Just don't do it...

It is the beginning of a new year and we are all excited to get started on new things. Especially all the 365 projects, the index card a day, the ATC Daily projects and so on. I start at least a couple of these projects every year, but not this time. I have never finished any of these projects so why set myself up for failure again. Nope, not this time. I am going to spend 2013 finishing up all previously started journals and hopefully work on a few new ones.

The last few days I have worked on the covers on a couple of larger size journals. A 7x10 inch and a 9x12 inch journal. They are cheap Canson Mix Media journals I bought at Michael's BOGO sale a few days ago. On the smaller one I did put '2013' on the cover and I plan on it being my main journal for the year.

That is the only commitment I will make for 2013. No promises of making 365 ATC's, or write so many journal pages. I alway end up disappointed in March when I realize I am 2 months behind. So this year I just wont do it.

Do you have plans for a year long project? Have you made such commitments before? If so, did you finish it?

If you decide to follow me into a 2013 without daily promises, but still would like a little help in means of prompts, ideas, and challenges you can always check out some of my past challenges and of course check in here regularly for new prompts and challenges.

Hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve. If you must venture out, please be careful!

And remember when art journaling it is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The journey!

New Beginnings...

It is almost the beginning of a new year. I thought that since the last couple of months have been a little different for me I would strive to make this beginning of a new year a new beginning for Art Journaling for Less as well. Our members know what has happended these past months so no need to bore you all with that again. Without going into the past let me tell you about the future. Art Journaling for Less is now a public blog. A place for you all to come and participate in challenges and read about how I do art journaling the Soto way. I try my best to do it as cheaply as possible and only for me. I do not plan on my art hanging in museums so Crayola is good enough for me.

I do not have a computer to use for digital art journaling at the moment so my art journal is entirely hands on, but most of my challenges can be done digitally if you prefer. If you have never done art journaling hands on maybe you will want to try when you read some of my blog posts. It doesnt have to be expensive. You don't have to follow any rules. And you certainly do not have to share your end results unless you want to.

Most people when hearing or reading about art journaling focus on the journaling part, however I like to focus on the art part. I hate writing and I usually can't think of what to write. I LOVE to show my feelings and my mood through images and that is what I focus on when I do my journal pages. I might use a song lyric or a poem or a quote to add a little extra to my pages, but mostly I focus on the images, colors, shapes, etc.

With that said, I will leave you to look around and enjoy some of the older posts. I have removed some posts that are no longer working for this blog, so if you find some "dead links" please let me know.

If you check out my store Twisted Scrapper Boutique you will find a lot of art journal supplies. Most are digital which you can use in your digital art journals (or scrapbooks) or you can print to use in your hands on books. I also have a few packs that are physical (non digital). These packs are limited and are available when I have some. I have a few packs available at the moment, but not a whole lot. Feel free to browse the store, and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask questions.

Challenge Week 17 - I want to be there...

I want to be there... - I think we all have a dream of a better place to live, for our children to grow up, to vacation, to relax, to? A different location than where you are right now. Maybe it is a place you have dreamt of since you were a child, something you saw on TV, or maybe even visited in the past.

This week I would love to see you make pages of places where you want to go/be. You can do this digitally or hands-on. You can do it with symbolism or you can write a story.

You place can be a physical location, a fantasy island, a state of mind... It is up to you where you would like to be today!

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery [HERE]

I want to be there...


Today I want to be there. On the beach, looking out of the Pacific ocean, watching the sun set, while dolphins frolic in the waves.

Challenge Week 16 - Moving Forward

Moving Forward - Some of you know that my family and I are going through some serious changes with our lives at the moment. Only weeks from hitting the road and spending several months in an RV. Right now we are selling everything that we can't bring, so we are having what seems like a never ending yardsale. We should get the RV at some point this coming week. I am looking very much forward to that.

Anyway, I think this week challenge fits our life and I would love to see how you all would use the phrase in your art journals.

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase "Moving Forward"?

Are you moving forward or do you feel your life is at a stand-still? What would you like to do to move forward? Do you need to relocate to grow, or can you move forward without actually moving?

I would love to hear your ideas, and see your pages.

I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery [HERE]

NOTE: For the next couple of months I will be having some trouble following the schedule, but promise that you will get a couple of challenge and of course your weekly member downloads each week. Might not be at the regular schedule, but you will get them. My week goes from Monday through Sunday. So check back often :)

Also, thank you to those of you who bought journal fodder packs and mini kits, and of course thank you to you all for your continued support.

Challenge - Round and Round

Circles, disks, coins, etc. All elements I love to use in my pages. Today I would love to see you make a page (digital OR hands-on) that include at least 10 circles. Various sizes, colors, textures.

You can cut them from newspapers, magazines, old photos, post cards, or what else you may have on hand.
You can also use some of the ones I have here at Art Journaling for Less or at my store.

In week 14 you received a pack of circles which is still free in case you didnt get to download then [DOWNLOAD HERE] I also have several packs of 'coins' at my store [HERE]. My favorite is pack #4. Just so many different and fun images.

To accompany your circles, you can do doodles, or you can do some journaling. If you are anything like me you will have trouble thinking of something to write about, but don't worry. You can use quotes that you find in books or on the internet.

Quotes:
It's the circle of life.
What comes around...
A circle of friends.

You can also have the circles symbolize something. Earth, the universe, a close knit family. Or maybe just make pretty flowers by adding some doodles.

Endless fun.

I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery [HERE]

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Mini Art Journal Kits

I just finished putting the art kits together. These kits are just very basics, but pretty much what you need to get started.

They include:

1. More than 80 pieces of collage fodder (vintage book pages, music sheets, game pieces, paper doilies, vintage photos, etc). All these pieces are of various sizes and textures.
2. Two 6 inch pieces of punchinella (sequin waste). 2 different size holes.
3. A bundle of tissue sewing pattern paper.
4. One watercolor artist pad. 5x7 inches. 15 papers.
5. One glue stick - Collage Glue Stick from Inkssentials.
6. Two glitter glue tubes.
7. Five Prismacolor coloring pencils - Black, White, Crimson Red, Orange, and Aquamarine.

