The Evolution Of A Journal

Back in October of 2009

I was just starting to really dip into art journaling.

 

I had been making journals long before that.

That was the part I liked doing, the making, but not too strong in the filling them department.

At that time Stampington & Co. was getting ready to put out a new publication.

Art Journaling

{dang, that was a long time ago}

and Pam Garrison was gracing that first cover.

I couldn't wait to get my mits on it.

 

In the meantime, I made myself an Autumn journal.

I wrote about here and here.

I even made a little art inside of it.

And then it was shoved to the side and sadly forgotten about.

 

That is...

until last week.

I found it.

Under a pile of other half empty journals.

{yeah.  it's how I roll.}

 

As I thumbed through the first 8 pages,

those that actually had something on them,

I had to "wow" and giggle.

Those pages are SO different from how I journal now.

Not that I don't like them...

there are bits and pieces of them that I do.

 

It's just that...

well, they are hardly grungy at all...

very precise, in fact.

And hardly a lick of paint.

{gasp!}

I don't even know how to function without paint nowadays.

 

So at that moment I decided to see what I could do about filling in a few more pages this Autumn.

 

Two down...

forty to go.

{yeah, I just snorted there, right along with you}

 

Here's to evolution!

I wonder what I'll think in another three years.

 

 



An Autumn Walk

She welcomed November,
as she briskly strode across the meadow,
each sturdy boot clad step made with determination.

Once at the far edge, she paused to admire the loveliness of the spent seedpods peeking out from the tall grasses.

Across her face the crisp breeze swept her wayward locks,
which had escaped their pins and the warm sun brought forth a rose blush to her cheeks.

As she entered the wood, bird song, carried on the wind,
danced its melodic tune to her ear and made her smile.

Soon the soft bubbling of the brook could also be heard,
amongst the rustle of her walking skirts.

With a soft sigh, she realized how autumn was drawing her into itself.
She could quickly learn to love this season after all.

Seasons ~ Autumn

Technically it's still Autumn, but it sure doesn't feel like it outside today. Brrrr... it's cold out there!

Tonight I'm meeting up with some girlfriends to exchange our "Seasons" round robin books, so I thought I would share my "Autumn" pages with you this morning.



It's important to me to make sure, that while working in these books, I not only incorporate my own style into the artwork, but keep the integrity of the book owner too.

And I think I've managed to do that, here in Nina's book.

This end result was not my first plan. There are pieces of the plan that I kept, but originally I was going to go for a more wheat field kind of feel. But then this wonderfully, sharing lady posted the gorgeous image I did use. And when I saw it, there was just no way I couldn't use it... it was perfect for the piece.

A few details...
Still can't get enough embroidery... loving it. The rose image is the same one that used to be in my blog banner... shared by Ranjini. And the beautiful vintage beads and sequins, aka "crafter's crack", I picked up at Wanda's vendor table at Silver Bella.

For a Spring girl, I think I could get into this Autumn thing. I'm liking this layout so much in fact, that I'm doing a little mini version in my Autumn Journal.


Thank you for the lovely comments on my holiday decorating! I really appreciate ALL of them!
Have a beautiful Wednesday!

Autumn Journal

First off, thank you for your well wishes! Everyone is feeling better and back into a regular routine.

Just before I came down with that nasty bug, I worked in my Autumn Journal and managed to get the first two pages done.

This first page came together in, at the very, very least, 30 minutes. Seriously, that's a record for me. (If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know I'm as slow as molasses when it comes to creating anything!)

This second page, took a little bit longer, but once I got going, it too was done in no time.

I watered down some acrylic paint for the background wash. One of the colors I used, was a metallic gold. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it gives a nice golden sheen to it. For the vines, I used a brown watercolor pencil and then, once dry, added some shadow to it with my one and only (at this point!) Copic marker. I listed my "journal goals" with my dip pen.

I was hoping around blogland the other day and ended up at Sugared Songbird's Etsy shop. She hand dyes ribbons and her color combinations are really pretty. She had a bunch of Autumny colors that I thought would look nice within my journal. So I had an impulse shopping moment.

I'm glad I did. I had not purchased from her before, but I will again. I'm very happy with my ribbons. They are quite lovely!

I hope you are having a beautiful week! I'm off to replenish my Kleenex supply... still sniffley.

Autumn Journal

I. Love. Journals.

I love looking at them. I love buying them. I love making them. I just have a hard time filling them up.

I find her journals and her journals very inspiring, as many of you probably do too. But I think the one whom I find the most inspiring is Natalea. She just whips them out so fast and effortlessly and they are always fabulous and interesting to look at.

Natalea recently created a journal just for Autumn. I recently acquired this gorgeous bit of velvet rose, which someone had tacked to a bit of black tulle netting.

So, inspired by both Natalea and the velvet, I set out to create yet another journal.

I started with a hard back book, that I picked up from the library for a quarter. Gutted it and sliced it into two, right down the center of the spine.

I'm going to sidetrack for just a moment here and tell you a little story...
Almost exactly a year ago, I was wandering through Hobby Lobby and saw a Zutter Bind-It-All. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and bought it right then and there without even going home to get a 40% off coupon. Visions of beautiful journals danced in my head all the way home. Then a day or two later, I read on someone's blog that it was a great tool, but you just need to take it slow and do some practicing with it first to make sure you learn to line things up correctly. Frozen is what I became. Silly I know, but I wouldn't go near it after that. In fact I never even opened the box. Until yesterday. Two weeks ago, a friend demonstrated how easy it is to use. I even got to try it and she was right.

She had some scrapbooks she had done, but instead of using the wire binding, she used ribbons to tie it all together. I loved that idea, but instead of individual ribbons down the spine, I decide to lace my journal with seambinding.

At first I wasn't sure if I would be able to bind it this way, because I had to punch through the book spine plus two layers of velvet ribbon. I had a hard time getting it into the slot, but once I did, it punched without any problem.

I'm so pleased with it! Now to just fill it... we'll see how that goes.

Fall Craft Fair

For those of you in the DFW area the Fall craft fairs are upon us.

As you know, I will be participating in my very first craft fair, so I thought I would share the details with you. It will be held...

Saturday, October 18, 2008
10am to 4pm

Arapaho United Methodist Church
1400 West Arapaho Road
Richardson, TX

Admission is free.

Here is another little peek of just a few of my items.


If you live in the area, I would love for you to come by and visit with me!

Okay, gotta get back to work... only a week left!

Happy Autumn

I know... I'm a day late, but better late than never. And I'm late because Autumn has been front and center for me for the last month. No, not physically... not here in Texas (although it has cooled off quite a bit). You know how I've been so busy? Well, I have my first Craft Show coming up next month. A Fall Craft Show. Here is a small glimpse of what I've been working on.



In addition to these, I've been making note cards, gift tags, some Halloween goodies and a few other Autumn things.

Like I said, this is my first Craft Show, so if anyone has any advice, well, PLEASE feel free to share. I'll take any advice I can get!

Have a beautiful first week of Autumn!