Journaling Update....

Today is my hubby bubby's (HB) birthday! He's 63 today. Happy Birthday, HB!!

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Recently I sent my pages into Phoenix Peacock's community art project. She posted them today. You can see her project blog here....and here are the pages I sent to her....

This page tells about passing along a smile and how it can change things.

This page tells about how someone helped me when I really needed it.

I did both of these pages on old file folders. You know me....recycle that stuff and use it! I like the thickness of the paper used for file folders and always recycle them into my art. Just one more way to save paper, the planet, and money.

Last night I did some journaling on the pages I showed you yesterday.

I just wrote about how much I love circles and swirls....nothing too interesting.

Here I wrote about what Shangri-la means to me....

Left page

right page

Today I'm working on some new postcards. My brain is whirling around with ideas....I just hope I can capture a few of them before they fly off into the cosmos.

Some New Journal Pages....

Yesterday I had a very productive day in the studio. I had good success with a project that had been giving me problems....mostly due to the fact that I didn't read the directions fully and completely messed up my first try. This is a project that Lee and I are doing together so I can't show you yet....but soon. I'm happy with how it's turning out. I have to run out this morning to get one more thing to complete it and then it will be winging its way to Lee.

Besides working on that project I managed to do some pages in my art journal. They have been sadly neglected lately. After posting that photo of all the journals stacked up on the shelf I decided to drag one out and work in it.

This is one spread....

Left page....

Right page....

Second spread....

Left page....

Right page....

I haven't had time to do any journaling on them yet but it will happen. Today I'm going to run out to Joann's and then back here to finish these pages and start another project. It's a beautiful day! The birds are singing, the sun is shining and it should be about 79º today. I hope your day is beautiful, too.....

A Few of My Favorite Things...

I'm giving you a break from postcards today. I thought I'd give you a glimpse into some of my favorite go-to art supplies. I got the idea from Lee's blog. She had a very interesting post today showing some of the things she uses most often. Be sure to check it out.

First up are the journals I'm currently working in....

I seldom work in just one journal. Some days I want to work small and fast and then other days I want to work big and slower.

Next up are my pens....

I have tons of pens and markers but these are the ones I always reach for when I'm working.

Mediums....use these all the time. There's one missing though. I'm all out of Mod Podge and need to buy more.

As you can see these scissors get a lot of use and abuse! I'd be lost without them though. The black blades are sticky-proof and I use them most often because if I cut through something that has glue or medium, it won't stick to the blades. You'll notice I'm not too careful about cleaning them!

Paint! Gotta have paint. I'm not picky about what brands I use unless I'm doing something really special. I just buy whatever strikes my fancy.

And last but not least is my trusty dictionary....

I tear pages out of here to use in almost everything I do. I like that they're thin and sort of disappear into the background. This isn't a fancy vintage dictionary. It's just a big softcover from 1974. I may never run out of pages!

So that's a peek at some of my favorite things to use when I'm making art. What are your favorites?

How I Send My Postcards....

People have been asking me how I mail my postcards. I don't put them in envelopes because that sort of defeats the purpose of sending a postcard. I pay extra postage because they're thick and that way they're not machine stamped at the post office. And I figure if they get messed up a little bit in mailing that just adds to the look. I make them to be postcards and that's how I send them.

They end up being very stiff because I begin with cardboard from recycled boxes, then add papers and paint and whatever else I decide. At the end I give them a couple of coats of matte Mod Podge to seal everything and that's it. I hope that answers your questions....if not, let me know.

Here are the two latest postcards I did this morning....

I think she's a schoolmarm!

Changin' things up a little!

Ok, that's all from here today. I'm off to complete a project I've been working on for awhile. Wish me luck in finishing it.

Addicted to Postcards....

Does anyone else have postcard fever?? Ever since I started making postcards for Hanna's swap I just can't stop.

This girl has a glittery dress....

She's the queen of her domain....and her crown is glittery....

This girl likes the silence....

And she has text hair....she's more vibrant in real life. The colors look washed out here.

I also made one more bookmark. It's much prettier in real life, too. The colors are richer and her hat has silver scrolls on it.

So far that's what I've been doing this Sunday. I should be working on some other projects but these girls keep calling out to me.

The Final Five....

First I want to say thank you for all the comments yesterday and the day before. I read each and every one but I didn't have time to respond to them as we were gone most of the day and by the time we got home in the evening I was zonked! Yesterday was the dreaded tax day with our accountant! Yuk! But it actually all turned out pretty good in the end. I didn't get much art done though. All I managed to finish was one bookmark....

