Vintage Sale

My friend Karin invited me to go to a Vintage sale (Tarte) with her and I got some very nice things. You can see photos at the link above. To find some things from Paris was awesome. I ended up getting the extended postcards of places that I went to in Paris such as Hotel de Ville, La Basilique du Sacre Coeur, L Arc de Triomphe. I think I am going to frame them for my art room. I am missing Paris so much. I was watching a suspense movie this week that took place in Paris and tears just popped into my eyes seeing the lovely buildings and hearing the people talk in French. I never expected that going to Paris would result in such deep feelings of connection there. If I believed in past lives, I would say I used to be French. Actually, there are some French relatives in my lineage. That must explain it.

Back to the sale. I bought some old buttons, which is really exciting since I have none at home and needed to start building some stock. I also got a beautiful pink pearl, three strand necklace that I can hardly wait to wear. The clasp was broke but I will attach a pink ribbon and tie it around my neck that way.

There is another flea market sale on July 18th in my neck of the woods by the same people so I think I will definitely be going and checking it out. Oh, I can't wait.

Goody Giveaway by Michelle Allen

Michelle over at Allen Design Studios is have a goody give-a-way. Go and check it out because shes got some pretty cool stuff that she will be giving to some lucky winner.

Wreck this Journal - 2

This journal is so addicting. You do a page and then you want to do another one and so on and so on. I have to say though that I really hate to trow anything away. OK, this can get to be a problem in other areas of my life but we won't go there :) On the page below I was to cut out strips and make a chain. Of course, I could not throw it away so I stapled it back in on the instruction part of the page. It makes the journal not close so well but that adds to the charm if you can say this journal has charm after spilling, spitting and smearing your food all over it. I love this page with all it's circles. What a mindless, fun exercise to get my creative juices flowing.

I didn't follow the rules too well on this one. I saw the instructions about draw fat and thin lines and away I went. When I was done I noticed it said with a pencil. Oh well, we will just cross that little detail out and make our own rules for this page. he,he!

I don't know how it happened but I actually like the coffee wrings. It reminds me of the coffee I love to drink every morning. Wouldn't it be fun to have a tablecloth with coffee wrings already printed on it so you wouldn't have to worry about spilling your coffee ever?

OK, this page was down right scary. I grabbed a match and thought I would start the flame going and then blow it out. OH NO! That flame was not going to be deterred from my tiny little puff. In fact, it was encouraged to burn faster, YIKES! Good thing I was standing in my bathroom where I was able to throw it in the sink and turn on the water. I suppose I could have stomped out the flame but when you are trying to react quickly you grab the first thing you see. Besides, this isn't the last time this book is going to see a little water. I still have the shower session to go through.

New journal

It has been sparse posting around here lately. I have just not been in the mood to blog. There is just nothing to be done about it. I can't even make myself. Too much going on lately that has all my attention I guess. I did want to pop in and give you a peek at what I have been up to though. I started a journal recently with only had drawn images and journaling and here are few of those pages. Most of them were done with watercolor pencil or water soluble pastels.

This page was done from a quote I read in the book, A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden McClure.

This page is still in process and was inspired by a journal prompt I ran across, the truth is...

Conflict at home brought this one to life and that is all I can say about that.



This page chronicled some goals I had on what I want to accomplish this summer. It is actually the first page in my new journal. This process of only drawing and writing has been challenging but really good too at the same time. I think it has made me tap into my inner creative soul more. I'm enjoying it for now anyway. OK, that's all for that journal. I have another journal to talk about but I will do that in another post.

My Graduate

It was an exciting week, our son graduated from high school. He was so unenthusiastic all the way to graduation night and then he just beamed. I guess he was holding it all in waiting for the actual night. We are so proud of him for all that he has done this year and look forward to see where he goes from here.

On the heals of graduation night everyone in the family got sick except him and I. I don't know how I managed to escape the crud but I am praising God for that one. It is such a nasty cold/cough. I am getting to play nurse to the five sick ones, poor babies. I hope it ends soon for all our sakes. Anyhoo, that is what my week has been filled with and not a lot of creating but the ideas are bopping around in my head. maybe next week I will get some down on paper.

Proverbs 3:3

I have been going through Proverbs at church and in my on-line bible study and this verse just had to be put down in visual form. It is my verse for this week maybe even the month.

Proverbs 3:3

Let love and faithfulness never leave you,

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart

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!