Art Journal Calendars

Six months worth of Art Journal Calendar pages!  I have finally learned how to do the following very important stuff:  1) scan; 2) post pictures side by side; and 3) read HTML code.  Go me!  So ... I'm thinking there's hope for me to get my July pages done, now that's it's August, yes?! 

January's design was inspired by my taking an online class from Junelle at Yes and Amen blog.  She taught me how to do funky hats for Christmas tags, so I just carried it over into January.  There I go again ... late as usual.  HA


February hearts - I really love those dangling hearts as part of the title.  And I had one heart left over so, doesn't every girl wear winged hearts on her hat during the month of February?  I think so, especially if the bottom part of your dress is made out of scrunched up music paper.


March design came about for two reasons: 1) I had purchased a set of new house stamps that I was dying to use, and 2) Normally, the month of March is still rather chilly around here with short days that make it dark outside when I return home from work. This year - not so much! Who says global warming isn't real?



In April, I was learning to do zetti style ATCs so I gave my April girl some zetti arms and zetti leg tights. She loves 'em, because it helps keep her dry when April showers bring May flowers.  This month, I experimented with pan pastels for the first time.  That's what I used to color the leaves.  Makes 'em go POP!   


May flowers, as promised! Now, my life began to get crazy in late April throughout the summer, so this time I pulled out one of Christy Tomlinson's she art girl stamps and simply cut and colored. But I DID make the flowers grow!


By June, summer jump was in full swing (read between the lines, it really says that we go-go really fast, and make unexpected twists and turns as we go-go really fast). Thus, the roller coaster border on the bottom of the pages. I love the banners for the title because they flip-flop in the wind just like my hair does when we ride the motorcycle or take the ugly old red corvette for ice cream.

Here's to the next six months!

Frida Kahlo Gone Mad

 Meet Frida Kaho.  What nationality is Frida?  Mexican.  Frida, of course, is Mexican.  Frida fell in love and married one of Mexico's most famous artists.  Then she became an artist and did mostly self-portraits because "that's who I know best" she said. 

 These are some hand-drawn and hand-painted Frida collages.  I think she was a little wacko, but then ... who knows what people say about me?  (don't answer that)  I'm finding that there are lots of people out there who go bonkers over Frida stuff. 

I'm not enamoured by her life story.  But she is fun to collage.  I mean, it's a great way to put my she-art techniques to use in a new twist, yes?  And really, if we could ALL wear headbands and large flowers in our hair, we should - don't you think? 

Courage & Kindness Girls

Bye bye perfect.  Hello Courage.  I must admit that I try to be perfect a lot of the time.  Perfect wife, mom, friend, crafter, etc.  But I'm learning that we don't have to know what we're doing all the time.  We don't have to have immediate answers for everything.  We are allowed to lose inspiration and get off track for awhile.  We can be human and get annoyed by petty things.  We can be messy, chaotic, and courageous all at once.

Welcome to The Kindness Movement!  The idea is that kindness is contagious.  Ellen DeGeneres inspired the creation of The Kindness Movement.  At the end of her show she says "Be kind to one another."  I love that!  We all know that simple gestures speak loudly.  A door held open, a hearty thank you, offering up the closer parking space.  What simple little thing could you do today to offer up kindness?  Kindness does matter.  Uh huh.  En how.  Cha ching. 

Little House Swap

Meet my neighborhood.  This was my first swap ever on the AFA website.    I got through it with no hiccups.  I didn't break any swap laws or nothing!  You know how it goes, I just wanted to do everything "right" my first time around.  

 These little ATCs first went to Oregon.  They had a layover there.  Then, one of them stayed in Oregon with the swap host.  The rest split up and went to Texas, Illinois, and Michigan. 

 Most of the collage papers used for the houses were from my scrap bin.  I don't really remember how I got the idea to make a heart shaped balloon flying overhead, but I like it.  Can't say that I've ever had a heart shaped balloon fly over my own house, but there's always tomorrow!

Yes, I AM learning to listen to the quiet peace of my heart.  Inside my own little house.  In my own little scrap room.  Such a fun way to put one's art heart out into the world.  I received some beautiful little houses in return!  One of them says "Bless This House".  Well said! 

366 Calendar Challenge

Calendar - January

I'm keeping an Art Journal Calendar this year, in keeping with Kate Crane's 366 Challenge (leap year adds the extra day, thus making it a 366 challenge instead of a 365 challenge).  As if you didn't know about leap year already - LOL!  Here's a peak at my February calendar page .... isn't she fun?



February Calendar (She Art Girl)

I know that some people find it difficult to write everything into that tiny little 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 size square, but I'm not too bothered by it.  Here's my secret:  At the beginning of the month I send myself an email with an entry for that day; then I simply reply to myself each day and add more journaling as the days go by.  Then, when I am so motivated (cuz, you know you just have to do it whenever the mood hits ya), I print it out and journal onto my calendar page.  It works for me, and when something works then do it!  Whatever works, baby!  Here's the whole month of February.

