Counterfeit on T Tuesday

Tuesday is the day that Elizabeth and Bluebeard

(Elizabeth's dignified cat) have a Link Party

over at Altered Book Lover blog.

We share what we have in our cups

(mine is coffee, not tea) and what project

we are working on, so visit the gang for T Tuesday!

I purchased a new mug on vacation...it was

on sale -- I love a good sale! --- and it

has a retro-style Mini Mouse on one side,

and Mickey on the other. Fun and delightful!

My messy table with piles of paper, art journals,

decorative tape, watercolors, and my

Documented Life Journal.  It is addicting...

one calendar page per week to keep track of

my schedule, and three surfaces on the right to

make art or journal. (In this photo, the flap on

the right is covered by the loose back cover

 that folds over/into the book.

I bought some cheap fluorescent craft paint

a while back, and have enjoyed using it for 

postcards and journal pages.  It is more

transparent than other craft paint, so it requires

a bit of practice to get used to...Love the intensity

of the colors.  This photo was taken on our new camera

and I think I was using a 'pop art' filter...so the 

color may be even more intense...

I've created another blog, called

Cottonwood Counterfeit Journal

for my Fake Journal projects.

Every April, Roz Stendahl of

Roz Wound Up conducts a challenge

to create a Fake Journal.

  What is a Fake Journal?

You can choose who you want to be,

what you do for a living, and how you

make your journal....

make up a fantastic story, or just

draw from a different perspective.

Visit Roz on the challenge blog at

The International Fake Journal Blog.

So far, I've journaled from the perspective

of a Native American shaman, and a 

student of Asian art and philosophy.

My fake journal posts in April this year

will be posted on my blog

Cottonwood Counterfeit Journal.
Visit me there

to see what adventures I will have

beginning in April!

Happy Spring to all...

 •   ♦  •

Collage Tutorial: magazine scraps

Documented Life Project 2014-

Planner, Week 12 challenge:

The prompt is to

"Cut up a magazine, add to page,"

Above, I used bits of floral patterns cut from

photos of clothing.  I extended the

patterns onto the book text background

by drawing additional 

bits of the motif in Sharpie pen.

Here is a tutorial on my process...

I found an advertisement with a promising looking 

flower and some oval shapes.  I also decided to

use a page of book text for background.

I cut out some of the oval shapes with scissors.

Then drew a black outline around the flower

with a black Sharpie pen.  Be sure to let it 

dry completely before cutting out.  The glossy 

paper tends to make the ink smear easily.

I saved the text for later use...

I chose to put my collage on the

watercolor paper tip-in on the right of

the spread, and applied a gray watercolor

wash to the paper. I chose gray because of the

decorative gray tape (you can see on the left)

that had been used when preparing 

my planner.  The use of a variety of tapes

was pretty random, and has been a fun

and interesting additional challenge each week.

Sometimes it affects my pages, and sometimes

I just kind of ignore it.  I used yellow watercolor

with a bit of orange and brown on the 

book text page because of the yellow 

 and golden magazine cut outs.

A strip of yellow fabric on my work surface

caught my eye, so I decided to use that also.

The brownish-golden shapes seem too dark

for my taste...

so I decided to try using a bit of scrapbook paper,

and drawing a wonky circle on it.  I tried applying

yellow watercolor, but the surface was a bit too glossy

for it to work well, so I dabbed it with a napkin and

used an orange marker to add some color.

Some more scrapbook paper with 

polka dots and stripes brightened things up

a bit, and after moving things around on the

page, I decided to glue them down in a 

staggered configuration on the page.

The darker magazine ovals went behind

the other shapes for an 'outline' effect.

I added magazine letters to spell out

'Color Therapy.'  Almost done!

Next, I want to add drawing, to 

help blend the collage elements

with the background.

I drew leaves, branches of berries,

and added more 'wonky' outlines around

the scrapbook circles.  I drew an outline

and shadows beneath the letters. I always

put the shadow on the right and below...

I formed that habit in high school when we

had a unit on lettering and calligraphy!

Finally, I added a bit more black watercolor,

very lightly so it would be gray, where I had

drawn the diagonal lines for shadows, 

and along the strip of fabric on the right.

I painted leaves along the left margin to 

echo the pattern of the tape, and added

yellow highlighter to the berries.

I usually try to have repetition of shapes

and color in my collages, and have an

odd number of shapes as well. (but not always!)

I think asymmetrical is more interesting.

I am thoroughly enjoying my

Documented Life planner...

not that I live that interesting a life,

but it reminds me to enjoy and

take note of day-to-day things,

and be grateful for them.

Visit Art to the 5th blog

for more inspiration!

♥  ♥  ♥

Note~

I built my own planner from various types 

of paper, punching holes into the pages

as you would for a ring binder, and

binding them together with book rings.

Each week of the year had a page for 

the dates of the week on the left side of 

the spread, on which you could

journal about your daily life and activities.

