Category : Art

423 posts

New junk journal

I can hardly believe it but I’m posting something other than T Tuesday. It’s been a while. I’ve been in a creative slump. Not sure how it happened but never the less it did.

I’ve sat down a couple of times trying to force creativity.

Don’t do it. It’s ugly.

What I did finally decide that I’d like to create was a place to create. A junk journal. I’m sure you’re thinking…hey wait…didn’t she just make one of those. Yep sure did. But that one is for bits of my life, more personal.

This one is for the creative process. Whether that may be art journaling, responding to a prompt or a challenge.

I loved this calendar ephemera my BFF sent in a package. She knew I’d love it as much as the actual gift she sent.

I used some rusted fabric on the inside of the softcover.

The outside is watercolor paper that had been painted and whitewash some time ago. I found it in my stash and knew it would make a nice flexible cover.

I decided to use a 5 hole pamphlet stitch this time instead of my usual go-to of three hole stitch.

This journal has a wide variety of papers that should prove to be a good and challenging launching point for the creative process.

I’m considering joining another junk journal challenge on Instagram as I did in July. I need to decide soon otherwise I might be too far behind.

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T Tuesday: junk journal and more edition

Last Tuesday had me very introspective with my post. Throwing the words down and wading through them really helped me through what I was feeling. Your comments were also inspiring…so thank you for that!

Mindset

At school, we often talk about growth vs fixed mindset. I think perhaps those lessons are rubbing off on me as well. Setting goals, developing a plan and not giving up when life throws a curveball. Honestly, these are things I have done in the past but I didn’t think critically about them until now.

So last week I talked myself through making a plan to set aside time to create. Guess what?  I did!

I had the bones of this junk journal project set aside…I just needed the time, drive and a few little tidbits to make it happen. Now that it’s done…I love it.  I’m planning to use it for bits and piece from everyday life, quotes, thoughts, etc.  I want to do a flip through at some point. What I really need to do is figure out YouTube and publish videos there and embed them in my posts. I think it would honestly be easier than the way I’ve been doing it.

In addition to making this junk journal, we had a flurry of activity on Saturday. Mini-me and I went to a local church rummage sale for bag day as we try to do each year. We spent a total of $16.50. Mini-me filled one reusable grocery bag mostly with clothes…$4. I filled one with clothes, craft supplies, and potential Halloween costumes…$4. The third bag was filled with books…$4.  In addition, we bought one super old arithmetic primer…$1 and a print for Mini-me’s room….$3.50

I only took photos of my lovely new crafty items. Look at that amazing box of trims!!

Saturday evening Mr. G’s brother messaged him saying that he was playing a gig in our neck of the woods. We quickly grabbed our things and headed out to hear him play the mandolin with the Roe Family Singers. It was a lovely but slightly chilly evening sitting on hay bales enjoying some bluegrass music.

Their aging corgi, Daisey, even made the trip. A good time was had by all.

We invited them back to our house after where I whipped together a few snacks and drinks since we haven’t seen them in a while. Sometimes the unplanned things are the most fun things!!

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: art class edition

What a quick week! I have no idea where it went or how it flew by so incredibly fast other than school, school and more school.

Today’s post actually does tie into school. I’m supporting a handful of students in a required Intro to Art class this semester. I’m finding the class very informative. Putting words to the techniques I’ve self-taught over the last decade or so.  Such as the elements and principles of art….the actually words and definitions behind drawing technique. The students in the class are creating a Zentangle in which they need to show the 13 elements and principles of art. It made me go back and look at the one larger scale Zentangle I created years ago to see if I could pick out these key components.

I’m not sure I hit all 13 in this Zentangle. It’s funny because I created this in 2006…this page is officially older than the children in that class. :)

Today I was able to play around with watercolor pencils.

Again…so much fun. I was able to work alongside one of my students as they wanted to practice their technique.

I’m having some ice water while I write this post. The temperature and humidity have ramped back up around here as you can see by the condensation on my glass.

It was much nicer over the weekend when Mini-me and a few choir friends sang the national anthem at the boy’s varsity soccer game on Saturday evening. 

They sang from the booth…not on the field. So proud of those girls!

ME…I’m still sewing when I can…I’m trying to get caught up on some household chores that have been piling up…emhem…laundry.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: randomness abounds edition

I’m not going to lie…this post might just give you motion sickness from how all over the place it will be.

I guess we’ll go with chronological. Mr. G was tasked with creating some trophies that he’d 3D print at work for the company go-kart racing day. He said I could paint them up so we got to go shopping at the craft store!

These were printed on a resin printer so they are quite smooth and would take spray paint really well.

They turned out pretty darn cool if you ask me.

I got this in the mail from my friend, Sandy.  When we were at the cabin in Idaho, we had a few drinks and she said…gosh I better quit cause I’m slurring. To which I said…You’re not slurring, you’re speaking in cursive! 

On Friday we loaded up the van to bring J to college for his second year. Mr. G picked up the horrible virus mini-me and I brought back from our trip…likely from the airplane. He was completely out of commission for nearly 4 days so Mini-me came with to help out and be my home travel companion.

Since we were in Duluth with no boys after setting J up at his apartment…we did what we love…look for seaglass.

We found a very small amount of very tiny glass. It was still fun but bigger pieces are definitely more fun.

I sat down to do a bit of art journaling yesterday. I was really feeling the need to play with paper, paint, and glue. I’m not in love with this page but it certainly felt good to play.

