Royalty Makes an Appearance

Princess Anne is a fitting end to International Fake Journal Month.  She dedicated the first phase of a building project at a church not too far from my home in the Cotswalds, England.

The drawing was done with a Platinum fountain pen and a Pentel brush pen and collaged onto my background of a gelli print and a napkin.

Roz recommends that we put our journals away for a week so that we can look at them with fresh eyes.  I'll be back then with a wrap-up post about the experience.

Resolving Journal Issues in International Fake Journal Month

A couple of quick drawings done at the Chalford scarecrow trail.

One of my long-standing journaling issues has been chronology.  I want to keep a single, chronological journal, and end up with 20 journals on the go at once, primarily due to paper qualities and journal format (square vs. rectangle, type of binding, size, etc.).

The International Fake Journal Month is giving me the opportunity to work in a single journal for a whole month.  By drawing on separate sheets and collaging them in later I can resolve other issues as well.  We'll see how I like this at the end of the month!

Week Two, International Fake Journal Month

A local WWII spitfire pilot passed away recently at the age of 94

Roz, the organizer of IFJM, encouraged us to set some goals for our journals.  I thought mine were fairly simple (take more risks and paint in thick gouache), but I'm finding that there were a few others lurking in the back of my mind.  I don't like all of the completed pages, but that is to be expected if I'm taking more risks, isn't it?  In this one about the local spitfire pilot, the drawing is rather grotesque and I don't like the colors much, but maybe this has taught me to think more about the colors before I pull them out.

Hare sculptures are being decorated by local artists and will be on display around town on the annual Cotswald Hare Trail

The Perfect Background

6 1/2" Square, Collage

Sometimes you find the perfect background on which to collage that Eiffel Tower that's been cluttering up your desk.

Altered Playing Cards - the Good the Bad and the Ugly

Not all of my crafty experiments are successful.  But I'd like my blog to be a place that I can refer back to, so I'm posting these anyway. LOL

One of the January themes in the Vancouver ATC Group is altered playing cards.  I wanted the playing cards to be visible, so I collaged a translucent napkin over them.  I've tried various combinations of clip art and stamps but I'm not really happy with any of them.  I like the Alice in Wonderland clip art but the images are quite pale and don't stand out with the vivid, busy background.

I did learn that I don't need to apply a layer of gel medium over top of the napkin; it stuck quite well just by applying a thin layer to the card and placing the napkin over the top.

In Joined Hands There is Hope

ATC, Rubber Stamps, Inktense, Pen

This is a real mixed media extravaganza!  First I stamped various stamps on white cardstock, dripped Inktense Blocks, and collaged dyed napkin for a background.  

The focal point is stamped on tissue paper and the script added with a Platinum Carbon Ink Fountain Pen.  

I'm using gel medium for collage now and loving it!  Note to self:  Let delicate materials like napkins and tissue paper dry after using the first layer of gel medium to glue them down.  When they are dry, more layers can be added.

It All Started With Napkins

I've reentered the world of mixed media.  It all started with napkins, and I think my sister, Dianne, was the original instigator of this expedition.  That sand dollar you see on the journal page above is cut from a napkin.

The last time I dabbled in mixed media I didn't quite understand the whole napkin craze.  Now I'm hooked on them.  I love their translucency.

Before I knew it I'd organized a napkin swap at the local ATC group, bought gel medium and a few more tubes of acrylic paint and I'm slopping it all around with wild abandon.

Stay tuned - I'm working on some Artist Trading Cards...