Art Journal Journey * June House Challenge

still inspired by the AJJ “Houses” challenge which keeps making me think of home…

this first piece for my newest loose page art journal was inspired by  an Indian woodblock stamp that I decided to sketch and color…

there is an African proverb that says: Love never loses it’s way home…

for the reverse side of this page I created a bee skep collage on torn text…plaster paper…Italian paper at the bottom

 and some stamping along with computer generated words…

my gelli print bird on a Dylusion spray ink background with plaster paper accents was fun to create with a pop of color…

the perfect “house” for a bird is a collage I created on the reverse side of my brightly colored gelli print card with lots of layers of gesso…paint and some rubber stamping…

the pages for my little art journal are coming together nicely with some other pages here and here…

August local “what do U see”: Limonata

Leiann’s goodie envelopes were each color themed with a different image included…

we did a group photo with each person’s packets…so the above doesn’t totally match what I brought home to play with but gives the general idea…

my packet had the dragonfly instead of a butterfly girl shown above and was all about yellow…

the bird landed on the roof of the house in the exact right spot as luck would have it when I attached the piece of scrapbook paper Leiann included…

I cannot seem to use the shredded text nest idea from Linda often enough…

I had the perfect little red flower to add too…

I Love playing with paper parasols and managed to use an entire one split on the front and back…

I used gesso here and there to tie things together…

attached a lady to peek out of the copper keyhole that I distressed and just happened to have some yellow brads handy…

my favorite number “13” torn from a Bingo sheet…

the ‘family stamps’ are from my collection too…

not sure which side I like best…

house shapes are great fun…

this one measures about 9″ tall x 6 ” wide…22.86cm x 15.24 …

I cannot wait to show you the latest smooshed kipper tin that Lisa Murphy made for me…it’s a beauty

what do you see…this house is made of Love and Dreams…

here are the bits that Linda sent to make a house for her in our Queen Bee “what do you see” swap…

after covering the plain cardboard house with music and book pages…

the next thing I wanted to do was cut out some windows…

saving the pieces to use as shutters…

two cute Paper Whimsy kids are looking out…

a piece of one of my golden flimmers made smoke coming out of the chimney…

I changed the white leaf ribbon Linda sent to green with a stylus and some stamping ink…

and I never miss a chance to use one of my handmade wire bird nest charms…

the rusty bird hanging with the sari ribbon loop at the top is from my stash…I just couldn’t seem to make Linda’s cute rusty rabbit work with my design…

the word festoso in the left hand corner… a happy coincidence that it is showing… means:

festoso m. (f. festosa, m plural festosi, f plural festose)

1. festive, merry, joyful, joyous
2. playful

pretty nice for any house…

I colored the little wooden oval piece and wrote Peace on one side and Light on the other…it says LOVE on the back of the number four…

I tea dyed the hankie bit at the bottom … it was from my Mom’s house…

completing the house to measure about 9.5 inches (24.13 cm) tall…

“this house is made of Love and Dreams” is what I wrote on the back of my house for Linda…

what do you see…just a peek for now

our latest Queen Bee swap was quite a challenge…

early in the year each of us gathered approximately a dozen or so items along with a substrate…all going in completely different directions with our ideas…

we sent the same surprise package of bits to each player so they could create something and return it to each of us…

I was inspired by kippers for my substrate…

Yes…Fish…a good source of calcium and iron…

funny…when I was a young girl I would run in the other direction when my parents ate sardines and such…

Love the long shape of the tins (about 6.25″ . ..16.87cm long)…way too good to throw away…

I grilled them and smashed them with a wooden mallet…punched a hole in one end so they can all be put on a metal ring when they are returned to me here in Virginia…

these are the items I sent to everyone…some of the gals said I sent strange items…hmmmm…

here is a peek at one side of my kipper tin that I made for myself using some of the same bits that I mailed out to everyone…

our mission was to try and use at least half … if not more of the items sent to us…

adding a few bits from our own stash…

this post is a small peek at what I created for everyone…

first was Linda’s house from Texas…

next … Nathalie’s Asian coaster from Missouri…it says one…two…three in Japanese … created before the recent tragic events…

Margaret’s bingo card from Switzerland…

and Carole’s wooden hoop from New Zealand…

this swap proved good therapy for all as we coped with death and earthquakes and more in our group…for me it felt good to know I still had some creativity that I could tap into…

thank you to all that inspire me on a daily basis…

the next step is to get these packaged up and in the mail to everyone…

when they arrive at their destinations we’ll be doing a full reveal on each of our blogs

… ce que vous voulez

“whatever you want” is the theme over at Dans ma maison

it has been way too long since I played on their challenge blog and I have missed it

Dans ma maison il y a … ce que vous voulez

some time ago the lovely Linda of Blue Eyed Girl sent me a wooden house shape that her husband had cut … I have been saving it for a special occasion and used it for the center of my three houses … they are not connected

I got excited and took a midnight photo here … I will try again in daylight … but wanted to get this posted for now

Mr Magpie cut the two smaller houses for me out of wood intended for stakes

the tallest peak measures not quite 3 inches tall (7,62 cm)

I used images from Altered Bits and Last Door Down the Hall

here is a photo taken out on our back porch in morning light … this one with a bit of glare … my block pics are very wabi sabi 😉

here are some other mini wooden chunkies I made last March … where does the time go … I had every intention of making more of these

it’s beginning to look….

a little more like Christmas around here

finally

(pics are all clickable for a closer look)

there came a point where I got tired of hearing myself say I was not feeling the holiday spirit

so I did one of the things that always helps make it feel like the holiday season … cut some greens and arranged them for outside

this wonderful ornament was from our local altered arts group swap (1 for 1) Linda Yeatman finds THE best road kill cans and such and transforms them into pieces of art!

and just look at Linda Richter’s magical little house on a box … every detail along with the shimmering glitter is wonderful … see the teeny tiny beaded snowman!

