Art Journaling

I have started a new thing. It encompasses all I love: scrapbooking, journaling, drawing, painting, mixed media, smash books, etc.

It's art journaling!

 So, had to share my latest post. :) I used Copics (another new love), hybrid scrapbooking paper, painting, rub-ons, alcohol ink, and stickers.

The book I used was an old Reader's Digest book. To accommodate the added thickness of the pages,  I ripped out some pages.

 My daughter played with my new Copics, drew a heart, I saw it, loved it, drew one myself. :) Then today, I went out and bought more colors. Added some doodling to brighten it up. :)

 I painted Gesso for the base over the pages, stuck two pages together while still wet, pulled them apart, and oh, liked the texture I got! (This was done by mistake. Hadn't planned on the two pages sticking together.)

 More gorgeous texture here...

My hubby is in Arizona for work, so he wasn't home again for the second year in a row to celebrate our anniversary. It's seventeen years today! I've been married almost half my life! Hubby is an amazing man. Very blessed to have a stable guy I can lean on, as I can get a little crazy!

It's basically just adding your artsy doodles and snippets to a page. Rub-ons by Basic Grey, snippets of paper I had on hand...

 Those eyes? Found a great tut for drawing Manga-style eyes with Copic markers. Loved the outcome. As I only had the neutral grey set of the Copics when I drew them, I chose to make the eyes black and white. :)

And love that quote! Anything C.S. Lewis is so very profound and deep. Had to include it.

There, pages three and four of my altered art journal. :)

Have a happy Thanksgiving! Starting my 40 Days of Thankfulness tomorrow. See if I can stick to it. LOL

Art on the wall

My living room wall above the sofa is getting a make-over. 

I put six empty canvases up, waiting to be decorated.

The first piece of art is a mixed media piece, using gesso, modelling paste, acrylics, glaze 

and 

smashed glass. :) 

Not happy about the whole thing, might change some areas...

like that little globby area upper left...

don't like the white flower kinda in the middle there...

Started by covering the whole canvas with gesso, then adding a light color wash for the background.

Next, added texture to the background using different textured stuff like sponges and bubble wrap.

Smooshed and pushed and shaped some (lots!) modelling paste into cabbage roses.

(Really had no idea what we were doing-my Sis and I.)

Then we added color!

It was hard getting the color right. 

We wanted a bright pink without it looking neonish or coral. 

Finally, after giving up on our fancy, expensive Golden acrylics, we turned to my scrapbook paints that

I have had for years. 

And met with success! 

Happy happy colors!

Lastly, we added glass flakes that a scrapbook friend of mine gave me for free. :) 

And here it is!

And here's my sis's. Isn't it fabulous?!?

 Thanks for stopping by. :) 

Go make someone smile.:)

Instagram Layout

About time I created a page! I finally did, so I'm celebrating by sharing it here. :) 

(I was about to lose my CROPS-A-LOT status, and that can't happen!)

.   .

\__/

I have been spending my spare time (and not-so-spare time) playing with Instagram. I just love this app for my phone! Anyways, I needed to come up with something scrapbooky, I just had to! 

So, upon a little searching of Instagram ideas on Google and Pinterest, I happened upon Printsgram. This fast, lightning quick little site allows you to print your Instagram pics, and I'm hooked! It's so easy! 

Here's some close-ups to get a feel for the texture and layers of the page. 

(I don't think I'll ever stop traditional scrapbooking for that reason: the texture and depth!)

a crocheted chain of yellow crochet cotton 

some luscious red flowery paper by Basic Grey: Konnichiwa.

Hey, where did the "E" go in my title??!?!! Those are inked Basic Grey chipboard letters, by the way.

chevron buttons (didn't keep the packaging, so I have no idea what brand they are) :(

little jewelry tags that I snagged at Staples

a l'il row of yellow of double-crochet stitches

white feather (still liking feathers!)

crochet thread tied up in knots and also wrapped around the chevron paper...

one banner made with the Basic Grey P&J line...

the other is metal-like paper run through the Big Shot using the Polka Dot Embossing Folder

the little yellow flower is cut from really, really old ribbon (from the fabric store perhaps?)

little snips of verse out of an old, torn apart bible

doodling...doodling...doodling 

more green dot paper to give us some green on upper left of page...

