Rae's Art Marks Challenge

Hi, all you creatives! I've been having fun with a new challenge by Rae Missigman. It's a 30 day challenge, which started Jan 15th.

Check out the Art Marks 30 Day Challenge HERE! :)

Here's my sweet little book I've made using a plethora of old gelliprints and art journal fodder, including a page or two from an old thrifted Calvin Hobbes comic book. 

I tore all the edges haphazardly to add to the junque feel of it. I saw the cutest beads at Michaels once, and had to add them to my cart. Finally found use for them!

Raw wool in my aubergine colour I had sitting around from an old project...

StencilGirl stencils designed by Traci Bautista 

and paint dots, made in all quick-like.

I am sharing the first four layouts I've done. I'm a little behind, but it's okay. I am not able to do one every day, and I'm okay with that!

I've been leaning heavily on my favourite colour scheme which I've named #auberginemadlove. :) 

I mention aubergine (or eggplant) a lot on my blog and Insta, and I don't wanna stop!

Check out my Pinterest board COLOUR: AUBERGINE and my Insta hashtag!

1/30 Prompt: petal-like

For my first day, I didn't go with that colour scheme, instead I went crazy with petals. I had a hard time not reaching for stencils, but I needed to challenge myself in making marks without stencils this time. haha!

I turned the page, and I liked what I saw with the other pages peeping out from the sides.

2/30 Prompt: needlework

When I think needlework, I think cross-stitch. Old sticky-backed mesh from my art supply stash served as my stencil and now I have "aida-cloth" background for some "stitches". 

Next page, which sadly, I covered up. 

3/30 Prompt: cocentric

Filled both pages with my Golden brand paints in Permanent Violet Dark, Carbon Black, Paynes Grey, and High-Flow Flourescent Pink.

4/40 Prompt: Just Three

I don't have three marks, if I want to take it literally, instead, I divided the page into three parts.

StencilGirl stencils for the bottom left rectangle: Travel Note 6x6.

And there are my first four days in my cute journal.

Thanks for stopping by!

♥♥♥  Anna  ♥♥♥

Otherworldly Mixed Media Art

Hi, lovelies! 

I'm on the StencilGirlTalk blog today, sharing a step-out on how to make this project my daughter has titled Otherworldly.

Check it out here:

StencilGirl Talk

You can also come join me and others in a fun challenge: The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #32 to win a $25 gift certificate to StencilGirl products!

Have a great day!

♥♥♥  Anna  ♥♥♥

Pastel Christmas unPlanner Pages

A new year HELLO to all of you!

A new year means the end of a year-long project. It is hard to say goodbye to DLP. I have now participated for three years, and it'll take some adjustment in my brain space to not have these art prompts. I am not quite sure what I'll be creating in 2017 yet.

Meanwhile, here is probably the last post for my unPlanner! 

To know more about how you could make an unPlanner, see the project challenge and artists HERE.

I chose a pastel Christmas theme, with pinks, purples and blues, using PaperArtsy fresco chalk acrylic paints. They are like icing on a cake!

For my divider, I painted a Bethlehem scene with NeoColor2 crayons and the fresco chalk paints. In the circle, I wrote out the Christmas story from Luke 2. The scene was inspired by a children's book illustration. The "stars" were made using stencils:

April 2016 - Private Collection 16.2

and one of Mary Beth Shaw's new planner stencils, 

 Planner Winter Stencils4

My watercoloured doodled calendar got a colour treatment too, with some stamping and simple journaling. Whew! Only 3 days in all December was spent by ourselves! But it was good, very good. :)

I have the monthly view calendar available as a printable if you're interested in using it in your own planners. See HERE. 

I played for hours on my December, and I just want it finished now, so I left some parts simpler. 

I made a scalloped pocket to house the PACs by using a scallop punch and stenciling with the same circular stencil as used for the "stars" on my divider. The background is similar to the page on the right in my Dec 4-10 weekly view photo above.  The ''be strong and courageous'' phrase echoes my 2016 OLW: Strength. See my January post to see how I documented it in the beginning: 

I procrastinated with the art challenges this month, but sure had fun when the ideas finally flowed.

The one above is actually the prompt for November, but decided to include it in my December: use something from the bottom of your purse. I had wrapping from a Hershey Kisses candy, so I made little "beads" from the foil wrapper to attach to the ribbon, and used the little paper slip that comes with each candy. I like it!

For this one above, the prompt was to use crayon, so like many of you in the fb group, I used Inktense pencils, sopping up the pooling colour with a silk ribbon before it dried, dying it and making the colours look pastel instead of the vivid look you get by using water sparingly.

 I used the paper from the reinforcement stickers as a stencil on top of the watercolour wash background.

The phrase is one line from the Holy Sonnet XV by Donne. I was so struck by the words from the poem when it was beautifully recited during our church's Christmas Eve services, that I knew I needed to include it in my unPlanner somehow! The rest of the poem is printed on the back of the previous PAC. 

This PAC is for the very last prompt of the year: to use GOLD. Well, I was so pleased, as I was already using gold throughout December! I kept it simple using this beautiful stencil by Gwen LaFleur, called Decorative Curvy Ornamental Stencil. 

I was feeling nostalgic of this whole project, so I tried to use as many as the unPlanner kit downloads I could. See the days of the weeks at bottom of page? Those are from the weekly view ones. :) 

I sewed a page protector to the backside of the List 10 to house my double-sided tag.

Loving the Geometric Sky stencil by Mary C. Nasser!

The "crown" trim is made using an old EK Success punch. 

More candy wrapper "beads".

The ribbon, I sent through my sewing machine and made it ruffly and messy. :)

Flower stencil fun with the November 2016 StencilGirl club stencils by Mary Beth Shaw. LOVE LOVE it.

"This stuff" is from the unPlanner kit download kit. 

And there it is. The end of 2016. It's been so fun and rewarding. Loved connecting with like-minded creatives on the Facebook Group and on Instagram.

 What next? I did sign up for Inspiration Wednesday 2017, so you should see posts about that in the future.

Thanks so much everyone for your encouraging words the whole year long! I will miss this!

♥♥♥  Anna  ♥♥♥