Have you ever visited Christie, at Grace is Overrated? She is sweet, and funny, and insightful.
She has made a collection of 'free for personal use' journal pages to download.
I love them, I'm sure you will too.
In fact, just the sight of those Sharpies gives me a frisson of delight.
Do go and have a look, there are 50 pages!
Last month I went to a Media weekend at Art From The Heart. It was taught by Dyan
We arrived on the Friday evening to a pile of paper, textured, ribbed, watercolour, kraft etc. By the end of the weekend I'd made this:
It was a great opportunity to try out all sorts of media and decide what you liked using and what you didn't. My favourites were the Dylusion Inks and golden acrylic paints. I found I preferred inktense sticks to artbars and pan pastels are so vibrant.
It's amazing what you can do with stencils when you think outside the box.
We were all asked what our least favourite colour was and then given that colour to play with!
Mine was orange, but with a touch of pink and some gesso I actually found I liked it.
Here's a lemon and lime page:
This is my first attempt at Art Journalling:
A little twee maybe, but it says what I wanted to say. I don't think it's finished yet.
It's great to dip in and out of and has helped keep my mojo flowing and is a great record of all the techniques we used and media we tried.
Thanks for looking.
Lynne x
My friend Belinda joined stamping up recently and had an open house, which I went to. I discovered the "Owl Builder" punch. It's an absolute must have and really versatile.
This is what you start with:
and these are some ideas, using patterned paper and some doodling:
and here's my favourite:
a pirate!
You can even make a penguin:
There are lots more creatures you can make, it really is a great punch to have.
Hoping you have had a creative weekend.
Lynne x
Hi everyone, its Alix here!
Just for fun i thought i'd share a few paintings i've done following on from Christy Tomlinson's She Art painting class which i took last year. If you haven't taken this class i highly recommend it...you can see all the info on it here :0)
Now, i am no painter...and i can't draw for toffee...mmmm toffee...but i can do this style of mixed media artwork...and so can you!! Christy is so sweet and takes you through baby steps with lots of video tutorials...its as easy as painting by numbers when you know how. i'm slowly working through my friends immortalising them one at a time...
here is my friend Pippa...who is a real painter :0)
notice how the background is painted and then the girl is paper pieced over the background using scrapping scraps...and then painted over to help her meld into the artwork...
notice how there are lots of details...some are doodling...and some are rubons...both are super cute :0)
and notice how there are dimensional elements too...like these pearls...all in all the idea is to use all sorts of media...can you spot the stamping on this girl's legs?
...and don't forget you can have *he* art too...this one is me and his Nibs ;0)
you can even have religious icons if you're so inclined!! please forgive me...this is my first ever *face*...i know its far, far from perfect...but i sort of like her! :0)
so what are you waiting for...get out your scraps and some paints...you've got nothing to lose...if you don't like it...you can just paint over it!! *genius*
Our creative girl Doda posted recently, here, about where to find inspiration, and that very post was where I found inspiration for this project. My eye was drawn to Doda's screenshot of her pinterest board, and down at the bottom were some blue and white porcelain hearts by, I think, Harriet Damave, which I fell in love with.
Here are mine:
They started life as a sheet of white shrink plastic, which I zendoodled with a fine blue Sharpie. I cut hearts approximately 2 inches across at the widest point, punched a hole on either side, and with the aid of a heat gun -
Here's another look at a finished heart, to see the thickness; I just love the miracle that is shrink plastic, seems I never grew up!
I used small silver jump rings to connect the hearts, using 7 in total to make a loose bracelet, with a silver tibetan clasp at the end:
Modelled by yours truly:
These are ready for necklaces and brooches:
Thank you Doda, that peep at your Pinterest board was just what I needed.
Eleanor
x
Hello! Alexa here, wishing you a happy day wherever you are in the world! And pleased to bring you something a colleague introduced me to recently. Having sat through many a training day with me while I doodled all over my pages (and you'll remember, I'm a doodler on scrapbook pages too!), she gave me a little demonstration of Zentangling.
A Zentangle? Depending on your viewpoint, it can be anything from a meditative drawing completed at one sitting, to a quick doodle completed in five minute blocks.
Invented by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas, it's a whole artform accessible to anyone who can hold a pen. As is my wont when faced with anything new, the first thing I do is buy a book on it. Or two. I have to confess that I have not completed a whole Zentangle yet, as I am still practising little inchies of patterns, so the pictures below are from these lovely books.
Traditionally, you draw the outline of a 3.5 inch square, then divide it into sections, and draw a different pattern in each. There is a plethora of different patterns, and both books are excellent in demonstrating these. Many of the designs give a 3D effect.
Abstract creations, imaginary creatures, or beautifully detailed birds and fish ...
Zoom in for a closer look! Wouldn't these look great as an alternative (or with) patterned paper on a scrapbook page? Or as part of a birthday card, or a tag for a present?
All you need is some white paper or card and a pen or two: as seasoned crafters, you'll be more than equipped! I'm off to learn some more - anyone joining me? Happy Zentangling and Zendoodling!
Hiya Claireliz here.
It's my turn to set the challenge this week, it's one of my favourite techniques to use on projects....
Doodling.
We want to see your doodles, on anything, scrapbook pages, cards, altered items, anything you like.
It can be simple doodling such as a faux stitched border or a really complicated flower design, whatever takes your fancy. I've used one of my favourite doodled borders on my layout, all you need is a black pen, a white pen & about 15 minutes...
To create this border I drew around the inside of the scalloped edge around the layout, then drew inside it again, then just start colouring in small black stripes, let the ink dry & then colour the blank sections in in white. I love the effect this type of border creates, it really makes the whole page pop.
Thanks for stopping by today & can't wait to see you doodles, be sure to leave us a link in the comments if you join in with us & we'll pop by & say hello.
