Doggie Card

A friend of our family has lost a very dear doggie a few days ago.  Missy Dog was our friend's companion and loyal friend.  I know Laura will be hurting for a long time.  I made her a card to let her know we care.

Outside of card:

Inside of card:

Blue Day Art Journal Tutorial

So I had a rough night Wednesday night, and a rough day all Thursday.  I won't go into the details, but I will tell you that I did a lot of praying about the situation, and ultimately came down to the studio to document my sadness.  I knew I was going to take my time doing this page because crafting always takes my mind away from other things, and I had a lot of things to try to get past.  It was theraputic to spend time in my studio, playing with my tools, and experimenting with various techniques.  

So I titled this Blue Day, since I was sad, and I used a ton of blue, and absolutely no orange, which is my happy color.  (Except there is orange in the ribbon--I put that on the day after my sad day.)

Here is the photo of my final page, and after this, I will go into the process that got me here.

 

So to start out, I had to decide which aRt jouRnaL to use.  I currently have 4 I am playing around in, and they don't really have any specific purpose.  I just love them all.  

For this project, I chose the hard bound book I am in the process of altering.  I tore several page out from the book and glued 4 sheets together creating very thick pages.  I knew i would really put a lot of mediums on these pages, so I made sure they were sturdy.  So far, I am very pleased.

I found a great idea for how to decorate the front, spine, and back of this book.  I hope to begin working on that right after I blog about this  aRt jouRnaL page. 

I started the page by gessoing it.   When I do my aRt jouRnaL entries, I have a bunch of things I could try, such as collaging with paper, painting with acrylic paints, or misting with inks.  I prepare my pages with gesso ahead of time because it helps the paper accept the colors and textures of the acrylic paints much easier.  So below is a picture of my gessoed paper.  You will note that some of the writing is showing through.  That is exactly how I wanted it.  One of the funnest elements of aRt jouRnaLing is layering.  The more you layer, the more fun it is.  It took a few minutes for the gesso to dry thoroughly, so I moved on to gesso some more pages in some of my other journals (not pictured here yet).

Then I had to select how I would add color to these pages.  I chose to use Tattered Angel Glimmer Mists because they leave a sparkle when the mist dries.  

I combined the Lily Pad (pale green) and the Jazz Blue mists and I also squirted a little of the Dylusions Lemon Zest ink just because I love the Dylusions inks.  Once the page was misted, I moved the book around to make the smear marks you see below.   I dried the pages and re-inked and dried and then re-inked and dried again until I was happy with the richness of blue and green and slight yellow colors. 

Just for fun, I decided to put a border of faded jean Distress Stain all around the edges of the pages.  It looks a lot cooler in person than in the picture. Again, this was just another layer of color on color.  After applying the stain on the pages, I dried them so I could keep working. 

This next step was real fun.  I found a nice piece of scrap brown cardstock, embossed it in my Vagabond machine using a wood textured embossing folder from Darice, and cut out a tree using a Tim Holtz alterations tree die.  The piece of tree that I cut was used on another page for a completely different and happy aRt JouRnaL entry.  Hard to see below how cool the paper turned out.  It looks like real wood grain to me.  

After I cut out the tree and used it on the other page, I had the left over "negative" image, which I did not throw out.  I decided to mix up some acrylic paint (black and hunter green) with modeling paste, and use the left over piece of the tree die cut as a stencil for this page.

 I really packed the stencil nice and thick and when I pulled up the scrap paper, you can see the tree left behind on the page.  It turned out so pretty and just thick enough and with a lot of texture.  The left over stencil served it's purpose and was thrown out after making my tree.   

 Next it was time to play with more layers on the pages.  I decided to add some rubon clouds--I used a pack of Studio Calico rub-ons--I just love their products.   

I also used some of the left over embossed brown paper to cut out fence posts.  That was done free style and arranged on either side of the tree.  