I may incorporate my monthly emails at the back of my book, eventually.  That way, I will have ALL my words documents rather than just a few key thoughts inside the squares.  Or not.  We'll see how I feel about that down the road.  I'm having fun with it, that's for sure!  So ... do something that works for ya and have fun today!

Personalized Foam Stamps

 
Yep, you read it right.  This is a stamped image of my very own hand-drawn stamp!  Won't this be fun on backgrounds!  On this particular sheet of foam, I drew a little of everything ... but just think how fun a repetitive background pattern will be!  Be still my heart, this is way cool!!!

I want to thank ArtKitty on AFA for sharing this fun new technique with me, and sending me some foam sheets to give it a whirl.  We traded some ATCs, and the cards I received from her are A-dor-able.  They are cats ... named Pistashio and Bill & Fred.  They are going to love living with me.  Thanks for making my mailbox do the happy dance!  It was SO fun trading with you!

BaBushKa Girl

When I was a little girl, my mom always referred to wearing a scarf as wearing a "Babushka".  I think it's such a funny little word.  Meet my Babushka Girl.  She's very small - ATC card size (2 1/2 by 3 1/2).  It all started when I wanted to learn to draw a few days ago. 

Oh, I've been drawing -- kinda, sorta -- when I do my she-art canvases and notebook covers.  But Babushka Girl is totally drawn by my own working hand, rather than collaged in bits and pieces.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE collaged bits and pieces, but this was a challenge I issued to myself.  Something that was on my creative bucket list.

It feels good to be in charge of me.

And I am particularly fond of Babushka Girl for obvious reasons.  She's my first.  She's got a mom memory attached to her.  And, well, she's just got a cute personality.  She's got postive energy.  She's an encourager.  And, she's flying a balloon -- symbolic to me.  Fly.  It's a pretty good word too.

Taking Flight.  That's me! 

Recently, I discovered an online ATC community that I'd like to share with you.  ATC's For All is fun!  I've never been much of an ATC girl, and truth be told, I'm finding it challenging to create stuff in such a small space!  But that's the point, isn't it?  I don't want to go all weirdsville into the ATC world.  I do want to do MY art in MY style (ever evolving as it is) and that is what I hope to do on my ATCs.

Taking Flight.  Yep, that's me!

Back Up the Bus -- let's start with Halloween

I don't know how time flew by from September (last post) to February ... but perhaps this lil' ole' pumpkin with wings helped it?  Yep, that's what happened!  It isn't that I haven't been creating along the way, I've just been ... uh ... busy creating.  And we did a good bit of traveling during the last several months too.  Yay me!  The upside is that I DO have pics of stuff I did ... the downside is that they are still in my phone.  So ... let's start with Halloween, shall we?

This was an ATC swap with my craft girls.  The theme was "mini-collage" and it was a real 'treat' to do, get it?  ha  The paper is a VERY heavy weight water color paper, which takes to acrylic paints and modge podge very nicely.  My crafty-pants friends had taken a spin into the world of doodling and zentangling  (oh man -- that reminds me to take a pic of my doodling ATC card, she's a cutie pie holding a cat and an umbrella - I'll get right on that!).  Anywho - I digress.  After our dip in doodles, and since I was already in the doodling mood, I doodled this lil' ole' pumpkin guy.  The wings are really a Unity Butterfly Stamp that I love love love, cut in half. 

Bet you never went trick or treating in February?

Edited to add something of value (like my Halloween post in February was not?).  I think it worthwhile to check out the Advanced Style Blog.  Today's post is in memory of 95 year-old Zelda Kaplan, a snazzy New Yorker who I enjoyed very mucho.  Here's to living life full!

She Loves She Art

More "she art" to show you!  Some time back, we had a women's ministry summer gathering at church entitled "Singing in the Rain" and our guest speaker was a lovely lady named Amber who shared her powerful testimony about the loss of her 7 year old daughter to an inoperable brain tumor, and Amber's resultant crisis of belief 5 years later.  Her wrestlings with God took her through unimaginable grief, leaving her alone with her questions.  Have you ever questioned God?

Ultimately, God won Amber's heart in a year-long wrestling match when she came to realize that He loves her no matter what.  As a thank you gift for ministering to our group, I made Amber this 8x8 canvas with the bible verse "She can do all things through Christ who strengthens her".  I think I love this canvas more than any others I have done.  It's color palette is soothing, and so is it's theme.

A matching composition notebook  joins the canvas, in the same soothing colors.  I do love butterflies, oh yes I do!  On these types of mixed media projects, they just "fit" the flighty nature of the art, don't you agree?  Butterflies in headbands, hair pony tails, dress trim, and backgrounds.  Flutter by butterflies!

This morning, I am thankful for my creative times.  Time that allows me to reflect and ponder my own "wrestlings with God" and how he ultimately won my own heart.  We all have a story to tell.  We are all stories in the making aren't we?  Today, as I go about my busy day at work and in life, I will remember that "She can do all things through Christ who strengthens her."

I Heart My Art Buddies

What's not to like about peanut m&m's and art buddies?  I found a few more pics of our adventure with Donna Downey, so I thought I'd post 'em!  No project pics (unless you count the m&m masterpiece!). 

