More Inspiration Journal

So while some of my spreads in this large Dylusions journal are inspired by Donna Downey, I also add in my own layouts to get the hang of working with this larger size. I have come to the conclusion that I like the smaller size better but this does have it's place. It might be growing on me.

 The Fairies:  This spread started with the background of spray inks that were mopped up from a canvas I had been experimenting on. I just loved the colors and didn't want to lose too much of it. These old scrapbook papers from a Once Upon a Time pack had been sitting in my scrap pile since my altered fairy box project. So I used them up. I learned that I don't much like the straight edges on those pieces, I probably should have torn them.

I also wanted to try out a new product I bought called translucent texture paste (matte) from Ranger. Really liked it. It dries totally clear with the thickness of a paste. It ended up a bit too clear for what I wanted here but I will be using it elsewhere!

Mythbusters:   This show was a favorite of mine for many seasons. I don't crave it like I used to but loved the show overall. I had saved an advertisement for the show from a Rolling Stone magazine and it was so huge that I never knew what to do with it...I didn't want to cut it up! So this large journal was perfect!

I literally did NOTHING to the left half of this spread. Just collaged the whole page down.

The right side of the spread became my little notes page. I put down some ledger type paper and just went to town writing little notes reminding me of some favorite episodes. (like Goldfish Memory, Chicken Cannon, and Balloon Pilot) Then, just dressed it up with a few cutouts from the other magazine page and some Distress inks. I love this page.

 Splendor from a Bud:  I had the need to use spray inks so I did! I just wanted to play with some colors and stencils and created this funky orange and pink background. I added the stamped flowers up the middle then searched for some big images. I was amazed how well my golden lady matched the layout. 

 The skeleton was added to tie the lady into the quote as well as to make the inference that we place too much emphasis on being skinny; that skinny is beautiful no matter what.

This magazine clipping had just the right shade of pink and the quote was inspiring.

Wonderland Garden:   This spread definitely displays my doubts about the larger page size. It was quite intimidating at first. The background came together all right but my other supplies were disproportionate. So I fell back to an "Alice in Wonderland" theme. Alice had quite a time growing smaller and growing taller. Overall the page was fun to play with and helped me to figure out how big Big is.

Alice is a digistamp from an unknown company/artist/merchant. If anyone knows where this image is from, I'd love to know. (Leave me a note in the comments) I got it in a "grab bag" as a prize on a challenge blog a couple years ago and it was unclear which image was from which sponsor.

The mushroom and caterpillar are from dictionary paper. I had these stamped and cut-out little circles in my scraps and wanted to use them up.

Remember the snotty flowers in the garden? I used up some paper flowers and just added a stamped face. I added this quote as it's one of my faves.

Hope you enjoyed seeing some pages. I'm still working in this journal and will post more when I get some more finished that are worthy of being photographed. (smile)

Thanks for stopping in.
--Wy
"I reject your reality and substitute my own." --Adam Savage in Mythbusters, quoting someone else?

The Art Journal: The Last Page

Looking for Red Carpet Challenge: The Book of Life? Click HERE!

I did it!
I finished up the 2014 Art Journal. I LOVE this page. I resolve to do more doodling in 2015. I need to make a list of all the things I really love to do and stick to that this year! I just have to POST it where I can SEE it...keeping it on Pinterest or the computer doesn't help me at all!

So here it is:

Curiouser and Curiouser:   I may have to resolve to finally sit down and actually read  Alice in Wonderland. I have only seen movie versions of it. Yet, I love all the nonsense in it. This background immediately made me think of Alice and her quiet remark, "Curiouser and curiouser." I was so in love with the background that I considered simply leaving it but changed my mind.

This image of Alice is from a group of Digi-stamps that I received as some goodie bag. I am unsure of the designer or company. I printed her out on cardstock and colored her in with Inktense pencils. (It has been too long since I played with my Inktense and I just love coloring with them!)    

