Bloom Where You are Planted

So here is another art journal I did. This one was inspired by my 15 year old twins.  My husband and I always expect the best from them. We have high standards for them and constantly push them to be their best. Every once in a while they will disappoint us and when they do, we will be right there to guide them back onto their path. Our one goal for them is to make them successful happy adults. We will not give up on them and we will continue to encourage and motivate them to be the best that they can be.

This Art Journal represents how I feel about the Twins. Our family is the roots, this is where their morals and values are planted. This is where they learn respect, determination, work ethic, responsibility, respect, etc. The trunk is their journey. How they apply what they learn. This tree is in bloom, leaves have sprouted and they are vibrant. This tree represents how we want to raise our kids. I would only wish this journey for any child out there!

Here I started with a sketch then traced it with a .8 archival ink pen. Next, I covered with gesso then traced again with a .05 archival ink pen. The wording is hand written and intertwined onto the roots.

Next, I applied gesso to add texture to the tree trunk. I used a heat gun to dry the gesso and painted with brown acrylic paint.

After coloring the tree trunk I used a water color pencil and shaded in the back ground in blue to simulate the sky.

The grass was colored with watercolor in three different types of green. I used Tim Holtz distress markers to  trace the lettering then misted it with water so that is blend and give my letters some shading. I also added dark green and blue between the grass and sky to add some definition.

This part was tedious! I hand cut out about 200 leaves and traced most with green moss distress marker. I then misted it with water and oddly it did not spread like I thought it would. I still like how it came out!

Lastly, everything was covered with gloss modge podge!

Final Product. Hope you enjoy! :)

My Colorful Sunday Was Spent Creating Art

Here is what I did on Sunday and Monday morning. While my hubby spent the day watching football, I was able to freely create! I actually cut out the flowers from an old photography book that I bought at a thrift store. They were from a black and white photograph so adding color to them was a must! I used bright watercolor paints. The three torn pieces of paper are calligraphy paper that I also purchased at the thrift store. I used my Tim Holtz distressed markers (I forgot I had them and was super happy when I found them)! Goes to show that I really REALLY need to reorganize my craft room!  I used a variety of stamps, stickers and markers. If you want more information please leave me a comment.

If you are reading this, I hope you have a fantastic day!

Here is a close up.

Husband's Birthday Card

Yesterday was my husbands birthday and I wanted to get him a card. I cannot use my cricut or cameo because my computer is being repaired so I decided to make him one. I wanted something that would express how I feel about him. He is the only man I have ever loved so I wanted to tell him that I only have one life and he is my one love. I used a Canson watercolor sheet and folded it in half. I painted the front with gesso and used craft paint to do the background. The heart was painted with acrylic paint. The stamps is fro inkadinkado alphabet and the edges were shaded with TH distress inks. The Love word was embossed with white powder.  I love how it turned out! Thanks for looking!

3rd Art Journal

Here is an homage to Shoes! This one really made me happy because I used shoes as the theme. I also used a bright yellow. Bright colors generally make me happy :). The shoes are cut outs from two sets of cards I bought at Ms. The white diamond shapes and butterflies (TH) are embossed in white. It was my first time embossing and I gotta say, I love it! The high heel stamps are by Fiskars and the start embellishments I've had for about 3 years and they are iron-ons from the Dollar tree. The edges were shaded by Tim Holtz distress inks. When the page was done, I painted over it with Mod Podge Luster and sprayed with the pearl mist. Again Polka Dots appear on this page too. They are so darn cute I guess!

The left side of the page was colored with expensive acrylic and the right side was colored with cheap craft paint. Can you tell the difference? I can't! 

Thanks for looking/reading!

Veronica

2nd Art Journal

Here is my second Art Journal. Dare to Dream. I was actually inspired by the Tim Holtz stamp and what it said. "in dreams we catch glimpses of life larger than our own" How true is that? When creating this Art Journal I thought about how whimsical my dreams can be sometimes. Not sure if my dreams are whimsical due to my creativity, but my dreams can be very Willy Wonka-esque! The birds signify flying, as I fly in some of my dreams. Hearts and polka dots appear here again. I didn't realize that I had repeated these shapes. I wonder what they mean to me?

Here, I started with gesso and covered the whole page. Masking tape was used to hold the two pages together.  I painted with blue acrylic pain and accented with gold paint. Dark blue water color pencil was used to add shadow around the page. A plastic mesh pattern was used to apply coral colored acrylic to the edges. The flowers were cut from an old photography book and the hearts were hand cut by me. The birds are embellishments that I bought at M's a long time ago. The whole page was misted with gold spray. The stamp again, TH and the Dare to Dream is inkadoodle alphabet stamps. Hope you enjoy this Art Journal.

Thank for reading!

Veronica

Art Journals

Hello blog! Well, I have not blogged in a while and I am not really sure why. Things have changed recently as I am not crafting as much.  I have taken a brief break to pursue another hobby. My new hobby is creating Art Journals. I find this fascinating because when I work on one I am free to express myself artistically.  Sometimes I can work on the same page for days and it makes feel at peace. It kind of clears my mind which is highly needed sometimes.

How did I get started? Well, I did not just jump into it. I did a lot of research on youtube.com and I had to pretty much buy all new supplies. My husband gave me a $100 gift card which I used to purchase acrylic and water color paints, water color pencils, background stamps, gesso, mod podge (both luster and matte), paint brushes, Canson watercolor paper, pearl/gold sprays, etc., etc., etc! I actually went to Michaels several times so that I can repeatedly use my 40% off coupon. Believe me, I stretched that $100 and was able to buy a ton of supplies. This week Michaels had Craft paints on sale 3 for $1.00 and I stocked up and bought a lot of fun colors. They also have all their clear stamps for $5.00 and they retail $14.00. I stocked up on most of Tim Holtz stamps. TH is perfect for Art Journals. 

Well, as I mentioned above, sometimes my mind needs clarity. On a long day, here is what I created. Looking at it you can see that my imagination ran wild that day! I must have needed a lot of clarity. I love how it translated onto paper.  

Here is what I did: I went to a thrift store and bought an old photography book. I cut out some of the pages to create hearts. Also tore paper strips which you can barely see embedded in the background.  I used my Cameo Silhouette to cut out floral and polka dots stencils which I pained in green, red and blue.  I used Tim Holtz stamps for the background. I really have to credit a lot of the tutorials on youtube. A lot of the ladies on there are fantastic with awesome techniques.  My technique still needs to be refined and I am sure practice will help! Please feel free to ask me any questions relating to my first Art Journal.

If you just read this, I hope you Have a fantastic Day!

Veronica