In addition, a second page on the right side

of the spread had a 'tip-in' created by

taping on an additional page that would

flip open for additional art work or journaling.

As the weeks went by, the journal become

fatter and fatter, so that I ended up

having to purchase bigger book rings.

But I was delighted with the results!

Counted Cross Stitch Greetings

The Luck of the Irish 

to you!

♣   ♣   ♣

Documented Life Project-Cottonwood Style

The Documented Life Project is a

Planner/Calendar/Art Journal project

created & moderated by 5 artists.

You can read more about it on

Art to the 5th blog.

We are now in Week 11, and

the challenge this week was to

draw, photograph or collage a bird

onto your page. I already had this 

bird stamped onto a scrap of paper

so I collaged it onto a watercolor

background and added drawings

of leaves around it. The top border is

a strip of scrapbook paper.

To see my page from week 1 go here,

Above, the week 2 challenge:

Add a self-portrait to your page.

Week 3 challenge:

Put an envelope from your mail 

on your page. This was an ad for 

parents to buy life insurance for their kids.

Fun illustration on the envelope, so in it went.

I added another pocket made from

an envelope liner, and created

 tags for the pockets.

Week 4 challenge: Write a note to 

yourself and paint over all but one word.

Week 5 challenge: Draw a doodle border.

My border was Kandinsky inspired!

Week 6 challenge: Use a Pinterest board

to inspire your art on the page. The blogger

of Idemakeriet gave me permission to create

art from her lovely photo on the blog.

Week 7 challenge: Draw a shape.

Repeat. Add color.

Week 8 challenge: Add a flap to your flap.

Most pages of the Planner/Journal I made have

a flap 'tipped in' on the non-calendar page, 

on the right of the spread--

by using decorative tape to adhere the additional page.

It folds in when the book is closed. (I am

not sure that description even makes sense!)

For this challenge I added a small flap that 

opened vertically, which gives more space to add

art on the back side of the flap, and underneath it!

Week 9 challenge: Collage something

recycled onto your page.  I used security envelope

liners, copy of a map, video arcade ticket, old 

postage stamp, banana label, hole reinforcements,

book text, 'watercolor' torn from cover of a 

small watercolor pad.

Week 10 challenge: Make a list of the

things that make you YOU.  

List made in Sharpie pen, with 

ledger paper and scrapbook paper.

Had to add ETC. at the end

'cause well, there just isn't enough

room. But maybe you get the idea...

This little collage is on the back side of the 

Week 10 challenge. Really like the way it

turned out. Having painted papers 

made up and ready to use makes the 

collage come together much more 

quickly, and I always seem to have plenty

of scrapbook paper scraps to use!

Visit Art to the 5th if you are interested in

joining the challenge. There is a Facebook group

which is very supportive, and also a Flickr group.

Of course you don't have to 'catch up' unless 

you want to, and it's your journal so you can

make it your own in all ways.

  I wonder

 if I will be able to stick with it for a year...I 

figure one page a week is easy enough to do,

we will see.  What art are you making these days?

♥  ♥  ♥

Here's hoping that Spring is almost here,

and that you have a green St. Patrick's Day!

♣  ♣  ♣

Travel on T Tuesday

Sharing some vacation photos

from Panama City Beach, Florida

We were there just before the madness

of Spring break. Headed back to Ohio through

rain,

freezing rain,

sleet, and

snow!

(sigh)

Guess I just need a cup of tea to warm up again...

Please visit Altered Book Lover

for T Tuesday...

and have tea (or coffee) with

the group!

♥  ♥  ♥

Art Journal Pages: Road Trip

Palm trees in Florida~

don't know the exact type but they

are lovely... just came back from

a vacation in Panama City Beach.  

A beautiful beach,

and certainly a lot warmer 

than Ohio!

Above, a freeway barrier that we passed in the beginning

of our trip. I've seen it many times, but suddenly

realized it might make a good journal page...

Playing music on the CD player makes

the hours driving more enjoyable...and

prevents having to surf the radio stations

for something we like.

This page gave me opportunity

to doodle and try out lettering styles.

I don't recommend the 'yetti' voice for the

Garmen GPS...completely unable to understand

what is being said. Good for a laugh I suppose, if

you think grunts are funny and

you already have a good idea where you're going,

but then what's the point?  We stuck with

'Dr. Nightmare.'  

Still life of my finds on the

first walk on the beach of 2014.

The shells are tiny, or broken pieces

but I still always end up picking up a few...

A small feather from a seagull too,

that I couldn't resist.

The sun is shining and the snow

is melting. Maybe there really is

hope for Spring...

Trees on Tuesday

Trees are a recurring theme

 repeated in various forms

in my art journals.

I am not quite sure why they

fascinate me...

maybe it's their sculptural forms

 or the wide variety of styles of portrayal

over the centuries.

Longing for green buds to appear...

♣   ♣   ♣

Visit Elizabeth over at

Altered Book Lover

to see 'what's up' on T Tuesday!

♣  ♣  ♣