She even has half buttons on her shirt but I think I cropped the picture too close for you to see them. I like working with half faces because then I don't have to worry about the eyes being the same! Plus there wasn't a lot of space on the bookmark to put a whole face. I thought this was more interesting.

And as promised here are close-ups of the final five postcards I mailed out....

This one went to Israel.

This one went to Illinois....the state where I'm originally from.

This one is flying to Serbia.

This one is on its way to The Netherlands.

This "flower child" with her tiara is going to New York.

They're all brighter then they appear here. You know me and my struggles with camera, scanner, color, etc! I loved making these postcards and plan on doing lots more of them so expect to see them popping up on my blog from time to time....and you may even find one in your own mailbox, if I have your address.

More on My Postcards....

Since I doubt if any of the people receiving my postcards even know of my blog, I thought I'd show them individually.

This one is going to Canada.

This one is going to Minnesota.

This one is on its way to Oklahoma.

These flowers are going to Michigan.

And these flowers are going to Florida.

I'll share the other five with you tomorrow. I'll also show you the progress on my production line of postcards. So far it's working out very nicely. I painted all the faces at one time, then added all the eyes, then all the lips....it sure saves time on washing out my brushes! And I've kept the mess on my work table to a minimum.

The HUGE Postcard Swap....

Yikes! It's been several days since my last post but I've been busy. I'm participating in Hanna's HUGE postcard swap. There are 280 people in the swap! That's going to be a lot of postcards zooming around the world!

I finished all mine and they're ready to go to the post office tomorrow....

They're all there....10 postcards even though a couple of them aren't too visible. I had so much fun making these postcards. Last year I struggled to get 10 postcards made and was finishing them at the very last moment but this year they seemed to make themselves. In fact, I had so much fun making them that I've started a bunch more....along with some bookmarks.

You can see that I start with recycled boxes....there's a stack ready there on the left.

Then I add scraps of paper....

And later I'll add paint, some doodles, stamps, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I'm doing these in a production line so that I don't make such a huge mess. This way I glue down all the backgrounds at one time. Then I can put away the papers and Mod Podge and get out the paints. Just a few things on my work table is much easier to work with. And I'll have these all finished at the same time.

Feminine Frills Swap Partners....

Did you think we had forgotten to pair you with a partner? I'm late doing this and I apologize, and without further delay here they are:

TJ and Kelly

Lee and Marlene

Mary and Michelle

Gemma and Ravenousrae

You may notice that I'm not listed there. We still ended up with an uneven number of people so I dropped out for this swap. Lee (fast girl that she is!) already had her piece finished and I hadn't even started mine so I thought that was fair. Besides I still get to enjoy looking at all the ones you create. I'll be emailing you today with your partners information.

Have fun!!

Please Think About Joining Us....

This is the day when Lee and I are supposed to announce the partners for our Feminine Frills swap....but we have an uneven number of sign-ups so I'm extending the time until tomorrow in the hope that we will get at least one more person to join us.

If you're on the fence about whether or not to join in, here are the specifics....make one 6" x 6" piece of art in whatever medium you choose. It can be watercolor, acrylics, mixed media, collage, you decide. The theme is girlie, feminine frilly. It should be finished by the end of this month and mailed to your partner.

I know this is a busy time with a lot going on around Blogland but I hope you will consider our little swap.

EDITED: Thanks everyone....we have closed sign-ups for this swap. I'll post your partners tomorrow.

I'm Crazy!!

I must be crazy! Lee and I are co-hosting our Feminine Frills swap and I just signed up for another swap! You may remember last year that Hanna did a postcard swap....it was so successful that she's doing it again this year. If you're interested you can read all about it here. Last year I received some gorgeous postcards. I hope you join in for the fun.

I'll give you a sneak peek at a few of the postcards I'm making....

I'm doing girls and flowers....and I'm almost finished with all 10 postcards.

I've mentioned the She Art class I'm taking right now. That class inspired me to make these postcards. There's another She Art class starting in April if you're interested. And if you decide to sign up would you please mention that you heard about it on my blog. You can learn more about the class here. I think it's a super fun class and the price is great.

Are You Ready????

As promised, Lee and I are co-hosting another trade. After I mentioned earlier that she and I were doing something together, several of you expressed an interest in another trade. So we put our heads together and came up with one.

Let's get all girlie this time. Let's let our feminine side shine. We're calling it Feminine Frills....sorry I don't know how to make those cute little buttons for you to put on your blog....I'm not very techie! So I'm just using one of my previous drawings from several years ago to get you in the mood....

And here's the info on the trade....one 6" x 6" piece done in any kind of mixed media that you like. You have until the 15th of this month to sign up, then Lee and I will assign partners and you should mail your art by the end of this month. So sign-up until March 15 and mail by March 31. That's easy, isn't it?

