November 16!

I can hardly believe it is half way through November already!  This fall...the year for that matter...is just flying by. 

I've still been doing a bit of art journaling when time permits...and wishing that more time permitted LOL.  I am still truly loving the freeing of creativity that art journaling is giving me.  I've joined an art journal group at The Art House Studio in Cambridge. We've been getting together every two weeks and, not only is it a lot of fun socially, but it is also very inspiring to see what other people are doing.

Here are my latest 3 pages, one single page and 2 double pages.  All are a mixture of collaged paper, sprays, stencils, stamps...just a little mix of everything.

This one was done on November 1/12.  I titled it Loving the Moment...because that was what I was feeling at the time.  I always sit my pages up on the mantle above the fireplace for a few days to see if I want to add anything else.  The more I looked at this one, the more I could start to see a storm brewing in the centre of the page...

I used a doily to mask the upper right corner, homemade washi tape in the bottom right corner, lots of misting and spraying, stamping.  I used Silks Ginger Peach by Luminarte around the edges and in the circles. 

 

 

This next one I did when I wanted to take a break from scrapbooking at the all day Mega Crop hosted by Younique on November 10th in Guelph.  We had such fun that day but I wasn't feeling totally creatively inspired on the scrapbooking side.  I had found some paper that had the diamond shape on it in pinks, blues and greens so used this to base my page design on. I used the Crafter's Workshop Harlequin stencil to spray the diamond shapes with Dylusions Turquoise ink spray, then moved the stencil over and sprayed with Dylusions Green Grass ink spray. On the the other side I used Dylusions Bubblegum Pink with the stencil.  I also found some paper in similar colours with circles on it so I replicated circles in white and black paint over the page as well. 

 

 

 

My latest page was completed last night at art journal group at The Art House Studio.  I started by collaging papers onto the page, then started spraying, masking and painting over the papers.  I used Mister Huey's sprays for the letter stencil and love how it just made the page pop.  I finished the page with some Silk's Ginger Peach by Luminarte (you can probably tell this is one of my favourite colours LOL) and just love how well it goes with the turquoise and green on the page.  I had some stamp stickers in my stash and put a few of thise on the page and then drew circles around them with F&W ink. 

 





Having a Blast with My Art Journal !

Over the past week I have added 7 pages to my Art Journal and have had a blast doing it. I did a couple of pages at the Art Journal night at the Art House Studio's new location in Cambridge...so glad to have Karen Ellis so close! The past two weekends I've also managed to spend a bit of time creating. This past Sunday was a lot of fun as my friend Sandy came over and brought her art journal with her. We happily spent several hours spraying, stenciling,stamping...and in general just getting mucky with glues and inks...and even managed to eat a nice roast dinner as well (thank goodness for slow cookers!). There are no titles on any of these yet...I had some quotes and words in mind while I was working on them and I think I will go back and add the titles and some private journaling on tags to be added later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Productive weekend

CREATE Here it is on Sunday afternoon and I've just finished having some fun in my craft room. Today I finished a journal cover that I had started the other day, I used a Prima Canvas Resist journal cover and Dylusions ink sprays to create the cover and then added assorted embellishments and more sprays. I'll be showing a group of teens how to make this journal cover and a couple of journal pages as well on November 25th at Younique Country Retreat.

TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING I love the fall with the changing of the colours of the leaves, and the cool crisp, sunny days. Unfortunately it also means snow will show up soon...but in the meantime I love the colours of this season. The other day it was a bit windy here and the leaves were blowing off the trees. It gave me an idea for a journal page. Well...the resulting page wasn't quite what was in my head...but it was close. I used Dylusuions ink sprays and assorted stamps. My favourite stamp on this page was the "spider web" which I actually used to simulate the veins on a leaf. I was just about to take a photo of this layout when I decided that it was still missing something...back to the craft room to add the touch of red...what would fall colours be with outout red!

Day 4 of Creative Week!

Yes...I skipped Day 3. Actually there are a few things on the go not yet ready, so I've skipped to posting Day 4 achievements in my art journal. I challenged myself to leave white space on the page today...a very difficult thing for me. I am fairly happy with this page. I used Dylusions spray inks and 8 different stencils to create the base and then dripped teal acrylic paint over the page, tipping it in 2 directions to achieve the run pattern. I also used a flower stamp and sprayed the centre with Dylusions Lemon Zest.

I found a sticker with the words "Let the tears come, Let them heal your soul" and thought that the dripped paint on this page fit those words.

