Friday Fun

I am on visual overload right now.  Love the new books I got recently.

If you like looking at Orly Avineri's journal pages online, you will like the book of her journal pages.

If you like some silly fun, you will like Keri Smith's book, Mess.

And if you want to really be blown away by art journal techniques, get Melanie Testa's new book.  It seems to be just what I need, just when I need it.  I love how her pages have several techniques layered together.  Some have a drawn object, but instead of painting in the object, she paints the negative space around it.  It all just works.  Her book has detailed instructions for her techniques. Go see her gallery of art here. 

I definitely need more play time!

Rent a Yurt

In all the years I have lived on planet Earth, I don't believe I have ever thought to myself "I'd like to rent a yurt."  I guess I didn't know you could rent a yurt.  But once the idea is in your head, it kind of rattles around in there.  So I made a journal page and now maybe I can get some peace!

It started with an article in the travel section of the paper last month.  It featured yurts for rent at the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana.  Since I often daydream about running away from home and renting a cabin/room/cottage at the lake/mountains/beach (it varies), this really caught my eye.

I made a list of pros and cons on my journal page.  Pros included the fact that it is just a few hours' drive from me.  It's cheap.  The yurts, while rustic, have air conditioning, heat, and a microwave.  They are in a peaceful rustic setting.  One of the things on the list of "cons" includes sleeping on a futon.  Not sure if a bad back can handle that.  The other "con" is simply ants.  The article says that there is a sign in the nearby dining hall regarding the abundance of ants.  Being a peaceful people who believe every living thing has a purpose, the monks allow the ants to exist.  I am also a peaceful, non-violent person, but I feel sure I would be the first person ever to be evicted from a yurt for rolling up a newspaper and smacking a few ants.  I have limits.  Sharing a table with ants is not on my list of things to do.  (The article also mentions that there is a Wendy's fast food place two miles down the road.)

If you feel the need to get your yurt on, info can be found here.  And if you do a search online, there are more yurts to rent than you might ever imagine, maybe even one close to you.

Lazy Sunday Brunch

Sometimes I'm surprised by the visitors when I look out my window, especially if they all show up at the same time.

Mr S is chowing down on something good.

There is special balcony seating.

Someone is obviously waiting to be seated. 

Oops - looks like a first-time guest tried to enter the "Squirrels Only" area.

 I hate it when the local hooligans show up and make trouble.

 Sometimes I have to hire a security guard from the neighborhood to keep things under control.

But everyone leaves with a full tummy. 

Ya'll come back again (as we say in the south)!

Following Instructions

I can't seem to focus on any one thing lately.  My mind is going in a dozen different directions.  But I am still doodling around with drawing stuff when I get a chance.  And it only took about a day in the beginning of my drawing journey before I wanted more colors to draw with.  Enter my favorite pen company, JetPens.  I ordered a set of pens that come in the tiny 0.3 size that I like.

And because I am such a sucker for all things pens, I explored some other offerings.  I ordered a Coccoiro "letter pen".  Because it says "letter pen".  How could I not order something whose description says "This stylish pen is perfect for women who value their handwriting or who like to use their favorite pen for a long time."  It is the only pen I've ever bought that does not come with ink.  You have to order the barrel (available in many colors) and the ink cartridge (also in many colors) separately.

When the package arrived, I wasn't sure if the pen barrel was missing the bottom part or if the ink cartridge sticks out the bottom.  I carefully went over the instructions.  No help there! From these instructions, something goes down and something twirls.

I am slowing getting used to this pen.  It has a brush-like tip, but I have to contort my hand a little to make brush strokes.  I don't think it was meant to be pressed hard like a brush or it might not keep its sharp tip anymore.  But it's growing on me.  And I like to say its name, Coccoiro.  Say it with me, in your best Japanese - Co-Co-Eee-Ro.

I also bought a Pilot "Envelope Address Writing Pen".  I think it might be exactly like the Pilot laundry pen I bought a couple of years ago.

