Dye'in to Bind

I was recently in a Natural Dye & Book Binding workshop, instructed by Delaney Smith of Delaney Smith Studio. It was a full day of dying fun and learning some simple binding techniques for our dyed papers.

Y’all know I’ve made a few many journals using the pamphlet stitch, staples, glue, hair bands and whatnotage but this was . . . My first time dying (lol) and my first time Japanese Stab(ing more LoL). Now some of my fellow workshopp’ers (I’m just full of ‘em today) had not done any binding before and some had.

Delaney fixed up three different dye baths for us, explained some of the ins and outs and different stuffs about using natural stuff in dying. One of the main things was to record what we used and the various notes to keep when experimenting (spear mints). You see if you want to try and repeat an outcome, you need to know how you got there.

Here are a few photos from the workshop

and TWO videos can be found here and here, of the little books I made at the workshop. I’m sure y’all will see some dying and stab’in videos in the near ta far futures.

Happy Art’in Y’all

Napkin Journal'age

So y’all remember the post I have here, any whooot this is my Napkin Journal I made from the other parts of the file folder. Yes there is Video here and below are some photos.

I don't know why I can't flip & keep 'em flipped - le sigh

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Mixed Media Morsels

A video series hosted by Cat Hand on YouTube. I’m playing along and made a journal to house said morsels (techniques). There are other YouTube’rs that are art’ing along if you search I’m sure you will find lots to peruse. I haven’t filmed the part where I do the techniques but . . . YES but I did film the making of my journal, and you can look at these photographs. To watch my video clicky here’E. There is Name Drop'age in said video . . . eeeeck lol

Yes perhaps one day I’ll do a flip video. . . maybe and until then

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Well alrighty then

I took the bait, 

and met the challenge. What??? 

THE MONTHLY CHALLENGE ***** Yes the monthly challenge that is hosted by SandyChick over here. Well y’all know how it is with me these days, I was required had to (ok I wanted to)  do this in front of the camera, soooooooo for your viewing pleasure WATCH THIS.

lololololololo OOOOO and please join in the fun’age, Why YES you may take that as a personal Challenge

ps Blade this is - What’s on my Easel – the Artistic Biker Thursday's 6 CDT

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Guess What

I’m excited and thrilled to say that I AM A WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER.

I fell so blessed and would like to thank all the powers that be (you know who you are)

Y’all remember the recent Artist Cellar Stencil Blog Hop about the Cecilia Swatton Kaleidoscope set. Yep that’s the one. My name was drawn by Cheryl Sleboda of muppin.com fame.

So thank you Cheryl and Artist Cellar and Cecilia.

^5 for a great set of stencils and neat projects from all the blogs that took part in the Hop

Now let’s see what I did with ‘em

you may watch my video here to see how I did it

close ups

I also took this Journal Page and turned it into a Christmas Card that video is coming up on Dec 12, 2014  titled Christmas Card'age (just saying)

Happy Art'ing Y'all

I know

I know it is the tail end of Spring and summer is upon us- HOT & Humid at my house. We are grateful for the rains of late, they are helping to ease us up outta drought.

But anyway I did this background with Kayla, one of my granddaughters, the Napkin Technique. It just was so spring like to my heart and as y’all may or may not know we also put some happy color on our hair. So um yeah, spring is in the heart and I rummaged through my drawn and painted faces folder and found this pretty face. She is from last year (2013) sometime and she really just popped on there and it really popped with her on there, so yeah a happy journal’age page. Of course she is also a pocket to hold some personal journaling notes {insert wink} and the Caption / Sentiment / Quote even is from my own little head. IF you use it, please give credit to Moi – APG Jamie and I would love to see how you interpret it.

Spring is the attitude of youth

Fresh air is each breath you exhale

Bloom

as this moment IS your spring

eternal

while I was stamping the letters on Deli Wrap I thought I could show the double meaning of the word Youth by stamping YOU in the larger letters and adding th in a smaller stamp size. It makes me happy: Spring is the attitude of YOU / Spring is the attitude of Youth. Yeah, cause I had to explain it, I mean what if y’all just thought I messed up and grabbed the wrong size letter stamp! Well I just couldn’t have that, ya know. (rhetorical not an actual question for y’all to answer)

and happy hair

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Windy Dar

or is that Dar has wind???

