Happy New Years Eve!

Man, with Christmas and New Years, family, and health, I haven't been artfully motivated at all!
I got some awesome Zentangle stuff for Christmas, a couple books and Micron pens!
But, I haven't used them yet. :(

I am SO excited about 2012! It's going to be a good year filled with learning about art!
So far I am signed up for Life Book with Tamara Laporte which starts tomorrow!
And with that I got Fabulous Faces which I am starting today!
SOOOOOO EXCITED!
I am also getting Mika's Expressive Soul Painting, and that starts on the 15th of January!

For my birthday I have decided I want Jane Davenport's Draw Happy and if that goes well I want to take her I HEART Drawing as well!

There is about a hundred (no lie) other classes I want to take, but those are for starters.
I am also considering becoming a Certified Zentangle Teacher! I think it would be AWESOME! But I don't want to go to Rhode Island in February, the cold and the weather keep me at bay.
I am shooting for something in the summer and make a family vacay out of it!

And then there are my resolutions for 2012. Usually I don't have resolutions because I don't keep them long after January, but this is a New Year with NEW GOALS!

One resolution (in no specific order really, all are equally important) is to keep my resolutions! LOL!

Another, to lose weight and become more healthy. I know, so cliché, right?
But really, I NEED to get healthier. The Dr didn't give me good news about my cholesterol and I have other looming medical problems, so, getting healthy may be one of the largest challenges of the year. And losing weight, well, I don't have to be 110 pounds or anything, I'm not really looking to be. But a good healthy and active weight would be awesome!

Of course there is the resolution to spend 2012 learning art!
I have NEVER considered myself an artist or even really able to create art, but I now know there IS an artist inside me. I just have to lock away that pesky inner critic because it is the reason I don't finish many things.

And lastly, the resolution to not forget people's birthdays!
I have been a Stampin' Up Demonstrator in the past and even then when I MADE cards, I would rarely get them made for people's birthdays. What a failure. And I doubt seriously I will make cards this year as I have really lost interest. But I resolve to not forget anymore birthdays, everyone in my family gets cards in the least. Maybe I will make some, maybe I will Zentangle some!

Anyway, off to start my Fabulous Faces work!
Enjoy your New Years Eve, stay safe, warm, and happy!
See you in 2012!!!

I missed WOYWW!

I just realized that I missed posting for What's on your Workdesk Wednesday.

Oh well, I can still surf it HERE.



I haven't been feeling well since Monday/Tuesdayish and while I have worked in my art journal I haven't completed anything or felt like writing a post. I hope to get one in later today though after Lukie and I bake cookies and wash dishes.

And for the record...
Pandora is REALLY on my nerves today! I keep getting crappy songs that I thumbs down adn they never play a song that I have liked! WTFrick man! Play me some music I actually like!

Hooked Into Machine

We have more than a foot of snow and it is still slowly falling so it's perfect weather for art journaling.

This page is inspired by Regina Spektor's song "Machine"
I feel a little hooked into machines...


Several layers of blues (several different shades) and black acrylic paints.
Once the background was an acceptable shade I took oil pastels to it to draw the gears and do the lettering and then I smudged.
Finished with some lyrics in black sharpie.
Oh, lastly, I took a baby wipe with water and shimmery black acrylic paint and splat it on the page and pressed it until it ran.
I really wished I had ordered the color wash sprays when I had the chance...

Tangled Christmas Tree and S N O W !!!!

I spent yesterday working up a tree and I think it came out pretty well, I am happy with it for the most part!
Last night before bed I wrote on the opposite page, I don't know, I might not leave that alone.
Not happy with it, I may change it or add to it.
But here it is...


And for those of you who don't know, we live in New Mexico and for the past few years we rarely see much snow, but look what we got last night!!!!

So far, I have yet to venture out past our front courtyard (pictured here). But if I do, I will get pictures!!

Isn't it just beautiful!?
My love is out shoveling snow as we speak to get out of the driveway to go to work! LOL!!

Dead cell phone...

My cell phone is dead... AGAIN!
I should have my replacement on Tuesday.
:(

I only report this as it makes getting pictures on my blog much more difficult.
I do have a digicam but I HATE using it.