So if you need me, I'll most likely be off making doodlie-doos somewhere!



Motherly Wisdom

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!

Click here for some motherly wisdom

(I'll bet you have heard at least one of these in your lifetime!)

Key Ingredients

I am still having fun drawing things.  Now before you think I am more talented than I actually am, one of the best things I learned from Andrea Joseph's 'zine  is to trace around objects to help you gain practice.  Since trying to draw things in proportion has always been the hardest part for me, I found this so helpful.  I have been tracing around all kinds of things, then filling in the details. 

 I eventually had to act like a six-year-old and start coloring things in.

I even tried drawing some notebook paper on the journal page. That was easy... just take a ruler, blue and red colored pencils, and draw lines! 

The hardest thing to draw was the pen I've been using.  It's hard to get that tiny writing on the drawing.  My pen is a Pentel Hybrid Technica pen (size 03).  I love it, because it has a hard metal point and has a very smooth ink flow.

(Cross) Hatching a Plan

It's a good day when you receive Royal Mail.

I love detailed drawings, and I recently ordered a couple of 'Zines from Andrea Joseph.  I am just blow away by what she can do with a simple ballpoint pen and other drawing tools.

I got her Travel Sketchbook, and also How to Draw Like A Nut.

Within just a few minutes after reading How to Draw Like a Nut, I had drawn the scissors lying nearby and made notes on my journal page.  (I would have drawn peanuts like in her examples, but I didn't have any.)  I definitely see a lot of this in my future.

Sorry I've been a little absent lately.  Apparently Blogger didn't like my old browser and would not let me post.  Won't go into all the upgrades and fixes, etc, plus re-learning how to post on the new layout they have.  All's well that ends well. 

True North

I have a lot of journals, and I have a lot of notebooks.  I recently came across an old notebook I had started a few years ago.  It had some decorating ideas that I was considering during a time when I really wanted to shake things up around me.

One thing in there was a paper stencil - actually, a 2-part stencil of a "compass rose".  My plan was to enlarge it really big and paint it on a blank wall.  I also had some large letters (about 12 to 18 inches tall) which I would hang to designate North and East on the compass design.

Needless to say, I never did that, and the blank wall has long since been covered up by two large bookcases.  But coming across the stencils, I decided I needed that compass on my journal map.  I had to reduce the design on the copier, then cut two stencils.  The part where I could use a ruler for cutting straight lines went quite well.  But on the rounded cuts, I didn't do so great.  Still, I'm liking the compass in the journal.

Mapping Adventures

I am still working in my "physics journal" (which has nothing to do with physics other than that I used the cover of a physics book to make the journal).

I knew when I started it that I wanted a fold-out map in it. And I knew that it would not be to scale or be accurate like a real map, but rather a representation of places I've gone this year. I know from reading Jill Berry's book Personal Geographies, that I can take liberties like that. So, if I go to Gaye's house twelve times this year, there will be twelve "roads" showing that. Yes, I'll take liberties like that, making duplicate roads.

My problem is, I know what I want it to look like in the end.  I just don't want to put down too much permanently in the beginning.  I may have to "map it out" in pencil for now and make everything permanent in the end.  (If you can't follow my train of thought here, that's okay.  Sometimes I have that problem too!)

I think I am distracted by some wedding maps I saw on line.  I am blown away by them.  They are here, and that is sorta kinda what I want my travel map to look like eventually. 

Egg-cellent Day

Happy Easter to All !!

Saw these eggs on the Martha Stewart site.  I didn't check out the instructions or save the link, but they make me want to go color some eggs!

These were done with wax resist, postage stamps, rubber cement used as a resist, and I think the last might be stickers and tape as a resist. 

Hope you are having a lovely day wherever you are!

Oh My

The way I look at it, we all get older every year.  So you might as well enjoy it!