I added the words to the upper corner as it just needed to be balanced. The background was the swirly stencil from Joggles. (Which is very quickly becoming one of my favorites!) Rather than spray ink, I decided to smoosh some ColorBox pigment ink through it. I got the idea to overlap colors HERE. I had a rainbow petal pad which allows each color to be removed in it's own smaller "cat eye" like pad. So it was easy to use the ink pad itself to push the color through the stencil. I used only red, yellow, and blue. Overlapping them slightly allows the secondary colors (orange, green, purple) to show up like a rainbow.
Because I did this through the stencil, the swirls remained white. I doodled patterns in the swirls with an ultra-fine black Sharpie. (this is becoming my Go-to black pen for art journaling!) I stuck to three patterns so the background didn't become too muddled.

So this concludes the 2014 ART JOURNAL!
I am still working in my Artist Journal. It won't be finished anytime soon. I'm not even half-way into it.

I JUST started work in my large Dylusions journal. This journal is being used for my Inspiration Wednesday playdates with Donna Downey.

I am tempted to buy another blank journal to start another Art Journal but think I might just stick with these two and try to complete several Altered Books this year. (I have a TON of ideas rolling around my brain!)

Thanks for reading along!
--Wy
"Three hits to the heart, son, and it's poetry in motion. One could send you down the river. Three's a strange way to be delivered."  --Indigo Girls, "Three Hits"

Red Carpet Studios Challenge #81: The Haunted Mansion

Whoooohoooo! It's time for my favorite theme for cardmaking: HALLOWEEN!!! At Red Carpet Studios the movie is The Haunted Mansion! I'll be on my way to see the "real" Haunted Mansion in a few weeks for my vacation. (Super excited! It's my first trip to Disney World!)

So make up a spooky scrapbook page, or a card, or a tag, or anything papercraft related and share it over on the challenge blog and you might win a little something!!!

When I pulled out my Halloween stash, I was a bit overwhelmed. I had an overflowing assortment of things from years past. So I made a slew of cards made up of bits and pieces. I'll share a bunch here but you can also find other projects and ideas in previous posts and in upcoming posts, too!

Tim Holtz Halloween: The stamps on this card are from Stamper's Anonymous and Tim Holtz. These are the new Halloween stamps that came out this year. These are the mini size. (Technically, these are my sisters stamps so THANKS, SIS!) I like the look of the wood carving these images provide as I am a fan of hand-carved stamps. This card front was actually inspired by an art journal page that I did. I was just playing around with some spray inks and testing out these new stamps. The page turned out so nice, I decided to recreate it on a card front! It's a spray ink background on watercolor paper and then it's trimmed down to stick onto the front of a 5.5 X 6 inch card. (I used Dylusions spray ink, black archival ink pad for stamping, a star stencil, a silver metallic pen, and a torn paper scrap for the moon)

Vintage Halloween:  My older brother collects old Halloween postcards. (You see the images of these postcards reproduced a lot. He collects the authentic originals and has amassed quite a collection over 40 years!) I always think of him when I use these vintage images. You can turn old photos into creepy portraits with just a few stamps or stickers. All I added to the "Ghoulfriends" was the black masks and the couple's portrait just needed a witches hat and a few bats. The sentiment reads, "Under my spell". The purple card just embraced the "trick or treating" aspect of Halloween.

Owloween:  Owls are on trend so naturally I wanted to use up some felt owls I had lying around for a year or so. The background of this card is what is really unique. I like to make "motherboards" out of scrap paper that I save from other projects. A motherboard is just a 8 1/2 X 11" sheet of sticker paper with the scraps stuck onto it. I don't make any patterns I just want to cover all the adhesive. I prefer to tear my paper and have minimal overlapping to maximize coverage. If I'm going to make cards, I then cut the mother board into four equal parts (5.5 X 4.25 rectangles or 1/4 of a sheet). The smaller sections become my background. The many "lines" of paper suggested this layout to me. I stamped the tree "branch" and filled in what the stamp didn't have. (the stamp is from Seaside Stamps and is actually a whole tree just turned on its side. But it wasn't long enough to cover the length of the card so I added more trunk on the right.) The colors suggest Halloween but it doesn't have to be. (The scrap paper used on this mother board all came from my Book of Fire Altered Book project.)

