Swap Pages From Annette

As promised, I am sharing

the fabulous swap pages that

Annette sent to me for my

Word and Number Play theme...

I had never seen a tag that slides

open in the middle. I didn't figure it out

until Annette posted about it on our

Swap blog. It is so cool!! She does

amazing work...

A big chunky bundle of

beautiful tags...

This is why Annette is

the "queen of embellishments."

A stunning combination of subtle

color and pattern, round versus

straight-edged shapes. So glad I

have no restrictions on 'danglies!'

Love all the metal combined

with paper on this page.

Numbers and letters...

"Just my type."

It's difficult to get a sharp scan when

there are so many dimensional bits

on the page.  Please forgive the

bit of blurriness...

"A conclusion is simply the place

where you got tired of thinking."

Truly beautiful pages, and I am

honored to receive them.  The

gals in this swap have set the bar

pretty high...no pressure! lol.

What fun to see the interpretations

of each artist on a theme; each unique

and reflecting their own style.

 I will leave you with one spread in

my Hobonichi Techo journal from

this week.  Linking up with the

T Tuesday gang over at

Altered Book Lover blog.

The alligator on the left (May 29) is the

main design on a plain white mug. The

drawing on the May 30 page shows

the other side of the mug...just the tail.

Do you drink from your Christmas

coffee cups year round like I do? 

Let's have a mad tea party...

International Swap Pages from Chris

What's black, and white and

red all over?  This art swap page

from Chris over at Pearshapedcrafting .

My theme for this swap is

"Word and Number Play."

Beneath the red acetate overlay is

'Play', a puzzle, numbers, and playing cards...

Vintage music images, and a

gorgeous tag...

A colorful clown page...

that has a folding door. It

opens to reveal clowns of

television and movies!

Love Danny Kaye,

Robin Williams, and Lucille Ball!

"Strength in Numbers" ~ I think it is

inspired by Lynn Perrella's work.

The simple technique of repeating an image

makes a big impact, especially with the use

of bright colors and interesting textures.

Six of one, half dozen of

the other. Namely, 6 boys--

and half a dozen girls!

The flap opens to reveal the

girls, and the tag has the swapper

information on the back. The

eyelets and strings are fun, and the

 numbered images carry through

the theme...

Vintage fashion images and

a sweet tag. I delight in vintage

images, and can only wish that things

were always "just the right size!"

Linking up with Bleubeard and Elizabeth

for T Tuesday.  The Techo drawing

below with the tiny, wonky coffee cups

will have to do for my beverage reference

today.  You can join the blog hop

every Tuesday over at Altered Book Lover

and share a beverage with the group.

I am so enjoying the swap art I've received,

and next week on T Tuesday,

I plan to show you what arrived

from Annette! So stay tuned...

have an artful week!

Swap Pages

My second set of swap pages

(the Rust pages were the first set)

were due to be mailed out just

as my old computer 'gave up

the ghost.'  So I took photos with

my phone, and am just now

remembering (and figuring out how)

to post them here on my blog...

The theme for these pages was

"Childhood Memories."  Which I

found a bit challenging, since my

childhood memories from here in

rural Ohio might not be anything like

those of someone in a different area

of the country, and possibly in an urban

area.  What childhood memories

are universal? I did have a hint that the

recipient enjoyed stitching themes,

so I took the opportunity to add

fabric, lace and stitching. I found this

charming illustration in a vintage book

and thought it was so cute, so it

became the focal point of the page.

Another vintage illustration from an

old book -the children reading- found

its way onto this page.  I painted the

violets on a page of text that had been

covered with gesso. I used to pick

violets for my mother when I was young,

so that's why I chose violets.  Fabric

scraps and some watercolor doodles,

along with some cross-stitch flowers

finish off the page.

This is the tag for the "Childhood

Memories" page, with the credit to the

illustrator.  Not shown was a tag for

the illustrator for the 'children

reading' image by Annabelle Prager, c.1972.

A fun theme to interpret...

what are your favorite

childhood memories?

♦  ♥  ♦

Techo Illustrations and Notes

Do you think having an

illustrated diary might prompt

you to do more interesting things...

just so you have something to

write about or draw?

Or does daily life become more interesting

when we are looking for the opportunities

in each day to write or draw something?

This week, my Techo seems to be all

about the food!  Have you been to one of

those steak houses where the décor

consists of trophy heads on the wall?

Kind of creepy on one level, but an

opportunity to draw something that I

probably won't see in real life.

This trophy head was on the wall

behind my daughter.  The waiter left

blue crayons on the table (the wait staff

writes their name on the paper 'tablecloth'

after they introduce themselves) so of course

I had to take the opportunity to draw!  Then I

remembered my watercolor pencils and

water brush were in my bag...dear daughter

thought it was a great opportunity to post

my photo on Facebook--drawing on the tablecloth.

My first thought upon seeing the post...?

"I look so old, and I'm frowning-(in concentration)

why didn't you warn me?!"  sigh...

but at least she thinks I'm a

"cool mom."

Recording the activities and outings for each

day brings back memories when I read

about them again later...I enjoy investigating

little shops and old fashioned

dime store/hardware stores!

Sharing a mug of mocha coffee

this morning, and linking up with

Bleubeard and Elizabeth for

T Tuesday...

what have you been doing this week?

♦  •  ♦

UnPlanner 2016

For May, I've dispensed

with the monthly view calendar in

favor of a collage in my DLP

unPlanner... 

One of our challenges was to

create a pocket.  I decided I'd like

to have some scallops on the edge,

and make the size so that the

page behind it would show.

Haven't written anything on the tag yet.

I'll figure something out...I used mostly

highlighter on the tag. The pocket

page is a combination of watercolors

and highlighter pens.

Though still doing the

Documented Life Project,

it has been challenging keeping up

with both my Hobonichi Techo and

DLP at the same time. April was a bit

over-committed since I was also doing

a Fake Journal, and swap art too. 

My daily activities don't always show up in

my DLP, but it's a fun way to

follow the challenges of the group and

do a few more doodles and sketches.

And try to use up what's in my stash

without buying more stuff!

Techo Drawings and Notes

Notes for the week in my

Hobonichi Techo...

loved the Sketchbook Fury class

by Graham Smith in

the Strathmore Workshop Series!

So fun, and lots of great tips.

I've always wanted to be

an Art Ninja.

☺

I like to write down random thoughts

and quotes. (I guess you already know this)

 I am amused by most any little thing... 

As I am linking up to

the Tea Tuesday blog hop over at

Bleubeard and Elizabeth's, that little drawing

of the glass coffee mug, in which I had milk,

is my beverage reference today.

Since Mother's Day happened in the U.S.

this week, there were a lot of gorgeous

flowers for sale in the stores...

I bought pink begonias for my mother.

Though it seems that the weather in

our area is barely warm enough for

planting anything outside just yet,

the calendar says we are past the date

for frost danger. A few days ago it was

 getting in the 40F degrees  overnight! 

Really ready for warmer days...

Trying to maintain smiles through the

many cloudy and rainy days recently...

so "cuteness" creeps in to the journal.

How do you find

the 'silver lining' in your days?

Techo Pages

Pages in my Hobonichi Techo...random stuff, what I did, heard on the radio, or even crazy stuff I saw. You just never know...