Ok, ok so I was “trying” to be funny . . . did it work? Did ya at least giggle? So ah yeah, this week’s ArteDar work was – something Wind. Wind, I don’t have to tell ya is an abstract word, I mean we all know what it is, yet it is nothing. . . errr I mean yes it is . . . wait a minute

A funny thing just popped in my head, no not lol funny but hum that’s interesting funny*.  Wind is invisible yet we see what it does – fluttering tree leaves, blowing sand, making flags wave and ooo the laundry on the line. Ya can’t touch wind, but you can feel it. So ummm yeah sort of a concept / abstract yet it’s real at the same time.

Ok on with the Dar work, I did a journal’age page. The background is a few layers of gesso through a stencil, then a wash (pale blue - baby even), then some stamp’age with blue ink and another wash (same color) then stamped again with same blue; then stamped with gesso – same stamp each time. I liked it so I called it done.

I’ve been in a workshop and one of the lessons was to draw an upturned face. CryKey (however it’s spelled) not so easy and she is not that “great” but I like her and think she is purdy good for my very first ever UP Turned face – nostrils and all (don't drown in the rain). I got her all painted up, cut her out. A chore because I just had to have wanted free flowing hair in the breeze / wind thing going on.

Glued that face on my background, printed out my poem’age, glued those words down and then I added (you can’t tell) some sparkly Startdust Gelly Roll pen to the background (wind like)

Did I mention that Dar thinks I picked this theme, but really I didn’t, nope, she mentioned Wind last week and that’s what I said . And speaking of telling ya so. . . Ya know *funny thing I mentioned above (pun) about God, ya can’t really see Him/Her (your preference for gender not that God has one (and not that it matters)) but you see the evidence of His/Her work, sort of like the wind thing, get it? {wink}

 ps whip it- whip it good, in reference to the WIND whipping her hair around and junk.

Happy Art’ing Y’all

the spread that wasn't

Err I mean the spread that happened in spite of me. I really liked the photos that Donna Downy showed from  week 1 of her online workshop 48 weeks. No I’m not in the workshop but I like seeing the photos. Anyway from that week (one) I loved the look of the brick walls / windows/ doorways etc. and the lovely ladies that the students did in monochromatic. Since then I have played with the idea in my head and finally thought to try my hand at it. . .

Umm yeah, I didn’t draw my walls / stencil / use molding paste / etc. I used an embossing folder (cause I have it and I like it) not to mention but I will, cause I'm wordy like that (to quote Dede). I inked it up with red and sepia and touches of gray to vary the coloration. Cut out an arched opening in the wall. . . and then I just couldn’t seem to get a lady. I guess none of ‘em wanted to play brick wall with me. (& everyone says aww)

Well on my workspace I had a postcard that came in, a Please subscribe to Poetry Magazine, the mail. Well April is National Poetry Month and I liked the poem that was on the postcard and the little Art animal (Alpaca / Llama) So I went with that. Cut out the poem and the animal then glued ‘em on my brick spread.

Yes of course the “brick wall” is a pocket, sadly it warped my background, but it still holds journaling note’age. And the spread worked out as it should have without a lady, that is unless this Art Animal is a lady. (that "fluffy" looking stuff could be Breast'ists)

Happy Art’ing Y’all

And I was spinning

I remember when I was kid (in age people in age) and I would stand and spin around and wave my arms up and down and spin and spin till I would fall down laughing.  Now when the weather is not good or I don’t want to get caught I spin in my mind. . .

What? There is nothing wrong with it y’all! Hey maybe y’all should try it, why not. I mean it’s not like someone is gonna see ya spinning in your mind. Oh Yes, you remember that funny tickley feeling in your tummy and how everything would blur together. Yes, I know you member that playing kind of fun.

