Reckless Abandon

 That's the way I've been feeling lately in my art journaling. Here's my spread for this week's Art Journal Everyday project.

 
  I started out with pages where I had wiped off a brush of turquoise acrylic paint. Then I went at it with  spray inks and stencils (two things I have been unable to put down for very long :) ) It began to look somewhat chaotic-or hey, do those two terra cotta stencils (which are actually part of a victorian design) look like owls peeking out of a jungle? Of course then I had to search my quote stash and found this one which is "without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future"- Albert Camus. Added two feathers. I think I'll leave it at that. Yup, "a little bit of reckless abandon is a good thing."

  Now,  go and create something with reckless abandon-I guarantee you it'll be fun! Then link it on Art Journal Everyday and share the inspiration. Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Two Button Necklaces and a Giveaway

 Only a few more days left in April and I haven't done a giveaway yet for this month so here we go....

 Back in 2008 when the book "A Charming Exchange" came out I knew I had to own it knowing it was written by my friend Kelly Snelling along with Ruth Rae. It's a wonderful book filled with gorgeous jewelry, tons of inspiration and concise instructions. I cannot believe it's taken me this long to give it a try, but better late than never, right?

 The two necklaces I made are adapted from a combination of several techniques in the book. I was especially drawn to a necklace made with buttons since I happen to LOVE buttons-old and new.

  This is the first necklace I made for myself which consists of shell buttons and inchie images from ARTchix Studio. It was made with two images back to back so I can wear either side facing out.





         Here's the necklace I'm giving away:

                                                                            side 1

                                                                            side 2


  For this piece I chose to make it a necklace you can easily slip over your head. Vintage buttons were used along with an inchie image from ARTchix Studio on the second side which says "share happiness" and one of my own on the first side which simply says "shine". The chain/ribbon measures approx. 29".

  If you'd like to have this necklace all you have to do is leave me a comment by Tuesday, May 8.
 I will randomly draw a winner on May 9. Look for your name then. Good luck!

                          " Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons."
                                                                                               Ruth Ann Schabacker

What Do You See?

  It's time again for Art Journal Everday  and yesterday while sitting at my table I decided I didn't really want to do anything in particular (despite my list) so I grabbed my take along journal (see my previous art journal posts) . This spread already had cross hatch style dry brush marks of pink and orange acrylic paint. I randomly picked out  two spray inks (which just happened to be a red and yellow) and spritzed away. Then I got brave. I used Higgins Black Magic waterproof drawing ink to put a few random large and small drops across the spread then blew thru a straw to move the ink around. I wrote "what do you see" with the ink and dropper tip. Hmmm, what DO I see?

 Immediately a face appeared to me on the right so I stamped a face image in that space. Then I realized the sporadic drops of ink had all become connected, so without much thought I came out with "everything you do in life is connected to you by one thread or another." Is it a pretty spread? NO. But it's about letting go and connecting at the same time, not knowing how it will end up. That's a good thing.

      "I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I am not afraid of falling into my inkpot."

                                                                                                             Ralph Waldo Emerson

Doubly Inspired By This Week's Tuesday Trigger

   This week Cath chose a lovely watercolor butterfly dress for  our inspiration:

      It just so happened I was at an Heirloom Pro Convention that was in town over the weekend and a stamp set I fell in love with (yes, and bought) along with a revisit to "watercolor stamping" gave me all the inspiration I needed upon seeing this dress. Perfect timing!


     Here it is - very CAS indeed:

   Although it's hard to tell from this pic I used glossy cardstocks which I think gives this card a touch of elegance despite the simplicity. All I did for the bird images and leaf image is grab some of my brush markers starting with the lightest color,  randomly colored areas on the stamps until the surface was covered, then stamped onto the glossy cardstock. The result is a look of watercoloring but this also reminds me of Japanese brush painting. I stamped a script stamp over the stamped panel.

