Bloobel Progressive Challenge ~ I Must Protest

Hi everyone! Lisa from Bloobel Stamps and Colouring Pages is having a Progressive Challenge in her Facebook group using the fabulous image I Must Protest for the month of January. I managed to finish my art journal page just under the wire which means I get to play again in February. You can check out the other fabulous entries over in the FB group...so many clever protest signs.

I coloured my protester with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, choosing to add a coffee themed message to my sign. She was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black, and fussy cut leaving a narrow black border. Foam tape was added to the back of the image to create dimension and a natural shadow.

The background is the reverse side of a mixed media pad cover. It has this awesome texture and I had used it to clean off my brayer while gelli printing. The sketchy circles were stamped using plastic canvas and black paint. White Texture Paste was scraped through TCW's Tiny Circles stencil and allowed to dry. Jet Black Archival Ink was used to stamp the heartbeat (a VLV stamp) and the dots. A free coffee cup image from the internet was fussy cut, matted with black and then doodled on before being adhered to the background. Cheesecloth "steam" was added to the image. To give my protester and the cup somewhere to stand, coffee phrases were printed in a strip, matted with black card stock, and adhered along the bottom of the background.

A kraft paper border was die cut and the pattern emphasized with a black pen before it was adhered to the left side of the page. Two coffee themed buttons were layered onto the border. Black Big Brush Pen was used to edge the background before it was adhered to a black mat to frame the page and draw the eye in.

Thanks for dropping by. My protesting friend and I are happy you did that. If you haven't already entered Lisa's Bloobel Progressive Challenge, it's not too late. You can still purchase the image at Bloobel.com and you have until January 31 to enter. If that doesn't leave you enough time, make sure you buy the February image so you can play next month. Love these quirky characters!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure - Week 3 Response

Hi everyone! I'm playing catch-up because everything came to a screeching halt when I got sick. Now I'm finally starting to feel better so I'm tackling various to-do lists. I skipped Week 3 with Barb's Art Journal Adventure prompt of "Mugshot" so that was first on my list of want-to to-dos. Barb did a very whimsical page with a wonderful hand drawn portrait inside a funky frame. I chose to create a page with a play on the idea of mugshot using a hilarious image from Hidden Vintage Studio's Love Bandits collection.

The background started as a 7x10 inch rectangle of mixed media paper onto which I spritzed Lindy's Cotton Candy Pink and Hottie Patottie Hot Pink Starburst Sprays. Once that was dry, two rows of hearts from Joggles Hearts Delight stencil were applied to the top and bottom of the background using Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and a mini applicator tool. Using the same ink, script was stamped inside the area where the frame would go.

The frame itself was created by tracing a shape from a stencil onto a piece of white card stock and then hand sketching the same shape about 1/4 of an inch outside that stencilled line. The frame was then fussy cut inside and out. A checkered pattern was coloured in with a Pitt Brush pen and the edges blackened with a Black Big Brush Pen. The frame was set over the bottom of the fussy cut image and traced along the bottom to allow it to be fussy cut to the correct size and shape. Both the image and the frame were then adhered to the background. Hearts were punched from dottty paper and scattered around the bandit's head.

The sentiments were printed onto white card stock and cut apart, then matted with black card stock. The sections were then popped up with foam tape. Two larger hearts were punched from the same dotty paper and adhered to either side of the bottom message. Ranger Texture Paste was scraped through Joggles Punchinella Quintet Minis stencil in several places to add more texture, pattern, and dimension. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the background before it was adhered to the black base.

Thanks for popping by today. I appreciate that but feel I must warn you....don't let the KAT Bandit fool you...he's a heart-breaker with his very own fashion sense. he's hard to resist...LOL. If you haven't already checked out Joggles 2017 Art Journal Adventure, be sure to do that on the Joggles blog. We also have an amazing group of talented, creative, and supportive group playing along and sharing their own creations on the Art Journal Adventure Facebook group. We'd love to see you join us!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure ~ Week 4 Sneak Peek

Hi everyone! It's my week to host the Joggles Art Journal Adventure  and the prompt I've chosen for Week 4's page is to feature a door somewhere or somehow on your page. I love doors, especially old or unusual ones, but I also love what doors symbolize...new beginnings and adventures, mystery and possibility, as well as home.

