What's on your Workdesk Wednesday 136

Off to a rockin' start this Wednesday, feeling good, got a baby that is in an awesome mood, good coffee and an arty to-do list.
I do so love being a stay at home mom on a day like this, now let's just hope that I don't get pooped or thrown up on!

So, this morning I am working on my Book of Days.

Effy's prompt this week is "Things that Challenge You" and the technique is Mosaic. And that is what I am working on here, plus some mail art.
I am still working out what challenges me, I think it will be motivation as I do have trouble with getting motivated to do certain things sometimes. I am not sure yet though.

I am really sticking close to what Effy showed us in her video as I really liked how hers came out. I had considered doing a torn mosaic, like on the cover of my first art journal. But it would be a really heavy layer, heavier than even this, so I may try it after I have gotten the few supplies I need to reinforce the book a little more.

You should have seen my desk yesterday, well... you couldn't even see it, it was buried! :D

Yesterday's projects were my journal spread for this weeks journaling in my Book of Days (pictures of that coming at the end of the week when i am done journaling on the spread) and a thank you card I Zentangled for my son's teacher.

And this is the string I started with on simple folded card stock.


And this is it once I was finished. I am not super original with my patterns right now as I am still learning them and there are sooooooo many to learn. So I used my favorites, Zedbra, Cracked, Strircles, Networking, and one that, honestly I can never remember the name for, but it is one of my most favorites and it is the one behind the "lie" in the name.


And lastly, is the one I drew on the inside before I wrote the thank you note, and it is called Ribbon Bow.


So, happy Wednesday everyone!

What have I been up to?

Well, for starters, I missed What's on your Workdesk Wednesday, AGAIN!

But I did take a picture for it, I just forgot to post and link it.
This was my desk on Wednesday.

Sorry for the slim pic there, due to living conditions at the moment my desk is situated between my bed and the wall in my bedroom and my bedroom was a wreck!
That's what I get for drawing and painting all day!

Anyhow, what you see here is my art journal and what I had set out preparing to finish the outside flap of my first page for my Life Book 2012 class.
And here it is, all finished!

Can't say I am SUPER pleased with it, I feel if I re-did it I would do better.
But we aren't doing that.

Then I retouched a picture I had drawn for practice on the above project and had started painting. I figured it would be a good opportunity to practice more instead of letting her just sit in my journal, unloved and incomplete.


And lastly I have my finished portrait for my Fabulous Faces Class, week 2.
It is a front view of a face with color.
I had quite a bit of trouble with painting her. I took some advice off the forums and gesso-ed my journal (a simple hardbound sketchbook) page with a credit card and let it dry before I started drawing her. I LOVED the surface for drawing and I think it will be great for painting, it was just something I wasn't used to and it really showed.
I found that too much water removed color from my picture so it went back and forth for a long while, color, apply too much water, wipe all color away, start over.
Sigh.
Eventually I got tired of painting her and let her be, then moved on to shading. I really wanted her to be turning away from the light so that's what I was shooting for.
Shading is difficult for me still.


And lastly, I have been taking my time with my Draw Happy class by Jane Davenport.
It's really a cute class and I have been having fun with it. Right now my homework is to create a tool page, which I am excited about but haven't had time to set up.

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!

What's on your workdesk Wednesday? 131

I know, not even remotely interesting, or busy.
Today was wiped clean for Christmas cards, however, Walmart misprinted them and I find myself waiting, waiting, waiting.

So, this morning I blacked out several pages in my journal and I am going to work up some backgrounds when I get time (should be doing that instead of this but meh).
This particular page is going to have all my saved fortunes from fortune cookies on it.
Yes, I have more than 2. Those are just the two I got yesterday and they read...

Even the greatest of whales is helpless in the middle of a desert.
(How awesome is it that I get that one? I was thoroughly entertained!)

Because of your melodic nature, the moonlight never misses an appointment.

I LOVE fortunes.
LOVE!

And so, because I was bored, procrastinating, and inspired by pictures of workdesks...
I decided to toss mine up there to.
Hope it doesn't un-inspire anyone!

30 Day Art Journal/Blog Challenge - Day 7

Today's Challenge...
Working on a prompt from A Year In The Life Of An Art Journal



There is something under there.
I will scrape and wash it down tomorrow. :D

I did this and I have a page of half done Zentangles...
Yes, I slacked. I am a video game addict and my son bought Skyrim last night, so I spent most of the day playing it while he was at school.
MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I love this background...

I had to share the background I created last night while we watched TV!

Craft acrylic paint, and oil pastels.
This page just makes me smile and feel all warm.
I can't wait to think of something else to do with it.

Inspired by two pages I have seen so far, one by JournalArtista on Ustream and one by Samara Gugler on YouTube, though, I know the techniques differ I just had to try to replicate it.
Now I have a fun base to do something with!

30 Day Art Journal/Blog Challenge - Day 4 - Just Backgrounds

Today's challenge:
Do something, for the love of God, just do SOMETHING!

Can you tell I was in a panic?
Mildly.
Today was filled with family and "to-dos" and to add to that, I had no good ideas for any of the backgrounds I have done or for anything new.
I am starting to collect personal ephemera, newspapers and such.
But, I really want to collect a little while so I have a good selection of stuff to go through and I also want a good quality moleskine journal, perhaps. This spiral stuff is for the birds.

Today I knew I just had to get SOMETHING done and get some pictures, because if I missed a day and said "What the hay!", and then it would be no big thing if I missed more and mroe days and the habit formation here would fail.
So, I got some backgrounds layered amidst my chores, kids, helping family with computer problems, and hubby.


This one is ready for... something.


This one needs more layers, still a work in progress.


And this one is actually being worked on still, or set up, rather, but it is technically tomorrow's project!
I am setting it up for some Zentangle that I can do while watching football tomorrow.
The page idea came to me after I had finished everything and was taking pictures.

Did you know...
My husband's team is the Bears. Mine, the Saints.

30 Day Art Journal/Blog Challenge - Day 3 - "Lest We Forget"

So, today's challenge...

I have two challenges to complete.
The first is a Zentangle for the I am the diva challenge!



I can't say that I am pleased with it. Doing a Zentangle in something other than a grid proved to be my undoing.
No matter, it just means I need to practice.
It also means that the Zentangle kit I asked for for Christmas would be a good investment AND so would the books (incase the hubby reads this).
:)

It's supposed to be in the shape of a poppy, loosely. : /
There are little poppies inside in honor of Canada's Remembrance Day and the poem In Flander's Field, also in honor of Veteran's Day here in the U.S.
I thought a lot about my dad when I made this.

Next is a page that I completed, well, if you call it completed, for the Motley Soul Monthly Journal Group second challenge.


I'm not happy with this page. I feel like I slacked off or something.
Started with picking a word, the prompt: One Word, One Thought.
I picked music because it is immensely important to me at all times but especially during my creative process.
Then I had picked up some cheap watercolor paints and tried to use them, I am a novice at it, can you tell?
:)
It was boring so I slapped some silver glitter acrylic paint on top and when it was wet I loved it.
But it dried. :(
Once dry I wrote my thought on it, which is just a quote.
My favorite quote that has to do with music, mind you. I always find myself doodling that quote when listening to music.

And there it is.
I'm just sharing those for honesty and good measure.
And to see what it turns into in the future because it will get worked on some more, just not right now.
Moving on...

Lastly, for giggles.
This is my very first page painted with the watercolor paints.
It will probably get a coat of gesso and some paint over it but it was fun to play with and you never know what it will turn into, I guess.
:/


One thing is horrifyingly clear... I need to learn how to use these watercolor paints!
I have planned on getting crayons, but my trip to the city keeps getting pushed back.
Boo!

........................................................................................................................



Music page updated.
I bought a new metallic red acrylic paint today and happened across some scrapbooking stickers for $1.00 a pack.
It's still not my favorite page, but I feel better about it and it is done.

Off to gesso a bunch of pages in my journal!

30 Day Art Journal/Blog Challenge - Day 1

Today's challenge...

Pick a lyric from one of your favorite songs and illustrate it.

So, we've covered the fact that I cannot draw... well... yet.
But am working on it.
The earth is a free clip art I found on the internet, glued down, covered with gesso, traced, and painted with craft acrylics, pretty much.
Funny thing is, I covered it with so much gesso that I could hardly see the lines so it really forced me to become creative with line placement.
But the exercise got me really comfortable with my sharpie, not like the coffee cup a few posts ago. I stressed over that cup and not getting the gesso too thick, that I couldn't see lines, and just getting things right.
This one was much more loose and my attitude was much more "eh, whatever."
I even tried lettering and I fought the urge to cover it up with something printed!
Go me!

