hi there friends.

i so enjoyed your artwork and lovely comments. you all got crafty-i love it! it has inspired me to do more online project ideas/classes. thank you.
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this past week i started art journaling, inspired by suzi blu and her beautiful art journals. i got a tan moleskin journal which i am all about. i purchased mine at rhino art (if you are local this is the best art supply store ever and the staff is really cool) it came in a pack of three for under 12 bucks. gotta love that. i heart the plain cover (you can get black too) and the simplicity of it. they are skinny so you can stick it in your purse or bag without any bulk.
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i experimented with some friends/art students of mine and i thought i would share their journals too. kids are so inspiring because they are so free. i want to share their magic with you.
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rebecca’s art journal cover: age 7

she used a paint pen at the top of the journal, and the mermaid is a card from a friend that i photocopied. the flower was part of a collage kit i received. my favorite part is the glitterati that she placed around the sides of the flower. glitterati is sooooo fun. it feels a little bit like straw and stays put nicely with mod podge, which is the glue we used for everything in these journals. you can actually iron the glitterati if you put it in between two pieces of paper. i have not ventured there yet. a bit of nipple (uh yeah, did not notice that when i gave it to her) was showing on the mermaid, so rebecca put a tiny shell to keep her decent. we called it a breast shell.
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sophie’s art journal cover: age nine.

she mod podged this fairy cut-out, another one i printed from a card. sophie was really into the gold flecks and completely covered a shell with it. (also with mod podge) i threw out the package to the gold flecks so i don’t know who makes them. (i got them in the glue section at michaels crafts and a picture of mona lisa is on the front). they are a great embellishment-we have been using them in mermaids fins and fairy’s wings.
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kim’s art journal:
sophie and rebecca’s mom.
i only had three moleskins so
she used paper and is going to make her own journal.

kim started off mod podging (are you guys sick of hearing me say mod podge yet cause i am kinda sick of writing it) colored tissue paper and rice paper onto the page, which gave it a pretty texture. she then incorporated real leaves, shells, a clear gem stone (which are great to put words and cool paper under) gold flecks, letter beads, sequence and glitterati.

this is my first page:
(i left the cover plain)

i started out painting the page with white gesso, which is a great base by the way. i mixed a bright blue with a deep purple to get this rich indigo color that i painted over the gesso. next i layered tissue paper (in similar colors) and rice paper in white.

also used-glitterati, a white button, gold paper, white and pink tinted glitter, silver letter beads, and gold flecks on the wings.

some of sophie’s pages:

materials used-words cut out of scrapbooking paper and copper rub-ons.

materials used: a gold sharpie paint pen, gold flecks (gold turned out to be somewhat of a theme for her) and real leaves. i love the pink and gold together.

it got late and i had to use the flash-this photo does not do this beautiful page justice. inspired by sophie’s art, i used the same colors. she liked my butterfly and added one to her page too. this is the beauty of doing art with others-you can share ideas.

the rose photo is a card from thea (which she also photographed, the girl makes rad cards) i layered the white rice paper over it which kind of gave it a vintage look. the shimmery paint is byzantia in deep metallic turquoise.

here is the other side:

materials layered: coral colored rice paper, light pink rice paper, letter cut-outs, sequence, and russet red fresco flakes. until i added the blue paint later, i was not digging this page at all-now i can’t stop staring at it. this just goes to show that just because you don’t start off liking your page does not mean you will always feel that way. try to trust the process to see what happens next. take a chance, even if it turns out different than you envisioned. you can always paint over it with gesso, or cut it up and use it on a new page.

now for rebecca’s pages:

butterfly stamp in gold. bloom from the dollar bin at michaels. simple yet poignant. you don’t have to fill up a whole page. it is okay to leave space.

copper swirly rub-ons and lavender tissue paper.

materials used: fairy cut-out, green and red sharpie paint pens, an ivory colored button, letter stickers and the word “try” is from a magnetic poetry collection. love how she put the F and A on the button-such a small thing but it makes the page stand out.

more stamping.

above translation:
rose in a field of sparkles.

these little sheep cracked me up! (bad flash pic but gorgeous pages) she embellished them with scrapbook buttons (thanks melanie!) and made a story to go along with it that will continue throughout the journal. apparently the sheep with the snorkeling mask is going to meet a mermaid in hawaii, then marry her and have a baby “shermaid.” i think this is an excellent example that art does not always have to be deep and serious. sometimes it may need to be dark and deep, however, it is also important to honor the playful side of your inner muse.
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i found that the moleskin pages held up well even though they are quite thin. they also have moleskin watercolor notebooks which look really fun. my art journal would not close because i have so much stuff in it so i tied ribbon around it.

hope this inspires you to experiment and make some art! you can use any of the ideas suggested on paper too-or better yet be bold and get a canvas. as andrea says, “invest in yourself.”
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an art journal is something safe that you cannot do wrong, a very special book just for you. you deserve something special, don’t you think?
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i will try to post another project this weekend-it all depends. i start my first camp next week and am feeling slightly overwhelmed. if time permits i will post one. if not then, then soon.
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on a sidenote-i still have a few fairy jar kits left. i pack these kits full of goodies plus a few surprises. even after you finish your jar you should have extra materials to keep you inspired and creating. the gold flecks are included plus a bunch of letter cut-outs and stickers. its a very decadent gift to receive.

here is how it is packaged:

keep up the wonderful work folks…
and please to share your work here.

i am proud of you for being open to creativity-
even if you have not started creating yet.
it will come when you are ready.

and we will be cheering you on when you are…