This kit will cost $30 once it get into the store. That's included shipping in the US. If any of you in here are interested I will sell it for $25 (inlcuded shipping in the US). Just let me know. Once it goes into the store it will be $30. I will wait a couple days before it goes into the store. I only have 4 of these kits, so hurry while they last. You can email me at  - - - imsoto2 @ gmail . com (remove the spaces) to let me know you are interested.

To get the most out of your hands-on art journaling experience you will need a journal, some colors, writing tools, and maybe some homemade stamping/texturing tools.

You can read about what I would add to a beginner art journal kit HERE and if interested in making your own stamp and texture tools, check out this article HERE

To keep it really simple go to your local cheap store (Walmart, KMart, Dollar store, etc) pick up a journal or spiral bound watercolor pad (heavier paper), some crayons, coloring pencils, makers, small watercolor set,  and if there is anything else that catches your eye. This is all you need. You don't even need to buy all that, maybe just the journal and one of the coloring tools. You can always add on later.

OFFER EXPIRED
Please check the store for new art journal kits available.

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Challenges pt. 2

If some of you are still interested in doing hands-on journal challenges I could do some for minimalistic art journaling. I think what keeps a lot of people who are used to doing digital away from doing hands-on is the amount of supplies. I am working on some kits right now that are so small that they can fit in a large envelope. Only thing the person have to add themselves is a pack of crayons, coloring pencils, a small watercolor set, and the journal. I will probably sell these kits for about $25-$30 + shipping, but they will have everything for a beginner. Lots of fun stuff.
We will be on the road more or less all winter, so I will be working out of my travel kit. So doing some fun minimalistic journal challenges might work for all of us. This is of course in addition to the digital (word) challenges.

Let me know if someone is interested in some minimalistic art journaling (no you dont have to buy my kit to participate).

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Challenges

I have been thinking a great deal about the challenges. I dont know how many of you actually enjoy them. Or which kind you enjoy, digital or hands-on.
I would love to do challenges that you all will enjoy, so I ask that you please leave a comment to let me know what you prefer. If I dont hear from you I will assume you don't do the challenge and will go by what others want. So please leave me a little note letting me know. If you have suggestions for other types of challenges please let me know. I am open to suggestions and I do really like challenges myself, but I want you to be happy here so I want to share something you will actually do.

Let me know please :)

Let Go - Mid-month reminder

Remember you are welcome to substitute words. As long as you do one word each day. I dont know how many of you are doing this with me this month, so I would love to hear from you if you are participating.

And if you havent already, come join our Flickr gallery HERE You are not required to post your art, but it would be nice if you did :)

You can read more about this challenge here: Challenge - Week 10 - Let Go

Let Go - August 16th

TODAY'S WORD: DO
Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'DO'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

Challenge - Tolerance

TOLERANCE - What are you thinking? It is such a loaded subject. I wont ask you to make a page about politics, religion, etc. That's not what this is about. What I would like you to do is make a page about the very first thing that comes to mind. If that is political, religious, or what ever, then that is fine. But it could also be tolerance to pain, stress, certain foods, or maybe something entirely different. That depends on who YOU are.
Tolerance [link to wikipedia]

Art - definitions:

1: capacity to endure pain or hardship

2

a : sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own

b : the act of allowing something : toleration

3: the allowable deviation from a standard; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece

4

a (1) : the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult especially with repeated use or exposure <developed a tolerance to painkillers>; also : the immunological state marked by unresponsiveness to a specific antigen (2) : relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor

b : the maximum amount of a pesticide residue that may lawfully remain on or in food

Titles, Quotes and Poetry:

I haven't added any quotes, titles, or poetry this time because all I could find was politically or religiously motivated. I don't want to make this challenge about politics or religion. So try to think outside the box, and maybe you have something else to say about "tolerance". You can use words and/or images.

I know that for some this is going to be a hard challenge, but that is why we call it a challenge :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Moving Out

I thought I would let you know what's happening here. For the last couple of years we have wanted to leave our home here in the White Mountains of AZ to find greener grass elsewhere. My health is not good here at the high altitude and it has gotten a lot worse the last year or so, so it is time we leave. We want to move to WA state, but since my husband havent found a job there yet, we have been more or less force to just stay here. But not any more. If everything goes by the plan, my husband will be quitting his job in about 2 weeks. Then he has to work another 2 weeks. Then we have to wait up to 6 weeks for our funds to be available so we can buy an RV. Then we will be packing and hopefully on the road by November 1st. Crazy huh?

Yes, crazy, but it will be such an adventure. And those of you who have known us for a long time knows that we like crazy adventures.

So because we will be living in an RV we can of course not bring everything. So it is either sell it or toss it. So for the next few weeks I will be adding arts and craft supplies to my store. Both to give those supplies a new home, but also to supplement our funds.

I already have some collage fodder in the store. Only have a few packs left. Some of these supplies are packs that I put together and sold at markets, and craft fairs, so they are just what was left over.

I have made a coupon so you can get supplies a little cheaper then others. Right now this coupon will only work on non-digital products.

SAVE 33% on NON-DIGITAL products by using DISCOUNT coupon code: moveadventure2012

~ Non-Digital Products

Check out some of my other sales:
~ Retiring Soon
~ Specials

Art Journaling for Less will continue the way it is now. 2 FREE downloads per week and challenges, etc. I just wanted to let you know so you know what is going on here in White Mountains, AZ.

Let Go - August 12

TODAY'S WORD: CHANGE
Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'CHANGE'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Sales and Specials

I just added a couple new categories at my shop. One for products that will retire soon and one for specials. Everything in those 2 folders are 50% OFF. And don't forget that those of you who haven't used the coupons that was included with your membership purchase can use those coupons for discounted products. Making the product almost free.

You can check out those new categories here:

~ Retiring Soon
~ Specials

If you have any questions about your discount coupons or anything else, please feel free to ask :)

Let Go - August 8th

TODAY'S WORD: HOPE

Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'HOPE'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

Let Go - August 7th

TODAY'S WORD: TRUST
(you can use the word in any form you like: Trust, trusting, etc.)

Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'TRUST'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

Let Go - August 6th

TODAY'S WORD: FLY
(you can use the word in any form you like: Fly, Flew, etc.)

Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'FLY'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Week 11 Member Downloads

You Week 11 Member Downloads will not be ready until Tuesday this week.
I am working hard on getting them ready for you, but have run into some difficulties (lack of sleep due to farm animal noises).
I will have them ready for you by tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you for your patience!

Let Go - August 5th

TODAY'S WORD: HATE
(you can use the word in any form you like: Hate, hatred, etc.)

Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'HATE'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

Let Go - August 4th

TODAY'S WORD: Shine
(you can use the word in any form you like: Shine Shining, etc.)

Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'SHINE'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

I used a bunch of yellow, orange, and red crayons and coloring pencils here. Then used a little plastic thingy (used for plastic canvas projects) as a stamp to add a little texture. And last I wrote the word SHINE using Sharpie poster pens and Sakura Glaze pens.

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Renewed Memberships

Hi Friends
I just wanted to let you all know that I have extended the membership for all of you who have taken advantage of the 50% OFF sale. So no need to email me your info.
Please be sure to tell your friends about this 50% off sale. I am sure I can think of some kind of rewards for any you for any referrals you bring me. Just tell your friends about the 50% OFF sale, give them the coupon code, and tell them to mention your name when they purchase the 1 year membership.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Let Go - August 3rd

TODAY'S WORD: Fear
(you can use the word in any form you like: Fear, Fearing, Fearful, etc.)

Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'FEAR'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

Let Go - August 2nd

TODAY'S WORD: Love
(you can use the word in any form you like: Love, Loving, etc.)

Write the word, do a drawing, make a doodle, write a poem, or something else you come to think of when you hear the word 'LOVE'.

Let Go and Enjoy!

If you feel up to it you are ALWAYS welcome to upload your pages to our Flickr Gallery

Challenge - Week 10 - Let Go

This CHALLENGE will run through the entire month of August.

I know that most of you are digital art journalers, and this challenge is not digital. However, it is something you can do even if you have never done any hands on art journaling before. And I really suggest you try. I think it is something that will help you become a better art journaler (even digital art journaler). Please just humor me for this one month.

During the month of August, you will be working on a Mini 'Let Go' Art Journal. We are taking Art Journaling back to it's basics. Let's doodle, scribble, draw, write. You will not need any fancy art supplies for this one.

What you will need:
A journal
Pencils
Coloring pencils
Crayons
Ink pens

And no you do not need to go shopping for everything on the list. If all you have are ink pens or regular pencils, then that is perfectly fine.

The Journal:
The smaller the journal the better. The journal I will be using in my examples is a 5.5x3.87 inches, 48 sheet notebook I bought at Walmart a while ago. I think I paid less than $2 for it. I do not plan on using a lot of wet medium in my journal, so the light paper is ok.
You can also choose to do it on index cards. You can get 100 index cards at the Dollar Tree (in the US) for a dollar, and it is not much more at Walmart or office supply stores.
And if you can't get either, maybe cut paper out in trading card sizes and use those.
Anything will work.

You want to keep your journal/index cards at a size so you can fill your page/sheet with colors, doodles, or text in a very short time. No more than 10 minutes. Preferably less than 5 minutes.

Journal Examples:

The largest one of the journals in the photo is a regular size composition notebook. It is 9.75x7.5 inches with 100 sheets of paper. That is actually a little too big for the "Let Go" challenge. The colored journals are 5.5x3.87 inches with 48 sheets of paper and are perfectly sized for this challenge. The smallest ones are 4.5x3.25 inches with 80 sheets of paper. They might actually be just a bit too small. But it is up to you. Maybe you have a small journal somewhere in your house already that you can use.

Index Cards: They do come in various sizes and they all will work well with this challenge. Here I have two recipe card boxes. The one to the left is full of just plain white cards, but the one to the right I have pre-colored all the cards. I just did a slight watercolor wash on all the cards in various natural colors.

These are my recipe card boxes. One is an old antique and the other my husband made for me at Christmas a few years ago. You can get these sorts of boxes everywhere. You can try looking at Goodwill or other second hand store. Craft supply stores also have them plain so you can decorate them yourself. And you can also get index card boxes at office supply store.
Of course you dont need a box. You can punch holes in your cards and tie them together with a ribbon, or use rings.

This CHALLENGE is all about letting go. Go back to the basics.
Each day you will be provided with a word. You can use that word any way you like. You can write the word on your page. Draw or write whatever comes to mind when reading the word. Or maybe you want to do some poetry. Forget what others might think. This is YOUR journal. You dont have to share with anyone.

TODAY'S WORD: Create
(you can use the word in any form you like: Create, creative, creations, etc.)

Use one page in your journal. Draw, doodle, write, whatever you want to do. It does not need to be fancy or museum worthy. Just LET GO and LET'S GET BACK TO BASICS.

EXAMPLES:

Pink coloring pencil to add a little color to the background. Ink pen to write the word. I colored in the letters with Glaze pens from Sakura.
You can add the date to your page.
Less than 5 minutes.

I used Neocolor II watercolor crayons for the black background and a Sharpie poster paint pen for the text.

Less than 5 minutes.

Again I added some color to the background using Neocolor II watercolor crayons. Then I added some scrapbook alpha letters with glue. Then embellished with some glitter glue.

About 10 minutes (due to glitter glue drying time)

This one I actually made watching TV last night. It took probably 1 hour due to using Glaze pens by Sakura and glitter glue. Both requires some drying time.

I used various coloring pencils, crayons, Glaze pens by Sakura, and Elmer's glitter glue.

As you can see you can go from just a simple 5 minute page to a more elaborate page with lots of color. It is up to you.

Try using as few art supplies as possible. LET GO and go BACK TO BASICS.