I also began pulling out a bunch of background stamps and adding them all over the pages.  That is one of my favorite techniques to add texture that Christy Tomlinson taught me.  I used a Hero Arts wood mounted, french script stamp, and a Unity stamp designed by Christy Tomlinson called Brick Wall.  I used Staz-on Timber Brown ink because it is water soluable and if I were to use my colored mists, the stamped images will not run. I also decided the tree needed something under it, like a path of some sort.  So I pulled out a small jar of specialty sand that comes pre-glued, and pulled out enough sand to cover the area under the tree, between the fence post.  I got this sand from a company called Muddpuddles.net about 2 years ago.  I had not used it at all, and the glue had kink of dried up, so I added a little glossy accents liquid glue to the sand to make sure it adhered nicely to the paper.  

At this point, with the modeling pasted tree still wet and the sand under it very tacky, I decided to leave the rest of the arting for the next day.  Modeling paste takes a LONG time to dry.  Over night is always a safe amount of time.

When I came down early the next morning to check on the page, it was dry and it was lovely.  You can see below, that I made a journaling tag and added that to the page.  I also added some more texture to the page using punchinella stencil and some coarse texture gel medium and some white acrylic paint.  I made the cloud rub-ons a little bigger and added some more fleeting clouds to the top of the page. 

I also added some clock stamps using red archival ink to signify the passing of time.  My caption reads:  8/16/12 was a "BLUE" day.  When I have days like that, I live for the Promise of a new day.  Lamentations 3:23.  

True to God's Word, Friday was a much better day for me and so has been today, Saturday. 

What do you think of this entry?  Care to try your hand at aRt JouRnaLing?  Write me and let me know or send me some pics!  

I had a lot of fun with this project.  Hope it inspires you in some way, to Craft 2 Shine!!!

More Bloggin for Me

I've been given permission to guest blog about crafty things on my Pastor's church blog!!!  Isn't that cool?  I think so.  He called it Onesimus3 because he wanted Pastor Ben, our Youth Pastor, and me, the Children's Ministries Director, to blog on it.  But I never have.  Mostly because when I blog, I usually am blogging about some form of artistic expression that I am trying out, or I giving  some some of tutorial for a new project.  I never dreamed Pastor would let me blog about creative stuff.  But he thinks it will be a good way to add another element to that blog.  So I will be occasionally contributing things there!

Here's the link:  www.onesimus3.blogger.com

I case you don't get there, though, here is a picture of my most recent Art Journal, and this is what I just blogged about at Onesimus3:

This entry is only the second one in my hardbound black art journal.  I used a book that I altered and that I love, because of how sturdy it is.  The tree was made out of corrugated cardboard, with a die from the Tim Holtz collection of dies.  I die cut a gazzillion little leaves from a QuickCutz die.  I then adhered each one of the leaves to the branches of the tree, with a glue pen.  The background was misted with two different Crafter's Workshop stencils and a mixture of tattered angels and dylusions inks.  I also did a bunch of stamping using some Tim Holtz stamps and Archival inks.

The journaling says this:

August 13th:  there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.  Eccl 3:1
How true are these words. Our season of drought is coming to an end after 9 1/2 months. I thank the Lord for His mercy and grace. Shawn starts his brand new, full-time job tomorrow.  We are so blessed!  Thank You Jesus!

Amen!

I'm looking forward to posting more art journal entries in the days to come!

Couture Stationary Box

On July 28, 2012, I was blessed to attend a Creating Keepsakes Convention in Lancaster, PA, where I volunteered to Assistant Teach in the morning sessions.  I didn't know which classes I would be asked to help in, but I knew that whatever it was, I would love the experience.  And I did!  I can't wait to do it again!!!  I realized that I much prefer to "teach" classes like this, than to "take" them at conventions like this.  I am much too precision- minded to enjoy the classes as presented in this type of setting!!!  I like to take my time with my projects and ensure they are done accurately!  I so enjoy the process, that I really resent having to accomplish these classes in 1 hour.  That being said, it was much more relaxing and exhilarating for me to help others complete their projects in a limited time!  

I assisted with 3 fast-paced and wonderful classes that morning, using the SEI line of papers, which I had never used.  

The first two classes were jammed with 47 ladies each; the third had 17!!!  