Above is a sneak peek of the page I created to go with this prompt but to see the whole page and read about my thoughts and process behind it, you'll have to pop over to the Joggles blog today. That's where the prompts and pages are posted each Monday for the Art Journal Adventure. While you're there, why not sign up for our fabulous Facebook group. It is the most amazing group of people who are playing along with this challenge. They are talented, creative, supportive and enthusiastic. It's a great place to hang out, make friends, and be inspired.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Little Snowmen Book

Hi everyone! Long time, no write! Between being sick for over a month and having some projects to finish which can't be shared yet, I've had very little time to create things I can post. I purchased a whole bunch of sweet snowmen images from Sassy Cheryl's and have been itching to get at them. Snowmen just make me smile! In an effort to use up things from my stash, I decided to do a little mini album featuring these little guys. The chipboard album is 4.25 inches high at the largest point and 3.25 inches at the widest point. It's shaped like a label and was fastened together with a chain but I plan to change that to a binder ring. Above is the cover of the album with Sassy Cheryl's image called Snowman Parts which I thought was the ideal image for the beginning :)

I began by coating both sides of the chipboard shapes with absorbent ground because I knew that I wanted to use sprays and gesso doesn't react well with spray inks. Once dry, I spritzed each side with a combination of two blue spray inks...either Lindy's Starburst Sprays or Heidi Swapp Color Shine. Then Ranger Texture paste was scraped through stencils and once dry, brushed lightly with white acrylic paint to brighten them in places. The Texture Paste absorbs some of the colour from the sprays so the white returns it to the original colour of the paste. A little stamping with Jet Black Archival Ink and various background stamps added more pattern. The photo above is the first page inside the book and features one of Sassy Cheryl's retired images called Man's Best Friend. Don't despair though because there are a whole bunch of other cute snowman images from which to choose.

The images were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then matted with black card stock to frame them. Single words from Idea-ology Chit Chat Stickers were matted with black and added to each page to coordinate with each image. Die cut white snowflakes were also added to complete each page. The image above is the second inside page and features the adorable Sassy Cheryl's image called Blinkie's Snowday Dreaming. I love his sweet smile and little friend hopping around beside him.

This is the third inside page and features Sassy Cheryl's image called Admiring the Star. I see him as making a wish upon the first star he sees tonight. On some of the backgrounds, I have outlined part of the Texture Paste stencilled shapes with black pen. On this one, I used an Inktense pencil activated with water. Who knows what I will do next time...LOL

Thanks for stopping by and visiting with my little snowman friends and me. We all appreciate that and hope that you will come back to see the rest of the book and Sassy Cheryl's sweet snowmen. I'm loving this little project!

Life is good; so is art...and snowmen!
Bonnie

2017 Art Journal Adventure - Week 2 Sneak peek

Hi everyone! It's Week 2 for the Joggles Art Journal Adventure and with Barb and I switching up the hosting every other week, it's my turn to come up with the weekly prompt. This week I chose Explore Texture since it's one of my all time favourite elements of art. While I love both visual and physical texture, the latter is the one that really floats my boat. I like texture I can actually feel!

Above is a sneak peek of the page I created for the Joggles blog where I show some of my favourite ways to add tactile (physical) texture. If you want to see more and hear about my process, pop over to the Joggles blog where I explain and show the steps in photos. Our Art Journal Adventure Facebook group is absolutely blossoming with so many enthusiastic members (Both new and returnees), lots of wonderful discussion, and all kinds of inspiring art being shared. If you haven't already joined, we would love to have you along for this 52 week journey. I'm loving every minute of it!

Life is good; so is art...and texture!
Bonnie

2017 Joggles Art Journal Adventure ~ Cover story

Hi everyone! I am so excited that this day has arrived. We are beginning our Art Journal Adventure for 2017 on the Joggles blog today. This year, Barb and I are each taking every other week to host...something I have been so looking forward to. Our Art Journal Adventure Facebook group has grown by leaps and bounds this past few days and the inspiration, ideas, and enthusiasm flying around over there is awesome.

Barb and I are both featuring  our cover pages today as we launch this new year. We also both have binding systems which we will be using to create more flexibility and suit our styles better than the coil bound  or fixed binding journals we used last year. I have given you only a sneak peek of my cover here. To discover more and read about my process, hop over to the Joggles blog where I have explained my process and included more photos.

We would love it if you played along with us. The Facebook group is a fabulous collection of people who all share a love of art and are incredibly kind and supportive. Come join in the fun for the next 52 weeks...play along when you can.

Life is good; so is art...and the AJA!
Bonnie