52 Lists - Week One

So here is the cover of my new journal...so much for my black cover, oh well. It makes me happy just to look at it. Especially the back!!

This is the front, I liked it better before putting the title on...

The back...Happy Happy Place!

I made this stamp...I bought one of those alphabet sets at Walmart for $1 and used masking tape to tape the 30 small stamps all together. It's my new favorite stamp!! Love it so much I had to make two, one for home and one for my Artist On The Go bag!

Collage happiness!! I can not even begin to tell you everything that is here...

This is a new stencil by Heidi Swapp!! I was so excited when I saw it at Michael's! I don't follow her product line much so I wasn't aware she was putting out a line of stencils. This one is 6x6.

Now for the first list...it's the list of the other 51 lists to be in included in my journal. A table of contents if you will...the things you'll get to learn about me over the next 51 weeks. I have made a disclaimer that I reserve the right to change this list. I might just decide it would be one of my biggest regrets to put my biggest regrets on paper and out into the world...we'll see :)

Note: Sakura Moonlight pens are NOT waterproof. My pretty doodle smeared when I put Collage Pauge over my Smash tape. The paper border was made by applying Basics acrylic paint with a palette knife.

Here is the list in case you can't read my handwriting:
* Times I've had an audience
* Websites I visit often
* Favorite TV shows of all time
* Pets I've had
* Places I'd like to visit
* Guilty pleasures
* Hobbies - past and present
* Favorite teachers
* Bad habits
* Favorite books
* People I've lived with
* Favorite songs
* Art supplies I haven't used yet
* My happy places
* Favorite ice cream flavors
* What's good right now
* Favorite flowers
* Things I want to make
* Things I want to be known for
* Favorite quotes
* Things I am grateful for
* Things I say every day
* Things that make me feel healthy: mind, body and soul
* Favorite words
* Things I am proud of
* Goals and dreams
* Things that feel like home
* People I admire
* My essentials
* Favorite cartoons
* Best days of my life
* Bad things I did as a kid
* Favorite restaurants
* Games I like to play
* Favorite actors
* Pet peeves
* Favorite movies
* Best things about being me
* My NEVER list
* Favorite magazines
* Hangouts from my past
* Bucket List
* My closest friends
* Things I do on a day off
* Biggest regrets
* Encounters with famous people
* Professions I'd like to try
* Cities I've visited
* Things most people don't know about me
* Live performances I've seen
* Favorite Halloween costumes

Whew!! Don't count them, I might have missed typing a couple but I assure you there are 51 in my book...I don't necessarily plan to do them in order which is why they are not numbered. Whichever list hits me that week is the one I'll enter...

Thanks for stopping by and as always please leave a comment if you have the chance. I'd love to hear from you!! Have a great day!!
Dawn

My First Handmade Journal

I found this link on Pinterest a loooooong time ago. I cut the paper and arranged the pages and then it sat, and sat and sat...



This week I finally got around to finishing the journal! Here is the link I used to learn how to do the Coptic Stitch. 

I"ll warn you that I had to watch the video three or four times while stitching my book and even had to start over twice. I think some still photos along with the video would have helped me. I also should have paid closer attention to his placement of the holes before I punched mine. The top and bottom ones should have been closer to the edges instead of an inch away. My book would be a bit sturdier but it will be fine for my intended purpose. My stitching is a little loose too but really not bad for my first try! It's 6x6 and I'm happy with the black covers and the colorful pages!

I'm going to use if for a new feature on my blog: 52 Weeks of Lists. One day each week (It will probably be the same day each week but I'm not committing to a day right now.) I'll post a new page in this art journal with a list. I have a list of lists that I found somewhere on the net a while ago. Good thing I printed it out because I can not find it again now. I did however find that Moorea Seal started the same project in January. You can find her lists HERE. I will probably mix in some of her lists with and delete some of the ones I have...

Linking back to Art Journal Every Day and Artists In Blogland.

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment if you have a chance, I'd love to hear from you!!
Enjoy your weekend!
Dawn

Who Knew?

Golden Extra Coarse Pumice Gel...I kinda like it! What a surprise!

It was one of the mediums I got to play with at Donna Downey's Inspired weekend. I really thought I'd hate it so I just sorta coated one small folder with it (both the left and right sides). A coat of gesso probably would have helped it adhere better but I just wanted to get it on the page and let it dry. I also thought I would probably sand it off or throw the folder away all together so I wasn't very concerned.

This is actually the right side of the page, I painted the left side green.

 Donna showed us a page where she put it through the Brick Wall stencil and it did look like bricks and then I overheard her telling someone else if you paint it green it looks like moss. So I went for green.

I used my finger with gesso, Golden Sap Green and Green Gold. You can see on the left side there is an line between the pumice gel and the page where my finger wouldn't fit so I went in with a  brush to fill that in. Next I used Donna's Hollyhock foam stamp by Prima with Golden Quin Magenta, Quin Red and Pyrole Red.

The stems are Sap Green and the Centers are Diarylide Yellow. Then came some shading to hopefully add some dimension...

There is Quin Crimson on the right side of the flowers and Quin Crimson mixed with Carbon Black on the left side. I also added some Yellow Ochre and Hansa Yellow Light to the centers...

 Finally some butterflies and daisies punched from gessoed book text. Happy. Happy. Happy! You can also see a peek of the right side of the page here. I thought if it looked like moss when painted green it might look like coral if I painted it pink and orange and added some seaweed...more on that page later ;)

Thanks for stopping by and as always please leave a comment if you have a chance. I'd love to hear from you! Have a great day!!

So it was Cinco de Mayo...

It was also a day of 3 soccer games, lunch with my parents and a birthday party for the 7 year old to attend. I was also a single mom because my husband left for a business trip to Arizona on Saturday afternoon. Anyhow...once the kids had gotten to bed a very strange and rare second wind came over me. I decided I'd celebrate with a margarita while I watched the news and contemplated Monday's schedule.

Happy Cinco de Mayo

My close friends know that a Margarita is among my top three favorite beverages and I thought since I was going to be a single mom three more days one more drink before bed couldn't hurt...

Then a thought occurred to me...maybe it was a good night for an experiment. Lately I have been feeling very critical, inhibited, indecisive and "inside my head" about my art. I wondered what would happen if I truly were "not in my right mind" and I took to my studio...

I don't usually work start to finish...I work...it marinates...I work some more...let things sink in...and so on. In contrast, my plan was to create one finished piece that I was happy with before I went to sleep.

Well, I failed in my quest to actually finish a piece. I had to go to bed around 1:30. I do not hold up like I used to when tipping the bottle...

What I ended up was three more backgrounds...

At least there isn't anything embarrassing that I can not share but I do not think that my inebriated state gave me anything different, new or exciting to work with. Maybe I'll have to repeat the experiment and pick up where I left off...

Thanks for stopping by and as always please leave a comment if you have the chance...I'd love to hear from you!!