August Impressions~

Polymer clay embellishments in an altered book.  (This is a re-post of an altered book project from several years ago.) Since Elizabeth did a terrific tutorial on her blog Altered Book Lover, I was inspired to show this spread, which is one of the few times I've used polymer clay.

 The button-shaped pieces of polymer clay were made from impressions of old buttons from my grandmother's button jar. The background is acrylic paint over gesso. Circles were stenciled on, flowers from tissue wrapping paper were applied in opposite corners, and hand-carved stamping in green acrylic was added. The clay buttons were also painted in acrylic, layering yellow, tan, and black to highlight the textures. Words were added in brown Sharpie marker...things that remind me of the month of August and the sweet days of the end of summer.

Trouble

A new Art Journal spread,

watercolor, hand-carved and commercial stamps,

crayon-watercolor resist,

and Sharpie marker.

This spread was indirectly inspired

by visiting my friend Marlynn's blog,

Honeysuckle Breeze.  She has been organizing,

straightening, and purging in her studio.

She mentioned watching the TV show

'Hoarders,' which I don't receive on my TV,

but after watching an episode on-line,

I really got motivated to start cleaning! 

This spread was completed

after sorting through a stash of scraps

and magazine clippings. 

I find it difficult to discard even the tiniest 

piece of painted paper, because of the potential

that I see in it! The above tiny collage measures

1 1/2 inches x 1 1/2 inches, and is 

located on the bottom left of the spread.

I did, however, throw away a lot of 

magazine clippings, as I have resolved

to use my own drawings, images, and prints

as much as possible in my collages.  I still have

a long way to go, but feel as though 

I made a little progress!

Portion Control

Michelle Ward's Green Pepper Press
Street Team Crusade No. 28 is
"Portion Control."
The idea is that a portion of an image,
obscured, embellished, or cropped, etc.
is much more interesting than
the plain complete image
in the center of the paper.
Some of my supplies are
shown above...

These are my Art Journal pages
created with the goal of "portion control."
My previous post showing the
exploration of the primitive shape
of a bird is continued...

I used crayons & watercolor
for a resist, portions of poems
in my own handwriting,
hand-carved stamps,
black acrylic paint,
and both the positive and
negative portions of
my stencils.

Mini Collages

3"x5" collages on spiral bound index cards
using acrylic, pen, scrapbook papers,
cardstock stamped with
hand-carved stamps,
vintage music,
paper towel & watercolors.

Recipe for the New Year

Someone forwarded the following "Recipe" to me in an email. I do not know who the author is, and do not forward every story or plea that I receive. However, I found this an effective list of suggestions to keep a balanced perspective for the coming year...

A GREAT RECIPE...

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day, and while you walk, smile. It
is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about
what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My
purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that
is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan
salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues
of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead
invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a
college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument.
Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years,
will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends
will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I
am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings.
You'll be smiling before you know it.

Mail Art Postcard

A Mail Art postcard I am sending
to a friend in Kentucky...
mixed media including craft
acrylic paints, stamping with acrylic, junk-mail image of sunflowers, magazine clipping, and hand-carved stamps (the faces & green stamped design). I wonder what the mail carrier thinks about mail art...I suppose they are not surprised by much any more...anyway, hope it brings some joy to the people who see it...

Orange Journal Page

Here is a recently completed art journal page, resulting from the Make It Monday challenge on Go Make Something. Orange was the challenge...anything orange...the color of autumn, sunshine, goldfish, calendulas... The background is craft acrylic paint with ink drawing and hand-carved stamping added. The drawing is actually black ball-point pen.

Lisa Vollrath offered to feature an artist who participated in the GMS challenges in August, and I won! Thanks Lisa. I often need some help with inspiration to get some art started and GMS helps with that. My winning Gypsy ATC can be seen here ( in an older post).