The last page today was another thst started out in one direction and ended up in another. I had these rose stickers that I wanted to use so layered them over a dark grey base. I stamped a vine around the bottom of the roses and then I splotched on some teal paint...used a stencil with white paint layered with Dylusions spray ink in Lemon Zest and some teal acrylic paint. I splashed on some white and gold acrylic paints to finish it off.

A Whole Week to Myself to Play

I am taking a week of vacation with no plans other than to be creative...whether it be pages in my art journal, a canvas or two...and even some cooking. Day 1...a double page in my art journal and a single page finished from the other day. Dream...the double page...love the teal, yellow and black colour combination, I used a variety of stamps and stencils and even found some old BoBunny arrow rub-ons to use as well. I had a few tags in my stash so cut these and pasted them to the page.

The single page is a collage of Thresa Collins Designs "World Traveler" papers from a 6x6 pack in blacks, greys and reds. Lots of gesso, acrylic paint and stamps.

Day 2 is here...and today's art journal page started as a single page. I collaged the page with an assortment of papers in yellow, blue/teal and brown. I then whitewashed the page with acrylic paint after blocking out the words so that they would stand out. Stencils sprayed using Dylusions ink sprays, lots of stamps and some circles and dripping ink and I thought I was finished. As I was spraying the stencils I would rub off the stencils on the opposite page. I was going to leave it and come back to it another day...but soon found myself adding some more stencils sprayed with Black Marble Dylusions. I sat the book up on my mantel and looked at it from time to time during the afternoon. I finally decided that it needed a bit more yellow, so I added a few sprays of Dylusions Lemon Zest.

Tomorrow is Wednesday and already my head is working through some ideas I'd like to try. Can hardly wait!

Mixed Media Canvas Class at Younique

Heather at Younique Country Retreat has asked if I'd like to teach a class to those that would like to try mixed media. These two were done using Basic Grey Plumeria papers...beautiful papers! My samples for the class are shown below. I'm very excited about this and I'm pleased with how they turned out. My aim for the class is to show you how EASY it is to create some beautiful art work and techniques that can either be used on canvas or on scrapbook pages! Heather says....This class will be offered on 2 different dates to accommodate everyone as we are sure to sell out. First class will be Wednesday September 26th from 7 to 10 pm and the second date will be Sunday September 30th from 2 to 5 pm. You have a choice between a lighter or dark canvas and Julie will guide you through the creation leaving lots of room for your own creative juices to flow on the canvas. The cost for this class will be $25 and will include all supplies. The link to Younique is shown below and at the side of this post. http://youniqueshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12_37&products_id=1801

Long Weekend of Art and Scrapping!

I spent the long weekend marking the end of summer painting...playing in my art journal and scrapping...could it have been any more perfect! The first one I did was this canvas. Last weekend was our company family picnic. We covered the tables with kraft paper and a lot of the kids were drawing. One 10 year old, Samantha, drew the cartoonish character and I asked if I could have it. I asked her dad what colour her bedroom was and then used the pink and purple theme to do the canvas. I used Dylusions spray inks and an assortment of pink papers. I think it looks a bit like a dance sequence in a cartoon high school. I hope she likes it!

On Saturday morning, my scrapping friend Sandy and I went to St. Jacobs for breakfast and then for some scrappy shopping. Sandy then came back to the house and I got her to try some mixed media...and now I think she's hooked! These are the two pieces that I did... The first one was an 8x10 canvas using Dylusions ink sprays, an Eiffel Tower pattern serviette and an assortment of papers and stamps.

The next one was a journal page using Dylusions ink sprays, a floral pattern serviette and an assortment of stamps.

On Sunday I did this double journal page using Dylusions ink sprays and an assortment of stamps. I had a Bugaboo stamp that I fussy-cut and painted with Dylusions ink sprays and adhered to one side. On the other side I added some butterflies cut from a serviette and modge podged them to the page. I even stamped using the bottom of a flip-flop sandal from the dollar store (the stripes around the edge).

On Monday, I re-did a layout I had worked on a couple of weeks ago for a co-worker that had had a new baby. I wasn't happy with the original, but couldn't put my finger on what I wanted it to look like. The final design is similar to the original, with the little squares...I just reduced the size of the squares, added faux stitching around the edge, matted the photo with dark blue and white, and also added some circles with white and blue acrylic paint. I am much happier with it now.

Next I did two journal collage pages. They are side by side and I kept going back and forth between them as I chose paper and inks etc. The first was an assortment of papers that I then embellished with some dripping Dylusions ink sprays and acrylic paints and random letter stickers.

