I last had tags, pockets & flaps as an art journaling theme quite some time ago (a decade!), so I decided it was time to circle back and use it for another layout. This month’s session used a pre-printed pocket and tag as colour inspiration, and we used several techniques to build the background. I did attempt to film the make, but I’m a bit out of practice, and we’re left with just stills for the tutorial – apologies…
I’ve loosely used the theme of ‘strips & stripes’ for this month’s art journaling session at The Studio. I’ve plenty of stripes included, but the strip of ribbon and a strip of masking tape was as far as that side of things went once I had finished creating my layout. There was a great deal of prep for this layout… Each time I thought about what I was going to do, another idea came up and another bit of work to carry it off was needed. Happily, I have the kit to do the creating! Read on for a step-by-step making guide and some free downloads if you want to do exactly the same as I did.
In this, the last session of the year, it seemed appropriate to take on a Christmas theme. In common with previous December layouts, I’ve chosen some shiny finishes to bring a bit of light into the dark moments. There are several new techniques that I have tried for the first time: foil-on-toner, cut and design stickers and a laser-engraved piece of MDF. Here’s my take on a Christmas porch:
Facebook marketing works… I saw this pattern for highland cow amigurumi dolls promoted in my feed, and after an inquiry, I purchased it from Cottontail & Whiskers. Said inquiry was ‘Would you like me to make these?’ I aimed to crochet all three over three months, in time for a certain person’s birthday at the beginning of April. After several false starts (it was the first time I had done anything similar), I managed to get the largest (Tunnock) done in time.
Regular readers of this ‘ere blog know that I am a quilter. This month at the art journal session, we combined mixed media with a quilting technique (which I have yet to try in fabric). We made a watercolour masterboard and then with a lot of slicing and pasting created a bargello-style background in our journals. With some basic stitched panels as a focal point we ended up with this:
Rooted in the historical tradition of the Bargello Palace in Florence, Italy, the Bargello quilt pattern is characterized by its use of long, narrow strips of fabric meticulously sewn together. This technique creates an illusion of dynamic movement and depth within the quilt.
Back in the day, when there were still many crafting magazines available, free clear stamps were included as a cover gift. Somehow I still have a collection of these, which are all still clear and functional. Finding them in my stash, I came up with this month’s theme for the art journaling session at The Studio: twinchies. For the unfamiliar, twinchies are 2″ square elements for crafting and the giveaway stamps fit perfectly. Using mixed media and appropriate papers, I created this:
Various things have got in the way of finishing the Online Card Class: Extraordinary Embossing Folders. Eventually, I got annoyed moving the kit from one end of the studio to the other and decided to get on with the course again, if only to be able to put everything away! Day 3 combines dry embossing with dies. Again, I’ve made use of what I have to emulate the course makes and have benefitted from the loan of kit from one of my valued Studio guests.
Here are five new illustrations for verses from Revelation. They were the templates/samples for this evening’s Bible Journaling Session at the Studio. You’re welcome to book in for this monthly session, usually held on the second Monday of the month and open to beginners or confident artists. For more details, see my workshops page. As normal, the templates are available as a free download for you to use (but not share!). Scroll down for further information about how I completed each illustration.
In the first of a series of posts, I am going to update you on what I have been doing during my blog’s radio silence… Several groups have been postponed for various reasons, so I have not posted about them, and I have spent the time on a number of projects. This week has been a new Online Card Class; Extraordinary Embossing Folders. For five days there were two videos per day with techniques to expand your use of embossing folders. It’s been a while since I did any card making, so it was good to do some today based on the first day of class:
As I post, we’re having fun with thermoplastic memory foam here at The Studio. I have some heat mouldable foam blocks that once warmed with a heat tool and then pressed onto a textured surface will retain the texture once cool until they’re reheated. Using water-based inks, you can use the stamps to print a background in your art journal before a quick wipe clean and repeat the process with a new texture. I’ve got out all my pre-printed die-cut ephemera for a bit of decoration and came up with this sample layout to inspire attendees at the monthly art journal session:
