ABC-123 Journal Page

This art journal page is “Inspired By” Spring and the neighborhood kids once again walking to and from school.

The page started out like this.  It was way too bold to work with.

I already decided to pull the page out and toss it.  So what the heck, let’s try some white acrylic paint to tone it down.  It’s always a good time to try something when the page is headed to the trash.

I decided I was back in business with this page!  Now I’ll see how some stamping will look.

Then I’ll see about some white heavy body acrylic paint tinted with a purple acrylic paint scraped over a stencil.

I didn’t get the next photo, but the textured stencil design was too light.  Since the page was again headed to the trash, I tried using a graphite pencil around the stenciled design then smeared with a water brush so that it would stand out better.

It kind of went into a muddy mess. I thought while it was still basically wet I would see if I could wipe off some of the graphite over the letters and numbers toning down the pencil effect.  It again seemed saved.

Another punched butterfly from a reject page got a body with a keyhole brad.  It’s so fun giving my butterfly’s odd bodies.

The die cut bird is also cut from the reject page.  The math strips are from a paper purchased through Etsy outlined with the graphite pencil then wet and slightly smeared with a water brush.  The paper looked to clean and new so I put a little paint on them.  That was worse so I tried sanding the paint down which happily grunged everything.  The numbers began to disappear so I just traced over them with a marker and sanded them a bit more.

It’s almost easier to make an art journal page when I’ve already decided to trash it!



I definitely learned a lot while making this page.

The whole process was one happy accident after another.  This page appeals to my love of grunge.

The “Inspired By” theme at Art Journal Journey runs throughout the month of April.

All mediums are welcome.  Come join in!

INSPIRE Art Journal Page

The theme this month at Art Journal Journey is - Inspired By

I am inspired to make art by practically everything I see on many social media platforms.  Recently on Pinterest, I was inspired by a dragonfly that had a clock hand for the body.

I won’t even bother describing the troubles I had.  BUT, I have to say I’ve had the most frustrating best time getting an art journal page finished.  

I see loads of painted backgrounds that I love but I find it difficult to get an acceptable result.  There is so much acrylic paint, and watercolor paint on this page!  By the time I get an acceptable result, I cannot seem to remember to stamp my images BEFORE using modeling paste!  

I trashed one page, I wasn’t going to trash ANOTHER!  I stamped the words on a separate piece of paper, tore it around the edges and glued it on.  Not exactly the desired look, but that leaves room for improvement, right?

I’ve had some silver metal words in my stash forever.  I darkened the metal with Timber Brown StazOn ink.    

The butterfly is a die cut from the first ruined page.  Until I ruined the first page attempt, I really liked it and managed to salvage most of the page to use in other ways.

I love the clock hand and a brad idea for the butterfly body.  I’m pleased enough with the page not to rip it from the journal.  Always an accomplishment for me still.

Me vs. Paints and a Flower

Me vs. Paints is typically a battle and the trash bin wins the prize of a quite unfortunate painting.  This time is different.  I think this painted watercolor flower is not completely unfortunate.

I think me and my inexpensive paints did a fairly decent job of it.  

I struggle with several painting issues.  The most debilitating of which is not being able to visualize the finish during the process.  So I don’t know when to quit fixing it.  Or even whether or not it needs fixing.  Another is not waiting for layers to dry.  For once I did use a heat tool at times to get it dry faster.  But I kept painting on it and making it worse.  It was destined for the trash bin.

Once I finally drew the scribbles, I could see it so much better.  But that just started a whole new fix-it process.  I thought one of us has to give in and I didn’t want it to be me.  I think I ended up with a fairly decently painted single flower for Sheila’s (Orange Esmeralda) A Single Flower theme at Art Journal Journey .

I haven’t actually pasted it into my journal yet as I’m undecided as to what I might want to do, if anything, with the page it will get pasted to.  

Update:  I have finished the page.

