Just checking

I've been away from my blog for a long time and just wanted to check to see if this works.  Wish me luck!

2014 Journal52 - Week 34 - Alphabetical

The prompt for week 34 for Journal52 was Alphabetical. I started out adhering a river of thick letters to my page and covered the whole page with gesso. It didn't look like a river to me so I decided to make the Alphabet Fairy! I drew the head and neck on another piece of paper and drew the face and coloured it and cut it out. Then I added some doll hair to the head. I drew in the dress around all the letters and then drew the wings and arms and hands. I painted the dress and letters green and felt that the letters didn't show up enough so I painted the letters with gold metallic paint. Then I adhered the head onto the top of the dress. I painted the background yellow and added some swirls in red. I drew in a wand and a box of letters for the Alphabet Fairy to hold in her hands.
She sure is whimsical! *L*

2014 Journal52 - Week 33 - Gratitude

Week 33 for Journal52 was about Gratitude. I am very thankful for many things in my life.
I first covered the page with some hearts that I cut out from post-it notes to use as masks. Then I used Dylusions spray inks to cover the page. I removed the heart masks and added some muted coloured stamping in the background. I wanted my page to depict joy so I drew some stick figures jumping for joy in the hearts. They make me laugh! I stamped pictures in the other two hearts.  I made a large heart from a paper I had made with more spray inks. I wrote on the big heart and cut it out and popped it up on the page with pop dots. I drew around the other hearts with watercolour crayons and painted them.
The sentiment is something that I try to do every day.  :)

2014 Journal52 - Week 32 - Favourite Foods

The prompt for week 32 for Journal52 was Favourite Foods. I love the Fall when it is harvest time and all the fresh vegetables are so delicious.
I had fun with the background on this page. I painted it to look like a corn field and then did some stenciling, stamping. doodling, and shading with ink. I wrote the title on a separate piece of paper and then coloured it and adhered it to the page. I stamped the girl and coloured her with pan pastels. The corn and beans were pictures from grocery ads. I then added some washi tape.
It makes me hungry just looking at this page! LOL

2014 Journal52 - Week 31 - Friendship

This week's prompt in Journal52 was Friendship. I did the background on this two page spread on the gelli plate and I made the circles with a round sponge. I drew the girls and the banners on an old calendar and coloured them with markers. I cut them out and adhered them to the page. I drew in the hearts and did some stamping in the background.
I am thankful for my friends. :D Tell your friends how much they mean to you.

2014 Journal52 - Week 30 - Positive Words

The prompt for week 30 was Positive Words. I made a tag to go into a pocket in my Happiness File Folder Journal. I sectioned off the tag and then wrote the words and drew the zentangle patterns with a black fine line marker. I got my inspiration for the zentangles from a book called Zenspirations by Joanne Fink. Then I added some colour with markers.
Have a positive day!
I always appreciate hearing from you. :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 29 - Fashion

The prompt for week 29 was Fashion. This is my attempt at a fashion drawing. After I drew the picture I painted it with acrylic paints, drew over some areas with a black marker and added some flowers and bling to the top of the dress and some bling in the background. This was fun and a real learning experience. I'll have to keep practicing.
Take care and as always, I appreciate hearing from you!  :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 28 - Technology

The prompt for week 28 of Journal52 was Technology. I started by collaging the whole page with a map page from an atlas. Then I did some painting over the map and sponged some inks through a gears stencil. I did some background stamping and added a stamp of the world. Then I added a picture that I had found in the newspaper that week as well as the title of the article. I collaged the heart onto the picture and printed the sentiment with a marker. I then added some shadows with markers.
Click on the picture to see it closer and see if you can find the map page in the background. :D
Technology sure has changed out lives.
I always appreciate hearing from you.

2014 Journal52 - Week 27 - Nostalgia

This is a two page spread that I did at a workshop with Ania Dabrowska aka Finnabair. The workshop was at The Art House Studio in Cambridge.
Here's a close-up of the first page.

This is a picture of me sitting under a table. This was my favourite spot to watch TV when I was growing up. I now have that table from my parents' house. And no.....I no longer sit there to watch TV! *LOL*  The background of the page has a lot of texture from using heavy gel medium through stencils. We also added patterned papers, spray inks, stamping and embellishments.

Here is the second page close-up.

This is a picture of me as a teenager sitting at the top of the Appalachian Mountains where we were visiting. It was fun to look back at old photos.
When is the last time that you took a step back in time and got nostalgic? Good memories. :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 26 - Under the Sea

I had a lot of fun making this scene for week 26 in Journal52. The prompt was "Under the Sea". I used a page in a tall journal that had been gessoed and had leftover acrylic paint on it. It seemed very suitable for water so I used that page.
I drew the fish and coloured them with pencil crayons and then cut them out and glued them to the page. I drew, coloured and cut out the anchor and the rocks the same way. I used some deli paper that I had painted for the tall grasses, cutting it in long, thin strips. I drew and stamped some underwater greenery on the background. I added some bubbles with a white gel pen.
I wonder what those fish are thinking? *LOL*
I hope you have this much fun with your next page. :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 25 - Nature

The prompt for week 25 in Journal52 was "Nature". I did a collage for this page. The background paper was recycled from paper that was wrapped around some flowers that I had received. The frame and banners were cut from patterned paper. The flowers were drawn on scrap paper and book pages and then coloured with watercolour crayons and cut out and collaged onto the background. The bugs were stamped and cut out and added to the scene. Then I added some texture stamping with silver metallic ink. Thanks for looking.
Take care! :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 24 - Courage

The prompt for week 24 in Journal52 was "Courage". It made me remember my own struggle years ago. I used some spackle scraped through a brick stencil for the bricks over a painted background. I painted over the bricks and between the bricks. I did hand lettering for most of the words and used letter stamps for the words courage and walls. I added a bit of stamping in the background and doodled around the edges.
We all show courage many times in our lives. Be brave!
Take care! :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 23 - Passion

For this page I took my inspiration from a journal page done by Kasia Krzyminska.  I gessoed the page and then added dimension by scraping joint compound through a stencil. When that was dry I drew in my flowers. I coloured some of the background with spray inks that I painted on instead of spraying. I then added some random stamping, writing, and bits of paper. Then I sponged some ink on the edges and some through a stencil. You can see more detail if you click on the picture to get a closer view.
This page is covered in texture and fun to touch.
What are you passions in life? :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 22 - Travel

The prompt for week 22 was Travel. We were to do a page that showed one of the ways we like to travel. I looked in my paper stash and I found an old piece of patterned paper that looked like an outdoor scene so I used it for the background. I stamped, coloured and cut out several trees and glued them down. I stamped the Stampin' Up camper from the stamp set Happy Camper and I enlarged it on my printer. I coloured it with pencil crayons and cut it out and adhered it to the background.Then I added some doodling, colouring, stamping and journaling to complete the page.
What is your favourite way to travel? Have fun doing an art journal page about it.
Take care and have a great day! :D

2014 Journal52 - Week 21 - Mandala

The theme for week 21 was to draw a mandala. I really like this shiny, colourful mandala that I had done 3 years ago and posted it on this blog on Nov. 23, 2011, so I used it for week 21.
I drew the circle by very lightly tracing around an apple corer/slicer and traced the sections as well. This was the base for the drawing. Then I tangled the sections with coloured gel pens and did some shading with coloured pencils. I put one gem in the middle of the mandala. If you click the picture you can see a closer view.
Thanks for stopping by. :D