Saturday, January 23, 2010

Creative Lettering Class

I am taking a lettering class with Nicolette Anderson (http://nickieblog.blogspot.com/). I love it and highly recommend it, especially for people like me who stink with making pretty lettering. So far I have done three assignments: writing out an alphabet, writing a quote ("It's all about the climb") in an alphabet called Tinkertoy, and writing the same quote in a different alphabet and then using color in the negative space. Here's my "homework"!




Sunday, January 17, 2010

blue heart

I made this piece after reading about the technique in Violette's "Journal Bliss." I put two layers of gesso on a page in my composition book. Then, I glued on a blue heart made of construction paper. Next, I glued on a layer of light blue tissue paper and used some pearly white paint. Lastly, I applied gel medium.


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

comp book cover

I decorated the cover of my composition book! I wanted a simple design so that I would not feel intimidated to use my art journal.

I used sandpaper on the cover to get some of the glossy finish off. I used Original Tacky Glue and attached three layers of yellow tissue paper. I attached a piece of pink construction paper and then a red heart made of construction paper. I also attached another piece of pink paper with my name and "Art Journal #1" on it. Lastly, I covered it with a gel medium.

I wish I would have used gesso after I used the sandpaper, so that the writing on the cover would be covered. I may add a few extra layers of yellow tissue paper.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Michael's coupon

I went to Michael's again today! This time, it was to use my two coupons. I bought:
  • some acrylic paints
  • brushes
  • more glue sticks
  • Original Tacky Glue
  • more gloss medium varnish
  • some brads
  • some more heart-shaped buttons
I was originally supposed to pay 48 dollars, but, with the coupons, I got it all for 32 dollars! What a bargain! Now, I should be set for a while!

I love you, Ao!

This year, I asked my best friend, Ao, to be my Valentine. I am bribing her with a collage I made! haha. I used three sheets of patterned paper as the background. Then, I wrote "I love you" in six different laguages using a ballpoint ink pen (I have not yet received my fountain pens from www.dickblick.com). I used a glue stick to attach them. I really hope my "Aoica" likes it!



simple piece for a soldier

I made this very simpe piece with markers on plain computer paper that already had "Erika" printed on it. Erika is my "adopted" soldier through Soldier's Angels (www.soldiersangels.com). I am going to mail it to her tomorrow, along with a letter I wrote her. I cannot sleep again tonight, which is a bummer. Oh, well... I will make the best of it by making things and such. Just a note: the bottom of the paper got cut off by the camera.



Saturday, January 9, 2010

intro page completed!

I made my new art journal's introduction page. Yesterday, I put white gesso on the page with the intention of making a collage today. But then, I used three different sheets of tissue paper and attached them to the page with a glue stick. Lastly, I used a quote I printed out. It reads, "The cardinal rule of journaling is that you cannot do it wrong!" The quote is courtesy of Tera Leigh (www.teras-wish.com).


Anne the quene

Today I woke up at 1pm, since I had to catch up on sleep. After  I woke up, I at some breakfast, checked my email, and then started to create. I ended up making a tribute to Anne Boleyn (the second wife of Henry the 8th of England) in the composition book I am using for art journaling. I am a huge fan of the Tudors, so I greatly enjoyed making this piece!



Friday, January 8, 2010

newly aquired goods

So, I did some art supply shopping today at Michael's and then at Target. Here is a list of my new treasures:
  • White gesso
  • Gloss medium
  • Brush
  • Stickers
  • Foam hearts
  • Felt hearts
  • Button hearts
  • A pack of brads
  • Lots of tissue paper
  • Some rubber stamps with ink pads
  • Paper in all sorts of patters
  • Glitter glue
Now, I just have to find a means of organizing all of my goodies! I will work on organization tomorrow.

one of my first collages!

I could not sleep last night due to pain from my fibromyalgia. So, early this morning, I decided to whip together a small collage for Colbie. Colbie is a girl I know through the charity Hugs and Hope (www.hugsandhope.org). She is sick and in the hospital. Though my collage is crappy, I sincerely hope it makes her smile! I used the limited supply of materials I had at my mom's house (I'm snowed in today!): three highlighters, a few stickers, images from the internet, printer paper, printer, and a glue stick.


combining old and new

To start, I have already bought a few books about journaling and creative writing a while ago, and one about art journaling that I just received today. Here is an incomplete list of these books:
  • Journalution by Sandy Grason
  • The New Diary by Tristine Rainer
  • Journal Bliss by Violette
  • Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
  • Fiction Writer's Workshop by Josip Novakovich
I would like to try art journaling. I think it will be delightfully fun and be a wonderful mode of expression with which I can experiment. To get started, I joined two art journaling groups on Yahoo groups today. Tomorrow, I will go to my dad's house to get my art and craft supplies that I used for projects in high school. They've been in hibernation since I graduated. I will also go to Michael's (the store) to buy a few things I do not already have.

List of supplies I will get from home:
  • Crayola markers
  • Crayons
  • Tissue paper
  • Construction paper
  • Stickers
  • Glue sticks
List of supplies I will buy at Michael's:
  • White gesso
  • High-quality markers
  • A few embellishments
  • Golden Gel Medium
  • Brush
  • CD-ROMs with images (if they have any)
I will also stop by a grocery store to pick up a composition book (yes, the black and white marbled kind). One of the Yahoo groups I joined is for art journalers who use comp books. And, since I am on a budget, this is a cheap alternative to a Moleskine sketchbook.

a poem for this day

New Year’s Eve The new year’s hazy night sky  is upon us and we think  to ourselves  what beauty the future  could hold. Of course we are sc...