   I'm really happy with the way it came together so quickly and plan on making a set or two with various sentiments.

Products used: black, white glossy cardstock; Jet Black ink (Tsukineko), Sepia Archival ink (Ranger); various brush markers (Marvy); script rubber stamp; cling stamp set-Chicks 5 (Local King Rubber Stamp); clear stamp-Think Big Favorites #4 (PTI); heart button.

   Off to get ouside and enjoy a beautiful warm, sunny Spring day here in PA. Thanks for stopping by.

                                         "Good things come to those who love."

Three Little Birds(or windows)!

   My second posting for today is for Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger challenge.
Here's the inspiration photo:

And this is the card I came up with:

 I chose to make three windows in a piece of metallic silver cardstock and adhere it to a white card. The flowers are raised up with foam adhesive circles. This was a happy outcome for me as I have decided to use this as my mother's day card for my Mom. I just have to write something to type in for the inside. I love how these challenges work to inspire but also as a way to have a card made when you need one!

 Supplies used: white cardstock,silver cardstock; silk flowers,yellow brads (JoAnne's); Antique Pewter pigment ink (Clearsnap); heat embossing tool; silver embossing powder; silver heart eyelets (Making Memories); foam adhesive circles (Recollections); Grand Calibur die cut machine, Classic rectangles Small (Spellbinders); clear stamp -Mega Mixed Messages (PaperTrey Ink).

  Thanks for stopping by....

                                " Make today a day for the fancy toothpicks."

Poppy Love and Art Journaling

  It's time to play along in Art Journal Everyday and I just so happened to have been working on this spread yesterday. Poppies-especially the gorgeous red oriental poppies- are my favorite flower, and when I set eyes on this stencil Julie created for The Crafters Workshop I knew I had to have it! I bought the stencil, Dylusion stamp sets and the collage transparency I used in this spread at Collage Stuff.

 Lately I've been much more free in my journal pages thanks to so many great tips I've gotten along the way this year. This wasn't really my art journal per se, it's a take along- journal that came with a book I had purchased awhile ago by LK Ludwig titled Creative Wildfire. I now keep this take-along journal on my art table and use the pages to wipe off brushes of paint, clean off stencils, etc. In this instance I had brushed on  what red I had left from working on another project. Once I opened the book and came to these pgs I knew I had to get out the poppies and play! You can also see I again have used some of my Dylusions stamps. I may have a bit more doodling to do and I'd like to give some depth to the poppies. We'll see. I also had to add a favorite poppy quote of mine, which I leave you with :

  "Through the dancing poppies stole a breeze most softly lulling to my soul." John Keats

A 4 x 4 For Leslie

  Happy Monday! After a lovely weekend I was ready to rise early and get to my art room. I created this for Leslie Anderson. I have been a part of an ongoing private yahoo RR group for some years now and this is my last piece for this group. It's been such a wonderful journey and I am honored to have so many pieces of beautiful art by these friends and artists. I will miss it but have decided to let it go as I want to explore art in new ways by working thru techniques from some of my newest mixed media books and taking some online classes.

 The theme I had chosen for my book pages was "Expressions of Joy" and it's hard to put into words how much this book means to me. Every one of our group members has captured my theme so incredibly beautifully and it touches my heart so each time I look at my pages. Thank you my friends, and especially to Debby Harriettha who kept us organized and together thru art. Mwah!

Leslie chose the theme of wings and mentioned her love of birds/nests/eggs, numbers,letters,clocks,maps,vintage,lace,texture. I incorporated as much of it as I could. For this side I used 7 Gypsies Paris map tissue paper which I adhered onto a piece of cardstock. I then added a sheer napkin that had fine gold printing on it. The image, wings,sentiment and ribbon are from Paper Whimsy . Gale's Shoppe carries some of the most beautiful vintage image collages sheets, digital images and a plethora of wonderful bits for painting and embellishing. I used Distress inks in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo on the ribbon etc. to age it . Lots of other bits of ephemera were used including vintage buttons from my stash.

