New Art journal

I started a new journal. I think I have five I am working in right now but there is always room for more wonderful journals to join the group. Last year at this time, art journaling was all new to me. I had just gotten back from Art & Soul in Hampton and had commited to art journaling everyday. I kept that up for most of the year. Life got busy and took me down some other creative paths and I stopped working in my art journal as much. I miss it terribly and decided to start back up again but this time I am challenging myself further. This new journal will be done with only drawings by me and maybe a few things taped or stapled in when I am out but no magazine pictures. I really want to focus on my own creative pursuits. I want to develop my skills and this is where it is going to happen. I put together an art kit that I can carry with me in my purse/totebag with my journal so that I can start doing more art when I am out. Because I can't take acrylic paints out with me I am using Stabilio pastel water pencils for color. They are my new find and I love them. They blend like pastels and are in pencil form but you can also use a water brush on them like you would with a watercolor pencil. Here are some of the other things I have in my little kit that I take with me.

1. Alphabet stencil
2. Water brush
3. glue stick
4. Sharpie poster paint pens (basic colors)
5. mini stapler
6. blending stump
7. black & brown Ancient page inkpads
8. mini alphabet rubber stamp set
9. Micron pens 05 & 005
10. White jellyroll pen
11. Marvy DecoColor black paint markers fine & broad
12. Copic ciao gray brush pen
13. White eraser, woodless graphite pencil
14. pencil sharpener
15. mechanical pencil
16. Journaling stencils
17. Honeybee scissors

Holy smokes, I have this really small bag and it all fits in there. I know it sounds like a lot when you list it all out but I have never been known to pack lite. I don't think anyone can tell you what to pack because it really depends on how you do art journaling. I just thought of all my favorite things I want to use in my journal and pared it down to fit in my small make-up bag so that I could carry it with me.

The journal page above is based on the book, Sisterchicks on the Loose by Robin Jones Gunn. The ladies at my church got together Saturday to discuss the book after we had all read it. It is the funniest book. If you need to laugh this is a good one to read. I was in a waiting room last week and kept chuckling to myself and finally a lady waiting there looks over at me like what is going on over there? I just threw up my hands and said how funny the book was. One of the characters in the book uses the saying, crazy like a daisy, and I have decided I am adopting that phrase for when my niece and I travel. The book was about two best friends that go on a unplanned vacation and all the crazy things that happen to them. I have a few trips that fit into that category too so I am going to be using that line a lot. I have left some blank space on the page to add some journaling later. Well, I am off to do more laundry and then I'm heading out to do some research for a project I am working on. Happy Monday!