If you carry a purse or bag with you when you leave your house, take your 'journal' with you. Bring a few different making tools with you too. If you have a few moments while waiting in the Dr's office, at the DMV, etc. pull out and use your journal. Think about the word of the day.

 I will also post reminders every day, and sometimes share my pages.

I really do hope that you all will join me in this challenge/exercise. I know it will be fun, and even if you ever never done any hands-on art before you are all more then qualified to do this little project. Have fun!

Challenge - Art

ART - What is art to you? What is your favorite type of art? Are you an artist? Just a few questions we can ask ourselves about art. We have probably all seen art that spoke to our hearts, or the kind where we think "A 5 year old could have done that", or something that probably touched our soul. And probably have had discussions with others about art. What is art to you? Think about that for a little while.
In this challenge I would like you to make a page

1: that describes what art means to you
-or-

2: using a quote or poem as your inspiration.

Feel free to read through the quotes, poetry, etc, below to use as your inspiration.

Art [link to wikipedia]

Art - definitions:

1: skill acquired by experience, study, or observation <the art of making friends>

2: a branch of learning: (1) : one of the humanities (2) plural : liberal arts archaic : learning, scholarship

3: an occupation requiring knowledge or skill <the art of organ building>

4: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced (1) : fine arts (2) : one of the fine arts (3) : a graphic art

5: a archaic : a skillful plan b : the quality or state of being artful

6: decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter

Titles:

1: Art Imitates Life

2: An Artist at Heart
3: An Artist's Apprentice
4: Creative Minds are Rarely Tidy
5: Just a Pigment of My Imagination

Quotes:
1: The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. (Aristotle)
2: Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. (Thomas Merton)
3: Art is a lie that lets us see the truth. (Pablo Picasso)
4: Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. (Twayla Tharp)
5: An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it. (Paul Valery) (this is especially true with art journals).
6: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. (Pablo Picasso)
7: Science is everything we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else. (David Knuth)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Put Something In by Shel Silverstein

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a looney-gooney dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Freebie Alert

My friend and your fellow AJfL member has finally agreed to start selling her products at my store. Today is her first day. And she already have her first kit ready in my store. To celebrate she decided to share Hillside Art #1 with you all.

You can find this cute art journal / scrapbook kit at Twisted Scrapper Boutique - Leslie Hill

Leslie is an Arizona based (yup we are almost neighbors) art journaler,  who for years have been making her own supplies for her digital and hybrid journals. We have learned a lot from each other the past couple of years, which you will probably notice in our styles, but we also have differences. Especially in color schemes LOL.
She never sold or shared any of her products before so this is all new to her :)

Your coupon code to use for picking up your free kit is: Leslies1stDay 
Please remember coupons are case sensitive, valid for one use per customer only.
And please do not share the coupon outside Art Journaling for Less.

Challenge - Week 09

One of the things in hands-on art journaling I usually have the most trouble with is hand-writing (sometimes referred to as hand-printing or lettering). My hand-writing has always been poor, but when I started art journaling I thought for sure I could learn. At least some techniques to make it look artsy. But I am still trying and I don't feel it has gotten much better.

This week I want you to explore hand-writing. Make a couple of pages with hand-written titles, and/or journaling.

I really can not teach you how to do art journal writing, because
   1: I suck at it LOL
   2: You have to create your own style

but, I can point you in the direction of videos, pages, etc that I like so you can get a few ideas how to get started.

The first I want to share is a few pages from someone who I believe has the whole art journal handwriting down. AND she is one of our very own members. Say 'Hi' to  Erin! If you check out her Flickr: Mimisgirl51901 She does both digital and hybrid art journaling.
A few of her pages with hand-writing:
Home
Be Me
Lightsaber

Links to pages with hand-writing I like:

Page by apartmentcat - it is definitely not neat, but I like the way she did the journaling in a spiral.

Page by iHanna - this is probably one of the most common techniques, but that doesn't make it bad. I love how she got such clean lines with the white and black together.

Page by miscellaneaarts - this is just so pretty. I would call this a doodle script, and I dream of learning this one. What I find to be the hardest is to make the lines flow.

Page by TMcFayden - the lines in this are so clean. Love the look of this one.

Want to see more? Go to Flickr and run a search for 'art journal hand lettering'.

YouTube:

Doodle Titles and Letter Art - this is a quick run through of different techniques and ideas using Sakura pens.

How to draw type and letters - a list of several videos on how to draw cool type and letters. I think this is more advanced than just regular art journal lettering. Might work for just single words etc. When I work in my journals I usually dont have time to sit down and making things this complicated. But I thought I would share anyway, maybe you find something that you like and want to use.

Cool Writing - this one I could see used in art journals. Would take a little practice, but it is very nice. I might actually try learning this one.

How to draw grafitti letters - this one is not just for grafitti lettering. I think what he says about making the letters looks just a little more artistic than usual, and that there is no right or wrong way is exactly how we should do our art journal lettering.

Artful Lettering - this is the kinda lettering I would love to do. People make it look so easy, but when I do it, it never turn out so great. Will keep trying.

There are many more videos, websites etc dedicated to hand lettering, so if you want more, check out Google. Or maybe make up your own style.

When making digital pages I also feel it is important to make the lettering look as 'real' as possible. You can do that by adding color and texture to bold letterings. If anyone are interested in seeing how I like to do that in my digital pages, just let me know. I do use a mix of PSP and PSE6, but if you use PS or newer versions of PSE I am sure you can do similar things in your programs. At least you can get some form of ideas for how to use fonts in your art. Just let me know if you are interested.

I would love to see some of your pages made with your own hand lettering. I am going to go practice right now to see if maybe I can make something worthy of sharing ;)

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process.

Have Fun!

And if you do feel up to it, please share pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

Challenge - Beauty

Beauty - this is a word that has so many different meanings, depending on who you are. To some beauty can be a red rose blooming, but to others the beauty is not about the looks, but rather the fact that the rose is growing. Doesn't matter if it is red, white, or any other color. Just that it is here for us to enjoy.
When you hear the word Beauty, what comes to mind? Nature? Your child? Your mother? Or perhaps some actress or supermodel? Think it through. Perhaps write down the first words that came to mind when you saw the title of this post.

