The Encyclopedia of Stress Art Journal

Today on her blog Tasra Dawson showed us a page from her first art journal. So I decided to show you some of mine too.

In Google search for art journal I found several magazines in towns of every size called, Art Journal. There is a Flickr group called Art Journal with 4739 members. A cursory glance through the images there reveals that many people use the term art journal and sketch book interchangeably. Others create collage works that are dark and disturbing, full of skulls and horns and blood (not my thing). While others use text and color to create beautiful reflective pieces.

These colorful pages remind me of the work of Dina Wakely and Julie Fei-Fen Balzer. Their work is colorful, complex, full of texture and life. They layer paint and ink, paper, images, and text to make beautiful pages that draw you in and keep your eyes busy. 

Yesterday Dina Wakley posted on her blog about her new book Art Journal Freedom: How to Journal Creatively With Color & Composition. One of the reasons she wrote this book was because she wanted you to grow as an artist. 

A week and a half ago Julie of Balzer designs posted in her Art Journal Every Day series the difference between art journals and other paper crafts and is really worth a read if you're interested in getting started.

My art journal is not a blank book but a book I'm altering. The title was just too enticing at the charity book sale. It was the lonely shrink wrapped index to an encyclopedia that was nowhere to be found. My art journal is called Encyclopedia of Stress. I will show you glimpses into this book, but then I'm done. This is a very personal project for me. 

This journal is not a place where I plan to grow as an artist, though I will not deny that I probably am growing as an artist as I add to it. I do try new techniques here but because it is a glossy page I feel somewhat limited. Perhaps I should do a page on that. My journal is a place where I pour out my stresses. Where my sadness and grief can wander at will. Where my insecurities can dance. In creating the art that tells the story of my feelings I have found a way to work through my feelings. 

I've had this book for a couple of years and I try to date the pages because the stresses I add to it now are very different than they were two years ago. My first entries were about construction on the expressway leading to work. Then they were about the anxiety over losing my job. And now they are about losing my father and trying to help my son work through his grief and feeling like I'm failing. Of course every mother feels like they are failing their children, even when they aren't. 

One of the benefits of this book is that
there are already illustrations of brains in it.

Here are a few links to see samples of other people's art journal pages.
On Tumblr. On Pinterest. On Flickr.


Happy Crafting,

A Pep Talk from Kid President to You

Not Cool Robert Frost

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This weekend there are a lot of rocks, thorns and glass on my path less traveled in the form or a cold, or is it flu, or is it a sinus infection? But this kid makes me want to dance.

Happy Crafting,

Happy Valentines Day Munchkins

Final Valentines

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Can you believe it? I'm back! And after just one day. Yesterday I told you I would show you the final of my son's Valentines. Here they are.

 Aren't they cute?

 all packaged and ready to go.

 I tweeted this one to Pepperidge Farms suggesting
 they put this on their packages for next Valentine's Day.
 If you see it next year you will know where it came from.

Valentines Lunch

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 Like I said yesterday my son does not like lovey dovey stuff.  I used to send little notes in his lunch every day, he thought they were great. He still doesn't mind getting a note  but he does not want showy stuff with hearts and pink. I wanted to cut his sandwich into a heart-shaped today, he vetoed that so instead I hid the heart inside the sandwich. Not every bite will be as flavorful but he will know there is a heart.  I couldn't help myself I wrote love you on the plastic bag that held the sandwich.

Nothing like peanut butter and dried cherries.

I also included a message on his banana using the sharp point of a knife to poke small holes in the shape of a heart and the words "happy V-Day".  The message will darken by lunchtime.

So what did you do for your munchkin's lunch to show them you love them this Valentine's Day?

Happy Crafting,

Fish for Valentines day

It's that time again. That time of year when love takes over and boys go. "Ewww." Because it's Valentine's Day. My son is not into love and flowers and hearts and pink, but he does want to participate. Pinterest can be a great place to go for inspiration if your kid is not into pink flowers and hearts.

There was a picture in Family Fun magazine, and a pin on Pinterest  that both that both mentioned school and gave fish as a treat. One was Swedish fish and the other was goldfish crackers, which I thought was a much better treat. The kids get so much candy and he doesn't need any more sweetness.  So taking my inspiration from the goldfish crackers sample, the original coming from Mel at Bliss Bloom blog, I set out to make my own. one of the rules in our school district is that all the treats must be factory packaged so I couldn't follow Mel's directions completely. 

When I get a new set of acrylic stamps especially, I scan them into the computer and go to the Silhouette and make my stamp shape fussy cutting file.  The Stampendous Sushi Bowl Party set was perfect as a background for E's Valentines this year.  I used the bowl and the little bitty fish swimming in a school, as the base of the card. I use the shapes from the set, but not the stamped images themselves. E chose fish from the Recollections set called fun fish, for the focal point of each card. I'm quite protective of my Copic markers and wouldn't let him use them to color the fish. Well I would've but he decided to go to bed instead which was a better plan for him.

Once I got started I couldn't stop. I colored all of them, every single fish is colored either with Copic markers or Stampin' Up ink as watercolors. Some of the fish were stamped with Stampin' Up black which is great for watercolors. The rest were stamped with Momento tuxedo black, which hates water but loves a Copic marker. 

Sample 1 of the card that will go on a
package of Flavor Blasted Goldfish crackers.

Assembly will begin this evening and I will be sure to take pictures so that we can share them with all of you. 

First Reconciliation

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Before we get to dinner, before we get to homework, before we get to assembly,  E has to go for his first face-to-face confession. First communions are a big deal, every sacrament should be a big deal, but having a appointment for 4:00-something on a Tuesday afternoon just doesn't seem all that special.  Maybe on the ride to the church, maybe after it's done, something will happen and it will feel a bit more special.

In Other News 

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E has finally mastered the art of blowing bubbles with bubblegum. He has worked on this for a very long time and we are proud to announce that a bubble can be blown with the proper gum.







Happy Crafting,

Free Digi Paper- Urban Playground

Perspective

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What we see in life depends on our perspective. Sometimes we need to get really close to something to see the beauty in it. This collection of background papers is the result of getting really close to a set of barrels at the playground I used to frequent as a child.

These images were captured in June of last year a week or two before my father's death. I am in the process of going through stuff and finding a proper home for things. These images needed to be shared with digital and scrapbook artists.

You can find the individual high res images for download on my flickr account. There are 16 images total all 12"x12" at 300 dpi. These images are a gift. You may use them in your art, you may sell your art, please credit Katemade Designs if you do. You may not sell these images as are in any form.

Happy Crafting,