Dimension!

Had a long-awaited art play-date with my friend and got inspired to do something a bit different and rather radical. I was finishing my journal page while my friend was making some greeting cards using her butterfly punch. I was looking at a bare patch on my spread and thinking aloud: "what am I going to put there?"....My friend said: "How about some of these butterflies?" Art Journalling serendipity yet again - I don't own a butterfly punch and had access to one as I was finishing a page...the page needed something but any more doodling &/or elements didn't feel right...got a bit of a different perspective having a different kind of paper-craft near me being created....and voila! my first dimensional element on a journal page. And why not?! There are no rules right?
Lena :)

Autumn

It's autumn (fall) here in Australia. I have had a beautiful scene to look at out of the dining area of my house. After a prolonged period of drought, we have had unseasonal wet weather in the last 6 months or so. Everything has been growing madly. Our feature 'fairy tree' has had a huge growth spurt (actually getting way too big for our small backyard & causing me some issues with the neighbours). In the last few weeks it has been rapidly shedding leaves resulting in a stunning golden carpet.

Just had to share it with my creative friends out there in blogland :)

Till next time,
Lena

Shabby Chic Cards

My creative juices have been flowing in all sorts of new directions lately. Still have not done any journalling but have started playing with some papercraft again. It all started with my daughter's party. I was so inspired with the name tags we did (see previous post pic) that I decided to make some shabby chic style cards. I loved playing with bits of pastel coloured papers. It created such a different look and feel, so girly....have definitely been releasing my girly side (never been a girly girl). It was really fun limiting my colour palette too to create that particular feel. The pastels don't show up that well on puter screen but here are some for your perusal :)









I do not use a lot of commercial scrap-booking products both for economical & philosophical reasons ;) I get so much satisfaction from keeping all my scraps, they are perfect for card-making. Art Journalling has opened up a whole new range of possibilities - book print, music sheets etc. (Paper doilies are my latest obsession) How cool are they with the shabby chic look?!

Bit of a break again....Thought I'd check in even though I have not done any art for months :( Life has been getting in the way again. It's been a busy few months. I have had a major creative project that I was obsessively immersed in - my daughter's 14th Birthday party. My creative juices went into overdrive as I discovered the abundance of breathtaking party blogs on the net. I saw this as my last chance to do 'girly' stuff (don't think she'll want a traditional style home party again) so I took my opportunities :) We had a vintage theme with lots of creams, pinks, lace etc. The centre-piece of the party was an Ice-Cream Sundae Buffet. Mum & daughter were very happy with the result. Here is a taste.





Anyway, the after-effect of the party is that I have had no easy access to my art materials. For months prior to the party, I took over the family dining table pretty much permanently. Next to the dining table, I had a trestle table full of art things with boxes underneath with more art things. As I needed both tables for the party, everything got packed away, fairly randomly in boxes which are now stacked up in the study. So now I have a chance to re-invent my art space. Oh how I dream of an art room!....That's not going to happen in this house...so I have to come up with a better solution here. I really like having a clear dining table...but I need to spread out with my art too...What to do?!
It's Sunday tomorrow & I'm planning to re-organise my boxes (the clear plastic, snap lock ones) I'm even thinking of labelling them. Is that too AR? The only solution that I have come up with is to stack them like a modular tower (or 2) in the only available space in the house - the formal lounge. It will be seen from the front door... :/ It is also a much much darker space than my casual dining are at the back of the house where I like doing art. I'm thinking I will set up my trestle table there as a work station with the box tower/s next to it & only have what I'm using for a current project out on the table. Will keep you posted.

Any (cheap) storage ideas are most welcome.
Lena :)

ATC Challenge

In the spirit of the promise to myself to get more involved in the online Mixed-Media community, I have just joined the 82 ATC Challenge run by Elli at www.peonyblue.com

I have played around a bit with ATCs a few years ago early on in my explorations/learning of the world of Mixed-Media and absolutely loved it. The mini-artworks are so fun to make and to admire afterwards. I have to admit that the only aspect that didn't sit well with me is the fact that you trade them ie. give away your babies ;) Yep, I don't think I'd be good at making art for a living.

I am an absolute pack rat when it comes to saving all my scraps of paper and ephemera and ATCs are a great way to use the tiniest bits for collage, as well as using up excess paint on backgrounds.

The challenge starts in a few days and I am really looking forward to playing along. Feeling a bit concerned that I will have to balance this committment with the 2 other projects I am currently doing. I am still going through the LaSirena course with Suzi Blu as well as doing the Strathmore workshop. Not to mention any Art Journalling I may want to do! But, as they say, the busiest people get the most done so I will trust that I can fit art into my everyday life better than I did in 2010.

Till next time :)

Stages of a page

Having never blogged before, I had no need for progress photos of a page. I have just discovered that I 'accidentally' have a pic of a background of a page that I have now completed. Thought it was a good opportunity to show it off.



I was at a friend's house for a catch-up. She had some beautiful paper napkins on the table with our tea & cake. Well, being an art journaller (one track mind), one is seeing ephemera possibilities everywhere ;) Thank goodness it was a good friend who knows my 'madness' and before I could ask, she laughed and said:"you want that serviette, don't you?" (And gave me a hand-full of course).

Anyway, I created a pink paint background with a view to layer that napkin on it. I really love the imperfection of the wrinkles that form when you peel a layer of a tissue off a 3ply napkin. I then stencilled some sequin waste on top. The page came to a sudden halt. It was too pretty to touch.

A few months later, I was searching through my focal images....and was floored. Here she was! A perfect image for my page (in her Hawaiian sarong, the colour was perfect, love how she faces away). I cut that image from a magazine a very long time ago. She was waiting for that background all that time. I love the magic, the serendipity of the Art Journalling process.


Until next time,
Lena :)

A new year, a fresh start....

I'm not usually one for new year's resolutions, but I have a strong intention to commit to regular postings on my Blog in 2011.

In the second part of 2010, my art journalling has taken a bit of a back-seat as I have come back to making cards again and challenged myself to push my comfort zone. I have been doing an on-line class with the one & only Suzi Blu. The La Sirena course was something I just had to do - it forced me to brave drawing/illustrating. Up till now I have been enjoying mixed media using mainly collage & painting techniques. I have learned so much. I now know how to make "pretty pretty girls" as Suzi says by perfecting facial symmetry using a formula. Quite a revelation.

In the absence of any new completed work, I will continue to post my old journal pages for now.


This is a very simple journal page done quickly. I spread some 'sea colours' using a credit card technique, hand cut fish from an old music book & doodled a bit with a white paint pen and a white gel pen. The page looked so peaceful & clean that I didn't feel like making it any busier. Yes, it was a challenge giving myself permission to just go with my instinct & not try & make it more arty. I decided to just put a lovely quote on it that I saved from a blog.