Long time no see journal pages

Used upcycled chip board for front and back covers.

I was asked the other day if I was still art journaling.  The art journal has become so much a part of me that I have neglected to mention it on the blog for some time now. So, here’s where I am this year:

·         I made my own spiral bound journal with the Zutter™

·         I adore using this journal with all the cool insert pages I put inside

·         I average 45 minutes daily writing, working, playing in my journal

·         I’m still more of a writer than an full page artwork kind of journal keeper

·         I have been experimenting more with original drawings and different mediums like Pan Pastels™

My only full page entry so far this year--
she is Naomi Jean.

Here are some recent pages from my “of course I’m still journaling” Journal.  Stay mighty-- arm yourselves with pens my fearless ones!

This is the bossy sitcom lady listing my pointless
complaints about the world, for example,
 knowing the difference between a butter knife
 and a table knife.

                                                                                                 

Yes--there is still time to register for the FREE wreath class in West Palm Beach.

Left my comfort zone

For me, leaving my comfort zone often means following the directions...sheepish grin. I love and cherish my local Pine Cone Press club--but usually I make a point of doing something very different with the sample projects and materials. This time I missed the meeting because I was still exhausted from my trip to Virginia.

After picking up my materials from Lynn's house, I went home and thought I'd have some good scrap therapy to aid in regaining my strength. I sat down and went through the fun papers and embellishments and turned to page 8 in the book to check out the sample by Debra Jennis. It was simple and brilliant.

Now I usually admire all the sample pages, I just like to give them a little twist. This time, I pushed myself to just make the sample and I'm so pleased with the results. I have a few tiny variations because I cut wrong and my photos fit flowers better on different sides, but for the most part--I stuck to the plan.

And now the rest of the confession....When I sat down with the fabulous (as always) Pine Cone Press book--I was drawn to the layout on page 9 first. I just love how designer Alcia Ackerman Grimm used one photo and white pen doodling lines on this one. Plus those great chipboard flowers similar to the ones we got in the kit from Scrapworks. So, before making my strictly "by the book" spread, I created this one as a warm up:

So the moral of the story for me was: If you want to move outside your comfort zone, do a warm-up first. Remember you can click on the layouts to see larger images and be on the lookout soon for lots of news about my new and revised web site, online classes, and new articles coming to Suite 101. THANKS!