tea cup art journal…

back in March while digging through some of my art supplies I came across a set of blank chipboard tea cups (if you’d like a closer look you can click on the photos)…

so I got busy sharing my progress along the way with you here…

I did not concern myself with the order of the tea cups…

rather I worked on the fronts and backs of each cup as the spirit moved me off and on over the months…

it worked well that there was no official “cover” so the pages can be turned and left open where ever…

it really was fun and a nice little challenge to work around the handle of each cup keeping the designs on the simple side…

a shout out to Elizabeth our hostess with the mostess… I was the lucky winner of her second anniversary giveaway and here are the lovely goodies I received (I confess the paper hound in me really swooned over the lovely star tissue paper which reminds me so much of my German heritage)…

here’s wishing you a Happy T Day along with everyone over at Elizabeth’s Altered Book Lover…  thank you for stopping by I appreciate your visit very much…

dancing around the room T …

when a  set of chipboard tea cups surfaced while I was doing some clearing out I just had to play with layers of my favorite map tissue and my white acrylic paint pen…

the words are computer generated …

and speaking of cups … this photo of my Irish Shannonbridge cup that we brought back from Dublin in 2013 has nice hot Organic Choice Earl Grey tea in it (the elf/Zwerg really wanted to have his picture taken too as standing around holding wooden toothpicks all day can get a little tiresome)…

that delicious quinoa and spelt flour scone is something Mr Magpie and I treat ourselves to every now and then at our local Le Pain Bakery (their Chia Muffins are irresistible too!)…

wishing you a ♣Happy St Paddy’s Day♣ and a Happy T Day along with everyone over at Elizabeth’s T Stands for Tuesday…

(if you would like please feel free to help yourself to a copy of my 1909 postcard sent to Miss Raftery in New York, NY)

“When the first light of sun, Bless you.  When the long day is done, Bless you.  In your smiles and your tears, Bless you.  Through each day of your years, Bless you.”  ~Irish Blessing

Second on the 2nd

Elizabeth started a fun new monthly challenge this January which is nice since it is only once a month…

you can read all about it on her Altered Book Lover blog…

 here is a blast from my art journaling past that I posted back in January 2008

“Paint Scraped Journal Pages“

“I am drawn to vintage everything, so these pages were a huge departure for me along with being a whole lot of fun.

The Britannica Junior encyclopedia pages make a wonderful canvas and receive paint very well.

One of the things that made these pages different for me was using images found in everyday magazines/publications.

“Inspired” would be on the left hand spread and “354 check” would be the right hand side of the book. Just above the number is a red label that says “Remove Before Flight”. It could be tricky flying with a peacock on your head!

“Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.” ~Bo Bennett

through the forest…

what with one thing and another I haven’t been able to get myself up in my art room much lately…

ideas for Art Journal Journey’s “Deep in the Forest” theme have been rattling around in my head all month…

I had my doubts about trying to draw even a few simple trees along with sloshing layers of paint on the page but I kept pushing forward…

that lovely Waterhouse image was a great starting point…

three little birds…

trying to settle down here while part of me is still at the beach…

 I happened to have a couple of pages started in one of my little gesso magazine page journals so I got busy adding finishing touches…

with a new to me paint pen I was excited to learn about in a which is the best white marker conversation with local mixed media art friends (thank you Leiann)…

you can see in the first photo of the empty marker that it has a metal ball inside for mixing and special paint that is recommended to not clog the spring loaded tip (the true test of a pen for me is how it works weeks and months after first using it)…

*Note: Golden Paints has a new HIGH FLOW paint line that works in these markers as well*

doodling with the paint pen helped add an extra layer to my pages…

so far I’ve used the Extra Fine tip which feels more like “medium” to me (the “fine” tip looks quite thick)…

Bob Marley’s song “Three Little Birds“ has a great sound with uplifting lyrics…

“Don’t worry about a thing,

‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right! “

Rise up this mornin’,
Smile with the risin’ sun,
Three little birds
Each by my doorstep
Singin’ sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin’, (“This is my message to you-ou-ou: “) … Chorus

this is getting a little long  and I still have lots of blog friends to visit so I will share my other pages on another day…

~♥ Happy Weekend Dear Ones ♥~

The Craft Barn Q&L Challenge – Childhood & Easier

a quote on childhood along with the little girl image came my way as inspiration for the other side of one of my loose art journal pages for The Craft Barn Quote & Lyric “Childhood and/or Easier” challenge…

as a mother of three sons I often feel the surprise of how quickly young children can grow up especially looking back on the more intense child rearing days…

I like the idea of staying in touch with our inner child so this quote speaks to me too:

“It is never too late to have a happy childhood” -Tom Robbins 

“Childhood is a short season” -Helen Hayes

 

“Half of my Heart”

singer and songwriter John Mayer is a favorite artist of mine and I am lucky to have seen him live in concert several times over the years…

his song “Half of my Heart” from his Battle Studies album inspired some journal pages in one of my larger (7.5 x 10″) art journals…

lots and lots of layers using tissue paper… the inside of a pink security envelope with the window… scrap papers… stencils… paint… gesso… Behr Venetian Plaster and more…

the Tin Can Inkadinkadoo dreamy face rubber stamp from long ago and a favorite burst of mine using a bit of golden flimmerstern with some bits of German scrap…

my newest Stencil Girl burst stencil from our wonderful local Goldenshill Papercrafts helped add the finishing touches to my pages which I am entering for the first time in the Moo Mania & More challenge of “Music is in the air“ …