The last one was inspired by a damask patterned tissue paper. I added a piece of a paper doily...some random papers in black and whites...a few creams. More sprays and inks (sprayed using a doily and some punchanella as masks) and a bit of acrylic paint. The title on this one is Today is Perfect...because it was...a great way to spend a weekend getting inky and creative.

Another Canvas

This canvas is actually the second one that I completed when I got it into my head that I was finally going to try mixed media. (I'm still not sure about the first one yet...think it is too dark...so I haven't posted it yet.) But I do like this one. I found some pretty serviettes at Winner's one day that had the Eiffel Tower on them...gorgeous blue and yellow colours...so I decided to use them as my inspiration for the canvas. I knew when I had finished this one that I was truly hooked on mixed media!

Start of my Art Journal...and

More Mixed Media Fun !!! Well this has been quite the weekend. I have really been itching to play with my new Dylusions Ink Sprays and finally had the chance to do so this weekend. So I locked the 3 cats out of the room (otherwise there would be paw prints in multi-coloured hues all over my house), threw down a drop cloth and my craft mat onto the table...and with the dog sleeping at my feet I got to work. The first one I did was pretty tentative, but I kind of like the sunflower look that turned out.

The second one, I used the same flower stamp, but this time stamped it onto patterned papers and cut them out. I then glued these onto the inked page. The Dylusions Ink Sprays are so vibrant! This is such a departure from what I usually do...I tend to stick to clean lines...but I had a lot of fun stepping outside of my comfort zone.

Still wanting to try more, I ended up with "Butterflies in a Fairy Garden"...no fairies to be seen...but I did decoupage some butterflies from a serviette onto the page. I did a little more "sketchy" doodling on this one...not a lot, and I still want to work on this technique so that I am more comfortable with it.

In between playing with the ink sprays, I went back to my poppy canvas and added some green acrylic paint and then some white dots over that. I am more satisfied with how this looks now.

In Love with Mixed Media!

For a while now I've been a fan of Anna Dabrowska (aka Finnabair) and her amazing mixed media layouts. I've been wanting to try it myself but always thought it would be too hard...how wrong I was! I finally took the plunge and I am so totally hooked! Here are a few of the canvases that I have completed this weekend. My next adventure will be starting an art journal...among other products, I will be using Dyan Reavely's Dylusions ink sprays! Gorgeous colours! These two were done using Basic Grey Plumeria papers...beautiful papers! Heather at Younique Country Retreat has asked if I'd like to teach a class to those that would like to try mixed media. These are my samples for the class. I'm very excited about this and I'm pleased with how they turned out. I'll post more details on the class when the date is set. http://www.youniquecountryretreat.com/

This one is an 11" x 13" canvas. I covered the edges with a yellow and red poppy serviette, then layered on DCWV LaCreme papers...then more red poppies. Stamped...modelling paste...acrylic paint. This one is still a work in progress as I'm not satisfied with it yet.

Scrap365 June Sketch Challenge

A few weeks ago, I came across a link to Scrap365 Magazine. Gabrielle from Such A Pretty Mess blog had a layout featured on their cover. While looking through the site, I saw their Sketch Challenge and decided to give it a try. As soon as I saw the sketch, an idea of what I wanted to do formed in my head. Here is my take on the sketch...which looks nothing like what I had originally planned LOL...and the original sketch below. I used DCWV Lemon Floral paper for this layout. The animal print arch is actually the handle from a gift bag I received recently.

Catching Up Again

Well, it has been quite a while again. I have been scrapping...just not posting much, so here I am in catch up mode again. I've been to a few crops where I've managed to get some layouts done...a day crop at the Scrapping Turtle...Crop for the Cure in St. Jacobs...and another day at Younique Country Retreat. Here are some of my favourites completed over the last few months. My DD played with these photos to give me some PINK to work with. I love the pink, black and white combination and did this one after doing another layout (shown below) because I was having so much fun decorating the rectangles. PRETTY IN PINK I'm still working on the album of my twin nieces. Here is another layout showing some of their dance pics. DANCE TO THE MUSIC As with any young adult, friends are important and taking pictures of their time together even more so. IT'S ABOUT FRIENDS We are having a little baby boom at work and these two are layouts I did as gifts for co-workers. This is the first one I did in the pink, black and white theme with the decorated rectangles. SOPHIE This was such a cute and funny pic that I had to highlight his little face with the C of his name. CONNOR

Mega Crop with Younique

On January 21st, my scrapping friend Sandy and I were so excited to attend a MegaCrop in Guelph hosted by Younique Country Retreat. What a fabulous day! Heather and her team kept us well fed and entertained throughout the day...and we got lots of scrapping done as well. Here are my four favourite layouts from the day.

