Journal Pages ... Birds

Journal Pages...Dresses

I found a dress form in a magazine. It was an advertisement for fabric and I fell in love with the various shapes and possibilities of creating dresses from my journal pages. This dress is made from a page out of my Big Juicy Journal.  I used ink and my craft paints to add color to the background. I used lots of gesso for the white circles. The circles where made with an empty toilet paper roll. I have this technique of  mixing the paint on a palate (usually wax paper) and dipping the paper roll in the paint and leaving the circle impression multiple times all over the page. I love the way the colors blend together. It it usually dries differently than it looks wet...so there is this element of surprise.

Journal Pages ... Words

Journal Pages...Shapes

Journal Pages...Pattern

I love the play with pattern in my journal. 

Sometimes I don't have anything profound to write in my journal. 

No deep insights. 

No words of wisdom. 

No stuff to work out.

Pattern plays the role of letting me express myself.

I remember  working on this page and enjoying playing with the honey comb stamp.

It's a great big stamp on a big square block with rubber stamp patterns on 4 sides.   I loved getting my ink pad really juicy with black ink and stamping over an over on this page and a few other pages in my journal (not shown here)

I also love what happens when you mix white gesso with acrylic paint. It smears in this really cool way and mutes the color making a milky impression. 

 I love that effect. 

I smear alot with my fingers to make room for images or words.

So here is a page in my journal...there are no words just color and pattern.

Journal Pages...Using my paint stash

Here are a few more pages from my 2013 Mini Journal. I love this page because I finally used some paint from my crazy collection of craft paint I got on sale at a fabric store.  

If you're like me...you love a good sale...particularly if it's for art supplies.  

A while back I came across a big bin of brightly colored paints on sale at a fabric store.  They had marked the paint down to less than a dollar. I was thrilled and I filled my basket with all my favorite colors. Suddenly the sales lady came by to tell me they where running a special sale that day for 75% off sale items.  I must have fainted because the last thing I remember was standing at the check out line will all the sale paint they had in the store. 
 

I was sooo proud of my wonderful stash. When I came home I packed them neatly in craft bins in my studio and there they sat for a year...unopened. 

So this page is a celebration of using those paints finally being used and 

all the other amazing supplies I have that I don't bring out nearly enough.
 

Journal Pages

These are some pages from my 2013 Mini Journal.  I picked some of my favorite pages. I have been inspired by images and mood more than I have been inspired to write about specific life events. Most of my pages don't contain any words at all ,,,,or maybe one or two words.as a theme.

Loving the process and never letting anything go to waste...

This is a page from my journal. I collect lots of scraps and images.  I have drawers full of this and that.  Every once and a while I feel the need to purge...but I don't throw it away. I use it. I use a bunch of it up all at once.

What am I waiting on anyway?

I even use the images on my inspiration board that have lost its sparkle and magic. The images don't make my heart sing like they used to, but they are too special to toss in the bin. So, from time to time I remove them from the board and  add them to my journal. The image on the right is an image that was on my inspiration board for years. It was to remind me to spend more time in nature...

I did and

I do

and it was time to add it to my journal to make room on the board for something new.

On the left side of my journal page, I used bits of wax paper I wiped paint on during a previous journaling session. I was about to toss it out when I saw so much beauty in the colors that I let it dry and used it to collage a page in my journal.  I added more and more layers of images, text , gesso and stamps.

I love the richness of layers.

I love the unpredictability.

I love that the more you stop trying to make it into something

it becomes something amazing

I love that ...

I love my page..

then hate my page and want to give up...

then love my page into being

until there is peace and joy there.

That's when I know to stop and

move to another page.

My Creative Time is Sacred

Journaling Time is Sacred Time...

Living in My Journal : Bird and Story

I just wanted to share with you some fun I'm having in my journal these days. The page is layers and layers of paints, inks, napkin, and magazine cut outs . 

This page was created with poster paint and gesso. I also used dark brown spray ink to give it this  weathered look.  I cut out pages with color and pattern from magazines to place along both pages.  I found a children's book at the dollar store and cut out groups of words to make a statement. The bird is from a set of paper napkins I got a TJMaxx. The black section is done withe black gesso.

I love the layering process for creating pages. This page makes me really happy.

Living in YOUR Journal

I usually "live" in a journal for a few months before all the pages are full enough to move on to a new journal. In the process pages get wet and heavy. They loosen up in my journal. Sometimes the pages shift in the book from the weight of heavy paints and gesso. 

To keep the pages in place I wrap several pieces of string every 10 or so pages and tie them as tight as I can against the spine. This holds the pages in place.. To make it all look pretty, I tie additional scraps of ribbon to each string. Over time, each string will be tied with 10-20 little bits of ribbon and string. I like to use ribbon that I find along the way...birthday gift ribbon, string from packaging, scraps of fabric, etc. .  

What emerges is this wild, rich journal, filled with stories, images and bits of fabric from the journey in your journal.