In this challenge I would like you to make a page

1: that describes what beauty means to you

-or-

2: using a quote or poem as your inspiration.
Feel free to read through the quotes, poetry, etc, below to use as your inspiration.

Beauty [link to wikipedia]
Aesthetics [link to wikipedia]

Beauty - definitions:

1: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit : loveliness

2: a beautiful person or thing; especially : a beautiful woman

3: a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality

4: a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance <that mistake was a beauty>

You can also try Googling 'beautiful' or 'aesthetic' 

Titles:

1: Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall
2: Pretty as a Picture
3: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
4: Everything is beautiful in its own way.
5: A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Quotes:
1: Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul. (Mark Twain)
2: Beauty changes with the passing seasons except in the heart where the true beauty remains. (Unknown)
3: Don't worry about wrinkles, they're just antique smiles. (Unknown)
4: Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. (Confucius)
5: I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful. (Unknown)
6: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye. (from The Little Prince)
7: That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful. (Ninon De L'Enclos)
8: To me, fair friend, you never can be old. For as you were when first your eye I eyed. Such seems your beauty still. (William Shakespeare)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Inside-Self by Rachel Field

My Inside-Self and my Outside-Self
Are different as can be.
My Outside-self wears gingham smocks,
And very round is she,
With freckles sprinkled on her nose,
And smoothly parted hair,
And clumsy feet that cannot dance
In heavy shoes and square.

But, oh, my little Inside-Self
In gown of misty rose.
She dances lighter than a leaf
On blithe and twinkling toes.
Her hair is blowing gold, and if
You chanced her face to see,
You would not think she could belong
to staid and sober me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please Look a Little Deeper

Please don't judge me by my face.
By my religion or my race.
Please don't laugh at what I wear.
Or how I look or do my hair.
Please look a little deeper--
Way down deep inside.
And although you may not see it.
I have a lot to hide.
Behind my clothes the secrets lie.
Behind my smile, I softly cry.
Please look a little deeper.
And maybe you will see,
The lonely little girl
That lives inside of me.
Please listen carefully to her--
She'll show that she's insecure.
Please try to be a friend to her
And show her that you care.
Please just get to know her
And maybe you will see
That if you just look deep enough.
You'll find the real me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Challenge Suggestions

Hi Friends
So I am sitting here this afternoon working on getting some challenge up for you and it hit me that maybe I should ask you what YOU want to do.

Are there any specific words you would like to work with in our Word Challenge (the one for digital members) or maybe there is something specific you would like to try out in the hands-on section. Please let me know.

Makes me happy when you are happy, so let me know what YOU want out of the challenges.

Also, be sure to take a look in the Flickr Gallery. Our wonderful members (YOU) have uploaded some AWESOME pages. Great inspiration for the rest of us!

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Download Links

Please do NOT share the download links with non-members. I have noticed lately that I have many more people downloading than I have members. This is not good.

Of course this could be a glitch from Box, and I just don't know. I will contact Box and inquire about this to see of they can clear it up.

If they can't I only have 2 other solutions:
   1: get a paid account with Box so I can track who downloads. I don't want to do this because it will cost me a lot to do and I just can not afford that.
   2: I can start issuing coupons to the store so I can see who downloads through there. I really dont want to do that because it is just such a hassle for you.

So I ask that you please keep in mind that these "FREE" downloads are included in YOUR membership ONLY, so no sharing of links or files. If you have friends who are interested in my products, they can purchase a membership, or purchase the products individually in my store : Twisted Scrapper Boutique

Thank you for reading!

Challenge - Sun

Sun - Monsoon has just started for us here in AZ. A little later than usual, and a lot more needed than usual. It has been so hot and dry here this year, and with the very low snow levels last winter, we really need the rain. Yeah, I don't live in the desert, so we do get snow in the winter LOL. Anyway, we love the sun, and we still get a lot of it in between the rain showers. You can do so many thing outside in the sun. Activities with the kids, hiking, camping, playing. Or just hang out, and maybe do some art journaling. Do you love the sun? Or maybe you don't? Or perhaps the sun means something entirely different than just summer and fun to you? Could be it symbolizes a time of happiness in your life? Does it represent the person you are now compared to a darker period growing up, your youth? Try thinking past just the summer and fun and see if maybe there is a different meaning.

In this challenge I would like you to make a page

1: your relationship with the sun or what the sun means to you
-or-

2: using a quote or poem as your inspiration.
Feel free to read through the quotes, poetry, etc, below to use as your inspiration.

Sun [link to wikipedia]

Sun - definitions:

1

  a: the luminous celestial body around which the earth and other planets revolve, from which they receive heat and light, which is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, and which has a mean distance from earth of about 93,000,000 miles (150,000,000 kilometers), a linear diameter of 864,000 miles (1,390,000 kilometers), and a mass 332,000 times greater than earth.

  b: a celestial body like the sun : star

2

      the heat or light radiated from the sun <played in the sun all day>

3

      one resembling the sun (as in warmth or brilliance)

4

      the rising or setting of the sun <from sun to sun>

5

      glory, splendor

— in the sun

      in the public eye

— under the sun

      in the world : on earth

Titles:

1: The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow
2: New Sun Rising
3: Follow the Sunshine
4: Let There Be Light
5: Looking for the Sunshine
Quotes:
1: At first a small line of inconceivable splendour emerged on the horizon, which, quickly expanding, the sun appeared in all of his glory, unveiling the whole face of nature, vivifying every color of the landscape, and sprinkling the dewy earth with glittering light. (Ann Radcliffe)
2: Keep your face toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you. (Unknown)
3: Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. (James M. Barrie)
4: Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling. (Walt Whitman)
5: The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do. (Galileo)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sun by John Drinkwater

I told the sun that I was glad,
I'm sure I don't know why;
Somehow the pleasant way he had
Of shining in the sky,
Just put a notion in my head
That wouldn't it be fun.
If, walking on the hill, I said
"I'm happy" to the sun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunrise by Pollyanna Sedziol

This
is the only gold
I'll ever possess . . .
I treasure it,
counting its glory
each dawn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Membership expires soon!

