My Creation of Roben-Marie's "Journal Bound Workshop" OnLine Class (Book1)

Hi, Everyone,

I've been going on and on about Roben-Marie's doodle art.  It's really fun and let's you play.
I purchased her "Journal Bound Workshop" Online Class and thoroughly enjoyed her journal making process.

Below is the first book I made from her class.  I call it a TriFold Book, because it has 3 folds.
Have a look!

You can actually see the grains of the handmade paper I used.

Handmade papers are expensive, but you get what you pay for.  It's BEAUTIFUL!

When opened, the cover measures a whopping 8"x28".

Now that's a long journal!

As you know, I love to make books.  Any kind of book.  The more, the better.

I am extremely pleased with how this book turned out.

My old Elna feather-weight sewing machine is always out on my table so I can always add beautiful black stitching to my work.  The machine is so old that it only has 1 stitch pattern - straight!  Too funny, but it sews beautifully even after all these years.

If you ever wanted to try doodle art, this class is a must for you.

She makes 2 books in this class, so I'm off to watch the video then create my second book.

Have fun creating!

Pink Makes Me Smile

Hi, Everyone,

I've been viewing Roben-Marie Smith's Videos on Vimeo and YouTube.  Her doodling is fresh and fun.

This morning I opened up my Dylusions Journal hoping to create something fresh and fun too.  Have a look at all the stitching on the tag!  I call this layout "Pink Makes Me Smile".

  My favourite paints are Golden Fluid Acrylics.  I chose Light Magenta, Titanium White, Cerulean Blue Hue, and Green Gold.  To start, I glued down pieces of old ledger and book papers to the right side of the page, then added white gesso to blend the edges into the page.  Taking those 4 colours of paint, I randomly washed on the colours.  Then I started making lines, dashes and circles with a Sharpie Pen.  I drew over the circles with a Stabile Pencil then used a wet round paint brush to smudge the Stabile Pencil marks.  To finish off the background I used a Fineline Applicator filled half with black paint and half with Fluid Medium.  I absolutely love how the script writing turns out!

Sewing adds so much interest to Art Journal pages.  I went in my pink ribbon stash and pulled out a few pieces of scraps.  Some are attached as banners to the tag, others as the tag opening and a page tab.  Look closely at the photo below, you can see where I cut out 3 petals for the flower on the left side of my Journal page.  Using the scrap paper you are working on to cut out pieces to add to your page is a great way to use your scraps!

If you get a chance, check out some of Roben-Marie Smith's Videos.  She will show you how doodling is fresh and fun.

Have fun creating!

Discovering Roben-Marie Smith

Hi, Everyone,

I've been sick lately and have had to rest in bed.  This has given me time to surf the internet on my iPad.  I came upon a talented artist named Roben-Marie Smith.   She has online classes as well as free YouTube Videos, so you may want to check her out.

I usually create in a vintage style, but decided to give Roben-Marie's brighter style a try.  I started with a couple sheets of smooth cardstock and painted the sheets like her bright doodles.  I cut out circles, rectangles and tags from the painted sheets and sewed them randomly on different pages.  The pages sure are cheerful.  Have a look below.

I started off with an old French Dictionary and cut out all the glued pages inside.

On the outside of the book cover I glued down an altered Anthropology gift bag. 

On the inside I glued down some old ledger paper and part of the gift bag handles on the top of the inner spine.  I planned to have 3 signatures so poked 3 sets of holes in the spine with my awl.

In one of her videos, Roben-Marie Smith designed a page with a front flap and hinges, sewing the two pages together.  I love how my version turned out.  I will be using this design quite a bit.

Here is a back view of the page.

I've created many books with hinges before, but I never covered the hinges with book text.

Love that idea.

I also love stitching on the pages.

In this book, three pages grouped together make one signature.

The book is so pretty as is, I don't want to create in it.

This is the outside of the book for now.  It will be decorated more if I actually create in it.

I use the Long Stitch binding method a lot because it is fast and easy.

I hope this inspires you to create your own book, and don't forget to check out Roben-Marie Smith's blog.

Have fun creating creating!

My Version of Inspiration Wednesday (iw3.4.15)

Hi, Everyone,

Another happy day Art Journalling . . . or should I say trying to rectify a "too thick" nest.

In this post, I was working on one of Donna Downey's Inspiration Wednesday 2015 Videos.  For the nest,  I originally glued down some old yarn I had lying around.  It didn't look too thick at the time, but I could barely close the book after it dried. . . so off it came.  I only used a few printed cotton strips the second time.  What a difference.  I made sure I didn't overlap the layers and the book actually closed this time.  That's a good thing, because I have a lot of pages to go.