The first class consisted of making 4 two-page layouts with some interesting techniques.  The ladies only had time to do the first two layouts and were sent home with a detailed listing of directions.  

The second class also consisted of 4 two-page layouts, with completely different papers and techniques.  Again, we only completed the first two layouts, but the directions are very complete and will ensure they can continue their projects without major difficulty.  

The last class consisted of making a Couture Stationary Box.  This was my favorite class of the day because we actually got to leave with a completed project.  I was tremendously inspired by this project and came home eager to try the project out for myself, using a bright and cheerful line of paper from Teresa Collins called Freestyle.  I love the pinks and oranges of this paper line!  I also enjoyed putting my own special  touches on the project, including embellishments for the front of the box, as well as handmade tags, mini note cards, and correspondence cards.

So here is a picture of my complete box, as seen from the outside:

One of the very first things I did was to make some fabric rosettes to add to the lid.  I also added some matching ribbon, some chipboard pieces, and some die cut birdies!  Below, you will see a closeup of the fabric rosettes.  I love making my own flowers.  There are numerous videos on how to make them all over YouTube.  If you are interested, go to YouTube and enter fabric flower techniques on the search line.  I've spent endless hours learning these techniques.

 Upon lifting the lid of my Couture Stationary Box, the front flap opens and this is where you get to see all the goodies I jam-packed into this kit. 

The first thing you see on the flip-down flap is a small note book where one can write any number of things of importance such as birthdays, anniversaries, addresses, etc.  next to the handmade Note to Self book is a small pocket for placing stamps.  Below these two is a slot for a pen or pencil.

Below is a closeup of the Post It Note cover I made.  There are two chipboard pieces from the Teresa Collins collection, and a die cut butterfly I made using a Martha Steward punch.

This is the inside of the sticky note holder.

One of the slots above has a pocket for small tickets or receipts.  I chose to make some colorful tags.  I cut them out in two sizes, and stamped them with a variety of Tim Holtz images, and some Basic Grey acrylics.  I also distressed each of the tags and inked all the edges with ink pads.  These tags can be used to add special little personal notes to your friends or to highlight some major event.  They can also be used as a small mat for pictures, if you so desire.  

I used my Tim Holtz Vagabond and a Sizzix Envelope die to make the small note card envelopes pictured below.  They are approximately 2.5 by 2.5 inches.  I used colorful patterned paper from a Die Cut With a View paper pack and inked each envelope with some Tim Holtz vibrant distress inks, so they would blend well with the bright hues of the stationary box.  The little note cards on the inside are also from a DCWV paper line and they are die cut with a Spellbinders scalloped square Nestabilities die.  

Over the weekend, I was thrilled to find some very inexpensive correspondence cards at Michael's, manufactured by Studio 18.  They came in a variety of colors, and each has an inspiring message at the top, which is not pictured.  I chose four of the bright orange and four of the hot fushia for this stationary set, because they match perfectly.  I also added a pocket to each of the cards, each cut with a border punch to add interest to the card and for the placement of a personal note, or perhaps one of the tags pictured above. 

This project turned out very nice. Between the time it took me to make the fabric flowers, each of the tags, note cards, and correspondence cards, as well as assemble the notebook and the box itself, I would guess I spent about 8 hours on this project--not all consecutive.  It is a one of a kind.  I would easily retail this for $22.50.  I can also customize a set like this with different colored patterned papers if perchance, the hot pink and orange colors do not appeal to you.  

As always, I remain eager to Craft to Shine!!!

Indiana Jones style Journal

This was a really fast and fun project because I had the material almost ready to go.  I followed the directions posted by Bobbi in a website called How Does She?  (http://www.howdoesshe.com/reusable-nature-journal-tutorial-and-template#respond)

It is a super tutorial on how to make a Reusable Nature Journal and Bobbi links the template that I used for my Indy Journal.  Look at how cute it came out:

I absolutely love the texture of this thing!  It is sort of like fake leather with pits on most of it, but smoother texture on the fold-over portion.  

