Ensnared

I had quite a tumultous last few weeks and have been working on this page off and on for the last couple of weeks. This is a page I did in Andi's Leonardo Calendar Journal.

To portray the feeling of being pulled in two different directions I used the string art technique posted on the Altered Books group this month.

Pioneer Fabric Page

Okay ... I am not particularly thrilled with this page. Fabric work remains hard for me ... I am really hot ... or really cold ... I think this one is cold LOL

I didn't have any particular concept for the page. I was determined to use these fabric letters I got, but they really were not the right size for the book, so that was not a good choice.

I use a combination of fabric and paper on tags and they seem easier for me.

Double Whammy!

Looks like I was tagged by Aileen and Joanne both for 7 random facts ... hope that doesn't mean I'm supposed to add 14 things LOL

1. I ran away from home when I was 2 ... so I could find a house with a swingset --- my Uncle bought me my own swingset after that LOL
2. I am a fraternal twin ... the cute one in case you wondered ;)
3. I frequently have psychic premonitions ... but only about people close to my heart
4. I took my Raggedy Ann doll on my first tour (at age 19) in drum and bugle corps ... and she was tortured and mutilated endlessly ... errrr ... or was that altered LOL
5. I love raw oysters!
6. I lost my 2nd tooth in a banana split ... the last banana split I ever ate LOL
7. I can wiggle my nose like a bunny

Hopefully, I'm not double tagging LOL ... but I tag:

Stacie Williams ... Tracey Kazimir-Cree ... Vale McFadzean ...Shirley McCutcheon ... Cathy Johnson ... Joyce Vance ... Andi Hinkle

Fleur-de-Lis Sister

Here is my entry for Wednesday Stamper this week.

Lizard Lair

I took a birdhouse assemblage class from Leighanna Light this weekend. What fun class ... and Leighanna is really fun and inspiring, so do take a class with her if you get a chance!

I started out with a solid black birdhouse and collaged papers in random areas and rubbed on some opaque sea green paint and got a whole different look.

I must have had the circle prompt from Inspire Me Thursday in the back of mind, because I ended up using several circular elements in my assemblage.

Siren of the Turquoise Blue

Since turquoise is one of my favorite colors, I wanted to find a way to use the Wednesday Stamper Challenge in Andi's calendar journal this month. It took me a while to figure out how to make turquoise work for a Leonardo Da Vinci drawing ... hee hee

Graffiti Art - Cheap Tricks

Yeah!! I got to put my skills from Traci Bautista's class to use! I did several large backgrounds and cut down for my 4X4s. The trick was to make them look like finished work.

It suddenly occurred to me that I used some of my favorite Cheap Tricks in these swap pages ... the larger punchinella is so fun to use; puff paint is so cheap and I love the look of it ... 3-D doodling ... how fun is that? And my new cheap trick I learned ... I found this paint at Wal-Mart called Xtreme Paint by Tulip. It is similar to a glitter paint. It has a clear binder with neon colored flecks in it. The binder dries so clear ... it disappears on the page almost except for the confetti flecks suspended in the paint ... but painting over it and wiping away some of the paint for a semi-resist effect was so cool!



Graffiti Art 4X4s

Book Find

This is funny ... I went to the thrift store hoping I would fund some antique books --- but my real cover story was that I needed a good doll arm LOL This is their 50% off day and the store was packed with stuff. I go in with the strangest shopping list ever ... and I almost always find it on the first outing. Last year I went in search of rat doll ... found it ... I went in search of a rubber fish ... found it LOL

These appear to be from a 1901 printing ... I can't wait to do something with these!

Touch of Egypt

This is the front and back of a page I did for a metal themed chunky book. It's hard to tell in the photo, but I embossed some Egyptian and hieroglyphic type images on the copper piece before I aged it with Liver of Sulphur. This is my entry for Wednesday Stamper this week.

