Mini Collages

Thoughts for the New Year

Still drinking from my Santa mug...and wondering

when I will find the energy to take down the

Christmas tree.  Every year we joke about making

it a Valentine tree...

Linking up with Elizabeth's Tea Tuesday party

and having some green tea.

Best wishes to all for a 

Happy and Prosperous New Year!

◘  ♦  ◘

TABS on T Tuesday

Tabs with my morning coffee today...

I like to try finding a topic that begins with 'T' for

the T Tuesday link-up party with Elizabeth and friends.

Thought I would share TABS

 on the edges of my art journal pages.

Tabs make me happy...

Most are made from scrapbook paper or 

watercolor paper, either rectangles or circles

punched out with a circle punch. Notice I sewed a

bit of burlap for the tab on the right. It is rather

bulky, but I like how it looks.  I've also used security

envelope liners, and watercolor paper with doodles

in paint and pen to make Tabs.

There are lots of options!

The Paper Clip as a tab: above, is a counted

cross-stitch design on Aida, that was cut out, glued to

the paper clip along with backing fabric, and 

the entire piece stiffened with white glue.

Another paper clip tab, with a knotted strip of

fabric.  You can also see the purchased paper clip

to the left that has an arrow image on it. I am not sure

if I bought it in the office supply aisle, 

or in scrapbook supplies.

Above, a rather large tab covered with

fabric scraps.  I guess I just wanted to include

the entire collage on this tab...

One of my favorite tabs: a scrap of lace that

I crocheted with beads sewn onto it.  The 

bugle beads and seed beads stick out over the

edge of the page. Not a substantial tab, but

adds a nice texture!

Tabs on cards or tags inside a pocket, make the

piece easier to pull out of the pocket.

A bit of fall color is showing up in my area

of Ohio...and here's one of the many

primitive pumpkins that appear around our

house this time of year.

Linking up with Elizabeth for T Tuesday.

Thanks for visiting!

Science Collages on Index Cards~ 2013

 Mini collages on index cards with

science illustrations from an old book,

and assorted ephemera...

I drew the sprig of flowers in the

upper right corner to repeat the 

motif in the pink scrapbook paper.

The pink flower on the lower right is

my own drawing with watercolor.

The illustration of the man is from a

vintage book that I bought at 

a library sale--a great resource!

More bits of ephemera: text, book illustration,

postage stamp, scrap of soda pop carton, drawings,

and brown paper with paint. It's fun to add the

pen-drawn 'shadows' around the edge of 

some of the shapes, and I have to resist the

urge to do it on every collage!

I am not sure where the Asian lady came from-

perhaps a collage pack?  This collage includes

yellow fabric across the center.

When I create a collage, I try to 'lead the eye'

from left to right across the surface of the

collage.  The viewer's eye can be directed

by the lines, placement of colors and shapes,

and even the edges and open spaces

within the collage.

I also try to repeat some of the colors,

shapes, or motifs within the collage.

Here, there is a repetition of rectangular shapes,

circular shapes, dots, and the color green.

Collages often look 'random,' but I

 put them together intuitively with the

balance of shapes and colors in mind. Above,

 there is a 'stair step' of shapes from the

 upper left down to the phrase 'Modern Life.'

The circular diagram and the tree motif 

on the right keep our eyes from 'falling

off the page' on the extreme right. Our eye

is guided back up into the text and we

can again look across the surface of the 

collage comfortably as many times as we like.

Contrasting unrelated or unexpected 

images gives a fun quality to the piece.

So glad you stopped by --

I hope you enjoyed your visit!  Your

comments are appreciated more than you know...

There are many more artists doing the

ICAD 2013 challenge. Visit Daisy Yellow,

or the Daisy Yellow Flickr Group

to see more great art on index cards!

Art Journal Pages

The Scrappy Green Journal is almost finished.

Showing a few more pages...

Elizabeth had placed the opera figures on the

left page with the blue and rust background,

and the colored bars with the numbers 

at the bottom. I added the pen work, the

strip of blue polka dot fabric, and the

Listerine ad.  Just couldn't resist...

The page on the right with the cartoon

is a flap that opens up

so I got to add images and writing beneath the flap too.

The '$1000 Beer' is courtesy of Elizabeth,

and it made me smile.

I also added the black & white striped 

fabric at the top, and a 'tab' of 

painted watercolor paper.

Here, Elizabeth had painted the left page with purple

and added the giraffe sticker.(which is also sparkly)

I added blue watercolor paint, stickers,

book and magazine images, and bits of

leftover papers. Those bathing beauties on 

the left are from a vintage book, describing them

as being arrested for indecency in those

'skimpy' bathing suits!

On the right, Elizabeth had sewn the green paper

with many zig-zag stitches, and the iris image.

I added the woman image and the building. (a flap)

Beneath the flap I created a 'found poem' 

from words gleaned in a book.

On the back side of the flap, I did a

mini collage with some pieces of the

'Collage fodder' page that I showed in

a previous post. Yes, I started 

cutting it up already. Only the first 

snip is the hardest.

This has been such a fun journey...

alas, there is just one more page to go,

as seen above. Not only was the

journal a generous gift, but has

'kept on giving' as they say, through many

hours of wonderful art-collage-fun!

Thank you dear E.

Index Card A Day (ICAD) Update

"Ticket"

mixed media collage

"Color Burst"

watercolor and Sharpie pen

"Crazy Cake"

Sharpie pen and watercolor

"Smile"

Sharpie pen

"Pink Lady"

mixed media collage

"Silhouettes"

Sharpie pen, scrapbook paper, ribbon

"Antiques"

in Sharpie pen...

I should have taken photos too, but

failed to do so.  Sketch of the many

vintage things to be found in an

antique mall.

Index Card A Day (ICAD)

"Movement"

watercolor and Sharpie pen

(above)

"Three Children"

collage with fabric and painted paper

(above)

"Broken Heart 2"

collage with painted papers

(above)

"Zebra Pen"

drawn in ball point pen &

with Sharpie marker

(above)

"Broken Heart 1"

collage with painted & stamped papers

(above)

"Questions"

watercolor and assorted papers

(below)

Make an appointment with yourself

to be creative every day!

Mini Collage

Mini-Collage on spiral index card:
watercolor & acrylic paints,
hand-carved stamp
and paint splatters.

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.