Some of you have memberships (free and/or paid for) that expires today or very soon. If your membership expires today, you will lose access to the blog and gallery by tomorrow morning. You can however extend your membership for another month for just $4 or for a whole year for just $15.

You can extend for 1 Month [HERE]
-or-
You can extend for 1 Year [HERE]

Thank you!

Due to last weeks "vacation" I have extended your 1 month memberships by one week. This is only for those who have purchased 1 month memberships, not 1 year memberships.

Challenge - Week 08

Another week, and another super easy, but totally awesome challenge/exercise. This week I would like you to make your own journal fodder and use it in your journal.
This weeks member download was a pack of doodle flowers. That is kinda what we will be doing today, except these will be a lot easier to make. I promise they will take you less than 5 minutes.

Grab a piece of paper. You can use anything you like. Sometimes I use watercolor paper or heavy duty card stock. But you can also use scrapbook paper or just regular printer paper. It really depends on what medium you plan to use on the paper to color them.
In the below sample I used various makers, watercolor pencils and crayons. Just really a mix of making tools that I had on hand. For those flowers I just used regular printer paper.

Now find yourself a good black maker. Again, the type, depends on what you plan on using to color the flowers afterwards. I did use some watercolor products on my flowers, but since I did not use a whole lot of water I didnt worry too much about the black maker smearing. I used a Sharpie poster-paint marker (water based).

Use your chosen marker to draw doodle flowers all over your page. Dont worry about details too much as you will be painting over it and your probably wont even see the black maker on your finished page.

Cut out the flowers. Just use a scissor and dont worry about being perfect.

You should now have a handful of various sizes and types of doodle flowers.

They are now ready to glue on to your art journal page. I would use a liquid glue, like Mod Podge, then use a plastic card to scrape over to make sure you dont have any bubbles. Let dry completely.

It is now time to add color to your flowers. Use anything you like. Paints, makers, ink, crayons, etc. Anything you like.

This is my finished page. I used all sorts of makers, crayons, paints, etc. Mostly I used Elmer's paint pens and glaze pens from Sakura. Just use your imagination and have some fun. And remember if you don't like your result, then just paint over it again. 

My page above was inspired by Traci Bautista's work, but the idea of using doodle flowers as fodder goes back to the good ol' scrapbooking days. You can use the flowers for all sorts of things in your journals. Clusters, edges, scattered elements. You can paint/color them before or after you glue them onto your page. The possibilities are endless. It is just a nice cheap way of getting some extra fodder on your page without spending money on finished elements, or printing.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process.

Have Fun!

And if you do feel up to it, please share pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

White Page, No More!

A few months ago I splurged and spend way too much money on a journal. I think buying that journal was the last straw. The price tag said $70 for this tiny 5x7 inches journal. I bartered a little with the seller and got the price down to $50. Yes I really liked the journal.

So I get the journal in the mail and it is just so pretty. The cover is gorgeous and the pages are all so pretty white. How am I supposed to start splattering paint in this pretty book? I just couldn't do it. It was sitting here on my desk with it pretty cover and white pages, just mocking me. I couldn't do it!
Then one day I needed to test the pigments in some watercolor pencils and I just grabbed the book, opened to a random page and started making little colored squares. I thought for sure that I had gotten past my "white page block". No, I still couldnt get started. Now I had a pretty book, with pretty white pages, plus one page with neatly drawn colored squares. A couple more months went by and I decided that I just couldn't let the book just collect dust. So I took it out, and just started gluing collage pieces in. It felt really good. And then I started adding color. Felt even better. And then I needed to test a few products, so I did that in the book too. It has sort of become my test book. Who would have thought that a $50 book would become my go to book for testing art supplies.
I am posting some pages below for you to see. It is just to get past those white page. Maybe you have a book you want to journal in but just can't. Try using it to test your paints, colors, markers, and glue. Now I really think this book has become an ART journal. Finally!

On these pages I tested come gouache colors. The left side was done several days prior to the right side. The right side I was trying to see what effect alcohol had on gouache.

Left over collage pieces from another project. Instead of putting them away, or tossing them, I just decided to add them to my "test journal".

Left side is Inktense, and a stencil I had just found and wanted to test. The right side is more gouache colors.

Here I had bought a set of colored tinting pigment and wanted to test the intensity of the color. I used a glass nib to write with the pigment tint. And then there was a ticket left over from another project.
This page will most definitely be painted over at some point, but it is fun knowing what is below all the layers.

The right side is actually a finished journal page. Amazingly, I do have several finished pages now in this journal.
The left side is the one that got me started. It is the page with all the pretty colored squares. Yeah you can't tell, but they are down there. After I finally got started adding color to the book I painted over the squares with water color. Not a great idea, cause the squares were watercolor pencils. So the colors started turning to mud. So I added some collage pieces from some old books. Then some gouache color. Now the colors are just mud. I painted over with a little blue acrylic, and then scraped white paint (gesso) on with a plastic card. It is now completely ready to be made into an art journal page.

More watercolors and markers.

The left side: I tested some black ink, then I added left over collage pieces. Then I was testing two different yellow acrylics. (Found that neither of them was what I was looking for). Then I added some paint scratches using acrylic paint on the edge of a plastic card. And last I had some white paint on a homemade stamp and is stead of wiping it off I decided to use it here.
The right side: Testing the same two yellows when painted on top of green.
Both pages are ready to be used for art journal pages. Either as is, or painted over ... again.

More paint testing and left over stamp colors. This one I painted blue and orange acrylic, then yellow gouache.

Left over collage pieces. Then some tan gouache color and then testing homemade stamps.

This is the page I am working on now.

This was the first page I finished in this journal after I started adding color. I love that bird template.

So as you can see I got past my "fear" of white pages. At least in this journal. I do have a couple of other journals that are still full of white. But I have also decided not to ever again spend so much money on a journal. First of all, it is not about what the journal looks like. You can just a simple journal and then add your own color to the cover, or you can use lose leaf paper and add them to a simple ring binder. It is never about the journal, but it is all about the journey to get where you want the pages to take you.

