• Art - Blog - Creativity

    AJJ: Lilac

    July 9, 2025 - By 

    Today’s journal page for my theme of Botanicals was inspired by the Tim Holtz lilac card. I’m a huge fan of lilacs. They have a very old fashioned feel to me.  I have to admit though that purple is kind of out of my comfort zone when it comes to creating.

    I cut a piece of scrapbook paper to my desired size of 7×10 inches to fit the converted planner journal I’m using. Next I pulled pieces that I felt would coordinate well in my collage. The scrapbook paper ended up being more of a frame for the main collage.

    Layers and more layers is the name of the game lately. Keeping them all straight and adhered in the right order is the tricky part.

    It seems no collage is done without a bit of extra texture from a fabric, lace or trims me me as of late.

    I Hope you’ll play along and create a journal page for my theme of Botanicals and link up over at Art Journal Journey this month!

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    AJJ: Teal and Yellow

    July 4, 2025 - By 

    Todays page was inspired by the central “postcard” size image. I had the bit of leaves running up one side and the teal color. It got my mind working. As usual I began pulling out pieces that I thought might work on a page.

    I happened to have some cutoffs of scrapbook paper that I felt would coordinate really well. I cut a piece of scrap paper the appropriate size for the journal I am using to hold all of my loose leaf style journal pages. It happens to be the same one I used last year.

    I love working loose leaf style because then I am not limited by the book I am creating within. However, that can create a whole different challenge and spark more creative energy.

    I’ve always loved teal and yellow together so this Tim Holtz rose fit the bill. At this point, I added the lace down the edge and felt as if I was done. I even started taking photos for this post. Then as I looked at it more…something was missing.

    I brought the page to my sewing machine to add a bit more texture which I loved…and that inspired me to add the bit of fabric salvage and buttons. Finally, I was happy with my page.

    I hope you stop by Art Journal Journey and check out the other participants pages for my theme of Botanicals this month.

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    AJJ: Waltz of the Flowers

    July 1, 2025 - By 

    I’m pleased to be asked to host Art Journal Journey for a fourth time.  It’s always easier for me to do a challenge during the summer months while school is out.

    Since its summertime here in Minnesota, that means I’ll be enjoying the great outdoors as much as possible. I love puttering in the garden, getting my hands dirty. I’m especially fond of flowers so I thought the perfect theme would be Botanicals. The theme is pretty broad…from beautiful vintage images to wonky sketches, stamped images to stickers…as long as it relates to plants, it’s fair game. Are you in?

    This first page in the series was inspired by the vintage sheet music I found in my stash. Then I started pulling items that I felt might work on a page. This is my general process when working with a theme.

    The vintage wallpaper strip piece set the color scheme…all that was left was to pull pieces that would coordinate.

    I knew I had printed one of my digital creations that would fit the bill. It was absolutely the perfect color.  I really love creating in Photoshop. That is for sure going on my summer list of things I want to do.

    After all the layers of paper I knew it needed just a little something more. This piece of tatted lace was exactly the right length. I love it when things work out like that.

    I hope you’ll play along with my challenge and post your link over at Art Journal Journey!