Today was yet another step back to the reality that summer is nearly done. I had a work meeting. It was nice to see all those faces again. After my meeting I ran to the grocery store…

Had my name tag on the whole time…duh. No wonder people kept looking at me somewhat oddly.

 

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: JJJ part 5 edition

Typically I have this post up long before now. I was suffering from a migraine yesterday and wasn’t able to get much accomplished after the onset. So here we are late for the party or the after-party that is. T stands for Tuesday just celebrated its 6th anniversary. I raise my glass of water… “cheers”.

Without further ado, I’ll dive right into JJJ show and tell.

Day 14: postcard

I used washi tape to add a fold-out with this postcard. I cannot remember where I picked it up but I loved the colors and image so much I wasn’t able to send it out to anyone.

I used the back of the postcard to journal about the card.

I also couldn’t choose between vintage or modern so I added a glassine bag for a vintage card from my collection.

I decided on this one because it was sent to Walnut Grove, MN. A nod to one of my favorite shows when I was growing up. I read a few of the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every single episode of Little House on the Prairie at least twice.

Day 15: Lyrics

This one was hard for me…don’t get me wrong…I can sing along with pretty much any song out there but thinking about lyrics…ugh. Not my thing. I decided on You are my Sunshine because my mom used to sing it to me.

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Day 16: sketch

Kinda fun right?!?

This is how I made the watermark for all my photos on the blog.

Day 17: mail theme

I used a mish-mash of current and vintage for this one.

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Day 18: hidden

I used a tag in a pocket to go with the theme here…I also expanded on the theme by adhering a photo of just my eye to the tag as well. I don’t often share my image online unless you know where to look. Yes, it’s out there but I’m definitely not the selfie queen. 

Day 19: stamps

The day before this prompt I’d been cleaning purging in my art space and found a small tin of old postage stamps. It was the perfect fodder for this prompt. 

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I have one more set of pages but I think that’s all I can muster for today.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: JJJ part 4 edition

I have taken the liberty of shortening #junkjournaljuly to JJJ for the sake of my blog and my annoyance of typing the hashtag with all lowercase letters over and over…hope that’s alright with you.

I do have to tell you what a great time with this challenge and it’s keeping me creating each day. I’m not working ahead even though it would make sense some days.

Day 8: minimalist

I struggled with this prompt. First I attempted to cover the original page with tissue and colorize it with distress paint. It was a complete disaster. After walking away for a bit I decided to use the back side if some textured wallpaper…or at least I think it’s wallpaper. Next, I grabbed a tiny souvenir postcard which went perfectly with the Tim Holtz word sticker I found. That’s as minimalist as I can do.

Day 9: favorite quote

I have used this quote in several projects over the years. It really holds true…and is always a good reminder for me. There were a lot of tears when I made the decision to return to the workforce after being home with my kids for 17.5 years. The tears were real some days thinking of all the change. Now I look back and think that it really was the perfect time to return to work. And guess what?!?! I love my job.

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Day 10: handwriting

I decided this one should remain fairly simple with my handwriting being the focus.

Day 11: unconventional

This is another quote that I absolutely love…and it is a very unconventional thought.

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Day 12: washi galore

 

I decided to use a selection of some of my current favorite washi tapes on this page.

Day 13: elements

It may be summer but my head was still in the classroom when it came to this prompt. How else could a science nerd take that prompt?!?

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Here in Minnesota, we are currently in the grip of a brutally hot and humid stretch of weather. Watering the garden twice daily from my rain barrels is completely necessary. I’m “watering” myself with a bit of local brew as well. 

Not too shabby.

I harvested the first of the green beans today…take that you thieving deer… We ate them before I even thought to take a picture.

This week has me driving Mini-me back and forth to work each day…her Jeep is out of commission for the week until Mr. G can get the part and install it.  So thankful for his previous profession and that this didn’t happen when he was traveling for work in his new profession because we wouldn’t have known it was critical that it not be driven…yikes!

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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Junk Journal July part 3

So far so good with #junkjournaljuly. I’ve been keeping up each day. I was only late in posting once on my Instagram. I call that a win!

In previous posts, I shared the concept and prompts list as well as days 1-5. So I guess that makes this post part 3.

I knew I needed to add a couple of pages to make this journal last the full 31 days of July.  The page was quite flimsy so when I found a greeting card that I liked it seemed the perfect thing to glue straight down to add stability to the page.

I also wanted to add the list of prompts somewhere. This blank white page was the perfect canvas. I dug out my typewriter and crossed my fingers that the ribbon still had some ink.

The ribbon was decent but there was something else funky with the carriage. I had to really fuss with it each line. As you can see some lines I was more successful than others. Oh well…that’s what makes it eclectic and unique.

Day 6: Note to self

Fairly self-explanatory. I ended up covering the entire card on this one since it was pretty boring white.

Day 7: Florals

I covered the top of this page with a vintage look floral paper. I added a calendar cut out stamped with the date in proper placement.  Next, I stamped flowers with Staz-on ink. I loosely watercolored the blossoms with my used but new to me watercolor set. This really helped set the calendar back into the page. The words felt perfect.

This is what the fold out looks like both open.

I know I’ll definitely need to make another fold out perhaps two since I am still a few pages shy of completion with the journal.

 

I could have used the front of the card but those bunnies were just too darn cute.

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