The bannock was very tasty! We had a great time with these lovely friends!

Happy scrapbooking! :)

Two-Page Template

Hi all! How is your summer?

I've been busy busy busy playing with Instagram instead of my templates! I'm so sorry if you were waiting for another one. But finally it's done. :) This newest template is actually a two-page version of the previous one. So, when you download it, you will get two SCRAP packages, instead of only the usual one.

The layout I created:



The following are some of the steps I took in creating the layout from the templates.

Some of these tips might be too easy for the more advanced user, but perhaps some techniques might be new to you. :)

First, a picture of the right side template. Lots of space for journaling, and a nice big spot to place a photo or to showcase patterned paper.

♦I removed the border on the frames. I felt the journaling would looked a bit trapped with them there.
♦To change the color of the space behind the text, I increased the opacity to 255, and then used the color picker to get the color I want.

To do that:
      1. Select the frame (I had to move the text away from the frame, in order to select it.)
      2. Hover your mouse over the Frame Dialog Box and click when the image (little square) part becomes red.
      3. Move the slider on the Opacity level of the Background Fill until it is 255.
      4. Click on the little box right below the 255. The color picker will appear as your cursor and make it hover over the color you want. I simply selected the cream right beside it.    
      5.  Move the text back into place. 


NOTE: When I work with a color scheme, I bring in a picture of it, and "color pick" from the picture/paper. For this project, I used the papers to color-match, and the background of the FotoFusion interface. LOL (Love the browns and creams, great neutrals.)

♦I wanted some of my sub-titles by the journaling, so I added them where there was room. In the end, I decided to title all four of my journaling spots with my "predictions", and single words to sum up the pictures for the sub-titles in the other places. :)
♦I change the sub-title: "We will live on an acreage", so that the right margin was lined up, instead of centered.

♦There are three little different-sized circles by that sub-title. I added flower embellishments on top of those circles, instead of dropping in paper. Got these cute little embellies from Sahlin Studio called Candy Flowers. So those circles in the template work well for proper placement of embellishments, if you find that you struggle to know where to place items.

♦I didn't want the shadowed flower embellishments to lie underneath the non-shadowed sub-title, so I selected the text>right-clicked and chose MOVE TO LAYER>selected COLLAGE. By default, FotoFusion is programmed the text to be always on top of everything else. This changes the text to the same layer as the rest of the stuff on your page.

♦Next, I changed the flowers to white, and dropped in patterned paper for the flower middles. I changed the opacity of the background fill to 255, but you could also experiment: what color change would occur by simply changing the brightness of the main image. See picture below.

♦I "grounded" the journaling spots to the background by adding a brown and a white paper behind them. I also removed the shadow from each journaling block and made the top and bottom spots larger so there was no gap between the top and bottom of the page. Does that make any sense?


And here's the finished page for the right side of the layout.

Now, on to the left side of the layout. Here's a pic of the template:

♦First thing, I dropped in the coordinating paper.
♦Edited the text.
♦Dropped in the pictures.
♦Added patterned paper to one flower circle and one little confetti circle.
♦Changed the color of the flower to white.
♦Substituted the leaves and some of the flowers from Sahlin Studio's Precocious Felt Leaves kit and from her Candy Flowers kit.
♦Added stitches by Anna Aspnes at O'Scraps. Made sure to remove the shadow, as it looks more realistic without.
♦Removed the shadow on the little strip of paper under the title. Used the color picker to coordinate the paper strips with the other papers.

In the end, I put the two together to see how they would look side by side, and decided it looked too dark. So I switched patterns and changed the background color.

I also made the top and bottom pictures go off the page, like I did with the journaling spots on the right side layout. I also widened the paper strip under the main title so that it reached the very edge.

This is the end result: It looks a little busy, but sometimes I'm okay with that. :) To see larger, just click on the picture.

Enjoy!

Who would you be?

Love doodling with markers sometimes. Got this question out of my Q&A book that I received as a gift. 

