Thursday, January 30, 2014

Chinese New Year



Happy Chinese New Year
2014!

Acrylic, watercolor,
Sharpie pen, washi tape,
gold Sakura pen on
watercolor paper in
my Documented Life journal.

◙  ◙  ◙



Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Tangled- on T Tuesday



Couldn't sleep last night.
The "Tangle," above, resulted.
Sharpie extra-fine point marker
 in my 9x12 art journal.
I am itching to add watercolors.
What do you think?

There are videos on YouTube
showing how to draw Celtic knots
and intertwining designs.  A fun
challenge! The 'snakes' above 
came out of one of those videos...

Linking up with Bluebeard & Elizabeth
for T Tuesday...




It has been a Hot Chocolate Kind of week
here in Ohio...freezing cold! So I need
something to warm me up...




like warm colors, for instance.
Red, yellow and orange are warm
colors.  Page in my Documented Life
day planner/art journal.


Saturday, January 25, 2014

Bleak Winter Trees




Holy Arctic Vortex Batman!
How much longer
until Spring?!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Tab Tutorial on T Tuesday


I decided to make some tabs for pages
in a journal that I am working in.  It's a
calendar and art journal in one book, called
watercolor pages that I used to cut the tabs from.
The page with the light wash was used to
 write labels for the months of the year.  The page
with the doodles is what I cut the tabs from.
I painted the doodles on 90 lb. watercolor paper,
and added details with the Sharpie pen.


In order for you be able to see the shapes, 
I traced around the template on the back of the paper,
and then cut them out with scissors.
You can either trace the shape with the tops together
(as on the left) and then fold and glue, or
 trace two separate tabs and glue to the page
right sides facing out.


The cut tab shapes, above.  The months of the year
were written on the plain paper to be more legible,
trimmed closely to the text, and glued to the tab.


I like the abstract feeling of the doodle background.


Another idea is to just use a circle punch to cut out
circles, and use them for tabs.


I reinforced the page by gluing scraps of 
decorative paper to the edge before
gluing the tab down. I used Tacky glue.


Example of the round tab, above.


Showing the first three tabs applied to the pages.



A watercolor of my back door.  Yes,
I have ice skates as a door decoration
instead of a wreath.  Maybe if I remove
them it would warm up outside?  The arctic
blast is back today...

Linking up with Bluebeard and Elizabeth

for T Tuesday...
I hope you'll visit her blog at 
Altered Book Lover to see more
T Tuesday posts.





To find out more about 
The Documented Life Project
click on Art to the 5th
in my side bar.





Enjoy a hot cup of tea or coffee today,
and to those in the way of the winter storm ~
stay warm!



Tuesday, January 14, 2014

T Tuesday -- Art Journal Pages




I received a Mini Smash Book
for Christmas! The pages measure
5" x 7" and have fun background
designs on each page, as in the 
regular Smash Books. It can be used
for scrapbooking, but I choose to 
use it as an art journal. Above
represents the date I received it-
12/27/13.  Collage includes scrapbook
paper, my watercolor illustrations,
fabric, and pen & ink doodles.



I doodled on the inside cover too...
I often repeat motifs that appear 
elsewhere on the pages.




Above, a delightful letter style
spotted on Pinterest, pinned from
Flickr.  The letters are as wide as
they are tall, with curlicue accents.
Not difficult to draw, and a way to
change up art journal pages.




Sometimes the days after Christmas and New Year
leave me feeling sad.  The festivities are over,
the company has gone home, and it's time to take
down the decorations.  The cold weather and
lack of sunshine further deplete my energy.
So, a page full of color and positive thoughts
is something that helps me feel better.  Above,
scrapbook paper, images from a collage sheet,
and images on the Smash Book backgground
with some doodles added.




Revisiting a collage from the Scrappy Green Journal
for my beverage reference today.  

Elizabeth at Altered Book Lover 
gifted me with a gorgeous
scrappy journal, (several years ago)
and I got to fill the pages with art.
She included the Ice Cafe packaging
 on the page background. I am not sure
if she knew at that point how fond I am
of coffee and chocolate together, but it
was a fun embellishment for the page,
and very appropriate for me!

♥ ♥ ♥

 Linking up with Elizabeth
for T Tuesday today.  Please visit her!







Thursday, January 9, 2014

Mail Art




is celebrated in late January or early February,
based on a lunar calendar. I confess, I don't
comprehend the calculations, and I found
conflicting information on the internet as to
what date this year's celebration begins.
According to Wikipedia, it is January 31 this year.
2014 is the Year of the Horse.

Above, a post card created for mail art.
Gesso over scrap cardboard- 4" x 6".
  I drew on the dry gesso, then 
inked with Sharpie marker. Watercolor was
applied, then highlighter in pink and orange
(in the flower petals) along with colored pencil
and gold marker.  Red and gold are the colors
considered to be good luck...