December Daily 2013

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a lovely week last week

and all of my fellow Americans a wonderful Thanksgiving.

I had hoped to get by here last week, but obviously it didn't happen.

 

 

So if you remember, a couple of weeks ago I started preparing for December Daily.

Not long after that post I stayed up till 3 o'clock in the morning putting my journal together.

I just didn't want to stop.

 

 

You might not know this about me, but I covet velvet.

Velvet anything.

Especially old velvet.

It just so happened that while putting my book together this bit of old, blue, velvet ribbon was sitting on my worktable.  I had thought to use it on another project, but while putting my signatures together I noticed how beautifully it went with the Basic Grey Fuitcake paper.

Ooh.  Makes me a bit giddy, that ribbon does.

 

 

Also I wanted to try binding my book block into the spine this way.

Even though I reinforced my spine well, I still had to do some repairs afterward.

{and looks like I need to on the inside now}

That's how it goes when you use a book that's around 90 years old.

But man, I think it was worth it to showcase that blue velvet.

 

 

Though I've started the intro pages of this year's book, I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to tackle the inside pages.  I'm pretty sure these two aren't finished.

However, I really need to keep this project as simple as I can.

The first year I did a December Daily {2010} it was more in a traditional scrapbook style.

In 2011 I went full on grungy art journal.

Last year I had started to go the same route, but it just didn't feel right and ended up turning towards a more clean and doodly style than grungy.

At the moment I'm feeling a combination of both of those, however, there are some traditional scrapbook techniques that I might try to incorporate into my style.

{whatever that might be...}

 

 

Last week I finished up a current art piece I was working on and have decided to not start the next as I had intended to, but instead designate the month of December to only December Daily {this year's and past,} as well as, catching up and finishing Project Life.

Crossing my fingers I can do it!

 



Project Life {May}

Another month down

and only 5 1/2 to go.

 

Here's a look at May.

 

Week 18

That blank "true story" card is waiting for a photo.

I've been pretty much using only phone photos throughout

and printing with the Canon Selphy CP900 makes this project move much faster for me.

The photo that goes here, however, is on the Farmboy's camera

and I need for him to be home longer than 10 minutes so he can process it.

He's been traveling a lot.

I'm starting to forget what he looks like.

 

Week 19

Mother's Day weekend.

Donuts, roses and champagne.

They treated me very well.

 

Week 20

One side is regular every day happenings

and the other is all about the travel day we had.

I'm exhausted just remembering it.

 

Now... no need to say anything... I know....

 

Week 21

Note to self: when choosing to hand write/hand cut a title be sure to give it ALL of your attention,

because when you give it only half and the other half to Captain Jack Harkness trying to catch a pterodactyl, this is what happens.

I really do know how to spell St. Croix... see?

It's staying.  I have neither the time, nor desire to fix it.

 

And...

 

Week 22

I think this layout is so different from any of the previous twenty-one weeks color-wise.

And I'm liking it.
Especially that lovely, little, Papaya! Art "Bonita."

Now all I need to do is get the next five and a half weeks whipped out plus my December Daily journal made.
hahahahahha... I make me laugh.

*********
Supplies used:
vintage ledger, Olive Edition core kit, Papaya! Art 2009 day planner,
paper pads from Crate Paper, Echo Park, We R Memory Keepers and My Mind's Eye & this one
and washi tape

 



The Weekend Worktable

I had intentions of spending the whole weekend playing in the studio,

but I ended up with only a few hours play.

 

But I made some useful time of it.

Remember all those journals I said were sitting open on my worktable?

Well I got to a couple of them.

 

The Spellbook

Although October is over and I had thought to put it away until next year,

it's still out.

I might keep it out until the end of November and hope a few more "spells" get added.

 

Journal No.10

Where gesso and white pen become a still life.

I'm enjoying the simplicity here.

 

Journal No.1

It got a start.

Maybe I'll get some evening time to finished it up this week.

 

Journal No.3

The Autumn Journal

Nothing... but I can see it so very clearly.

I need to get it down before it fades.

 

So, what did you do this weekend?

 



Call Me Crazy

It's that time of year again.

Time to start thinking about December Daily.

And I've already done more than start thinkin', y'all.

 

 

I've gone ahead and picked my paper from my

Basic Gray Christmas hoard

and purchased a vintage book to house it all in.

Now normally by this point I haven't even finish last year's book,

but this year I've upped the ante.

 

 

I have not only

not finished last year's December Daily,

but I haven't finished 2011's either.

Yep, that's right.

 

 

And that's not even the all of it.

I am really livin' on the edge,

because not only have I picked my paper and found my book for this year,

 

 

but I am ready for next year too.

 

Seriously people....

what's wrong with me?

 



The Process {Inside an Art Journal}

It started simply

by smearing around some leftover paint on a couple of blank pages.

 

A few weeks later I was given a card by a couple of very sweet young ladies

while out walking the dog.

It just so happened that the colors worked well with the paint I had smeared.

 

 

Two days later it was time to begin.

Ephemera gathered.

Glued down.

"And the little children sang"

was penned next.

 

 

After that I found out that Dawn had NaNoJouMo promts happening here.

I like prompts.

And also the song lyrics worked really well with the page.

Added.

Flowers finished.  Swirlies drawn in white and drippy bits across the top of the right side.

I am loving the drippy doodle right now.

 

 

Over on the left side;

Doodle.  Make a hot mess.  Try to fix it and make a bigger mess.

Cover it up with gesso.

 

 

This time, fix it for real.

Add a little color here; a little contrast there; a few pen lines.

Edge it all in charcoal and add the finish date.

One week from the start date.

 

 

Remind myself that Rome wasn't built in a day either.

 



Old Dogs In Crystal Balls

It's been just over a year since I lost my beloved Lucy.

At the time I had my Autumn Journal sitting out on my worktable.

A few weeks after saying goodbye, this came out.

A memorial of a sort.

 

 

Black and white with a touch of red.

She only wore red collars.

The color popped so prettily against her fur.

 

 

A little fella who just happens to make me think of dogs.

 

 

A "crystal ball,"

because as Dorothy saw Auntie Em, I just wanted to see her one more time.

 

 

Broken hearts and tearful stars

and the words of Mary Oliver...

"What would the world be like without music or rivers

or the green and tender grass?

What would this world be like without dogs?"

 

Really now, what would this world be like?

Probably shouldn't ask that question of cat people, huh?

 



Journals, Journals, Journals

A few weeks ago I decided to pull out all of my journals and number them in the order in which they were created.

 

So I dug them all out.  Looked at them.  And revised my plan.

{Also, I'm pretty sure there are some I missed in a cabinet I didn't check.}

I altered my plan from numbering all the journals to just the ones that have been specifically used for only random play.

It seems I have quite a few journals that are themed or I've been using for certain projects/prompts or I'm using very specific mediums in.

So everything that has been only used for a special project, theme, memory keeping, doodling or drawing got set aside.

That left me with seven.

 

Seven got numbered.

And not a single one of those seven is complete and full.

As I was putting them all back the shelf I decided to keep No.1 out.

And actually finish it.

Then a few days later I was working on a special project

{Hello big dreams.  I'm back to working towards you.}

and I had some left over paint that I didn't want to go to waste, so I pulled out another of the numbered journals to deposit it in.

 

Then one day it felt like autumn outside and so I went and got my Autumn journal,

because I haven't touched it since last autumn.

And now, as I sit here at my worktable writing this, I count six open journals;

a spellbook, a doodle journal, a December Daily and art journals numbers 1, 3 and 7. 

 

It seems pulling forgotten journals off shelves to number is a pretty productive idea.