journal class with kelly kilmer

i had a ton o' fun taking art journaling classes with kelly kilmer this past weekend! catherine posted a little note on her blog last week about the classes and on a whim, i thought, "why not??" it's not that often that instructors teach classes in my back yard, so i set up a string of sitters (thank you, dad, raul, and brielle!) to watch the baby and i was good to go! ) ;) i didn't take any photos durring class (i always get to lost and absorbed in the moment!) but i did manage to take a few photos of the finished results.

friday evening was one of my favorite classes, it was all about using japanese deco and washi tape.

i am obsessed with tape at the moment. it's great. you can cover a page in no time and it adds the most interesting borders and little details.

kelly had an AMAZING stash of tape in all colors and sizes and patterns. i was in tape HEAVEN.

saturday was a class all about PENS! (another obsession!) we mostly took notes on all the cool pens in kelly's stash (sakura glaze, souffle, and micron pens, sharpie poster paint, signo, pitt pens, just to name a few!!) the funny thing is that i HAVE some of these pens, but i just didn't know how to use them. the souffle pens, for example. when i heard they could write on ANY background, i picked up a few. when i went to write with them, i just got a clear, watery mess. :( what i didn't know is that you have to WAIT for them to dry...that's where the real magic begins! :) they write clear and dry matte. i ended up giving them to my daughter...uh, oh. now i'm going to have to try to "steal" them back! ;)

on sunday, we made journals from start to finish. we painted the pages with acrylic washes and then when they dried, we stamped and stenciled to our heart's content!

and of course, we added more TAPE!

we painted the canvas covers and stenciled on the outside and the inside flaps (below).

wow. if kelly is ever in your area, TAKE A CLASS with her! she is so relaxed and full of great ideas and tips. and she is so generous with her supplies! in these particular classes, she let us try all her tape and pens and she supplied the paint and the paper and ephemera and EVERYTHING! you could walk in with not a single art supply and walk out with an amazing collection of artwork.

i cannot wait to get started journaling in my new journal. i'm not sure what i like more, using them or making them!

Birthday Party Fun...and more ART fun!

Happy 1st Birthday dear little Sureya!

(lookin' a little grumpy here...just woke up from a nap!)

Playing with the pull-string pinata

poking a dainty finger into her birthday cake

reaching for mom's camera. (getting lots of hugs from grandma!)

little ballerina baby.

i can't believe my baby is ONE year old already. seems like yesterday i was expecting this little one, wondering what it would be like to be a mama to a little baby again...running around pregnant to art festivals and classes (knowing it'd be my last chance for a loooong time!) and journaling my heart out, wondering what this little one would be like and how she'd fit into the family. now i can't imagine life without her! :)

i had fun prepping all the little details for her first birthday fiesta. it took me a while, but i just did a little bit here and there. i sewed up some goodie bags (with the help of this pattern from the talented artist-mama sharilyn over at lovely design)

i made some t-shirts with iron-on transfers of kokeshi dolls (kokeshi was the theme of the party!). i got these great designs from tracy ann digital art on etsy.

here's a peek into the girls' goodie bags. i found mini notebooks at daiso (japanese dollar store!) and made little journals for the girls. i printed out the kokeshi dolls on sticker paper, cut out and stuck them onto the front of the mini journals. i printed out the smaller kokeshi circles on sticker paper, too, and cut them out for them to use as stickers. the little buttons i found here on etsy (i tell you, that site is a dream! especially if you're trying to find unique items for a not-so-common-themed birthday party!) ;) the candies i found at the japanese dollar store, too. and the little tank tops were a bargain at Target for $3 each.

this is a total side-note, but one of my friends gave sureya the cutest baby toys from a new line at Target (i swear i'm not being payed to promote this store--i just live there!) i think it's just called "B" and both gifts came with this little recycled booklet. of course when i saw it, i thought, "ooh! bonus gift for me!" and started thinking of ways to alter it and use it for a pocket journal.

it even has the cutest little quotes in it! i'm not sure what to do with it but i know i'll be gessoing some of the pages and pasting little things here and there.

now we're WAAAAY off topic, but i couldn't resist showing off a little vintage office supply collection i have started. it all started with this post from hope over at paper relics. once i saw her awesome find on Ebay, i had to go searching for my own. got a lot of great deals, too. you just have to be patient...

recycling at its best...the box from one of the "B" baby gifts makes a perfect little cubby to store my labels and things!

more journal love...this is a folded enclosure card from paper source. i just cut some papers down to size and hand stitched a six-page signature. (also inspired by hope at paper relics!)

pages waiting to be written in! i'm actually playing around with the idea of making a bunch of these little journals to sell on etsy. i opened a storefront but i haven't listed anything yet. still playing with ideas. but i thought this would be fun to offer as ready-to-go journals and as kits (for the more DIY types!) what do you think, art journalers? sound interesting? ;)

i started writing, "something so exciting about a new journal"

so true.

journaling, art show, warm weather...

i am having a blast journaling almost daily along with others in the e-course Nostalgic Musings.

i've taken other online journaling and other art courses, but for some reason, i am really inspired by this group and by our teacher, Hope, and her simple yet very elegant style of journaling. Her prompts are also very inspiring and thought-provoking. i think i just respond well to a structured kind of environment when it comes to creating a daily creative habit.

here are some collaged book covers (insides) that will become the covers for a ringed journal.

i am completely loving my japanese masking tape and paper tape! adds such a quick and lovely layer to each page and creates wonderful borders.

last friday was maya's art show at school. she selected her favorite piece from all the lessons they've done throughout the year. she dressed up for the event. so cute!

they had some tables set up for the kids to create more works of art! here she is making some leaf rubbings.

this week has been a lot warmer than it has been in a while. last week it was raining and now we've got sun again! loving this manic spring weather! :)

here we are hanging out on the front lawn. sureya's fascinated by a bowl of sidewalk chalk. mostly, she likes to chew on them (eww!) but sometimes she will make little markings on the ground or on rocks. she loves to watch her sister draw on the front walk way:

i think maya was inspired by our trip to Arizona where we saw artists drawing amazing pictures on the ground with pastels.

sureya and cesar love to frolic together in the grass. cesar is such a good kitty. he is getting older, and technically, he's not really "our" cat. he is a neighborhood cat who has adopted us. he comes and goes as he pleases. he is a cat of many names to everyone on our street!

last week, the rain soaked (but didn't wash away!) maya's chalk drawings and some raccoons left evidence of their midnight visits!

sureya's feet are about the same size! so cute. the foot prints went from our porch , down the walkway and ended at the sidewalk. i forget sometimes living downtown how close we are to nature. just down the street from us is coyote creek. we get visits from raccoons and possums and we live in the middle of downtown san jose! it makes me want to live in the woods. but in a sense, we're half way there!