Travel on T Tuesday

Smash book pages recently created

in my Eco Green Smash book...

the pumpkin theme continues!

Above, some ideas that I drew for

Halloween Artist Trading Cards.

Loved the adorable goofy pumpkins 

on the scrapbook paper I bought!

I exchanged an ATC with Dawn over 

at Everyday Memories with Project Life.

Love the colors, the zentangles,

and the cute ribbon~

Thanks Dawn!

I taped her atc into the book with 

decorative tape...

and underneath the atc I drew a Harvest Moon.

My Travel for the week was a quick trip

to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky where we met our

son and his family.  Had a great time,

even though it rained every day. We were

very thankful that we 'camped' in a cabin

and not a tent...you CAN

 roast marshmallows in a drizzling rain!

I like to sketch scenes along the roadside

while we drive.  These mystery plants that had

been frosted had marvelous brown 'heads' and

an almost glowing lime-green stem.  Perhaps they

were little sunflowers? I am not sure, but we

only saw them on a short stretch of highway.

Had fun sketching the corn field too...

Bits of songs and silly conversations,

and radio chatter...life can be a bit random,

don't you think?!  And when the grand kids

are not in the car, I have to be the one to

ask, "Are we there yet?"

On our way home, the fall foliage was rather

obscured by the cloudy day and rain, but

I still enjoyed the autumn colors.

Having my mocha coffee this morning

in my panda mug, which is getting more chipped

over time, but I can't bear to retire it!

Hope you will enjoy some tea or coffee today,

some color~ or some pumpkin!

Linking up with Elizabeth for T Tuesday...

Drawing ~ Documented Life Project

The Documented Life Project:

Week 13. Have someone draw 

on your page.  Finish it.

I didn't strictly have mom draw directly

on my page. This is a copy of a fashion

drawing that she did around 1950 or so.

(Below) She drew with pencil, then

inked with a dip pen and India ink.

I had a copy made on card stock, 

then watercolored it and added the

quote by CoCo Chanel.

Don't you love her drawing?

Thanks Mom!

Week 14.  Write your name. Decorate.

I was inspired by graffiti on railroad cars.

(Below) Sketched in pencil, then

Sharpie pen, then watercolors.

I am having so much fun doing art journals

that not much is getting done around the 

house. But a person has to have priorities...

Above, a page in my Eco Green Smash Book.

When I find bits of art projects that I am 

not sure what to do with, it has been ending

up in the Smash book...if I can make it fit!

Hope you will find time to make 

some art today!

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!

Art Journal Pages

Recycled ice cream cone image

from one of my posters used in a 

weight-loss meeting.  Too fun to waste...

The quote is from Pinterest, and it

made me smile.

The 'shading' around the page border

was done with watercolor crayons.

It goes on like a crayon, and then you apply

water to soften the shading. My Sharpie

pen did not want to write on the surface

of the watercolor crayon!

The rose is a sketch on the back of a

restaurant placemat.  I tore around the 

ball point pen image, and then added watercolors.

It's pasted into my green Eco Smash Journal.

This tree logo is from a paper bag.

The store is Aldi's, a discount grocery store.

I really liked the curlicue branches, so

into the Smash Journal it went.

The sketch above is how I would like

my studio/craft room to look! In actuality it's

mostly a pile of plastic storage boxes, baskets

and one bookcase at the moment...

and has to double as a spare bedroom

when my children and grandchildren 

come to stay.

I am a list maker.  It doesn't 

necessarily make me more organized,

but it helps get ideas down so they 

don't disappear...as long as I don't

lose the list, that is!

Coffee and Collage: T is for Tuesday

Sketches and collage in my

Green Eco Smash book:

A very plain mug - I think it was

a cream color - along with scissors

and a paint brush.

Stop by Elizabeth's blog

whose 'T is for Tuesday' challenge

I am linking  this week.

While most of the participants have shared photos

of their beverage container, I remembered this 

drawing (above) and decided to go with it.

The facing page of the spread, (above)

reveals a bit of a whine...

have you been subjected to video game

sounds in a waiting room?  I very nearly

asked the person to turn them off, but no one

else seemed to be bothered, so I just prayed

the offender would be called into the office 

quickly.  I really despise that 'plunking' sound

every time the screen is touched. I wrote my

reaction down on a scrap of paper, knowing

I would put it in an art journal. The 

Jerry Seinfeld quote just seemed to fit...

ACTING on ideas makes Art.

Don't think so much, just DO.

