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.

Swap Pages

Here are swap pages that I received

from Rikae. I had requested colors

in red, pink, and yellow...

They are simply beautiful!

The paper beads surrounding this 

page are so happy and colorful.

Live, Love, Laugh...

butterflies for transformation...

and most have figured out by now

that I am a fan of almost any type of fabric.

This is a wonderful combination of

color and texture.

Thank you Rikae!

May you and your beloved

receive healing, hope, peace,

and blessings...

Collage Fodder

I decided I needed some new painted papers

for collage.  I did some shapes, patterns

and doodles in watercolors.

When the watercolors had dried,

I added some stamping, outlining,

doodling and drawing.  These will

probably be cut or torn into pieces

and used in collages.

Sometimes it's hard to make the first

tear or cut, but after that it's ok.  I do

like it as it is, but it is destined to be 

torn to bits as the need arises.  Usually

 I tear off each piece as I need it so

I can gauge what will make a nice contrast.

Have a colorful day!

Mixed Media Greeting

Happy Halloween!

Art Journal Pages

More pages from the 

Scrappy Green Journal.

Above, drawing and collage.

The flap with writing opens up

to reveal the drawing of a face.

The notes about drawing a face

tell how I approach the process.

On the left, 'found poetry' from

a book about art of the early middle ages.

Click on any image for

a closer view.

This Scrappy Green Journal was a 

gift from Elizabeth. She sewed two signatures

of pages into a book with a green fabric cover.

The pages are a wonderful assortment

of scrap papers and recycled images.

Flaps and pockets abound.

The yellow Post-It note was a flap,

so naturally I had to add images underneath it.

Quotes and doodles...

Paper and fabric scraps...

The ice cafe package is sewn on

to make a little pocket

that holds a tag.

Notes on 'shading' are written on

a piece of paper from a

vintage-style popcorn bag,

which I glued onto the page, 

along with the fabric scraps.

It has been a lovely journey in this book...

and an incredibly generous gift from

Elizabeth. Only about 5 more pages

are left to go, which is sad in a way.

But I have many more journals

so there will be no lack of opportunity

to keep making art! 

I have signed up for 

Mary Ann Moss' on-line class

"Full Tilt Boogie," so be looking

for the results of my 'studies' here...

I am going to be making more journals

and plan to reveal them here!

What is your favorite  journal?

Did you make it or purchase it, and what

 do you put in it?  I love to receive comments,

so share your insights!

Have a colorful day...

Color Inspires Me

A quilted art journal cover

made similar to Teesha Moore's technique~

making little 'pillows' and then sewing

them together in an

unplanned composition. 

You can see video of Teesha's

 Fabric Journal Workshop here.

As a traditional quilter, it was hard to

avoid carefully planning it all out,

especially the crazy haphazard non-matchy

stitching to connect the pillows together.

But I do like the colors and the beads

and the texture of the quilting...

Click on any image to see more detail.

The back of the cover is one piece, and I 

just started quilting with the contrasting

colors of floss in circular patterns, 

without marking the pattern ahead of time.

I will put watercolor pages inside, probably

one or two signatures with a pamphlet stitch binding.

Above, a collage in my 9" x 12" art journal.

I am trying to use up scraps I've saved. 

I generally don't use magazine images,

but the intricate scroll work in this gate

was just too good to pass up.

Acrylic on cardstock, collage & magazine images,

white gel pen on black cardstock.

Have a colorful day!

Art Journal Pages

Art Journal pages 

in the 9" x 12" journal.

Above, background of craft acrylics,

phone book pages and

gesso, with watercolor drawing

added last.
Click on any image to
view enlargement.

Above: Random magazine clippings,

painted papers, a map

and collage images combined

to create this page.

Above: The word 'signs' came first.

It was from a poster that I had made

for a talk that I gave.  I tried to think

of as many phrases as I could

with that word in it ...

Craft acrylic background, scrapbook papers,

phone book clippings, watercolor and 

acrylic painted papers, and 

Sharpie pen.  

What signs do you look for?

Pink, Red and Yellow

Pages in my little pink journal, above:

gesso, craft acrylic paint, Sharpie pen,

and hot pink gel pen on pink paper.

(Click on the image for a larger view)

Beautiful pages received from Jan

at Dandelionanddaisy

for the Color Swap.

The colors I chose were red, pink,

and yellow.  Lovely interpretation!

Relief prints have a unique look

that I love,

and the paintings and collages

are full of texture.

Another great print on the tag,

this one in several colors.

Thank you Jan!

Color Swap

Color swap pages for Jan at

Dandelion and Daisy.

The colors she chose were

pink and orange.

Couldn't resist using my stash of

fabrics, and embellishing them

with embroidery for texture.

Photo images are from a 

collage sheet. (unknown source)

 Dresden plate quilt pieces

showed up on this page...

I enjoy the combination of 

fabric and paper, and stitching

through both. Some of the stitching

is drawn on in Sharpie pen.

The tag for the pocket 

used a tag from the office supply store

painted and collaged.

Sharpie pen 'stitching'

around the edges.

I hope your day 

is filled with color!

Collage and Quotes

I realized that my desire to 

fill my journal with complex

two-page spreads was

leaving my art journal a bit empty.

So I've been working backwards

in the journal and doing quick collages

and quotes on the back side

of some of the pages.

You may remember the monsters

from the Index Card a Day challenge...

I thought of them when I wrote down

this quote and glued the card 

into my art journal.

A piece of art made years ago

when I was trying out 

rubber stamping as a medium.

There are lots of drawings 

and doodles too...

This was torn from a drawing pad/sketchbook

and collaged into my journal.