Ww Watermelon

this was the last week of the online workshop "pages and paint."  above is a painting i made based on a sketchbook idea (shown in the previous post).  i had a lot of fun drawing colors, images and textures from the original sketch.  that's a new thing for me.  i usually just go into a project without a clue as to what i'm going to do.  maybe i'll have some color in mind.  but it's nice to have some kind of theme to play with.

just a few more sketchbook pages...playing with color and inspiration (above).

this was the result of a prompt from the course instructor.  she mailed us goodie bags filled with fun little bits and prompts and ideas to get us going on our paintings.  the above was a game where we had to take whatever words she had given us and incorporate them into our sketchbooks or a painting.  my words were: "bubble gum pink, seaside, lines & dots, joy."  and that's what i came up with.

i hope to continue with the sketchbooks. i think they're a great place to play and try out ideas without the pressure of an entire blank canvas.  what kinds of activities do you do before a big project?  do you use an inspiration board?  a sketchbook?  or do you just dive in and see what happens?

random fall pages

here are a few pages from my little daily september journal/scrapbook.  there were a few days/memories that i didn't have photos for, but i still wanted to include in the journal. so i made a cute, scrappy title with some random alphabet stickers and wrote in all the details i could remember about the photo-less days/events.

close-up of a page.  i used some cardstock cut-outs from crate paper's random line (love it!!)

no journal of mine is complete without some hand lettering and doodling.

a little close-up of my somewhat neglected xtra large moleskine cahier...i got a little wrapped up in my 4x6 size mini book/daily album that i kind of forgot about my other journal. ;)

more page close-ups...

the above page is still in the works...needs some coloring-in of the writing, but i like how it's coming together.

and you've gotta try taking super close-up photos of your journals/artwork and then printing them as labels on sticker paper or as photos and then re-using them in your artwork/journals.  so much fun.  each page is full of new artwork just waiting to be exposed! :)

words to live by

here are a few more pages from the album i've been working on.  i really forget how much i like making these little scrapbook pages!

i love mixing colorful washi tape, boarders stickers, alphabet stickers (mix matched colors & fonts!) and using my moonlight gel pens to add little designs to the background.  and of course, i must have the pilot permaball to outline and journal and add little bits of texture and dimension to some of the elements on the page.

here is the cover of the album.  it is made of 5.75" x 5.75" envelopes from papersource (love LOVE that store!!)  i bought a super awesome kit on etsy once that taught me how to make the envelope album and now i'm hooked.  love it.

look at all these yummy colors!  and since it's made of envelopes, you can also use the pages to tuck in little bits of ephemera, notes, photos, secret journaling, etc.  i think these would make awesome journals, too.

i love the faux stitching on the border stickers on these two pages.  the stickers are from sassafrass lass.  makes me want to experiment with stitching (in the style of amy tangerine!)

some more examples of adding details with the gel pens.  i'm loving these banner stickers by sassafrass, too.  love adding them to the sides for a unique twist.

and i had to include a photo of my dear 81-year-young grama in my album!  i love her smile and her laugh.  she is the inspiration for the name of my blog, too.  love you, grama!  and i printed all the photos from my camera using the pogo printer.  fun!

my scrapbook style

i guess i would say my style is colorful and eclectic.  i don't do a lot of scrapbooking, but i am starting to kind of like it more and more. especially since they hold all of my precious photos of my day-to-day life. if they weren't in an album of some kind, they would just sit on a computer or in a dark box on my shelf!

so thank goodness for free classes like the one going on at big picture classes right now.  i am just that kind of crafter/artist that is motivated by daily assignments and "deadlines."  each day, a different teacher posts a new word of the day and a template.  i print out the template on colorful cardstock, cut to size, add a photo (printed from my portable pogo printer--LOVE!!) and then i'm good to go.

i've made 10 pages so far and that's 10 more photos that i will actually have the enjoyment of seeing and sharing with others. yay!  

and this is just a random shot taken with my phone at a red light on my way back home from running errands this afternoon.  i was just inspired by the super blue sky and the pop of red and yellow from the old western appliance sign.  (excuse the crazy dirty windshield!!  i must've run into a bunch of crazy bugs or something).  but that sign has been there for as long as i can remember.  now i am actually a little bit inspired to go around my town taking photos of all the old signs and buildings.  i'll keep you posted!

springtime journaling

here are a few recent journaling pages.  me and the girls have been taking walks for lunch to the nearby college campus where we spend hours running in the grass, frolicking in the fountain and cooling off in the shade.  while the girls play, i have the chance to journal.




the weather has been a bit cold and windy these past few days so we haven't had a chance to take our walks and journal outside.   but i know summer is just around the corner, so i'm enjoying this little bit of spring we have left.

