October 2016 unPlanner Final Pages

Hi, peeps! I'm back with my final October pages in my unPlanner.

For more information on the unPlanner project, visit Art to the 5th Academy. It's an art journal project with monthly themes and weekly prompts. :)

I had one empty spot left on the left from my daily journaling , so I filled it with similar images and colours as the rest of my pages. Dots, circles, squares, and then more shapes on top of that, stenciled, seems to be my go-to this month. 

For the right side, I made a pocket again to house the PACs. I used a kraft envelope, cut down. See my other version of this style pocket HERE. The pocket is decorated with various shades of greens and yellow through THIS stencil. Added the same pretty yellow trim as I did last time and a strip of black and white patterned paper.

For the spine, I used Carolyn Dube's Circles Layer Me stencil, adding doodles with paint pens.

Much to see here. Scroll down for closer-ups.

Peeking out behind the PACs, are small pieces of paper I decorated with paint, tucked into page protectors.

Here is the other side:

This features a black tag that came with the unPlanner kit.

I just starting stenciling with some older StencilGirl club stencils on a black tag without planning the overall look, just adding colour and shapes with the stencil. Such versatile designs! This particular stencil has circles and squares, and loopy lines, giving you options you might never have thought on your own!  I added more stenciling in different colours, smooshed some paint on, covered one area with another stencil, added another stencil over that, some finger painting, more stenciling, add paint dots, attempt some "shadowing", and on and on. :) 

My favourite part of this whole tag? The ovals I made pop with shadowing! 

Another favourite part is the lower right area, where grid outlines float above loopy darker areas. I'm learning so much about layering. I find that I don't see the magic until I have looked at it quite some time.  

Adding dots with different coloured paint pens makes everything pop too.

I can't leave circles out, so added one over a spot that I didn't like.

Next I looked through an old book (turned into an art journal), searching for some words that fit my mood or thoughts at the moment. Looking back, I wish I had left out the "proud" part. 

I still had some dyed silk ribbon left over from March when I used a similar colour scheme in my unPlanner. Loving that look!

And a pic of the envelope empty.

Mini Diagonalz stenciled in with dark green paint over a gelliprinted text paper backs the envelope front where the PACs sit.

A purple punched out piece sits all proudly on the back of the black tag, visually "separating" the background from the pocket page.

My PACs: I decided to not do some of the challenges this month, instead concentrating on more of the journaling; I just did two of them.

Moon and cityscape:

Week 43 challenge was to repeat a pattern. I did several repeats of pattern here, like I usually do, so a very easy challenge to do. :)

Driv'n by the spheres - perfectly fits me, don't you think? :) This challenge was to start with a doodle. I found a piece of watercolour paper in my stash with some of these doodled circles, left over from the 2014 DLP project, so I cut it to the PAC size, and voila! The diamond doodled paper top left I cut out from a previous ICAD project I started, but never completed.

The challenge for this PAC was to hide something, so my "hidden" part are the multiple layers I covered up in the process of coming up with something I liked. LOL. The loopy flowers and the tiny circles is from a stamp set by Rae Missigman, called Boxy Blooms.

The next pages feature my Monthly Pocket Pics, consisting of favourite photos of the month of October.

A ruffle made with ribbon, painted, then sewn on to page protector.

The green area, in photo above, bottom right area, was stenciled with THIS cool stencil. So fun. I never would have thought up those kind of shapes myself! 

And there it is. October is done and documented. :)

Below are the links to my other October unPlanner posts:

October 12th

October 20th

Thanks for stopping by!

♥♥♥  Anna  ♥♥♥

I Love September! My Week 38 in DLP

Fall

all at once

summer collapsed

into fall

-- Oscar Wilde

I wish it could always be September. 

On that note, here is my fall-infused entry week 38 of The Documented Life Project. 

The colors, the smells, the way the sunlight plays on the changing colors, it is just utterly breathtaking to me! 

^^ Full spread with tip-in open pictured above. ^^

^^Tip-in closed.^^

The top of my tip-in is a collage of my late summer and early fall Instagram photos. The collage is simply done by going to www.Prinkl.com, connecting your Instagram account, adding photos to template, and saving as a PDF to my hard drive, then printing it out on my printer.

I cut off strips of my fall watercolour painting that is in the inside part of the tip-in to accommodate the smaller width of the tip-in, and added the strips to this page.

The yellow strip on the right is some lovely Scotch brand Washi tape that my twin gifted to me. Thank you, Sis! I love it!

^^ Tip-in open.^^

I painted the fall leaves many years ago, and the piece was sitting all this time in my art journal filing system (I do have some of my art journal fodder organized but most of it is all over the place. LOL) It now has a HOME! :)

This is week 38 of my art journal/artsy planner, but I did the week 39 challenge. See HERE for more information about DLP if you're not familiar with it yet. :) See HERE for this week's challenge: Splatters and Drips

I wrote the "Fall" part of the quote with a watercolour brush. Added water, and made it run by holding the paper upright. Simple, but a little dangerous, because I wasn't sure how it would turn out...#bebrave

Doodley-dos with my Sharpie fine-line...

An apology to my Canadian readers: I spelled "potato" with an E! Sorry about that! Up here in Canada we leave out the e, so this kinda bothers me! Teehee! Oh well, too late to change it now.