  For the second side I swiped Antique Linen Distress ink over the card base and then stamped two of the Dylusion stamps from the Basic Backgrounds set in Seashells Ocean Aqua ink. The quote, bird and leaves stamp set ( Language of Friendship set) and the matching punch is from Stampin Up! which my friend LuAnn gifted me with -I LOVE them! Not sure what that bit on the bottom is called-it was in my stash. I used the Tim Holtz mini stapler to hold it in place. The quote was stamped onto a bit of vintage handkerchief and adhered with bits of masking tape. I added a dried flower and then finished by sewing a border all around.  

 Stay tuned as I am next going to work on something for my April Giveaway! Thank you for letting me know you stopped by, and if you have a blog I'd love to visit you too.

         "We all need someone who gives us the courage to be who we're meant to be."

It's a Sweet Surprise for Tuesday Trigger!

 How could I not make time to play after viewing this gorgeous trigger over at Moxie Fab World!

                       Here's my take:

   I wasn't quite sure what to put in the center at first-an image? a greeting? a flower? So the unfinished card sat on my desk.I had these straight pins with pearlized hearts I recently found at JoAnnes and wanted to somehow use at least one. Then I received some mail and on the prettily decorated envie (and within it a BEAUTIFUL handmade Easter card from my friend LuAnn-thank you!) was this postage stamp. Eh voila-my card was complete!

  Products used:white cardstock, patterned paper, Spellbinders Grand Calibur die cut machine, Floral Doily Motifs and Standard Circles Lg dies, Flourish Impressabilities embossing plate, aqua organza ribbon, pop dots (to raise the lg doily motif),  pearlized straight pins and a recycled postage stamp.

 I can't wait to hop on over, add my link and see some of the others.I know I'm in for lots of "sweet surprises"!

 Thank you kindly for leaving a comment. I love hearing from you.

                        "Be yourself. Everybody else is already taken."  Oscar Wilde

Art Journal Calendar Pages

  Happy April! Hard to believe we are coming up on Easter this week.Thankfully I was able to get a few cards in the mail-whew! I often have the intention of being ahead especially for holidays and yet somehow I seem to be working on them at the last minute.

 I am however keeping up with the 2012 366 Calendar Challenge hosted by Kate Crane on The Kathryn Wheel. The idea is to create a monthly calendar spread with a small space to record something each day. I fell in love with her colorful spreads I'd seen in a Somerset Studio issue ( I think the Nov./Dec. 2011 one) and thought it was such a great idea! I've chosen to add my months for this year in an ongoing art journal. I already love looking back on Jan. and Feb. to read  what I had written. Once in awhile a day may get away from me and that's ok-I just add a bit of art in that space. Kate encourages us to share our spreads, first at the start of a month and then as the completed spread at the end of the month. It is so much fun seeing how other particpants are creating theirs-lots of inspiration!
Oh, you can see my Jan., Feb. and beginning of March calendar spreads here.

 Here is my completed March calendar. I don't have much room for art as my book is a bit small, but I already have a 9x12" book to begin next year :)

   The doodle border at the top and the leaf border along the left are from a set of stamps "Around The Edge" Dylusions, manufactured by Ranger. These stamp sets are awesome!! I also have a backgrounds set. Of course, I'll be adding more eventually. You can find Dylusion stamps and stencils and sprays where I purchased them thru Collage Stuff. Lisa has a wonderful online shop filled with all sorts of new and vintage goodies and her prices are great too!

 and here's the beginning of my April spread:

   I cut out each raindrop shape after much experimentation trying to get the right size to fit them all in. The background is a laser copy of an original background I had painted awhile ago. Note the post it tags at the top right-I have earmarked pages for every month the rest of this year-yup, I am committed to following it thru!

  I've done some other fun things I can't wait to share next time. Thank you for stopping by.

                                        "You can never have too much happy."