Hot and Spicy

This is on a piece of brown paper bag.  I started by gluing a partial page from a vintage book. I used my foam spiral stamp and left over acrylic paints from a previous journal page.  I liked the randomness of the colors and added  more paint. Then, I used my dip brush with black India ink to add lines after it all dried.  I like using the dip pen because it will write over all the paint and has a line that isn’t as thick as the Sharpie marker that I have used on some of my other art work. I also used a Wite-out correction pen in a few places. I covered most of those white lines with Caran d’Ache crayons because I thought they were way too bold on the piece.  This will be a page in a journal I hope to make in the future.

 

Journal -#16

I want to tell you about a Mail Art Swap that is hosted by Janet and Lee.  All the details are at Janet’s blog:   http://jkbees.blogspot.com/     Also, check out the link to Lee’s blog at Janet’s blog.  Sign up before June 7!  Swaps are fun and anyone can join in.  If you have never participated in one…try it!

This page in my experimental journal began with an aqua and white background.  I doodled all over it with a dip pen and black India ink.  Next, I collaged some of my painted phone book pages down.  After the glue dried, I embellished that  with more doodles and Caran d’Ache crayons.

Folk Art Motifs

A few weeks ago, I posted about a book sale  sponsored by our local friends of the library.  At that sale, for fifty cents, I purchased a book  in the art section entitled: Folk Art Motifs of Pennsylvania by Frances Lichten. It is a Dover book.  It is under copyright by the estate of Frances Lichten. The first copyright was in 1954.   

I picked the book up last week and looked it closely and I was amazed by the sketches and color pages.  The author redrew motifs from quilts, ceramics, painted furniture, tinware, and other items.  This portrays a look at traditional Pennsylvania Dutch motifs.  My favorite ones in the book are tulips, birds, parrots, and mermaids.  I was surprised by this book and the variety of motifs.  I haven’t checked Amazon to see if it is available there.  I know I’m going to be able to incorporate some of the vines and leaves in some of my own doodles.  I have another spread finished in my journal but I will have to share that another day. 

Small Cereal Box Journal Pages

I am trying to finish up some of my old projects.   This week, I picked up my cereal box journal and decided to finish it.  I want to make another one so I have committed to finishing this one before I make another.  The pages in this one were made of tissue, tea and cereal boxes.  I used the foil liner from a dog food bag to make the tabs that the cardboard pages are sewn into the spine of the book.  This book measures slightly less than 5×5 inches.  Here are three spreads from the book:

Hurry Up!

I was trying to think of a name for this piece and the words “hurry up” popped into my head.   I started with a red, black and white acrylic paint background with a touch of green.  I also brushed on some red India ink. Next, I doodled over it with black India ink. I didn’t like how that turned out so I started putting down paint with a palette knife.  After it dried, I used some Caran d’Ache crayons in a few places.  I decided to stop there…I wasn’t sure if it was finished or not…I’m calling it finished.

Doodle with Color

Here is a doodle I did on a painted background. I started by spreading some acrylic paint….orange and pink….on a piece of watercolor paper. After that dried, I used a Sharpie permanent maker followed by my Bic Wite-out correction pen.  I finished by using the black maker to touch up some areas that I thought had too much white.  I was mainly experimenting.  The second doodle was drawn with a black copic marker…my first time using a copic marker….I didn’t think it performed  any better than the less expensive Sharpie marker that I have been using for most of my doodles. 

 

Doodles for Today & Ice Cream Cake

I finished two more doodles today.  I plan to add my doodles to a painted background soon.  I used a Sharpie chisel tip marker for the heavy lines and a Sharpie ultra fine point for the thin lines.  On the second doodle, I did try Blick Studio marker but it tended to bleed a little much for my liking.

AFTERTHOUGHT:  When I posted this last night, I forgot to mention the Ice Cream Cake that I made for Mother’s Day.  It was wonderful and my family all loved it.  Two things, if you try this recipe….do not use carmel topping between layers (stick to the recipe) and do not press the cookie dough down into the bottom of the cake pan,  use it as it comes from the package.  Here is the recipe on Cathe Holden’s blog…look around her blog while there, she has lots of freebie items to print out: http://justsomethingimade.blogspot.com/2009/05/ice-cream-cake-at-firehouse.html

Journal & Doodles

 

This morning, we went to a book sale sponsored by Friends of the Library.  They have a spring and fall sale.  We try and go each time they have them.  I picked up several books to use as altered books or  art journals. I found a German language book  printed in the United States in 1933.  I plan to use it for collage.  My hubby found a 1907 copy of  The Iron Heel by Jack London.  I think it must be one of his lesser known books….at least, I’d never heard of it until this morning.

I am taking Traci Bautista’s class “Creative Doodles”  that started this week. I am posting two doodles from that class. It’s a lot of fun. Read more about it here: http://creativityunleashed.ning.com/    Also, here are three more pages from my Remains of the Day Journal I posted about yesterday.

Remains of the Day Journal

I started this a few months ago and finally got around to finishing it this past weekend. I made this as a result of taking a class, “Remains of the Day,” by Mary Ann Moss. It is comprised entirely out of found papers….old sheet music, maps, magazines, pages from vintage children’s books and other books. I also used some security envelopes plus some of my doodlings scraps. I used an old file folder for the cover and used collage pieces over that. I glued pages from an old craft book on the inside back and front covers. I glued the collage pieces down lightly, then stitched around most of them. I ended up with four signatures which I sewed in with the sewing machine. I covered the stitches on the spine with black masking tape. I didn’t know what I was going to use as a closure…I finally got the idea to use strips of an old vintage handkerchief.