This theme runs for the entire month of March.  All mediums of art are welcome to join in.  It’s such a great theme to welcome the arrival of Spring.

Abstract Postcards and Art Journal

I’ve a great passion for mail art and am having loads of abstract fun.

This postcard changed since being posted previously.  The postcards seem to appear a bit dull without some white.  

And that’s usually when the modeling paste comes into play.  When the paste is put over acrylic paint and Archival Ink, it stays white.

This is the last art journal page I have for now.  I haven’t been painting with large amounts of paint where there would be some left over.  The postcards are small and they don’t take much paint.  Also no new techniques being tried at the moment.  I’m too hooked on the postcard art.

This was a hard page to find a design for.  I did one element at a time then let it sit until something else came to mind.  So many times I just wanted to tear the page out and toss it to the trash.  And not just for a time out either.

I’m hooked on modeling paste.  I love the stuff!

It’s an icy mess outside weather wise.  The perfect excuse for indoor art play.

Art Journal Pages

Leftover paints and experiments have turned into these art journal pages.

Modeling Paste practice and trying some black acrylic paint through a stencil.

I’ve never been one to create motivational word art.  I’m plenty motivated.  I’d rather use words in other ways that help with a story or such.

But I didn’t know what else to put on the page and I was wondering what words I could make with these leftover round letter stickers.  “Try” popped right out at me while I am “trying” stuff that I’ve always avoided.

I wonder what I could do with the word “quick” or “jump”.  What other words are there that would work in art?

Next, this mess happened.

Makes no sense at all to me.  But I do see a postcard that could be cut from it.  Maybe two.  Oh, look what I forgot to do...my date stamp ran out after 2017.  Until I get a new one I’m using 2013 and turning the 3 into an 8.

In any case, I’m enjoying myself and this crazy experimenting process.  One thing is leading to another.  Fun!

An Art Journal

This is my story of An Art Journal.

Of how and why I started making one.

I love seeing the art journals of artists.  And I always wanted to make one.  BUT first, I never considered myself an artist.  Second, I kept thinking why would I want one?  What would I do with it?  Just leave it on a shelf with no purpose?  No, art journals are not for me.  And that’s how I’ve left it for many years.

However, now that I’ve been being brave and trying different products, supplies and techniques that have always frightened me, I found myself rethinking the art journal thing.  I could use it as a way to first “test” my ability with these foreign products and supplies.  AND a way to finish up using leftover paint because I squeezed out more than I actually needed.  (Hate just tossing it out!)

I bought this book.  8.5” length X 6” width.

I bravely began testing.  Knowing I could always rip out the page and make it disappear within seconds.

I always hate it when those tests come out looking better than the real piece.  (Not necessarily in this case that you see here).  This truly was a testing ground.   

Then after I was finished testing, I have kind of challenged myself to create an art journal page with what ended up on that test page.  I did struggle towards the end of this page to make it into a keeper rather than rip the page out and tear it up.

This kind of art stuff (anything that has to do with painting) does NOT come easily to me.  I really have to work at it and in the end I either get lucky or I rip it up for the trash bin.

And I mean it about getting lucky.  Nothing with paper ever turns out how it looks in my mind.  In my mind I’m a wonderful artist.  Everything turns out just as I imagine it will.  LOL. In real life, if it’s a keeper, I got lucky.  (Sheila, is that what you mean by the supplies did all the work?) (Renee, Gesso and I are still not friends.  But I’m determined to figure out how to become friends!)

But now I’ve gone back to thinking, what do I do with it?  I feel like art needs to be seen or shared.  Closing the book and leaving it on a shelf just doesn’t work for me.

I’ve come to the conclusion that at some point when I’m ready to let go of a page, I can cut it into a postcard or greeting card and send it out into the world of mail art.  Now it has a purpose!  Now I can sit it on a shelf knowing I can chop it up whenever I want to.  See how I worked that out for myself?  LOL 

That’s my Art Journal story and I’m stickin’ to it!