I made myself vulnerable, now it's your turn. Would love to know who you would choose and why! :)

Please, pretty please, tell me. I would ♥heart♥ it!

Preview of Next Template

I've received requests for two-page layout templates, so that's what my next freebie will be. This is a two-page take on the previous layout, based on Amanda Probst's sketches. I'm really loving creating this!

What do you think?

I am big into journaling, so this template will be perfect for those of you that like that as well, and, perhaps, it might inspire others to try journaling? You know, the text here is in paragraph form, but one could really just make lists of things, or phrases. Paragraphs can be daunting and scary, but making lists is easier. So, I dare you! You won't regret it!

The template will be coming soon!

♥Have a blessed, memorable and♥

♥bonding time with your family this holiday Monday.♥

FotoFusion Template No.23

Back in 2008, Amanda Probst wrote a monthly column in the Creating Keepsakes Magazine called Album in a Year. Every month she suggested a topic for you to scrapbook, capturing and documenting specific things every month. So, for January, she had you come up with predictions for January of the following year, and snapping photos or find some in your stash that would suit that topic. I was instantly hooked on the idea of creating one layout a month. For a (almost) complete list of her monthly topics, go here.

My daughter and I are working on this project for 2012. I figured this would be a great way for her to practice writing. I am a little late with this of course, like I often am, so my predictions weren't made until May. LOL

I chose to predict four things, and found a picture that would suit each one:

Prediction #1. determined: I will have more determination to achieve things.  Okay, now writing this for my blog, it sounds a little vague and wordy. Sorry. :) Maybe more specifically, focus on my goals more? The photo is of me cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I get bogged down easily when the task is unpleasant or hard or when I'm not sure how to do it... Maybe just a nice way of saying I'm lazy? :) I am not picky when it comes to cleanliness, so it's hard to be motivated.

Prediction #2. captivate: I will have a more servant heart toward my husband. Like I mentioned earlier, cleaning, doing something for my husband that he really appreciates. I can be selfish, thinking of only my wants and needs, I want to love and respect my husband. Jesus my Saviour was King of Kings, but instead of wearing his royal robes, he chose a towel to show his love! I want inward beauty. See John 13:4 and 1 Peter 3:4 The photo is of a layout I made after being inspired by a lovely lady to be more captivating. I sewed and painted like crazy on this layout. I really like it.

Prediction #3 read: Levi will start reading independently on a more regular basis. He knows how to read, but it's still difficult for him. I aim to be more consistent in coaching him in this. Find books that are more up his ally, perhaps Captain Underpants stories, Sigmund Brouwer books, etc. You know, boy books. The picture I chose is a close-up of a sight-word game I play with him. I actually made those cards myself. Teehee

Prediction #4 play: We will live on an acreage. We are working toward that goal right now. There are many reasons we want to live in the country, one being I want my kids to be able to climb trees with abandon, not being yelled at for breaking off branches! The photo is taken at a local park, in the city. Thought that was fitting. :)

So, here is the preview of the template I created for this project, based on the sketches by Amanda. I made versions of the layout in 11x8.5 and 8.5x11 as well.

This is the 8.5x11 version:

I like the 11x8.5 version better than the 8.5x11, I think. :)

Notice the small leaves? They are one of the mattes that FotoFusion has. I really like it! Love that you can color them whatever you want to. :) So, when you download the template, they will be included in the package automatically, but you won't need to keep the matte, since you will already have it.

Note: These templates only work in FotoFusion, as they are .SCRAP files.

I had a great time making these templates, even though I did spend countless hours on them. LOL I am a crazy perfectionist when it comes to certain things. If you find a problem with these templates, please let me know, so I can fix it. Enjoy!

Here are the download links.

Products Used:

Papers: Michelle Underwood Feb Two Peas Soup

Candy Flowers by Sahlin Studio

Houndstooth button and leaf by Sahlin Studio: Precocious

Stitches: Stitched by Anna No.07 by Anna Aspens

White splatter paint and white doily by AWCAL Designs 

Journaling fonts: John HancockCP, Century Gothic, Cheri Liney, Mel's Type A Personality

The title font is AWCAL Designs 

♥Enjoy your day! ♥