The pre-printed background in

the Eco Smash journal has this phrase

printed in white: "Ideas are a little like

Magic Beans; they can grow us skyward."

This spread features magic marker drawings

and lettering cut from posters I've done for

illustrated talks.  They seemed to have

 too much possibility to throw away.

'T' is for Tuesday,

'C' is for coffee and collage...

what letter are you working on today?

Culture is when...

"Culture is when 

your mom drags you to the

art museum." -- my son, around age 10.

 Right, above- The Insect Chorus, 1917 by

Charles Burchfield, clipped from an old

Vogue magazine. An interesting article

about his work is here.  The swirls of trees

and nature look so modern for 1917...

I should be doing laundry, dishes, 

or cleaning house.  Instead, I am

pasting bits into my

green eco Smash Book.

What will you cut, paste, 

or draw today?

Random Smash Book Pages

I love this quote:

"What's so Super about

super models?  They are only 

skinny girls with big hair and

poofy lips."  -- Edna~ The Incredibles

Page in the green eco Smash journal.

My husband and I got complimentary

tickets to an arena football game.

As you can see from the sketch above,

I wasn't all that interested in the game,

but managed a sketch of the team logo

and the quarterback...glued one of the

tickets and the sketch into the green eco journal.

Elizabeth, of the Altered Book Lover blog,

has posted an interview with me today.
 (Sunday 5.26.13) Thanks for the honor

Elizabeth! 

I hope you will stop by.  Her blog is a terrific
combination of art, gardening, experiments
and information.  She tries new things and
evaluates the process. A great place to learn stuff!

Do have a wonderful weekend...

in the U.S. we are observing Memorial Day.

"The home of the free

because of the brave."

Notes About My Days~ Art Journal

 I filled the blue Smash Book that I was

working in, and started a new Green Eco

Smash Book.  Most of the backgrounds 

have something to do with nature. 

I mainly bought it because it was on sale--

a steal at $4.00!

Above, a drawing in Sharpie pen with

watercolor added.

Drawings of some of the vintage bottles 

left over from the wedding decor, along

with some quotes and notes. I like

the pre-printed background on these

pages of the Smash Book.

This page, above, includes an excerpt from

a book I was reading, some doodles,

painted trees, and a list of memory

boosting foods- which I definitely need!

I was having a good day on April 15,

until I heard about the Boston bombings...

 

 More notes about how I spent a day

with my family

at a Maple Syrup Festival

 ...a fun time,

and a beautiful day.

Something about Amish buggies makes

me smile, though I do wonder how many

close calls they have competing with

cars for roadway space!

Many times I don't put a specific date on

a journal page, just my signature and the year.

However, I am thinking it's time to change

that and date my pages. (Even though I don't

work on the pages in chronological order- I

often 'skip around') Do you always date

your pages or your art work?

What is a Smash Book?

Art deco inspired watercolor in Smash Book

 A Smash Book is the brand name

for a spiral bound scrapbook with

patterned card stock pages by 

K & C Company.  It's an outgrowth of

the scrapbooking phenomenon, but targeted

to people who don't have time to do a 

complicated lay-out.  The pages already

have background patterns, and you can 

glue in photos, ticket stubs, mail, or any

ephemera from your day.

I choose to use mine as an art journal,

to make collages or sketches, or whatever

I feel like making that day.

I have seen a number of artists creating

their own hand-made 'smash books' with

assorted papers.  I have several that I've made,

and am enjoying them very much. Sometimes

I 'respond' to the background of the page,

and sometimes I cover it up completely!

Basically, we artists make book art from

whatever we want to...

Above, a page in a journal that I hand-made

when I signed up for Mary Ann Moss'

Full Tilt Boogie class. (I highly recommend it)

Above, a page from the Scrappy Journal

that Elizabeth made for me. Her construction

is machine sewn onto the fabric cover. She

used a wonderful array of paper and

packaging scraps with just enough blank

space to add art work. It is one of my 

favorite art journals!

When I refer to my Smash Book, I am 

actually referring to the brand name book I

ordered on Amazon, (I am seeing them

 in some of our discount stores now too) 

which I use as a visual art journal. 

 I have noticed however, that

the term is becoming rather like "Coke."  

Often people will refer to Coke when they are

talking about any cola beverage, not just that

brand name.  And often the term 'Art Journal' refers

to any number of type of books: a travel journal, 

a smash book, a sketchbook, a garden

 or nature journal...you get the idea.

The definition of some things are rather 

fluid, especially for artists!

Spread in the Scrappy Journal

 What do you call your journal?