Challenge - Unique

Unique - Be You! Be Yourself! I think we have all been told this a few times in our lives. But I think that even if we WANT to be unique there is always a little of someone else in us. Maybe we are a little like our parents, or grandparents. Or maybe we had a favorite teacher and wanted to grow up and be just like him/her. Or maybe we wanted to grow up and be NOTHING like anyone we knew. Who are YOU? Are you who YOU want to be? Do you want to change? Why? Are you as UNIQUE as you WANT to be?
In this challenge I would like you to make a page
1: about who you see when looking in a mirror

-or-

2: using a quote or poem as inspiration.

-or-

3: about how you think others see you. Are they right or wrong?

Feel free to read through the quotes, poetry, etc, below to use as your inspiration.

Unique - definitions:

1: being the only one : sole 

2:

   a : being without a like or equal : unequaled 

   b : distinctively characteristic : peculiar 

3: unusual

Titles:

1: Be careful. Be kind. Be yourself.
2: Be yourself. Who else is better qualified?
3: I meander to a different drummer.
4: Know thyself!
5: Be You-nique

Quotes:
1: Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads. (Erica Jong)
2: Figuring out who you are is the whole point of the human experience. (Anna Quindlen)
3: I cling to my imperfection, as the very essence of my being. (Anatole France)
4: It is never too late to be what you might have been. (George Eliot)
5: It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not. (Andre Gide)
6: Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality. (Les Brown)
7: Saying no can be the ultimate self-care. (Claudia Black)
8: We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. (Anaïs Nin)
9: Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself to others. It is because we are different that each of us is special. Don't set your goals by what other people deem important, only know what is best for you. (Ken Lewis)
10: If both of us were the same, one of us would be unnecessary. (Unknown)
11: It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. (Herman Melville)
12: The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself. (Rita Mae Brown)

There are so many fantastic quotes on this subject. If you would like to explore others than those I have listed, try looking up "quotes unique" or "quotes conformity".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be Yourself by Bruce B. Wilmer

The world would like to change you;
There are pressures all around.
You must decide just who you are,
Then firmly hold your ground.

You have an image of yourself,
An ideal sense of you;
And to this vision you must always
Struggle to be true.

You know what you are good at,
And you know where talents lie;
But if you're ruled by others,
Your uniqueness could pass by.

Remember, there is much to learn;
But all new things aren't good.
Wisdom lies in what we learned,
And what we have withstood.

So, be yourself and don't allow
The world to take control.
Preserving your identity,
Is life's most precious goal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everybody Says by Dorothy Aldis

Everybody says
I look just like my mother.
Everybody says
I'm the image of Aunt Bee.
Everybody says
My nose is like my father's,
But I want to look like me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found this little tidbit online. I dont know who wrote it, or who it is written about, but I liked it a lot.

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.
"Well," he continued, "what if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants this $20?" Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
"Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value: dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you."
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.
You are special. Don't ever forget it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

Challenge - Week 07

NOTE: I changed the number of the challenges so they will match the number of the member downloads. Just to make it easier on me. So there is no #6.

This weeks challenge is a super easy one.

Yesterday I shared some buildings in the weekly member download, so this week for the challenge I would like you to use them. Or use other buildings. If you do hands-on journaling you can print the ones I provides, cut out your own, or just draw or paint some. If you are doing this exercise digitally, you can use the ones from the download, or others you might already have.
I want you to use the buildings as a focal point on your page. Maybe they symbolize something, or maybe they are accompanying a quote or a poem. It is up to you. Just have fun using the buildings.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process.

Have Fun!

And if you do feel up to it, please share pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

SAMPLE:



This is a VERY simple page I just made. Took me less than 5 minutes from start to finish. I chose a page in my journal that already had some color on it (green page from last weeks challenge). I cut 2 buildings and 2 rooftops out of an old dictionary. Glued them onto my painted background. Then I added some gesso that I scraped on with a plastic card. I dried it with my hair dryer. Then I highlighted the edges of the buildings and rooftops with black coloring pencil. Wrote the word "Empty", and Done!.

I didn't put much thought into this one. And I had not planned on stopping when I did. But when I saw those empty buildings I just didn't feel like I had to add any more. Sometimes, less is more.

This is one of the reasons I like to just add color to my art journal pages. That way they are there when I need them. I usually make backgrounds when I feel a block. Usually it will get me out of the funk.

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Membership expires soon!

Some of you have memberships (free and/or paid for) that expires today or very soon. If your membership expires today, you will lose access to the blog and gallery by tomorrow morning. You can however extend your membership for another month for just $2 (sale valid through July 5th) or for a whole year for just $15.

You can extend for 1 Month [HERE]
-or-
You can extend for 1 Year [HERE]

Thank you!

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Sale

I wanted to let you know that I am having a sale at Twisted Scrapper Boutique.

ALL products (except 1 year memberships and services) are 50% OFF.

And if you are lucky enough to still have some of your AJfL coupons you can apply those too! Meaning you can get 50% OFF, and then apply your coupon to get an additional 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, or 25%.
Remember your coupons can be used once each, but there are no limit to how many products you can have in your cart.
So if you have 10 products in your cart you will get the discount on ALL 10 products, not just one of the product.


Now's the time to stock up! Valid through July 5th.

Challenge - Success

Success - I believe we all view success differently. Some say success is when you achieve greatness through a job, making it to the top. Become wealthy beyond ones own means. For others success can be the little things in life. The first steps after a terrifying accident, a child's first words, a cure for a decease.
Think about this word: Success. What does it mean to you?
In this challenge I would like you to make a page

1: where you journal about what the word means to you.
-or-

2: using a quote or poem as inspiration.

-or-

3: where you journal about the success you would like to achieve or maybe wish for others to achieve.
Feel free to read through the quotes, poetry, etc, below to use as your inspiration.