~♥~

music has been an inspiration to me since as long as I can remember

“I was born in the arms of imaginary friends
Free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I’ve been

Then you come on crashing in
Like the realest thing
Trying my best to understand
All that your love can bring

Oh, half of my heart’s got a grip on the situation
Half of my heart takes time
Half of my heart’s got a right mind
To tell you that I can’t keep lovin’ you, can’t keep lovin’ you
Oh, with half of my heart

I was made to believe I’d never love somebody else
Made a plan, stay the man who can only love himself

Lonely was the song I sang
‘Til the day you came
Showing me another way
And all that my love can bring

Oh, half of my heart’s got a grip on the situation
Half of my heart takes time
Half of my heart’s got a right mind
To tell you that I can’t keep lovin’ you, can’t keep lovin’ you
Oh, with half of my heart, with half of my heart

Your faith is strong, but I can only fall short for so long
Down the road, later on
You will hate that I never gave more to you
Than half of my heart

But I can’t stop lovin’ you, I can’t stop lovin’ you
I can’t stop lovin’ you, I can’t stop lovin’ you,
I can’t stop lovin’ you with half of my
Half of my heart, oh half of my heart

Half of my heart’s got a real good imagination
Half of my heart’s got you
Half of my heart’s got a right mind to tell you
That half of my heart won’t do

Half of my heart is a shot gun wedding
To a bride with a paper ring
And half of my heart is the part of a man
Who’s never truly loved anything

Half of my heart, oh half of my heart
Half of my heart, oh half of my heart
Half of my heart, oh half of my heart”

whatever floats your boat…

Conny’s Mix it Monthly challenge this month is using a lovely color palette along with the theme of sailboats / boat …

I knew I wanted to use a fancy slipper/shoe image for the boat along with the float your boat words …  the three cherubs were taken from a Christmas napkin with touches of color added…paint and stencils…gesso and assorted papers and some pieces of German scrap…

such a fun challenge…be sure and visit Mix it Monthly to see lots of inspiring creativity and of course you are most welcome to play along

Mix it Monthly: June “Home” Challenge

this month’s Mix it Monthly challenge is “Home” with inspiration from the color palette below…

I almost ran out of time to play along in this super challenge…

so I got busy using scrap papers for another loose page for my newest art journal…

a bit of paint and gesso…

some wings for this young lady who was hiding on my work table…

and some touches of chalk to color her dress and cheeks…

I had to really concentrate in order to snap a few photos along the way…

I am also entering this in the Art Journal Journey “Houses” challenge this month (great minds coming up with close to the same challenge theme!)…

“I feel my boots 
trying to leave the ground,
I feel my heart
pumping hard, I want to think again 
of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.” ~Mary Oliver

 

last Tuesday this June…

hello and welcome to tea on our back porch…

the garden is in full swing with so many lovely blooms to enjoy each and every day…

I am especially drawn to the gorgeous shades of blue…

it would be really difficult to pick one favorite flower…

I made up a couple of sheets of pressed flowers and tissue paper recently (more about that here if you are curious) and was quite surprised to find out that the pretty pressed blue hydrangeas had turned golden tan overnight…

I didn’t let that stop me from my idea of creating another page for my loose leaf art journal…

in fact I quite liked them and cut out the center of the hydrangea ring to create a frame for the lady’s face…

 stenciled plaster on tissue paper and some scraps of other papers along with a few words from a book page helped complete my collage page…

here’s wishing you a really lovely T Day along with Elizabeth and all the other tea bloggers ~♥~ so glad you stopped by

with the moon in her hand…

playing again in my little 1931 Funk & Wagnalls Enclyclopedia with new pages for the Art Journal Journey (AJJ) Circles challenge…

I began by stamping on used tea bag paper which I have lots of…

using a couple of circle paper punches on a scrap piece of newspaper print paper that I had stamped a long time ago helped my pages come together…

a thin coat of white gesso muted the book pages a bit…

it was a sweet surprise when the words “Germany” and “Munich” popped off the page at me …

that is where my mother was from and I was born there too…

I added a bit of Crystal Lacquer on her earrings and on the words…

 a few vintage blooms for her hair and part of this quote: 

 “The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.” ~Frederic Lawrence Knowles

Art Journal Journey and Mix It Monthly…

my art journal pages qualify for two great challenges this month: Art Journal Journey’s “Moments of Happiness” and Mix It Monthly’s “Maps”…

nature makes me happy for so many reasons and in the Washington, DC area we always feel like Spring has finally arrived when the cherry blossoms burst into bloom…

I also have a thing for old maps and enjoy using them in collage…

*here is some of what went into my pages: personal photographs…torn map pieces…paint…gesso…chalk…Stabilo pencil…computer printed words on painted paper along with happy moments and memories*

 

Full Circle Art Journaling * Part 2

still working on some gessoed book pages not thinking too much just using what is close by…

vintage sheet music…citra solv paper…paint…paper doily…Russian dictionary page and found poetry on the page…

walnut ink…a border made out of my hand carved arch rubber stamp and my painted lady…

clip art courtesy of Misty Mawn…piece of washi tape from a special friend…bingo paper and one of my painted faces…

Inka gold…paint…hole reinforcers…assorted papers and clipart…

paint…assorted papers including a piece of map and slice of moon from a catalog…

*thank you all so very much for your lovely birthday wishes for Mr Magpie…your kindness and thoughtfulness certainly are appreciated*