I scribbled around some of the photos to add a bit of interest and to help ground the collage. Black always manages to ground things visually.

The header above ^^ was created by first sketching/doodling the leaves messily, then messily added drops and splats, you know, like the challenge says to. :) I altered it a bit with a brush until I liked the look. I used acrylic inks for the splattering and Dylusions inks in a waterbrush to move the color around, and to add some other colors.

A Little Something From My Garden

I felt the need to beautify my blog with my favorite flower photos of this summer. Here goes. :)

My peony plant looked absolutely spectacular in the evening light. Can't get over it. So many varying shapes and colors! Granted, I did add a slight Instagram filter to it, but it looks almost exactly as my eye perceived it. Honest. :P

Sigh. And this one. I am looking-looking-looking for the specific variety of this beauty, but have had no luck so far. I bought the plants (three of them) off my nephew's girlfriend this spring. So happy I did! Each bloom is not more than than two and a half inches across. They're almost like the wild Alberta Rose, but with an extra set of petals, and white and palest pink from inside. The bud is a bright pink, but when they open, they've got this delicacy to them. :) 

Anyway, gotta run and read to my youngest. He and I are home ALONE! What to do without all that extra noise and curfuffle in our home? Loving the silence after a busy tiring day. :)

Blessings to each of my peeps. Thank you for stopping by!

Anna

Free Facebook Cover Collage Tutorial and Template

Hi everyone!

This post has a free FotoFusion V4 Template you can download. :)

I've been very busy creating and learning new art techniques, but have not taken the time to share those things on my blog. Lately, I feel a bit overwhelmed with posting anything. Perfectionist me, I want it to be a quality post, and I feel inadequate, so it hasn't happened! :(

So, this morning, I decided that was enough.

I just updated the cover photo on my Facebook using my digital software, FotoFusion. People are asking how I do it, so figured I could make a little tutorial here. :)

My latest photo collage:

It's my simplest layout ever! :)

1. Download the template. (Only tested in Version 4 of FotoFusion.)
2. Open FotoFusion and load the template.
3. Simply drop in the photos you want included.
4. Output it as a JPEG at about 700dpi and 100% quality, as you don't want it to be pixelated.
5. Go to your Facebook profile, hover over the bottom left photo area, until "Change Cover Photo" pops up. Click on it.
6. Upload your layout, and VOILA! Done! :) It should be the right size. If not, email me or post a comment, k?

Note: Keep in mind that your profile picture at the lower left side of the layout will overlap onto your cover photo, so don't drop in a picture that you don't want covered in that area. :)

Here's your download link for the template:

AWCAL Facebook Cover Photo Template

Enjoy!

Annawhocropsalot

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!

10 Lovelies

Having some fun with my I-phone's camera app - Camera+.

My lovely daughter with some lovely chocolate goodness.

Loving my new bedspread. 

 

My lovelies loving each other. I'm loving it.

Lovely Junia in her winter hat but looking like summer. 

Some paper quilting blocks I painted or sewed on or both...

My momma with two of my lovelies in her garden from a few years ago...

Lovin' this pic of my lovely old soul, my daughter...

More old...this time my old typewriter...

My lovelies with my lovely twin's lovelies last summer...

Loving these vintage decals. Just like the ones I had on my crib as a babe...

What are you loving right now?

Project Overload!

I have not updated in a while, as you probably know by now.
:(
Even my twin stopped visiting me here, since nothin's new around these parts! It seems this way, I know, but in actual fact, I've done lots of stuff.
Project after project!
And maybe completed one or two.
:(
Let me count the ways!

1. Have sorted, edited, organized, copied, printed, and other essential things you do with photos. In particular, I did one project for my sister-in-law, who lost her sweet Tomas in September of 2010. The project is unfinished at this point, as I want to put all 176 photos I "stole" from Kathy into a regular photo album. A surprise package like that in the mail would be nice, wouldn't it?

2. I designed two logos for our church's women's ministry. I really enjoyed doing that!

3. Have tried my hand at "photoshopping" a photo of my huge family. I tried to combine several photos into one, so that at least most of us looked half decent. LOL I posted the pic on facebook, not realized I had started something. (Sure glad I did!) My balding brother wanted me to draw hair on his head, but that request went a little tooo far. :)

(Okay, I guess that last part wasn't entirely accurate, but it sounded good. )

Here's my caption under the photo on Facebook: (heehee)

I'm photoshopping this picture using all the versions I have of this get-up:
I've given Grandma a new face.
Replaced all of Hannah with a different Hannah, which still needs some work.
I might cut out Ben and add one where we can see his whole face, Luke and David W, as well....any other requests?
LOL
For those of you who want to be eliminated from this photo, or you want me to remove someone you have a personal vandetta against, sorry! I don't carry out those requests. LOL

And maybe I'll make Henry taller, Elijah happier, me skinnier....LOL

And here are the comments: They crack me up EVERY TIME!

I LOVE my family! I will have to scrapbook the photo and include the comments! 

I've lost focus on my blog post. :) Well, I might share more tomorrow,who knows. Have a lovely day, and remember to create more moments than photos/pages! ♥