Dream Voyage

This is another altered picture in a calendar journal. I need a cruise LOL

Jungle Trek

This is another journal page in a calendar journal round robin. This page had a picture I was to alter. Sometimes altering the existing pictures is harder for me than starting a page from scratch LOL I wasn't sure what to do, so I took advantage of the Wednesday Stamper Challenge and framed part of the picture and went from there ...

Resonate

This was weird. I finished my entry for this week's prompt about words on Inspire Me Thursday ... and this sentence popped into my head, so I did a second journal page.

I tried a Kelly Kilmer technique for the background on this page. It is amazing how cool these water soluble wax pastels blend. This was my first try and I didn't pick the best papers for the technique I think ... but I am using this technique again!

Sensitivity Prevails

This is my entry for Inspire Me Thursday. The prompt this week is words and what would a journal page be without words?

This week a friend did something special that shows he was sensitive to my feelings and I am very grateful ... and that is the inspiration for this journal page.

Getting Back to Your Roots

I did an art journal page to go along with some writing for Sunday Scribblings this week.

What are in your roots? Which events have the power to change the direction of that growth?

Tragic acts of violence such as the Virginia Tech and Columbine High School shootings shake me to my very core and stir my soul. My childhood was disturbing … full of trauma and controversy; those feelings of hatred and anger, desperation … feeling like an outcast … the tendency toward self-mutilation and that sense that I was an explosion waiting to happen -- I see those same things in these shooters. It is with great unease that I admit how close I came to wearing the shoes of one who keeps that chain of violence going.

I was one of the lucky ones that crossed paths with counselors that helped me change my destiny. Still you must wonder … what is the difference between me and the shooters. I found my way back to my roots and my roots were planted in whimsy and happiness … yet not everyone is able to make it full-circle back to that beginning. Sometimes events occur that change your path and you feel powerless to stop it.

Perhaps it depends on which is stronger … your roots … or the pull of events that gnarl and twist your branches changing the direction of your growth.

Mournful City

This is a picture in a New York themed calendar I altered for a journal round robin this month. It had a very gray look and feel and yet I felt drawn to it, so I wanted to leave the picture mostly in tact.

I wondered what it would look like if I tried journaling right over the photo, so I added some grit to the page with clear gesso. The sloppy lettering is what you get when you don't really know calligraphy and haven't used a dip-type calligraphy pen in 20 years LOL I just trudged on and went with the leaky fountian pen look LOL

Since I already had a bit of a grunge look going I added a couple rubberstamped images at the bottom for this week's Wednesday Stamper challenge. I was able to manage using my broken carved rubberstamp for this ... hee hee

Claudia's Show

I went to an art show featuring Claudia Roulier recently and this is a journal page I did to include a few snippets I collected from the gallery that day. It was flabberghasted at the amount of work Claudia had done ... and everything just drips creativity and mystery! Yeah!! Way to go Claudia!

Technique Postcard

This is a postcard I made for a swap on the Book Artz group using the Acrylic Paint Blend technique.

More Bird Photos

Thanks so much Kathy for taking my bird page pictures! I thought they looked cool all stacked up, but didn't think to get my own photo LOL

As you can see ... I ended up with skinny birds ... fat birds ... short birds ... tall birds; I even had one that looked like a duck, but he didn't make the cut LOL

I love this second picture ... reminds me of the Princess and the Pea ... hee hee

No Tears

Tears was the prompt on Inspire Me Thursday this week. It got me to thinking about my childhood. Trauma and tears were an everyday part of my childhood. I started thinking about my ancestors and how tears did not seem acceptable in so many situations.

I did this background for my example of the weathered metal technique-of-the-month on the Altered Books group. It was such a hard and cold surface treatment, a spread about "No Tears" seemed more fitting.

Doodle Bird Fatigue

I cant tell you how tired I am this week. It was just stressful all around. All kinds of things going awry at work ... then I go hit with some special assignments ... undercover work LOL I ended up working 10 hour days 3 days this week ... and then coming home and finishing up these fabric bird pages.

These ideas sound so simple in the beginning ... but then I multiple by 30 and reality sets in LOL I think 4 hours is the longest night sleep I've had this week with everything going on ... but I am sleeping tonight LOL