Success [link to Wikipedia]

Success - definitions:

1: obsolete : outcome, result 

2:

    a : degree or measure of succeeding

    b : favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence 

3: one that succeeds

Titles:
1: Bittersweet Success
2: Color of Success
3: I'm the Most Successful Failure
4: Nothing Succeeds Like Success
5: Overnight Success
6: Sudden Success

Quotes:
1: Success comes in cans. Failure comes in can'ts. (Unknown)
2: Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom. (General George S. Patton)
3: Success is measured not by what you gain, but what you overcome. (Unknown)
4: Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. (Booker T. Washington)
5: There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it. (Christopher Darlington Morley)
6: Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction. (Al Bernstein)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
True Success by C. Hoppe

I hope my achievements in life shall be these:
That I will have fought for what was right and fair,
that I will have risked for that which mattered,
that I will have given help to those who were in need,
That I will have left the earth a better place for what I've done and who I've been.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and love much,
to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children,
to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends,
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others,
to give of one's self,
to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition,
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation,
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived,
this is to have succeeded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you have fun doing this challenge.

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your art journal pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

Challenge - 05

Let's play with masking tape this week. Some of you may have heard of something called Washi Tape. It is making tape with pretty patterns, colors, etc. You can see two rolls in the photo above. Washi Tape is a lot of fun to play with, but I find that it is ridiculously expensive. And we all know that when our art supplies are expensive we hesitate using them and just end up hoarding instead. What fun are art supplies if we wont use them.

So instead I use regular masking tape. You can find so many different brands, sizes, textures, and 'stickiness strength' (quality). You can use these different tapes for textures or even decoration on your pages. And they are fun to play with. Just always remember they are masking tapes which are made to be removed again so they might not always stick too well, and might even come off when getting wet. I also include medical tape in my collection, but again, it is made to come off, so keep that in mind when you use it.

I am going to show you two ways to use tape on your pages. This first one is the regular Add, Paint, Remove way:

First I added a few lines of masking tape to my pages. It really depends on your paper how well this will work. Some paper will tear when you pull off the tape, and in other instances, it will come off really nicely. My journal that I used here is an old children's dictionary where I covered the pages with some really cheap gesso.

Next I applied some acrylic paint using an old plastic card. Just scrape it on. Dont worry about being neat.

I then gently removed the tape while the paint is still somewhat wet. You can see how the tape removed some of my gesso from the page, but I like that "worn" look, so it is OK with me.

On this next one I am going to use the tape to create texture. So I will not be removing the tape again.

I used several different brands of masking tape and medical tape to create various different textures on my background. And because I am not going to remove the tape again I used my finger to really rub over the tape to make sure it was sticking to the paper.

Again I used my plastic card to apply the paint. 

This is the result of the first one. After I applied the paint and removed the tape I didn't do anything else. This page is now ready in my journal to be used soon. 

And this is the result of the second version. I used primary cyan, phthalo blue, and turquoise green. I used the hair dryer to dry the paint just a little between colors. Just to make sure it didnt become mud. Then I added some titanium white to the entire page. Just a thin layer.
I then took my little water spray bottle and just sprayed a little water on the page. Just to allow for a few drops (mist). I quickly scraped over the water droplets with a clean plastic card and it produced the effect you see in the photo.

THE CHALLENGE:
This week I would love to see you all play a little with some tape. You can use the techniques I used above or you can make up your own. Any way you choose to do this challenge is fine. As long as you play with tape, the cheap kind.
You can choose to just make a background to use later or you can do a finished page.

SAMPLE:

I thought I would add this page I just made from the background from this challenge. It didnt turn out at all the way it was supposed to LOL. I was testing a homemade spray paint which turned out it didnt work at all the way I wanted it to work. But since we all will have pages that dont turn out the way we wanted them to I thought I would share mine.

I added the butterfly and lady. Then I had my little spray paint snafu. Then I decided to try out some new crayons and I used those to just apply more color.

Then I stamped words to a couple of pieces of masking tape. I used a hair dryer to set the ink. Then I tore them to size and used a glue stick to adhere them to the page. 

To stamp the words on the tape I tore off a couple of longer pieces of tape and applied them to a glossy piece of card board. Then I stamped on the words. Since I had the tape on glossy cardboard it came off easily and I could then tear to size and apply to my page.  

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process.

Have Fun!

And if you do feel up to it, please share pages at our Flickr gallery HERE

If interested in checking out some Japanese Washi Tape you can take a look CuteTape.com I personally don't feel that washi tape is a necessity to make beautiful art. I think you can make beautiful art with just any kind of cheap or found tape. You might also consider adding other types of tape to your stash.

Duck Brand has all sorts of fun tapes. Duct tape now comes in all sorts of colors and patterns. Some of my favorite tapes from Duck Brand are their Printed EZ Start tape, especially the Paisley one. Yummy. Again, they are not a necessity. Just for fun!

ATTENTION MEMBERS: Happy Hump Day

Happy Hump Day
I hope you are all having a fantastic week.

I wanted to just hop in and let you know about a few things.

1. I have set up a couple of polls over there to the right. If you could take a moment to vote in them so I can get to know you all a little better. It is easier for me to come up with new stuff for you if I know your needs.

2. Please feel free to use the comments on the posts as a way to dialog with your fellow art journalers. Don't be shy.

3. Any time you have a question, suggestion, or request please let me know. Either post a comment here on the blog, or shoot me an email imsoto2@gmail.com

4. I was wondering if any of you would be interested in starting a letter journal? Basically it is a journal where you dedicate a page to each letter of the alphabet. For example A could be Alive, B could be Bold, C could be Courage, etc. You choose how fast you want to work, you choose the words, etc.
I think it could be a fun project to run along side your regular journal. And you can do it hands-on or digitally, which ever you choose. Let me know what you think?

5. Would you like me to set up a forum for us to use? Might be a nice way to get to know each other.

Have a fantastic rest of the week and I look forward to hearing from all of you!

And also I would like to thank all of you who have been shopping at Twisted Scrapper Boutique and been using your coupons. Much appreciated and I hope you enjoy your new products.