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Hi - Dolly here.
I love doodling, on phone pads, conference notes, corner of the newspaper, but it isn't a technique I use often enough on scrapbook pages - and I need to use it more. I think part of why I use it rarely is the fear of spoiling a page. Not something that worries me when I am scribbling all over things I shouldn't be.
So I am going to make a promise to myself - doodle more .... on pages and layouts that is.
However, when I saw the challenge for this weekend I did set out to try and doodle on a page and I made this page of a piper we happened across at a local stately home. It was one of those bizarre unexpected moments. I doodled round the scalloped edge and round the strips and elements - very constrained doodles, but heck .... they are there.
and this is another page I made a while ago which has sort of doodled text flowing around and the initials in the top corner are doodled too.
However, a technique I do use a fair bit is making doodled flowers and adding them to pages. I like the free form of those.
As well as doodling the flowers I doodled round the edges of the papers. I love doodling flowers as they seem to flow well and make great accents for all sorts of things. I will often add buttons or beads to the centre and you can make them match the papers of the page.
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Eleanor here, with an embroidoodle.
I simply drew a large E on a piece of linen, outlined it with chain stitch, and then filled it with stitched doodley bits. It was fun, easy and just needs a frame (it's approx A4 size) when I next go to a carboot sale. (I might have to stitch a few more doodles in it first, that's how doodling gets you, once you start you just can't stop looking for another space to make a little swirl or a flower.)
The red heart is filled with French knots:
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Hi Debbie here with my own doodled page. I started with a blank piece of white card and apart from the photo and the paper buttons on the tree and for flowers, everything else is doodled.
Thanks for stopping by. Debbie x
It seems like only last week I started this project, I can't really believe it was back in February, well the chest is filling nicely (it has also been altered but I'm saving that for the last project 30 post). So the grungeboard mini book is now finished...
although the grungeboard fastener (you know, stuff that is flexible & doesn't break) broke,so I need a new way to fasten it.
You've seen these first 3 pages previously but I wanted to show you the book as a whole,
each page was covered in book pages from an old sewing book
and the backgrounds are all painted, inked with Distress Ink or sprayed with Dylusions Spray Inks
Then each page has been doodled to within an inch of its life
I've used either stamped my titles or used Thickers
these next to pages were also stamped with paint from a paint dabber (just the bottle bit after you've unscrewed the foam cap) & my Dymo labeller came in handy again
The journaling on this last page reads, always remember, never give up, do not quit, always be yourself, live life, love & be happy
All of the photos have been attached with 3d foam pads to make them jump out from the page, I'm just deciding wether or not to add a few charms to the tabs.
I also found some Maya Road chipboard tags, so I inked each one with Distress Ink, & used a Tim Holtz stamp & heat embossed them gold. the small flowere are grungepaper, sprayed with Cosmic Shimmer mists.
The tags say, Imagine, Sketch, Create, Share (which I think of as my creative process, I imagine it, sketch it out, create it then share it on my blog or on here) and on the back of each is a little bit of journaling about what that word means to me & my creativity.
I still have a few more things to finish before Project 30 is complete, its really given me some insight into ... well... me :D but I've really enjoyed it & have lined up 3 new all year projects for next year, so keep watching to see what happens.
Thanks for stopping by & being part of the Project 30 journey, hope to see you soon
C
xx
Hello! Alexa here, with a confession.
I can't draw. No, truly, I can't. But I have learnt that, for scrapbooking purposes, I can take a line for a walk. Along the way, we can take detours, double back, snake round a bend, loop the loop, and generally behave in an anarchic and silly way. Sometimes we acquire a few friends, like squiggles or spirals or dots along the path for a bit, or pick up a couple of little flowers or leaves en route. You might wonder what on earth you could do with doodles on a layout! I'll have some suggestions in future posts. In the meantime, if you've never tried doodling, then starting with an existing flower stamp can be comforting. Take a stamp which has a clear flowerhead design:
and stamp it with a colour you like onto card. I find the texture of Bazzill too rough for doodling, and prefer a smooth white card. Taking a fine-tipped pen - both the Copic Multi-liners and the Microns give a good clear line - start filling in lines and patterns within the stamped shape. Just dividing a flower petal in half or thirds, for instance, or adding small circles, hearts, stripes, zigzags ... Now comes the fun part; the bit that will transport you back to childhood and a relaxing, aimless, happy feeling of just sitting and, well, colouring in. It doesn't get any more technical than that! Any sort of pen or pencil will do - felt-pens, ordinary colouring pencils, watercolour ones, soft-tipped brush markers, sparkly ones ... just grab a handful and go, like this:
Stamp a few more, and add in a couple of swirls and invented flower shapes. It is of no consequence if nothing is even or identical - irregular is part of the charm. Use a chipboard swirl, or the edge of a saucer to get a curve. Add on some dots in random places, draw a leaf or two. Choose analogous colours (the ones beside each other on the colour wheel) and you can be sure they will go together:
Choosing a shape to draw within makes it feel less scary - all you need to do is fill the space! Take your time, and don't be afraid to experiment. One of the wonderful things is that you can pop the lids on your pens and go and do something else, and return for another five minutes whenever you have time - there's no rush... Have a go at using colours with a strong contrast too:
Use a small plate, or any other circular shape (I found a plastic circular Maths tool in an old pencil-case), and draw a circle. Using the same tool, draw curves within it to represent stems. Make little flowers and leaves sprout along them, and add a few in any spaces. Don't feel you need to colour in every shape - some left black look good too!
There really is nothing more complicated to it than that! And it's a great antidote to the stress of the day. Bored with taking the dog out? Not got one anyway? Raining? Just take a line for a walk instead ...
As ever, do point us to anything you do! and thank-you for joining us here today.
