Soft hues as July ends

As July ends,  my recent journal entries contain favorite, soft hues.  The page above is my favorite of the summer.  These white-washed colors are quintessential "baby jane".  What a profound quote here... "Don't go with the flow. You are the flow". Below is the companion page.

"Stand in your own space and know you are there."

I just love "drippage", too... especially using these delicious colors.

Layers, layers and more layers...

I am truly "free-motion stitching impaired", but still had fun with this guerilla sewing.

Change is hard... but is does help us move forward.

"The journey is what prepares our hearts for our dreams".  My dreams are in these delicious colors.

Yummmmmm.

Old Gringo love

For quite some time I have been lusting after a pair of OLD GRINGO boots.  I am a boot collector, loving every pair I own.  They are just the most fun accessory ever.  I swooned over a pair that I ordered last Christmas, but unfortunately they weren't a proper fit, so they had to be returned.   I had put these lustful thoughts on the back burner until just a few days ago.  I knew of a store about an hour or so away that carried this wonderful line of handmade boots.  So I called on the chance that they "might" be having a sale.  I was THRILLED to hear that many of the styles were indeed 40% off the original price.  So I dashed over yesterday afternoon, and had a grand time trying on so many gorgeous pairs.  I came home with these beauties and I am over the moon... hardly able to wait to wear them when it cools down just a bit.

Even the box they came in was oh-so-cool.

Another little "find" from yesterday's shopping was a darling pillow with an adorable blue bird... just perfect in my bedroom easy chair.  Can you tell I'm loving that hint of soft blue???

Another color I adore these days is this delicious tomato red... So thankful to great friends who have brought me these scrumptious beauties that I let fully ripen in my garden window. Even my "fake bunny friends" look like they want to take a big bite!  There is nothing in the whole world like a "real garden" tomato.  YUMMMMMMMMM...

I'm about to tear off the July page of my 2012 calendar.  Where has the summer gone???  Here's to a few more lazy steamy days, filled with drippy tomato sandwiches, sweet early morning coffees on the porch and other late summer pursuits.  The crisp winds of autumn are just weeks away. Ahhhh, life is so good, and lately it seems to go by so very fast.

Sparkle... Color... Collage...

Some days I get brave enough to try a simple sketch in my visual journal. "Sparkle and Shine" was inspired by a lovely dish towel given to me by my pal, Kristi.  I do adore chandeliers and thought it would be fun to sketch and glitter one in my journal.  That blue German glass glitter is just delightful.  

Lettering practice from Joanne Sharpe's class gave the impetus for this page.

I loved this quote on a magazine tear-out, and knew the message needed a permanent place in my book.

The magic of collage has endless possibilities.  I just love to cut, play, and paste away.

When I put this book together weeks and weeks ago, I included pockets, both horizontal and vertical.  Just love secret words and messages tucked inside envies and pockets.  The birdy and flowers are the designs of Teresa McFayden... soooooo cute.

Vintage postcards always appeal to my senses... so many thoughts about days gone by.  This one particularly reminded me of childhood times.  On this page I used a very cool pencil.  When you write, it looks like any other graphite pencil. When it is dampened, it turns to ink!  How cool is that???

There has been much sadness on the national scene lately.  I find it hard at times to keep a "clear lens" on life.  Taking time to meditate, write and make art helps me to keep "la vie claire"... the clear life.

Immersed in art journal "play"

It was sad when Teresa McFayden's Art Journalista e-workshop ended a few days ago.  After four weeks of art play and experimentation... I just couldn't stop when Teresa waved goodbye to us in the last video.  Her guidance was so inspirational, and a great springboard for page ideas.  When the class ended, I took a look at my journal... loving the pages we had created together.  My book had many blank pages left to fill... sooooooooo I decided to "show up" in my little art studio most days just to see what I could create.

As a mixed media artist, one collects a plethora of ephemera... so great to have on hand, but hard to keep organized and "corralled". If I can't find it,  I usually don't remember that I even have it.  With that thought in mind, I decided to have a major clean-out of all my stash...  The purge proved to be the impetus to moving in new paths, using different materials in various ways.

My pal, Kristi, mentioned using molding paste on lutradur.... so I just had to try the process on a pocket in my journal. Just yummy...

 While I was into the molding paste jar, I thought about trying to use it with another stencil on my ever-favorite scrim.   It turned out really great.

 I cut it into shards and used it on different pages as an accent.

Layered backgrounds have always been one of my favorite "looks".  After an image transfer and layers of stains, crayons and a bit of glitter, I loved the mood of this page.

As every artist knows, it's often really scary to look at the blank, white page.  I have found the best cure for this dilemma is to just get my hands moving... and then wonderful things often happen.

Getting the hands moving, while listening to one's longings is really all it takes.  Every page won't be perfection, but true growth will happen... and that is quite an accomplishment for me.

I hope you'll take some time to listen to your heart, and then spend some moments doing something you truly love.  

So glad to see the sun...

My roses and all my other flowers in the yard have loved the cooler days and showers we have had this week.  It was certainly a respite after a string of days above 100 degrees.  But today, the sun returned and I am basking in its glory.  

During some of the gloomier days, I stayed in my little art studio and played to my heart's content.  Here is my glittering art journalista... with all the things that inspire her...

Learning to use a new phone app with very cool fonts was also part of the fun. I was even snapping pictures of the banana pudding I made for our 4th of July cookout.

Combining the phone app altered pictures with washi tapes, sprays, doodles and a hidden pocket made for a new kind of journal page.  I always love hidden compartments and glimmer-misted tags...

One of my favorite spreads involved altered magazine pictures, and a nifty grid, sewn on with black thread...  This "dream cottage" feels like a perfect getaway... one could lose oneself in the visions.

Back to my own little cottage on Garrison... with two sweet pups by my side... Maybe we'll take a seat on the porch and rock a bit as the shadows fall... lovely indeed...

Welcome July...

Where did my beloved June go??? It flew away so quickly, I can't believe it!  I do love steamy July, too... looking forward to the celebrations and excitement of the month.  I have been immersed in my "creative flow" of late, quite a satisfying feeling.  Summer is such a perfect time for me to get lost in the creative play... just letting go...


I mentioned earlier that I have enjoyed new writing magic, too.  A package arrived a few days ago and I was thrilled to try yet another great pen-- a Monteverde fountain pen in a favorite color of soft turquiose.  My pen is loaded with a gorgeous Diamine ink called Steel Blue... a truly lovely color.  Have you heard of ECOJOT journals?  I bought one several years ago and fell in love.  They are made in Canada, very "earth- friendly", and have the cutest covers ever!  I snagged this one a few days ago at the local book store, and my writing spot really is a "happy place".

Another obsession of mine lately has been tape... plain old masking tape that I have splattered and dripped paint on.  Here is a journal page I completed experimenting with tape...

Masking tape is great, but then there are so many patterns of washi tape... Oh, my goodness... and Etsy has the best selection, ever!!!  Here is the title page of my Art Journalista journal, showcasing washi tapes...

This has been the summer for color love, for sure... and color - slathered, dripped and layered, has found its way onto all my creations.  Here is a page from my journal of "my very own" rules for art play.

Are you cleaning the grill, buying some firecrackers and getting ready for a "sparkling" good 4th of July???  May you take time to count your blessings and enjoy this wonderful holiday, celebrating the birth of our great nation.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!