ok, i had to share with you my new washi tape!  the first "row" is the normal sized tape.  two new favorites: airmail stripe and the black & white stripe.  the other three are just refills of my favorites that i'm almost out of.  the second row shows the new MINI tapes i just ordered from UGUISU online.  they come in groups of 8 and they are smaller than the average rolls.  so you can get a wide variety for a little less than you'd pay for the larger rolls.  this color combo is "vivid."  they also come in "sweet" which is a more pastel color combo.



i have been using a lot of tape, stickers, labels, scrap book paper, stamps and a few pens.



oh, and rub-ons are a lot of fun, too!  i would love to know what your favorite, must-have journaling supplies are.  feel free to share in the comments! :)

spring petit swap boxes

i received my spring petit inspiration box swap in the mail today from my partner, lelainia lloyd of tattered edge and all i can say is... WOW!!!

the details are so sweet!  from the "knob" on the drawer to the washi tape and zetti stamped image on the top.  and that's just the outside!

 when i opened the box, i found the treasures sweetly wrapped in tissue paper, surrounded by a cool ribbon with the word "believe" on it.

inside i found all sorts of fun and lovely and brightly colored treasures!

there were fabric bits, ribbon, paper, an old coin, lace, shredded money (!), a compas, two cards filled with different colored and patterned washi tape, mesh screen (for making cool prints in my art journal!), and a bag of all sorts of goodies (see detail pic below).

opening this bag was like opening a whole other box of goodies!  there were gold foil number stickers, tickets, labels, stickers, letters, you name it!  it's really hard to pick a favorite out of all these wonderful bits.

this was a fun tidbit, too!  a teeny tiny plastic fish with a cap for a nose!  i think it might have held ink at one time?  the box and all the goodies are so cool.  i'm just going to put it right inside my traveling journal bag because it has everything i need for art journaling on the go!

**WARNING: if you are my swap partner for the petit spring swap, stop reading now if you don't want to spoil your surprise!!**

i had such a great time with this swap.  my partners, lelainia and marlene were the best!  i had a lot of fun investigating over at their blogs, trying to get a feel for their style, favorite colors, and favorite items.  i'm not going to say which box is who's but i did want to share some sneak peeks into both.

 i added ribbons, trims and all kinds of little spring-inspired bits that i thought each partner would enjoy.

our group was put together based on our preferences.  i think we ended up being the "bright and colorful" and "anything goes" group!  it was a fun challenge to put together these boxes and the goodies inside according to each person's likes.

if you haven't done a petit inspiration swap with speckled egg yet, i highly recommend it!  these swaps are always so much fun.  i have always had the most delightful partners and it feels like a fun little treasure hunt as you put together the boxes and goodies with specific people in mind.  you can check out the flickr group to get an idea of how the swaps change with the seasons.  heather (of speckled egg) is a great hostess and she does a wonderful job pairing people up and keeping it fun!

Blog Update...

ok, it's settled. i'm a funky bright color girl. i've been fighting it out with the soft pastels and lacy things girl. and funky bright color girl won by a hair--or, a funky yarn. raul helped me play around with the html code and i was able to add a side image to spice things up a bit. it was cute. we were IM-ing code from across the room--me at my table and he at the couch--and we were trying to figure things out. this is what my hunny does all day at work and it was nice to share a little of that with him. i can see us in the not-so-distant future: i'm running my own artsy stay-at-home business/art studio and he's on the couch working from home and studying to be a professor (or conducting on-line classes!). he will be my tech support. thanks monkey muffin.

Studio Update...COLOR

Fun colors, I couldn't resist! I picked up some Twinkling H2Os at my local Papersource. Spent some time with Maya in the studio experimenting.
A bin full of funky yarn is my dream come true. And a wooden box full of junk.
Maya's little feet. Her toes criss cross and curl up when she's in the middle of an art project!
Happy Birthday to me! :) I turned 31 on April 24. Raul gifted me with a mini suitcase filled with fun goodies. :)
Random snapshots of COLOR splashed throughout my studio. Spent last week rearranging and adding more bits of ME.
Maya's collage below. I love her swirly signature on the bottom.
Finding bits of color here and there. My stepmom and her gal pal found a super cool THING out in front of our favorite shop, Fine Things in Arnold, CA. It's for hanging jewelry (I think!) and so I draped all my necklaces over it. It's got two sides, so it'd be perfect for an art show. Some day! :)
Feelin' blue when I collaged this in my art journal below. I'm currently in LOVE with Adirondack reinkers washed down with a little water and mixed in a teeny spray bottle ($1 at Target in the travel section). I bet they're much like the Adirondack color washes (already diluted in little bottles--might just get those next time!)