*the ornament and Christmas cottage are safely indoors now, they just made the little outside scene on the back porch look so pretty for my photo*

the holidays and shopping seem to go together … did you know there is a new online store … the very talented and sweet Caterina has opened a second blog … her Dolce Shop … stop by and see what treasures she has to offer

I’ve added her to my Shopping Anyone list on my sidebar

Ho Ho Snow!  Listening to a little Jack Johnson

Blue Christmas

lots of paint on these pages AND on my hands … about 4 different blues … two yellows and silver

as with my other December journal pages … I worked quickly using what was close at hand … the heat tool helped speed the drying paint between layers

*a closer look is just a click or two away*

the tiny cottage in the snow is a piece from an old advent calendar … I knew I saved all these years for some reason

and from Leo Tolstoy

“Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

did you know that if you wanted to see my other December Art Journal posts, all you have to do is look at Categories below and click on the words: December 2009 Art Journal and it will take you to all of my links so far

just “B”

here is my house for the Dans ma maison il y a “une lettre”  challenge this week

a favorite letter of mine  has always been “B” … I like what it has to say

I got excited when I received the latest Dover Design Sampler notification with free images … this batch had lots of wonderful offerings … the horses fit perfectly in my house

you too can sign up to get notice of the free Dover images here

the lovely lady is from a vintage French postcard from my collection, some dotted scrapbook paper, black German scrap, gesso, paint, ink and stamping along with black PanPastel for shading (thank you Teesha Moore)

WordPress is not letting me post photos so they can be clicked for closeups … not sure what has changed???

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook” ~William James

The Waterford Fair

it’s that time of year again when …

*all pics are clickable if you’d like a closer view*

the quaint village of Waterford, Virginia (settled in 1733)

hosts their annual three day Waterford Homes Tour & Crafts Exhibit …

the oldest juried crafts fair inVirginia (true artisans!) … this little video gives a nice look

Thos. Wetzel, Windsor Chair maker

Anne Leslie, Shadow Portraits … who also plays the fiddle in the video clip above

the house tour is a chance to visit homes you would otherwise never get to set foot in (I visited all five on Friday)

it was a full day … at one point I considered taking a nap

then I realized I was getting hungry … food is always a fun pause that refreshes at the fair (any fair)…

funnel cakes I’ve had … but Moravian Rolls were something new to me… delicious!  served by these sweet ‘kids’ from the Czech Republic and Romania … piping hot … with a cup of hot coffee to go with it from the Black Dog Coffee Company whose slogan is “Our beans are so fresh, you’ll want to slap them”

Mark Jaster and Sabrina

this mime and his sidekick were very entertaining

Loved this couple

John and Bunny Switzenberg are beekeepers and create THE most wonderful ornaments from beeswax … many using old German candy molds … the scent of cinnamon is irresistible

if you’re still with me … you may be feeling a little like this fellow

I could go on and on … it was such a delightful day from beginning to end …

*Footnote: I am entering this post in Ana’s Friday Archive dive*

Dans ma maison il y a “un ange”

in my house there is “an angel” for the Dans ma maison challenge this week

tissue papers, washi paper, ledger paper, Inkadinkadoo wing stamps, tinsel pipe cleaner halo

and glitter glue

“I’m no angel, but I’ve spread my wings a bit” ~Mae West

Dans ma maison il y a “une plume”

there is “a feather” in my house for the Dans ma maison challenge this week

a tipi (teepee) came to mind right away … three paper elements for my collage (NYPL Digital collection) along with feathers picked up here and there … a coating of beeswax to stick things together… and a strip of fabric and old rusty bottle cap

“The Great Spirit is in all things, he is in the air we breathe.  The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother.  She nourishes us, that which we put into the ground she returns to us…” ~Big Thunder (Bedagi) Wabanaki Algonquin

Dans ma maison il y a…une couronne

in my house there is a “crown”

running  late for this challenge

I would much rather play than clean/organize, but there comes a time, when…well, you know….wowee did I ever find some great ingredients in my art room

I came upon a Thanksgiving card from my good friend Lennie (not sure what year it was from), it just happened to be shaped like a house, I decided to alter the back (white side) of the card leaving the front of the card intact

a magazine page that I used to add texture to  a canvas a while ago (you paint the canvas and then press the magazine page onto it several times, it adds texture by pulling paint away giving interest to the canvas AND you get a nice painty piece of paper too, thank you Misty) made the perfect background

the crown is cut from one of the only faces I’ve ever painted in a Misty Mawn class a couple of years ago now….wish I had had someone take a  picture of my hands full of paint past my wrists…..that crown is laid over a winged crown sticker,  the lady is from Tallulahs

the wings were just waiting for someone to wear them (I had stamped them and covered them with clear embossing powder a long time ago)

I found a ‘matchbook’ of Heidi Swapp bling, perfect for my lace flower centers, I used chalks and inks to add more color

in the end my Muse reminds me of one of my favorite movie characters, Glinda, the good witch of the South (or was it North?) from the 1939 (WOW!) movie “The Wizard of Oz”….well my version anyway

seekers of thyme

Dans ma maison il y a… des ailes

in my house there are wings

this piece began with a piece of cardboard from a Nag Champa incense box

measuring 5.75 x 1.50 inches not counting the wings (14,6 x 3,8cm)

*clickable for a close up*

paint, paper, lace, a bird nest, Paper Whimsy girl,  crackle painted roof  highlighted with Silver Krylon pen, glitter spotted wings and a piece of pressed lemon thyme to finish

the ancient Greeks burned thyme incense and used it in their baths believing it was a source of courage

“Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall” ~Ray Bradbury