Re-Booting, Catching up and Diva Challenges

Somewhere along the way my holiday blog break detoured into a black hole of sorts...well, more like a rabbit hole of many artsy diversions along with family stuff, work stuff, dead computers and more family stuff....and YouTube;-)

Through it all, I started all of the Diva challenges in my Trainwreck Journal but never managed to finish any of them until yesterday, whilst hanging out, on rainy day off, at my neighborhood cafe.

This current challenge almost did me in though. After my second failed practice attempt I decided to go big and do it in pencil first. Much better. Although I'm pleased with the results, it vexed me in terms of knowing where and how to stop it, or how to integrate other patterns.

My morning at the cafe...

...finishing up abandoned challenges, which was it's own challenge I believe:

I'll be posting my Project Shares in short (hopefully), random posts as I try to get pictures off my cell phone camera.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Diva Challenge #376 and other stuff...

Diva Challenge #376

String Theory

in the Trainwreck Journal

This is the plan

I just haven't gotten there yet

made a new Trainwreck

already makin' a mess;-)

Happy Mail:

Joey Van Oort sent me this great package of Italian Renaissance illustration,
 mostly from calendars
I used one to cover my Trainwreck Journal 
I love the giant whale stamp on the envelope
Thank you Joey!

A Flow-ish Journal I received from a swap partner

for the group Trashy and Flowish Junk Journals

It's a collection of decorative papers, images and ephemera

 one uses in the creation of Mixed Media/Art/Junk Journals

it's a great way to diversify your stash without adding to it

nothing is permanently bound or attached 

so the recipient can remove items to use in other art

it's a stash swap;-)

Thanks so much for stopping by. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me😍

Diva Challenge #375 & My Week in Art...

Diva Challenge #375

Use My Tangle: "Burtz" by Fabienne Blumberg

I saw this version of a simplified "Mooka"

on Jem Millers blog The Ragged Ray

The Trainwreck Art Journal

loved the streaky nature of this page 

I'm in the process of making a couple of art journals including another Trainwreck journal and I finished this for a swap:

For Trashy and Flowish Junk Journals FB group Signature Swap

This signature consists of two 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages, folded in half to create 8 pages decorated using purple, orange, black and white as the color parameters.

Pockets stuffed with tags, postcards and other bits of paper ephemera

There was no theme but I had the last bits of some fun, masquerade, decorative papers and an eclectic assortment of costume history/decorative art images.

a handmade envelope paper clipped onto the back page...

...filled with little bits of ephemera,
 hand painted stickers
 and a washi tape sampler on a library swipe card

Thanks so much for stopping by. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me 😍

Diva Challenges and other artsy stuff...

Diva Challenge #374

"Splotch- tastic"

&

Inktober Day 30

The Botanical Series

This couldn't have been a more perfect challenge for the Trainwreck Sketchbook, which is to say not a challenge at all since splotchy messes are what it's all about 😉

I've been seriously off my Inktober game this week but managed some doodly bits here and there.

The splotchy pages

Diva Challenge #373

Non- dominant hand

I did this early last week and though I always react to this challenge with an audible groan, I always have fun with it. I looked to the Inktober prompts as the jumping off point. Narwhal seemed like a safe bet seeing as the wonky factor might work in my favor. The rest just appeared where it wanted 😉

Inktober Botanical Series

Days 27, 28 & 29

I've been noodling around on this for several days from a page actually started months ago, but as a whole, my Inktober botanicals fell by the wayside. I, once again, fell down the art/junk journal rabbit-hole, finishing off the latest Flowish Journal for a swap going in the mail today for another FB group Trashy and Flowish Junk Journals.

This Flowish Journal is a collection of junk journal fodder assembled from my stash of images, papers, postcards, stickers, notecards etc. accumulated from over 20+ years as a theatrical costume designer and student and my current occupation as a Cheesemonger in a small specialty food market.

I collaged a file folder with tea bags, tea tags and tea bag packets. Junk.

Decorative napkins fun for collage

and color copies of my original butterfly drawings

there's a hand painted envelope made from a magazine page

I have a lot of lovely costume history images

Museum postcards

hand made tags and journaling cards

 and playing cards I got during a trip to France

spraying coffee through stencils

The small photograph in the corner is a hidden paper clip

And lastly, a few things from what has become my most favorite journal ever. It was instigated by a challenge at the Facebook group Trashy Smashy Funky Junky Journals last month. I just finished this one, well, that is to say that there's paint, images and words on all of the pages. I could noodle around in this for ages.

Junk Mail Journal

made from one week's worth of junk mail 😉

Grocery store advertising covered with painty calligraphy paper...

...and envelopes  painted, stamped and stenciled...

...then decorated with images from an open art studio directory I picked up at the library 

and words from several free publications available at my neighborhood cafe...

...adding more stamping, doodles, framing and shading.

 My favorite play space to experiment and have fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me😍

Diva Challenge #371 & Inktober

Diva Challenge #371

"Onion Drops"

&

Inktober Day 10: Flowing

Zendala Monday

Inktober Day 8: the prompt was "Star"

loosely based on a Jupiter Star Hellebore

Other Inktober drawings:

The prompt was "Exhausted"

I was a bit exhausted by the detailed studies

so I went for relaxing

The prompt was "Spell"

how do you spell...

The prompt was "Chicken"

 Inktober fun in my Trainwreck Journal

This was inspired by something I saw on CeeCee's channel

31 Days of Botanicals

The prompt was "Precious" 

this is anything but...

This is a signature I created for another swap for the Facebook Group, "Trashy and Flowish Junk Journals". The task was to make a 2 sheet signature (8 1/2"x 11" folded in half to make an 8 page booklet) using black, white, red, tan & brown.

I'm not a scrapbooker or cardmaker so I don't have the decorative papers or packaged embellishments I see a lot of people using. I art my own and use stuff from my stash of costume and fashion history images, art, travel and museum books, catalogs, postcards, brochures and stuff I just tear out of magazines. 

Last week I shared some pictures of a Flowish Junk Journal I sent for another swap. My partner posted a flip-thru of it on her YouTube channel if you want to see it and here's a video of the one she made for me.

I had a lot of fun with this.

The background is a red paper place mat I stenciled

The two sheets of paper I used were from a book of historical folk patterns

I covered this one with sewing pattern tissue

I've been into making stamps out of fun foam. 

I stamped a bunch out onto some tea/coffee dyed paper.

The corner pockets for this and the one above were from a museum catalog of kimonos

various tags and journaling cards

The backsides of the tags and journaling cards

 and a little booklet for journaling

I have to share a little haul I found at a Ross store the other day. These Faber Castell Gelato sets were
$1.99 each! Crazy. In addition to the 4 sticks they included a brush and a little floral cling stamp or a dauber. There was only 1 of each and I bought them all. 

I've never used these before so I watched a couple of videos and when I got home I made this mixed media piece:

for the Facebook group
Mission Inspiration

Thanks so much for stopping by. Your thoughtful and generous comments delight and inspire me.