Below is my version of iw3.4.15.

Again, look at the vibrant Golden Fluid Acrylic Paints.  I love the combination of Teal and Phthalo Turquoise together.  The pigments are vibrant yet translucent, intense yet fading into lighter hues of itself once spread out.  Beautiful!

The script writing using a "Fineline Applicator" (filled with 1/2 Golden Black Fluid Acrylic Paint + 1/2 Golden Fluid Matte Medium) finishes off the page.

The texture on the background is Drywall Compound purchased at Home Depot (it's approximately 1/4 of the price of modelling paste).

Have fun creating!

My Version of Inspiration Wednesday (iw2.4.15)

Hi, Everyone,

Art Journalling is sooooooo much fun.

I purchased Donna Downey's Inspiration Wednesday 2015 Videos more than a year ago.  I am now making the time to create these works of art just for me.

Below is my version of iw2.4.15.

I absolutely LOVE Golden Fluid Acrylic Paints.  Their pigments are vibrant yet translucent.  When you first place it on the page the colour is intense, then as you spread the paint outward it seems to fade into lighter intense hues of itself.  It's just amazing!  I will own every single colour (one day).

As well, I love creating with a "Fineline Applicator" filled with:
1/2 Golden Black Fluid Acrylic Paint + 1/2 Golden Fluid Matte Medium.
The script writing, lines and doodles are drawn with it.  The nozzle is actually non-clogging because of the thin wire shaft that goes into the nozzle as it is being closed.  If you do not already own one, you Need to try it.  It is a "Must Have" item.

Have fun creating!

Project Life Layouts

Hi, Everyone,

For me, Project Life is scrapbooking in tiny sections.  Creating little pieces of art in small spaces, then adding my photos later.   This way I can create several pages at a time and they all flow together.

First I choose a theme, then colours for the album.  I'm making artful memories of my grandson for me.  I like white & gold, and since I'm using photos of my grandson I chose blue/teal/turquoise for my accent colours.

I mix & match my pocket pages combining different sizes and brands like Project Life and Snap pages, or anything on sale.  I mix the papers too, cutting down 12x12" and 6x6" papers, as well as using any gold foil papers I can get my hands on.

I'd like to show you some of the Project Life Layouts I created so far.

For embellishments, I cut up 12x12" velum and acetate papers, used washi tape, inked and embossed chipboard and wood pieces.  To close the shaker pockets, I sealed them with washi tape.

I love how they turned out.

Have fun creating!

"48 Weeks" - My Art Journal Pages of Week 1

Hi, Everyone,

A new year . . . 2016.  A new day, a new beginning, a new chance to create.

What do you plan to do this year?  What have you wanted to do but never got around to actually doing it?  What makes you happy?

For me, I love to create.  I have purchased many on-line projects with the intention of doing them for myself one day.  Well, that one day has finally come.  This year I intend to create a little bit every day just for me, even if it's for only 15 minutes.

In 2014 Donna Downey created an on-line class entitled "48 Weeks".  She creates 48 journal pages and the cost of the on-line videos is $796 US Dollars.  You must purchase the journal, stencils, and products yourself to create your own journal.  In early 2015 I attended some classes of hers and she had her finished journal with her.  It was absolutely amazing.  Breathtaking actually.  I had to create a journal just like it for myself, so I went on-line, paid the money, bought all the products to make the entire journal, and that's all I did with the class.

On my birthday in May last year, I started the journal.  I bought an oversized 12"x17" Moleskine Journal.  It has 111 lb. sketch paper and is 1/2" thick.  When you open up the Journal it is a whopping 24"x17", and once completed is approximately 3" to 4" thick.  Now that's quite a formidable surface area to work on.  It will make a stunning coffee table book once completed and I will treasure it forever.

Below are my Art Journal Pages of "Week 1".  I altered the right side of the page using a brick wall stencil and accented the brick wall with embossed chipboard bricks using Stampendous "aged silver" embossing powder on both sides of the page.  I personally do not use Alcohol Inks that often, but love how this page turned out.

I love Donna Downey's work and am very privileged to have been able to take a live class with her.

The Graphics Fairy has many free images and images to buy.  

It is a great source for Art Journalling. 

Remember. . . do what you love. . .  love what you do. . . and make time to actually do what you love.

Have fun creating!