Spooktacular Scrap Card:  This card was again made from scraps of other projects. The stripes of pumpkins was a patterned cardstock scrap, the word was from stickers I had to use up and so were the bats. The stars were drawn in with a White Uniball pen on the blue card. The moon is a stamping mask I used on an ATC I was working on last week. I needed to mask off a circle on the card so I could ink it a variety of blue colors. The circle, of course, took on all these blues and so I made it my blue moon on this card. This card literally took 10 minutes but it looks great!

Scaredy Cat:  Did I spell that right? I have no idea but this little card demonstrates how an everyday stamp image can be turned into a Halloween image. This cute little digi-stamp is from Bugaboo Stamps. The cat might be playing or stalking a mouse but on a Halloween card, he might be hiding from something spooky! Again, the background was a mother board from scrap paper used in different Halloween projects. I just added the words to cement in the Halloween theme. The mother board backgrounds really are so busy that all you need to add is a focal image and a sentiment then it's finished. Nice.

Hope you found some ideas for your Halloween cards whether they're creepy, fun, whimsical, or vintage. Whatever you make, be sure to share over at Red Carpet Studios so I can see your designs and give your blog a look see!
--Wy
"The stars they turn, the candles burn
and the mouse-leaves scurry on the cold wind bourne,
and a mob of smiles shine down on thee
from the gourds hung high on the Halloween Tree."
       --Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree

Red Carpet Studio Challenge #70: Saving Private Ryan

 

Wow, I can't believe it's time for another challenge at Red Carpet Studios! If you're a fan of Bugaboo Digi Stamps, listen up...it's our prize for one lucky entrant! Go over to the Red Carpet Studios Challenge Blog for all the details on how to enter your project! Then, go to Bugaboo Stamps and drool over all the great images to use on all sorts of paper crafts!

 

                                     

The movie playing for Challenge #70 is "Saving Private Ryan" in honor of upcoming Memorial Day and today; Armed Forces Day! So think about what your traditions are at this time of year. Do you have a picnic or BBQ? Do you attend parades? How do you celebrate FAMILY? That's what the movie is all about; bringing family home.

Using this great image from Bugaboo Digi Stamps, I created two simple cards. This image reminds me of my older brother who was in the army 30 years ago as a chaplains assistant. He was stationed in Fort Meade, Maryland and earned money to go to college. I was in high school and became obsessed with military "fashion". I loved to wear his camouflage jacket!

We Salute You Cards:  Easy to make, these cards are a matter of coloring. I wanted something simple to show off the soldier. This soldier would make good congratulations cards or even a nice Welcome Home card for returning servicemen/servicewomen. The soldier is printed onto white cardstock and colored with Distress Markers. I cut him out to attach to the card front.

The flag background is done on a 6.5 X 5" card. I used tape to mask off the white areas then added Distress Stain (Barn Door) in between. The blue star field is composed of strips of washi tape that I had in my stash. (I'm trying to use up some Washi tape as the adhesive on the back seems to be getting old and not sticking very well anymore!) A simple hand written "We Salute You" makes the sentiment in the corner. Simple but effective, I think.

Since I had the Washi tape out and several more soldiers printed, I went ahead and did this card as well. Just plain blue cardstock cut to A2 standard size for the base. The washi tape is added on the diagonal, then I added my soldier. The little "congratulations" was stamped and cut out on white cardstock then attached to the red banner. The sentiment is from a Stampin Up set; Little Banners and stamps with it's own banner outline. I thought it looked too feminine for this card so I cut it off and added my own banner.

I'm sure I'll be making more of this simple cards as I can envision a background of fireworks or stars. I can print out the soldiers in a smaller size and make my own army! Several in a line would work great for a "Great Job" card from "all of us".

Happy Armed Forces Day! Don't forget to share your cards or scrapbook pages for Memorial Day with us over at Red Carpet Studios! I'd love to see what you create!
--Wy
"The Brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
their courage nerves a thousand living men."  ---Minot J. Savage