So there I was, my sinuses were getting all that stuffy carp again (I had just gotten over it) and I wanted to spin – so I did. . . but um yeah the sinuses were not happy about it. So all I got done was the photos (yes they are "posed" pics)  for this spread before I was down for the count and sneezing and crying without emotion (watery eyes y’all) and I spent that weekend in bed. But I membered my spinning LOL.

Finally after a week I’m good enough to go out to the studio and put my page together so I can show y’all how brave I am (am so) . . .

To not only confess that I like a little tickle in my tummy every now and again but also to say that Yes my INNER Child is so funny and worth spending time with.

We will NOT talk about the back view of me (so not flattering), but (LOL) I included it in this spread, because it’s ok to look back and remember what was and it's ok to fall down,  and to laugh and laugh as long as you get back up and let all those moments be what they are – OVER. And now that they are you can carry on with the good stuff, like laughing and laughing and spinning and spinning and so on and so forth

My poem reads (yes I wrote it)

Your Moments

Life is a poem unfolding

moment to moment

in this moment

you too

are found

in the being

that you have become

from every moment

of all your moments

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Journal'age

This week our Dar Challenge was Aquatic life; as is the Dar'way our choice as to what that is, what it means or what we want it to mean. Because I recently (LOL just checked - maybe not so recent) did a mermaid page, I opted not to do another one . . . sorta, well it's not really a "mermaid".

Johnny and I had a super Date Day this past Sunday (yeah sorta a subject change) After our lunch and a movie we lounged on the sofa watching TV and I mentioned to him about Dar's challenge this week. . . we joked around about poor Aqua Man, the not so super super hero (hey our opinion). Laughing I said, hey maybe I'll carve a fish stamp, cause I don't think I have any fish. And Monday while I was (yeah another subject switch) while I was doing stuff around the house, something I was doing (it doesn't matter what) was not going so well and I got sooooo MAD. I mean really MAD, so mad I was crying and all that kind of junk. I know, right? So I tossed down (NOT threw) my tools and stomped out of the house straight into the studio.

Awww that's the place to be. I remembered the fish and checked my stamps. . . Nope don't have any. Soooooo I drew a few out. Um really Jamie that's way to big, lol it was almost 5 inches long. What was I thinking? But two of 'em I liked. . . so I transferred my drawings onto my SpeedyCarve pink stuff and carved away. Then I stamped my fish onto the pink stuff and carved some more. ^5 I like 'em

I was just gonna tweet the above photo to Dar, but though no. . . I need to actually use these cute fish. And I did this Not really a mermaid, mermaid Journal page

The face is #8 from this year's 29Faces in Feb challenge; and yes her head is a pocket. I like doing that. It makes sense ya know, my head has secrets stuff in it and the faces I draw and paint can hold secrets  stuff / journaling too.

that is all except with this blog font the exclamation mark ( ! ) looks like a lower case L l - !

Happy Art'ing Y'all

Oh hello

Journal’age

This is how I wanted to show off ArteDar’s challenge this week, a bug or insect, but alas I didn’t get it finished until after the cut off time. Fortunately for me I at least got the dragonfly tweeted to @ArteDar.

A bit of background about this page: the face is from this year’s 29Faces in Feb #21. Dana and I talked about her expression and we both agree that she looked like she had just popped around a tree and found a cute bug, or maybe a bird. But because this was the bug/insect week I chose a dragonfly (love ‘em),

The background is a 12 x 12 scrapbook paper cut down to 8 ½ x 11, adhered onto cardstock. Tree trunk (or door however you look at it) is some Timmy card, the flowers are layered Tim Holtz tattered floral die; the leaves are (a gift from Dede that she had won but couldn’t use) Lawn Fawn die – stitched leaves die; the dragon fly is Elizabeth Craft Designs #712 die. Sweet girl is painted with acrylic craft paints.