Donna is a good talker.  So am I.  That is why my name spelled backwards is YAK.  I am not sure what she is explaining here, but suffice it to say she is a good talker-teacher!  Getting to know Donna was half the fun!  

Being with your scrappy buds is like breathing air -- we need it, don't we ladies?  Our scrappy gang enjoyed a 'licious mexican dinner afterwards.  Arn't we the babes? 

"Dear God", she prayed ...

"Dear God" she prayed, "Let me be something at every minute of every hour of my life. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost." Have you ever worked on a 12x12 canvas? I had worked with 12x12 scrapbook pages in the past, so why not give it a try in the mixed media art world?! (she said to herself) So ... she did.

And it was both fun and freeing to have the opportunity to fill a lot of extra surface area, all around my little darlin' girl. Now, I could have made little darlin' girl BIG, but maybe next time. For now, I like her full profile. I love the uneven ruffle on her dress, hemmed with pearls. (Be warned: I am brewing up a little idea inside my head to make a big profile using only her face and upper body. I brew ideas, not coffee.)

And a notebook to matchy matchy. Guess who is typing on a new laptop? And guess who went to see the movie "The Help" yesterday? I live a charmed life, I do!Now, I must go and "labor" on Labor Day. As in, I have been to 8 states in 2 weeks, and only taken 2 vacation days (in addition to the weekends), all in a car (not in an airplane), and that means the laundry needs done. I just got a telephone call from my High School Math Teaching Son, Keaton, who wanted to know if he would look like a cool High School Math Teacher in a white double pocket dress shirt? The issue was the double pockets, he said. He thought math teachers only wear 1-pocket shirts. So, ultimately, after deep, soul-searching conversation, we decided that he would be a trend-setter. My son, the trend-setter. Yes, I really do live a charmed life, I tell ya!

Apronology

Got apron? check. Got Shiva Paint Sticks? check. Got some creative mojo ya gotta let out? check. Once I got there, I knew I was ready to rock-n-roll!! Let the sun shine in! This was an experiment. On a canvas apron. With a head full of ideas. And no understanding of how certain mediums would "take" to the canvas. But how are ya gonna learn if you don't try? And so try, I did. The worst that could happen would be a donation to the trash can, right? But it ended up pretty cute!

First, a word about Shiva Paint Sticks - which are oil based - and they stink. Oooh boy, do they stink! If anyone has an idea on how to get the smell out of the finished apron, do share! I've heat set it in my dryer and that did seem to help a bit. But now I'm over the smell -- now I'm just into the cuteness factor!

I used stencils and a stipple brush to add the flowers, later highlighting them with white dots of acrylic paint and yes, I actually sewed on the buttons! ME? Sewing? Unbelievable. Using some of the techniques I learned in the online class, She Had Three Hearts Workshop, I added more texture to the back ground by using stamps and staz-on ink - here and there and everywhere.

After stamping the dragon fly images, I went back with white acrylic paint to make them pop. I found a dotted leaf stamp in my stash, which further added definition and texture to my hand-drawn leaves. Mixed media is just that -- mixed. I am loving the journey! Whatever you are doing creativity, I encourage you to go a teensy tiny bit outside your comfort zone ... and just watch how your heart takes flight! Yes, I will get out my stinky Shiva Paint Sticks again. It was just waaay too much fun!

Donna Downey Class - People Pics

Here's our gang, here we are with THE Donna Downey. Aren't we just the cutest chicka's on the block? This picture was taken before class started. I know this because (a) the table is still neat and (b) everything is still in my gallon size ziplock baggie. See it sitting on the table? LOL Here's my traveling buddy Lynn in her new Donna Downey apron! It's a true fashion statement babycakes! Diva -- through and through. Love this girl.

For a quick minute, Sisterpants mistakenly thought she was in a hair salon and was about to give Linda a trim! Look at the look on Linda's face .... priceless! Notice the Welcome Donna sign hanging on the wall? I thought that was such a nice touch. Kudo's to Altered Angel for putting on such a fun event!

Talk about a look on someones face?! Check out Ms. Downey herself! That just cracks me up. It's so Donna. I have no earthly idea what prompted the look, but it absolutely positively most assuredly qualifies as the look doesn't it?!

I wanted to post a picture of Donna that was not the look - so here ya go! She was demonstrating how to use modeling paste with stencils, which adds a very cool texture to your page or canvas.

Take a looksy at Lynn, peeking through the crowd at Donna's demonstration, looking all cute in her fashionista apron! Someday, we are going to find her on the Advanced Style blog - I just know it!

Here's a shot of me and sisterpants! Smiley Sisterpants are we!

The three musketeers - Kay, Lynn, and Sisterpants Joyce. I was having a decent hair day. Don't you just love life when you have a decent hair day? It's all about the hair.

Fun times, fun friends, lots of laughs, good memories, beautiful art, fabulous teacher, very cool scrap book store, lots of learning, reflective thinking, and the presence of peace in my heart. So thankful for it all.