secrete... Lean in close, I am totally addicted to Pinterest. :) Do you harbor the same addiction? I love going onto Pinterest for a while and looking around and letting ideas or quotes  fill me with inspiration. Today I love the project I made. 
The pin led me to a 13@rts page HERE.  I started out my Pinterest search  that day with the determination to use some paintbrushes I had received in a "Palette Kit". I used the painters palette in several other projects, but was left with several not fabulous quality brushes. I have several projects I have done with the leftover brushes. I hope you like them.

Here is the project in its entirety. The letters say "create more art".

Here is a close up of the brushes, I dipped them in modeling paste by Shimmerez called Dazzlers. The color is creamcicle. I  also got a close up of the texture I created by letting the gesso I painted on the canvas bubble slightly.

I got this amazing flower in an embellishment swap about a year ago. The hearts are from a Maya Road warehouse box. I recently found this glass filler product on the Flying Unicorn website. LOVE, love, love.

More of the dazzler texture paste.

I got this bird from Flying Unicorn in their metal finding section. I love it so much.

I hope you liked my variation of the project.  I would like to know where/how do you get inspiration.
Have a great day!!

Paris in the spring

Feeling a little crafty this week and here are the results. :)

This was the off the page object from the March Flying Unicorn kit.

I have never worked with just a limited color pallet. I really wanted to challenge myself.

Here it is in the daylight.

I recently got some Lindy's stamp gang embossing powers AND well, I just could not resist using them here.

Have a wonderful day!!

More fun "Catching" up.

For Christmas this year I got several stencils. I must say that I am really loving playing with them.  I has seen video after video where fellow artists were creating the most wonderful master pieces by incorporating them into the pieces. Itchy to give it a try myself. I came up with this:
                                                       

Here is the final project.

 I wanted to make an underwater scene, nice and inky and wavy.  I started by thinking about how in heck I was gonna find and print off the Koi fish that would be just perfect. I went to google images, then headed over to youtube. I watched and looked about a bazillion (4 to be exact, but bazillion is fun to type) videos. I finally came across one that gave me a basic sketch and encouraged me to personalize it from the basic sketch. I am really proud of my drawn Koi fish. I really wanted it to be much more fluid than the one showed in the video. I wanted it to look like the fins were moving with the flow of the water. Once I had the fish drawn I totally freaked out about adding color to it. So, I set it to the side and began working on my backround.
I used  some music paper from an old music book someone gave us ages ago. I gessoed the paper so, that it would be able to take all the product I planned on using. Now that the Gesso was dry I sprayed Lindy's Stamp gang flat fabio sprays in the colors Ocean breeze blue and Caribbean blue with just a few splatters here and there of Tim Holtz distress stains Broken China. This step is where I went just crazy and buck wild (well, for me anyway). I dropped Black India ink unto the paper in large globs and using a straw I blew the ink around. I am really am happy with the way it came out.  Next, I took one of my Crafter's Workshop stencils (Art is) and used some Gloss medium thru the stencil just like you would modeling paste, paint or ink. I really love that it smudged the words just enough for them to not be completely legible. Once that dried I used my Crafter's workshop stencil that has cup rings and spatters to add some modeling paste and back India ink.
Gulp, it was back to the best picture I had drawn from scratch in ages. Well, I pulled up my big girl panties and broke out the water colors and just started moving them around on the image as I held my breath and hoped beyond hope that I would like it in the end. :)  I walked away for night. The next morning I broke out my markers and began outlining and adding in small details like the spots on the fish and his mustache. I cut the image out from the paper that I drew it on, leaving just a small border. I was so happy with it. I used gel medium to decoupage it to my background.  When I added it to my art journal I decided to add a black border. I am glad I did it really makes it pop for me. The last step was to add the "bubbles" and go around them with black ink to help them stand out more.

I hope you enjoyed looking at and reading about the process.
Have a great day,
Haley