The page is based on the song "Blue Lips" by Regina Spektor. It's one of my favorite songs and the baby does the cutest dance when she hears this song!

Other things I did last night...
Three backgrounds







That last one is my favorite. I think it's going to turn into a page on which I journal about those things I cherish. Yeah, seems like that would fit.


Things I am currently considering...
[Zentangle.]
[A trip to Albuquerque in search of new supplies.]
[Heat embossing in my art journal with the Joseph's Coat Technique.]
OH And!!! - A new monthly art journal group on Motley Soul!
I am particularly excited about this because I just love Mika and her art!


I am quite happy on my art-filled journey.
It makes me smile, I hope you are smiling too!
If not, go work in your art journal, or start one if you don't have one!

For Dad... And my Art Journal Self Challenge

I played last night in my art journal and I didn't want to go to bed, but I wasn't feeling good and I knew the baby would be up early. She was, aaaaaaannnnnnnnnnd she's sick (so am I).

So, the below page was created with inspiration from two places.
The inspiration for heart and the words about the pieces not fitting right came from somewhere... I venture to say from a page I saw by Less Herger at Comfortable Shoes Studio, at the very least someone at ArtJournaling.Ning. Alas, I cannot find the picture or post any more to provide a link and credit.
And the words about taking for granted came from a page I saw on guttergirlz, Becky, I think.

I try not to copy things, especially word for word or picture for picture, and this isn't an exact copy of either page. But both of the pieces really did inspired me, touched me, and they just fit my feeling so exactly. And I thank both people for that inspiration and I hope that neither is offended that I copied sentiments.

It's a personal journal anyhow, and this is a snapshot of how I have felt since July for my daddy.
I miss him.



So, I played with a background in coloring that fit my mood as I thought about Dad, in acrylic craft paints, as usual. It's a yellow and orange background, and I grunged it up with a black acrylic paint color wash. I drew and painted the heart, go me! And I tried the lettering but it just didn't come out the way I wanted, so I covered it up with printed words. Though I haven't given up on practicing faces and lettering, I have a section of my journal for practicing drawing but I am not prepared to share that with anyone yet.

I REALLY like how it came out, I am immensely happy with the finished page.
And I expect you're gonna see A LOT more grunged stuff in the future, so much fun!

Next is a page that, well, I am not sure if I am done with it, in fact I am 99% positive I am not done with. But I wanted to share anyhow. I joined the Motley Soul community recently and Mika has been so very nice to me and super helpful with getting creative juices flowing and some confidence. I confided in her that I could paint backgrounds but beyond that I was blocked. I didn't want to ruin a nicely painted background with junk. She gave me a little challenge, some instructions on a page I should try, a prompt if you will... a sort of billboard for myself where my inner critic didn't get a voice.
The below page is a result of that, but like I said, it's not finished.


Again with the printed fonts... I would have preferred to cut letters and words from magazines but my magazine selection is really small, so I am going to work on collecting magazines, old books and sheet music!
I do like printed fonts though, I found a BUNCH of free, fun fonts on the internet at http://www.1001fonts.com/.

And the next two pictures are of backgrounds that I painted last night. I haven't decided what I will do with them yet, if anything, but I REALLY liked these two.





I think it will be fun to see what they turn into with inspiration in the future.
:D

And so, I have decided to challenge myself. 30 days of art journaling/blogging. I just must do something everyday for the next 30 days AND blog about it, WITH pictures.
I have a bunch of prompts and have found a few websites and blogs with more ideas than I can ever use, so for the next 30 days I challenge myself to do SOMETHING in my art journal and blog about it.
This is mainly to form a habit of blogging and art journaling.
I am so bad about it that I can go months without touching my blogs, but I really think I could benefit from a creative, colorful burst of art in life.

My First Art Journal

Welcome to my journey to my art journal.
Please excuse the mess as I am just getting started.

I have never considered myself an artist, but I enjoy playing in paints, colors, stamps, and watercolor. So, I am looking to see what comes from playing.


This is my cover.


The first semi-finished page.


A page in the works.

I have spent a couple days surfing and absorbing anything and everything I can, I have bought what I could of inexpensive supplies, and I have started.

I can now understand why some people have two or three journals, sitting and letting them dry, even with wax paper in between pages is just awful when you have ideas flowing...