I am so darned reliant on my little phone for everything from pictures, to music, to internet (especially when I am Zentangling and the kids are on the computers).
UGH!

Yes, and Friday's news at the Dr was not great news, not even good news. But meh, what can I do about it? Nada. Just keep on truckin' and we'll see where it takes us.

I am just happy I have found some art and color in life to entertain me!

Raise Your Glass and the process

Today's A Year in the Life of an Art Journal prompt was Pink's "Raise Your Glass" which is hilarious to me because I had just been sitting here listening to music on Pandora this morning before I looked to see what the prompt was that was posted and this song came on. It's always been one of my favorites, I identify a lot with some of Pink's best music.
So, I was moved to go find the video on YouTube.
I decided then I would make a journal page to go with it!

THE PROMPT: Lighten Up
THE SONG: Raise Your Glass by Pink
Written Lyrics HERE
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: Confetti

Step one, pick the song. MOST of the songs I pick have some meaning to me. Though I have been known to use a song just because I like the beat, lyrics, group(singer), or video.
Step two, of pretty much any one of my lyric pages is writing the lyrics on notebook paper and picking out what is important/useable/needed.


Next I figured out where I was going to put the lyrics on the page. Usually I use a lot less of the song than this one. I used the whole song, almost.


Then I painted! I knew I wanted bright colors for fun and I even used some of my shimmer acrylics.


Then I wrote all the lyrics on the page again in Sharpies.
And lastly I covered the page in a layer of silver glitter acrylic paint because I don't have confetti and my hole puncher died when I tried to punch a bunch of confetti for this page.


And there you have it!
I had a TON of fun with this page!

Raise your glass with me!

Jar of Hearts

Backdating a challenge for A Year in the Life of an Art Journal
because I found the blog and art journaling late in the year.
And because I find their challenges to be SO inpsiring and right on my wavelength.

The PROMPT: Scars
THE SONG: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
Written Lyrics HERE
PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: rips and tearing

You can expect to see a few more pages from their past challenges.

I just adore this song.

The girl with the tangled hair...

It's finished!


As I posted earlier, I started on the left and meant to draw the girl with fire for hair, it didn't turn out so well so I covered it and I am pretty pleased with the results.
We will save miss fire head for another day.

My two other Zentangles are in the works, as are my two other backgrounds, and to that I have added two more pages that I am currently working on.
It's alot of bouncing around, really.

Today is not such a great day for me.
Getting what I can do done when I can do it and letting the rest slide.

On a super positive note!!
My lil Ari took to standing in her play pen today!
Just had to share my little ray of sunshine.

What's on YOUR Workdesk? Wednesday 132

Welcome to my second Wednesday post for the coolest blog hop around.
Click the icon above and you'll be whisked away to Julia's Stamping Ground where you will see all the wonderful links to other crafter's pages.
It's a sneak peek into people's creative spaces and what they are working on today and it's very nearly my most favorite thing to spend my extra time on on Wednesdays and often into Thursday.


So, here's mine!
I am getting some quality art journaling in today amidst taking care of the little ones, cleaning the kitchen and, well, being sick.

Got Pandora going, coffee, working on a Zentangle I started last night.
Still have TWO more Zentangles swirling in my head.
Also working on two other journal pages as I go, layering backgrounds.

So, here I have a girl whose hair is a Zentangle.
Originally she was meant to have flames on the top of her head to represent my awful headaches, but I couldn't work it out, she just looked like a character from Dragonball Z. Hence, the black page on the left. It was where I started and I covered it with black acrylic paint. I am going to do a white on black Zentangle on that page now.

At some point in the near future I NEED to start gift wrapping and baking. OMG, baking. I am going to have to spend like, two days baking. Snickerdoodles, No Bake Cookies, Pumpkin Bread, and I am even going to try my hand at pumpkin pies.
I can't wait... to bake.
It's the cleaning up of the messes that I really despise.
: /

Happy hump day everyone!

Sharpie Ghost Comes Alive

So, days later, I am playing in my journal and I realize...

The sharpie has lifted up much more than it was.
The Red has come up to pink!
Love it!!!

And this picture doesn't even do it justice.
:D

I am happy!
I am also working on a Zentangle original for me and have another floating around in my head for tomorrow.
Pictures soon to follow!