Get out all those pink paints and papers, clip out all those flowers and frills, draw all those pouty lips....just do your own thing and make it girlie and fun.

You can sign up here or over at Lee's blog but either way be sure we have an email for you. Mine is posted in my profile and Lee's is in her profile, too. Lee usually does most of the email communication so be sure to add her to your address book so you don't miss her emails about your partner.

Be Happy....

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but I'm taking the She Art class by Christy Tomlinson. It's a lot of fun and she has a ton of videos. This class is closed but there will be another one starting in April, if you're interested.

Here is my first attempt at making one of the She Art girls....

I put my own spin on her and with one exception I like my girl....I put her arms in the wrong place! But since she's a bit whimsical I guess she will be ok for a first try....

I love doing backgrounds and this one came together very quickly with pink, yellow, aqua, and lavender craft paints, a couple of stamps, and some punchenella. I may add a little more later. I've ordered some rub-ons that might look cute. But for now she is happy singing, dancing and laughing.

Now I'm off to create a few friends for her. See you soon....

A Finished WIP....maybe

After reading some of your comments from my post about the project Lee and I are doing, I realized I wasn't very clear about it. This is a project that we are doing to trade with each other. We haven't done a join-in collaboration project recently and from your comments I guess it might be time for another one. So give us a few days and we'll try to come up with a new swap of some kind.

In the meantime I'm almost finished with what I'm working on for Lee but I can't show you yet. As soon as she gets it I'll share with you.

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You may remember way back in January I showed you a textured painting I was working on. You can see it here....I showed you some close-ups of what I did....

Well, believe it or not, I finally finished that painting! At least it's as finished as I can tell right now.

This is a 16 x 20 canvas and it's a bit lighter than it looks in the photo. As usual, I had problems getting a good shot of it. This is darker than real life but when I tried to lighten it, it looked washed out. The top photo is a little more true to the colors. I used a lot of texture paste on this plus there was already a lot of collage and paint from what had been on it before....this was a recycle of a canvas I had previously painted on.

It's different from most things I do so that made it harder for me. I didn't want true-to-life roses but more just the hint of them. I saw a huge painting in a furniture store that gave me the idea for this. It's been an experiment all the way along. I'm about 75% happy with it so I'll live with it for awhile and see how I feel in a week or so.

My brain has been swirling with ideas so if you don't hear from me for a couple of days you'll know I'm busy, busy, busy creating!

A New Mixed Media 101 class....

Today has been a lazy day and mostly I've played in the studio. I watched some videos on YouTube....that always inspires me to do some art....and worked on a project that Lee and I are doing. Then I took a break to check things out online.

Many of you know Kate from The Queen of Creativity but did you also know she has started a ning site? She is now offering a beginner's class for mixed media art. It's called Mixed Media 101. Here's what Kate says about it:

Perhaps you have been reading Somerset Studio or Cloth Paper Scissors for awhile now. You are intrigued about Mixed Media, you love the projects but there is so much new stuff to learn. You may have questions like what is an ATC, or what is gesso and do I need Gel Medium? You want to start an Art Journal but you are a little bit afraid, it all seems so daunting. Well if that is you, then you have come to the right place.

I am going to take you by the hand and lead you through the maze that is mixed media. In this class I'll take you on a tour of all those materials that are used in mixed media. You'll learn what they are , what they are used for and how to use them in a project of your very own.

We'll start a small art journal using a children's board book. Topics will include using paint, watercolor crayons, texture, drawing, lettering and more. There are 16 videos and several informational PDF’s on the supplies and tools used in mixed media.

If you're interested you can go HERE to learn more about the class. This is a great opportunity to learn the basics. I sure wish something like this had been around when I was first starting out. I was so confused by all the products (still am sometimes!) and just felt like I didn't know where to begin. So you can skip over all that confusion and start having some fun right away.

Messes Lead to Creating....

Instead of cleaning my work table I just made it worse!! Remember I showed you what it looked like a couple of days ago....well, here it is this morning!

But the reason it's such a disaster zone is that I've been creating a little bit so that's a good thing. Clean-up can always happen later!

I started a few ATCs. I haven't done any for a long time and I found a paper that I'd painted and thought it would be a good starting point for some ATCs so I cut it up....here's where I am with them....

Sorry about the panty ad! I use catalogs as "clean" areas when I'm working. I can just turn a page and have a clean surface especially when I'm working on small items.

And here's a sneak peek at something else I'm working on....

I couldn't get the colors to come out as rich as they are in person but you can get an idea. Today I plan to continue with these projects and maybe do something else. I woke up this morning with new ideas. Don't you love when that happens!!