Having a birthday means you can go visit family and celebrate.  My mother apologized because she only had two candles for my cake.  Then I saw the two candles.  I guess you can see where I get my sense of humor!

 I can always count on my sister to find the right thing to make me smile.

My brother was smart enough to salvage our grandmother's scrapbooks that our mother was going to toss when she moved recently.  We really had fun looking through those old books, even though they were practically falling apart. 

Of course, nothing is more fun than receiving all the fun birthday greetings.

Somebody knows exactly the right thing for me - more coffee from Alaska.  Awesome bag with something funny on every single side.

And of course I'm thrilled that Gaye gave me some of the fun pens and pencils like hers.  Now I can also use them to make awesome cards and art, just like she does!!

As they say, better to be over the hill than under it.  Am I right?!!!

No 61 - Restraining Order

Last month, I posted my journal page for Michelle Ward's monthly challenge #60.  I decided to go for #61 this month as well - Restraining Order.  The challenge is to hold back, don't feel like you have to fill up the Entire Page.  Try to restrain your instinct to add more and more to the composition.

I figured this challenge would be a piece of cake for me.  After all, when I try those techniques of adding layer on layer on layer, I always stop after the first layer or two because I like the beginning part so much that I don't want to cover it up.  But I was wrong about this being easy this month.

I was feeling all festive and spring-like, so I started with some different greens to put background color on the double page spread.

I went through the pile of scraps nearby from my stenciling and spraying.  I knew I wanted to use some of the papers on the page, but I didn't want it to look like I was using "too much", so I used my left-over green paints to paint the white graph papers where I had blotted my stencils.  My reasoning was that if my page looked too busy, maybe the fact that most of the papers were painted with the same colors would tone it down a bit.

This is the double page spread I ended up with.  The meditating rabbit is from a sales ad for Pier One.  I've been saving him for something, but I didn't know what.  He just makes me smile.  On the right side are torn painted papers, plus words I lettered.  The cake words are from gift wrap paper.

The lettered words really got lost, so I did outline them to make them stand out a little.  I felt it really helped, and therefore didn't feel guilty about taking that extra step and not restraining myself.  But where I couldn't help myself is the dots in the upper left corner and the bottom right (made with a double ended dauber thing).  What I Really wanted to do was grab the punchinella and go crazy making patterns around the blank spaces.  But I did practice restraint and only made a few dots on each page. 

I was surprised just how hard it was to Not fill in the empty spaces.  But the way I look at it, if the pages had a lot more stuff on them, Mr. Rabbit wouldn't be able to meditate very well.

See Michelle's challenge here and see the sidebar on the left where she has posted links to the participants' responses.  Even though Michelle is going to take a break from the challenges, there are lots and lots of past challenges to glean ideas from if you are so inclined.  Lots of great artwork to absorb! 

 So go...  reflect...  ponder...  eat cake.

Step Away from the Spray

I can't seem to stop spraying things.  I thought I was done, but evidently not.

I gathered some random things hanging around and sprayed them.

Nothing fancy, just a quick spritz or two. 
Then I stamped on some of them, or sponged on some stamp pad ink.

Because when I finally decide how to put this book together, I'm gonna want some things sticking out and hanging on.  I'm sure of it.

The Case of the Disappearing Shirt

I have moved from spraying and stenciling on paper to using fabric.  I thought I had something I would be happy with for a cover of my book.  Something to match the pages I sprayed, stenciled, and painted earlier.

But when the fabric dried, it was much lighter than what I wanted. 

And my brain has shut down when it comes to making a decision about the cover.  Do I want a fabric spine only or a full cover made of fabric. 

That is all still under consideration.  The fabric I used is a smooth white cotton that I cut from a shirt I no longer wore.  Of course, the fact that I already cut off the cuffs previously to make these pockets pretty much rendered the shirt un-usable anyway.  

 A couple of chunks of fabric out of the back... It is slowly disappearing.

I have my eye on the ruffled pocket for something too!

Good thing it wasn't my favorite shirt!