And um yeah – Ta Dum

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Dar work

this past Saturday on her  uStream she challenged us to use a flower or maybe a fruit or maybe a veggie. I thought I would go with a flower. . . then the quote was spoken and so yeah Flower it was.

background sky was done first - marked the horizon with good ol' masking tape that I de-stickied (well we can't have it so sticky that it pulls the paper off) then I carded on some acrylic washes of - blue, royal fuchsia, light purple; again with the blue and fuchsia. Repositioned my tape and carded on two layers of green acrylic wash. Followed that with some finger painting of three different green acrylics. Next came the flower simple white cardstock with a black ink stamped flower. I then cut the stem and leaves from card and drew on 'em with black sharpie. I shaped the flower and leaves to have a little bit of popped up from the page quality. Finally I stamped the quote and date and then voila ( that's a french word that means ta dah!) it was done.

Happy Art'ing Y'all

DarWork

Umm that’s home work as assigned by ArteDar the challenge maker. This week was Women / Females of History – human OR alien, fantasy, whatever were also options.

I heard Luna call me, she was all like: ’Hey I’m female. I’m mentioned frequently throughout history. Commonly referenced to as Female and that means a girl ie woman.’ Then she started spouting off words and phrases and so yeah, I had to write a poem to quieten her down. {that word looks really weird – quieten}

Here is the journal page – with journaling (poem’age) so that counts as TWO ENTRIES.

Poem reads:

The Oldest Female

                        .I know

She guards in the darkness

With her strength of light

She beckons the wild

And the poet to song

She brightens lover’s eyes

And even calls the babe to be born

On the hottest of days

She backs up the Sun and

Then she cools and soothes

Dear Mother to rest

From blue, silver and white she shades

Then misty and red she mourns

She even dared to say cheese

When the astronauts came

Within her cycle is the power,

Power to change even the tides

 ~~~end of poem'age~~~

ps What's on my Easel @BladeTheArtist

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Dar's Homework

This week was a Bird and y’all for serious all I could think of was the word “Bird” so I found some letters that spelled out B – I – R – D {did y’all say each letter or just the word - cheater}

It is a journal page – la la la um, err; chip chirp cheep {insert musical sounds}

So I pulled a Dede and made my {one} bird tell a story. . . if ya read the caption / sentiment {whatever ya want to call it} you can see the progression as the bird goes from dark’age to bright’age and then to true freedom. {yep that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Full page 8 ½ x 11” cause that’s how I roll, background is scrapbook paper cut to size. I used die cuts and glued ‘em on and made the cage 3D {don’t know if it will stay that way - squish'age}, the wings on the smaller birds are 3D’age and the eye on the big bird is a brad. Serendipity that the colors worked out.

That is all

Happy Art’ing Y’all

this is face #19

painted with acrylics and put on a journal page

also Jane Davenport homework week 3 Pout Lips

Happy Art'ing Y'all

La Face'Oh

Number 13 a little miffed (Jane Davenport lesson)

^ Drawn and painted ^

^ #14 ^

^ #15 ^

^ #16 ^

And Flashback to # 11 as a finished Journal page: When you are going under Pretend you are a Mermaid and swim on

Happy Art’ing Y’all

Serenity

This is the drawing I started on December 5^th during Dede’s Stream, began paintN at Dar’s Stream. . .

a few days passed (week'age or so) I painted her eyes and started her hair on the 16^th, finished her hair on the 17^th. Started the background on the 19^th, finished it on the 20^th.

Found the quote while waiting for Johnny to get Acupuncture for the neuropathy (which is helping a whole lot, thank God).

“I sense more and more of the radiant light of creativity; this energy moves me, in all the right directions." – Becky Shander *

Glued Serenity to the page, leaving an opening for her head to be a pocket, said pocket has a note in it. Printed the quote this 21^st am on deli wrap and matte medium’d it down. And now. . .

I’m showing my journal page off to y’all

*from the article Opening Doors & Windows / Artists’ Café Volume 7, reprinted from July/August 2011 issue of Somerset Studio.

ps she is painted with acrylic craft paints, some prisma pencils in her hair, tad touches of glitter glue on the glowing spheres, shimmer pen, white pen on background which was also acrylic paint and gesso, circle stencil.

Happy Last weekend Christmas Shopping and

Happy Art’ing Y’all