The first is a layout of my DD's friend Laura (Do I Feel Cold?). Rachel photoshopped the pic to add the snow, but it was such a cute picture screaming out for some great snowflake inspired papers. I love the blue/brown combination of this paper, and it was a great time to use my Maya Road chipboard snowflakes.

Another chilly layout, this time of DD Rachel and her friend Melissa and son Cayden. On New Year's Eve they took Cayden ice skating. I guess I was still in a blue/brown mood because I used the same colour scheme for this layout LOL.

I have started working on an album for my sister-in-law, capturing her twin daughters, Lorna and Heather, throughout their childhood. The "girls" are now in their 30s, but it was a lot of fun going through the photos and trying to figure out which one was which. There is still lots to do on this album, but these two pictures of the "dance days" were a great start. It was a lot of fun to choose the colours for these layouts...and a chance to use lots of bling - gotta love that!

For the first one I was able to find a paper that nearly matched perfectly the bodice of Heather's dance outfit. I punched along the edges and weaved embroidery thread through the loops to mimic a corset.

And for the last one, I wanted to add lots of bling to echo the bling on Lorna's oufit. For some reason, this pic called out to me for flowers (maybe I just pictured Lorna dancing in a meadow of flowers for some reason LOL), so I used these beautiful K&Company flowers that I had in my stash.

Well that's it for now. Sandy and I have already signed up for Younique's next MegaCrop on November 10th! Check out the link listed under my favourite places to visit to find out more about the November crop or Heather's B&B Scrapbooking Retreat Weekends!

Catching up

Time to get back to my long neglected blog! I can’t believe how much time has passed, and how quickly it has flown by. I am going to do a quick update covering the past 6 months and then hopefully be more consistent in my posting.

My term as a Design Team member of the Scrapping Turtle ended on December 31st. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, but am also looking forward to the extra time I’ll now have for more scrapping. I have posted some of my favourite DT layouts below. It was great to try out some new products and techniques, as well as share and learn from other members of the DT and the Turtle followers. We had a lot of fun at times and I’m in a little bit of withdrawal from the daily interactions that I was used to having over the months LOL.

In November, my scrapping friend Sandy and I travelled to the US for a scrapping retreat for a weekend at the Marienthal Inn. We scrapped, ate, scrapped, ate, scrapped, ate…well you get the idea. It was a lot of fun…I just can’t believe how much stuff we packed in the car LOL….and compared to the other ladies there, we were travelling light! It was a great experience to join these ladies who had invited us for the weekend. They have been scrapping together for quite some time and they made us feel very welcome. http://www.marienthalcountryinn.com/ The Marienthal Inn is currently renovating an old church on the property and have a lot of amazing and creative classes in a very quiet and relaxing atmosphere. Definitely worth checking out!

During the weekend I completed a few layouts. My DD was recently in a wedding so I did some layouts using pics taken on the day. I love her in this shade of blue. Here she was acting Sweet and Silly. I used a black lace applique to echo the rub-on flourishes.

Also from the wedding is this fun pic of the bride’s daughter chasing my DD down the hall. It was so cute I just had to scrap it.

I have a number of fav pics of my DD that I wanted to use on a double layout. Throughout the years my DD has had “those expressions” that are “so her!” LOL that I had to title this one Expressions of Rachel. Looking at these pics reminds me of how quickly time flies…24 years…wow!

Before we went away, my DD had asked me if I would do 3 layouts for a friend of hers that had lost her father 11 years ago. I ended up making the 3 layouts in a similar way, but used different colours and embellishments to make them each unique. The journaling is actually from her friend’s facebook post that expressed her feelings for her father.

This next layout was done as a challenge on the Turtle Forum – a Hallowe’en layout using non-Hallowe’en papers. This is a pic of my niece dressed as Wednesday Addams. I used a pink background paper and complimentary pink papers. I sewed a spider web on the page and embellished with black flowers.

This layout was another Turtle challenge – the 5 Rules Challenge. The 5 rules for this one were: must use ribbon (upper right corner); must use buttons (above upper right of photo); must use stitching (around the paisley printed flourish); must use ink (the stamped paisley flourish and on the edges of the cream cardstock); and must use something on the photo (a rub-on).

Well that's it for now. I'll be posting some more recent work shortly.