Improvements

In my last post, I talked about how discovering mixed media art, in particular art journals, had "saved me" from feeling stifled and just plain, "not me." I gave you a peek at some of my early mixed media attempts as well. I was feeling like my attempts were looking very amateurish so I searched YouTube for tutorials and inspiration.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

The Frugal Crafter - Lindsay is the epitome of artsiness! She offers scrapbook, mixed media, watercolor, drawing and tools and technique tutorials and posts almost daily. Plus, she's a bubbly free-spirit who is just plain fun to watch!

Jennibellie - A self-taught mixed media journalist, Jenni not only demonstrates techniques but also gives inspiring talks about creativity and building self-confidence. Plus, her English accent is fun to listen to.  I'm also following her free art journaling class, Inspiration Station. You should definitely check that out as well.

Sea Lemon - A graphic designer by training, "Sea" has lots of tutorials on all sorts of crafty projects. She has some great lessons on book binding. I've already bound some of my projects and will post them soon!

Mixed Media Jen - I like Jen's videos because there's usually no talking... she has fun music playing in the background and shows you what she's using. Plus, it's in fast-forward, so you get the end result in ten minutes or less, usually.

I'm a visual learner, so the YouTube videos have been so awesome! Just search, "mixed media tutorials," or "mixed media", or "icad," or similar. By the way, "icad" is Index Card a Day. You can find out more here. These are so freeing. I'll post some of mine soon!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading and Happy Creating!

Mixed Media: The Perfect Art for a Creative in Withdrawal

After closing my eBay and Etsy stores, I found myself feeling out-of-sorts. Something was missing in my life... I was enjoying my marriage and new baby, but I didn't feel myself. While browsing the internet, I stumbled upon The Documented Life Project, an art journal group offering weekly prompts to help you "document" your life through art. It's a really cool project! Here are a few pictures of the pages I made following the weekly prompts:

Week 8: Add a flap to your flap

 This was a really "tame" attempt... all stamping and paper scraps. I do like how it turned out, though...

Week 9: Collage something you recycled

A little friend!

I collaged a cake mix box from a cake I made for a co-worker's retirement party. It was also my birthday, so I made a little "Happy Birthday" scene on the other page (I can't find a picture of that right now).

Detail Week 9

Week 11: Draw, photograph or collage a bird onto your page

I used some name-brand 3-D items I had purchased (I don't recall the brand though, sorry) for the cage and the red bird but I drew the other bird and cut the word, "Chirp" out of decorative paper free-hand.
There is a light coat of white gesso on top.
















I followed along for a few months, but I found myself creating/experimenting in-between the weekly prompts. So, I decided to attempt to make an art journal on my own, no prompts, just whatever came to mind.

I went to the second-hand store and found an old sewing book from the 1970s. I used a pen knife and cut out every other page or so (and kept these for the awesome vintage pictures and fonts) to make the book more manageable and to create room for the dimensional objects I was planning on incorporating as I built my art journal. Note: If you want to create an art journal out of an old book, you'll have to use one that is bound, not glued. When you start cutting pages out of a glued book, your journal won't hold up and you'll likely lose pages you don't want to lose!

Here are my first attempts...

I don't like how the yellow and purple look on this page. The whole thing looks amateurish to me. Of course, it was my first attempt, so I should be nicer to myself...

 My next attempt... I like how the sewing book's original pages show through. I didn't really have any "mixed media" tools at this point so I used scrapbook paper, acrylic paint and mixed acrylic paint and water to make the green spray. The radiating circle stencil is actually one of those plastic picnic plate holders from the dollar store!

Page left

I don't have a good picture of this two-page  put together. I really like how it turned out. I used gesso, scrapbook paper and paper cut-outs of birds. I used watercolor pencils to draw the branches and leaves. The lattice work was accomplished by using a stencil and a compound made for creating a "snow" look for dioramas. I think I used some teal acrylic paint, too.

Page right

Texture detail

My sewing book journal really got me excited! I've been a busy girl and will post more pictures soon! Hope you enjoyed a peek at my beginner's attempts at an art journal!