Category : Art

423 posts

201502/11

What?? A clean work desk!!

Our little kitchen fire this weekend got me thinking about how quickly accidents happen and what a giant fire hazard I had going on at my work desk. I didn’t take a before photo…I really should have but I just dove in head first to cleaning. I got my main work area totally cleaned up and a good dent on the “standing workspace”.

Of course, whenever I get it cleared off it calls to me to create.

I completed journal page #2 in my new journal which I have nicknamed my Gypsy journal due to the title of the book. I didn’t like the spelling of it though so I changed it. My book, my rules.

I was a really good girl and cleaned up all of my materials when I was done with my journal page including washing up my glass paint palette which happens to be a vintage art deco style pickle & olive tray. I picked it up at Goodwill last week and only after cleaning the price sticker off did I notice that one handle was broke. I couldn’t take it back at that point so I decided to repurpose it. It works really quite nice having 3 different wells to work from. And it’s stylish too.

The cold wind howling outside made this journal page possible.

Art | Blog

art journal, Gypsy journal

1 Comment

halleday

201502/08

So go explore

I really couldn’t wait to starting using my newly prepped journal. I grabbed it an opened it randomly to a page and applied some gesso.

See…a very random selection. In fact, I don’t ever start from the front of a journal. Something about doing that intimidates me. It’s as if I feel like that first page is going to set the tone for the whole book. This is way less pressure.

The background may look familiar to some of you as I did a painting a while back using the same technique.

Once I got the background colors down and dried, I felt like writing. Not my usual thing but you have to go with it when it strikes.

” The road of our lives is paved with so many possibilities. Things unimaginable to us. We make choices. Turns. Detours. What is around the next corner? It could be a brick wall or it could be the greatest opportunity you will ever find. You will never know unless you put one foot in front of the other. Be open to new things, experiences and people. Not all of them will be good but they will shape you into a better person if you let them. Either by learning from your mistakes or by teaching you how incredible you were meant to be. So go explore….”

Wowsers…I usually don’t get deep with my journals but when the mood strikes I must give in and go with it.

I’m linking up with Inspire me Monday this week.

Art | Blog

art journal, Gypsy journal

1 Comment

halleday

201502/08

Tutorial: Journal prep of a vintage book

Since I was starting a new journal I thought I’d share with you my process for prepping the book. First find yourself an old book that appeals to you. For me it was the size of this book. Not too small or too big… Just call me Goldilocks. journal prep5

Look inside to see what kind of binding you have.

This inside cover gave me a really good indication that I had a sewn binding but I had to make sure.

Yep…sewn binding. Perfect! Now we’re ready for the thinning of pages without leaving chunks of torn pages along the inner spine. Removing pages reduces bulk since the altering of a book whether journal style or a themed altered book adds lots of bulk!

I find the center of each signature (as seen in the above photo) and remove the page from each side.Like this. I go back and carefully pick out all of the torn fragments. It will appear as if nothing has changed until you look at the page numbers. You’ll have a definite gap which would make reading the story a real challenge at this point.

I remove at least one page from each signature, sometimes more. You can always go back and remove more. journal prep7

Here you can see the gaps along the spine and how the book is more narrow going toward the outer edge. This is exactly what you want.

You have a nice stack of pages for your altering pleasure when you are done.

Art | Blog | Creativity | Tutorials

Altered book, Gypsy journal, journal, tutorial

1 Comment

halleday

201502/05

Inspired by Pinterest

As I’ve said many many times…I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. I’m often inspired by the images I see. I’m not one to completely copycat but tweak the design a little for my own use. Sometimes it’s color combos that make me run downstairs to create. Other times it’s the curve of a line, interesting texture or a simple splat of ink that has my mind whirling.

Before a stomach bug took me out of commission for a couple of days, I was inspired by this image and my new found ~~interest~~ obsession in weaving, to create this card.

Actually I made a couple cards since I had strips cut.

The cards in turn inspired me to create this journal page.

The Yogi tea tag was a serendipitous find in my stash.

Would you like to be inspired too? You could always

Art | Blog | Crafts

art journal, greeting card, Pinterest, polka dot journal

2 Comments

halleday

201502/01

Another Journal complete

I pried myself away from weaving long enough to create a decorative cover for my completed journal.

I’ve been calling this my white journal since the dust jacket was white.

Just painting the outside white seemed a little too boring for me especially when you look at all the lovely colors peeking out from the edge.

Wrinkled and wonky pages…love them!!

Art | Blog

art journal, journal, white journal

4 Comments

halleday

201501/22

Journal vs altered book

I found this simply wonderful book at a rummage sale last Fall. It had a tattered and faded dust jacket hiding the purple goodness underneath.I wish the color showed a little more true in the photo. You’ll just have to believe me on the luscious color.

I purchased this book since it had a sewn binding which makes for a much more stable book when altered.

Before I begin, I really want to make a decision about journal vs altered book. This could make a really fun medical theme book. Perhaps a little gruesome. Not sure. I need to think this through a little more.

Art | Blog | Creativity

Altered book, journal

3 Comments

halleday

201501/19

Roll with it

I discovered that using cardboard chunks as pages in my new journal has opened up a freedom in creativity that I hadn’t realized I was stifling.

I think perhaps it is due to the fact that if I totally stink it or wreck the page in some way…I can easily be trashed without ripping out pages.

Take this page for example. Is it my best most fantastic work? Nope. but I worked in a very intuitive way. Just letting it flow onto the page. Whatever struck my mood at the time. Refreshing my mind.