Look at what I used to make the journal:

It's my old day planner.  I always loved this one.  I usually keep all my annual daytimers, but I knew I would eventually re-use this old one for something.  Using Bobbi's template, I cut out my new nature journal cover and since the texture of the 2010 planner was so awesome, I didn't have paint over it or do anything to it.  In a future blogpost, you will see that I also made some mini-nature journals, also using old daytimer covers, but there was writing on those covers, so I had to paint them before using them.  

Here's a view of the inside of my Indy Journal.  I used 90lb hard-pressed water-color papers for the inside of the journal, dimension 5 1/8 X 8.  The cover of the journal is 6 X 10 1/4.  

You may not know this, but I am often reluctant to paint on the very first page of any of my journals.  So I decided to put a cover page with a pocket on the first page.  That way, I can add some tags or put my journaling pencil in it.  I chose a very nice sheet from the Teresa Collins Fabrications paper line as my cover:  

You may notice that I chose to sew the pocket instead of gluing it.  I also stitched all the pages together straight down the middle.  Once I am done arting in this journal, it can be removed and saved as is, since it has such a cute cover.  

Here is the cover with some tags so you can see the front pocket in use!  

I'm so inspired by this journal that I plan to not only complete the two mini-nature journals I began today, but also try one out using a canvas cover, perhaps from the Jolee's French General collection.  That may take me a little longer to complete because I may have to reinforce the canvas with book board.  I will tackle that project tomorrow! 

For variety, I may put the pocket on the inside of the next journal.  I may also add some notebook papers and some grid-lined papers because I like to sketch and takes lots of notes, and I don't want to waste the watercolor paper on notes or sketches.  

Already excited about the prospects for my next project(s)! 

Mini Green Journal

I'm on a journal kick!  Not writing a journal, but making them!  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them all.  Hopefully sell them!!!  Someday!!!   This posts' Mini Green Journal is really "green."

I started with this:  

Yes, a box of Dove soap.  It was the perfect mini-journal size.  

I started by opening the box and adding some thin card stock to the sides and back of the inside of the box.  I folded over the outer edges, and taped them down with red double-sided tape.  This folding added reinforcements to the outer panels.  I then covered the entire box with discarded butcher paper using mod podge to adhere the paper to the Dove box. 

I chose green acrylic paint to paint the outside of the box, and I put a strip of patterned paper on the inside of the box, which is really the inside of the journal.  

There are 4 signatures in this mini-journal, each with 1 painted outer sleeve, and 3 water color papers in the inside.  I hand-stitched them with colored floss.  

The outer sleeves of each signature was hand painted with acrylic on heavy cardstock.  I didn't add any other dimensional mixed media to it because I wanted it to be crisp and clean.  But I love the acrylic colors I chose and blended.  

For the outer cover, I stamped a beautiful flower and swirl.  I might go back and paint the flower to give it some color, but I kind of like it simple and sweet as is.  

I added a gold, elastic closure to the book at the last minute because I felt the journal needed a way to stay shut. 

This last photo shows the journal from the back so you can see the stitching of the signatures and the stamps and the string of the elastic closure. 

The outer dimensions of the journal when closed are 3.25 X 2.25.  Truly a mini-journal.  This mini-journal took me about 7 hours to make, not including drying time.  I spread the making of it over a few days.  I allowed the outer shell's mod podge to dry completely over night before painting it.  I also allowed each of the painted signature sleeves to dry overnight before cutting, folding, and stitching them together. 

I used 90 lb. cold pressed water color paper for the white inserts so that they will hold up to lots of mediums such as watercolor paints, markers, mists, acrylic paints, etc.  

This was a fun project. 

Where in the World is She?

I know, I know!!!
I disappeared off the face of the blog world.  I guess it's not that big a deal since I only have 3 followers.  But for those 3, it might matter just a little.

The truth is, I've been very busy making a bunch of things.  I've taken pics, and uploaded to my email, but that's about as far as I got.  My day-job takes priority since that is what brings in the mega-millions (well . . . in heaven, it's mega millions!!!).

So soon, I hope to actually write some more tutorials to keep the 3 of you followers inspired, and the rest of you non-followers, interested!