Collage ATC Junk Journal

Hi everyone! In my continuing effort to use things up and reduce my scrap pile and box of bits and bobs, I created a little atc sized (2.5 x 3.5 inch)junk journal book which I fastened together with binder rings. Each page was first cut from chipboard packaging and then collage was added to each side to create backgrounds.Above is the first and last page. I'm still pondering covers.

The wording came from either TH rub ons or Chit Chat Stickers. There is not a lot of real estate on these little cards so these were ideal.

I used the smallest of the Idea-ology Paper dolls and tiny die cut tags and bits of punched borders.

Extra stamping and stencilling provided pattern and texture to the plainer parts of the backgrounds.

The papers run the gamut from scraps of designer paper, coffee dyed paper, corrugated coffee sleeves to embossed scraps, and ephemera. Texture was also added with fabric scraps like burlap or cheesecloth.

There are bits of black accents on each page as well as the occasional pops of bright colours. All pages were finished with a doodled border, Coffee Archival Ink and black Big Brush Pen on the edges.

It was a delight to create and fun to look through, as well as making the tiniest dent in my stash. It makes me feel so noble to use those teeny tiny scraps I saved. Like James Burke says, "It's not hoarding if you use it in a journal."...LOL

Thanks for stopping by.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Postcard Swap at Vera Lane Studio

Hi everyone! I am squeaking under the wire on this, There is a postcard swap in the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group which closes on Saturday, September 28. I have lost track of dates this month and suddenly realized that I had better get my rear in gear.  The theme for the swap is Which Vera Lane Studio image are you? which is a super fun idea. I combined several  Vera Lane Studio images to put this together. I used the girl and one cat from the Girl and Cat with Hats set, the sitting cat from Kadee and Kat, the coffee cup from the Coffee Cups set, and the paintbrush from Max Makes Art. I could have just as easily called this "These are a few of my favourite things :)

The images were coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cut, and matted with black. Black epoxy dots were added to the coffee cup's eyes. The background was a clean up sheet from a gel print using acrylic paint. Manganese Blue Archival Ink was applied to a VLV numbers stamp and Cobalt Blue to an Ellen Hutson Bokeh Stamp to add more pattern to the background. Ranger Texture Paste was scraped through TCW Tiny Circles stencil to add a little dimension and brightness to the more solid areas.

A strip of green dotty washi tape was adhered to white cardstock to keep the see through dots white. It was adhered across the bottom of the card to give the crew a place to stand...or sit as the case may be. The wording was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black. A simple border was doodled with black pen and the postcard was matted with black to frame it. Two green puffy hearts were added to the top right corner of the card to bring some of that colour from the bottom to the top of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today. The whole gang appreciates that. If you are quick, you can still join in the postcard swap. It's always fun to trade art with others, especially when they feature Vera Lane Studio images.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Happy Bouquet Card and Morty's Halloween AJ Page - inspired by Vera Lane Studio Images

Hi everyone! I have two projects using Vera Lane Studio images to share with you today. The art journal page, the first page in my new VLS art journal, stars the image from Morty's Halloween as well as one of the bats from one of the Halloween Collage sheets.

The image was coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, and matted with black. The collage sheet bat was fussy cut and matted in the same way as the other image. The punched stars were also matted with black to help them stand out against the background.

The 6x6 inch watercolour paper was spritzed with Lindy's Hag's Wart Orange Starburst spray. Tiger Lily Archival Ink was sponged through Colorbox Swirl Dot stencil to add pattern. Jet Black Archival Ink was applied to an Ellen Hutson Bokeh stamp and a VLV Cross Square background stamp to add even more pattern.

To give Morty and his cat a place to stand, torn strips of Halloween themed patterned paper were layered over torn strips of black cardstock to form a base. A heavy black border dotted with white paint pen was added to the four sides of the page to frame it and keep the eye on the page. Orange Inktense pencil activated with a water brush was used to shade inside of the border.

The second project, a CAS style card, was created with images put together from the Mix N Match Vases set. This is a fabulous set because it is so flexible and can be combined in so many ways, as well as the pieces being used individually.

The images were coloured with Prismacolor and Poychromos pencils and fussy cut/matted the same as Morty's crew.

The background of the card was embossed with a Carabelle Studio folder and then matted with black. The flowers were adhered to the back of the vase and then it was popped up on foam tape.  Black and white washi tape was used to ground the vase.

Thanks for stopping by today. We appreciate that. To see more examples of the Mix N Match Vases set in action, be sure to pop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group. You can find this set, the fabulous Morty, and a whole whack of other awesome images in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure - Week 38 - Autumn

Hi everyone! We are celebrating the autumn equinox today, the start of my favourite season of the four. I love everything autumn...the colours of the leaves turning, apples, pumpkins, the crisp mornings, pulling out sweaters, the textures and sounds (leaves crunching and geese honking)...I just love fall. I tried to capture its beauty in my art journal page for Week 38 of the Joggles Art Journal Adventure.

I die cut a bunch of cardstock leaves using the TH Tattered Leaves die and a bunch of tiny maple leaves using a Marta Stewart punch. I layered these over a 6x8 inch rectangle of mixed media paper, leaving white space between the leaves. That was where the colours were going to show up. I used Lindy's Yellow Rose of Texas, Autumn Maple Crimson, Drop Dead Gorgeous Green, and Hag's Wart Orange Starburst sprays. Once the die cuts were removed, the white spaces left showed the silhouettes of the leaves. These were sketched in with black Pitt Pen to make the shapes a little crisper and show up more.

The leaves, which had been sprayed when they acted as masks, were given more colour using Candied Apple, Carved Pumpkin, and Mustard Seed Distress Oxide Inks. The edges of each leaf were emphasized and darkened with Vermillion, Tiger Lily, and Coffee Archival Inks. They were then further outlined with Black Big Brush Pen to mimic the outlining of the background leaves. The larger of these die cut leaves were layered into two clusters with the top leaf being popped up on foam tape to add dimension. The acorns were small raw wood shapes to which I added Big Brush Pens for the background colours as well as Inktense pencils activated with water for the shading and highlighting. I love how #D they look.

The wording was printed onto white cardstock, cut into sections, and matted with black cardstock. The sections were popped up on foam to add dimension and create natural shadows. The small coloured maple leaves were added next to the clusters of wording. A simple border was added around the outside edges of the background, as well as Coffee Archival Ink and black Big Brush Pen. The page was framed by the black matting common to all of the pages in this journal.

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate that so much. Be sure to check out the responses others in our Joggles Art Journal Adventure Facebook group create over the next week or two. They are such a talented and wonderful group of creatives! We would love to have you join in.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Weird and Wonderful ~ inspired by Vera Lane Studio images

Hi everyone! I love the style of the last two Vera Lane Studio releases...fabulous female images with an edge. That Janet Klein is one talented artist! For today's DT post, I created a tag with Blondie and an art journal page with Sabrina because ...why not!

I coloured both images, as well as the skull from Blondie, with a mix of Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and keeping the colour palette similar for both.

A check pattern was added to Sabrina's dress with a purple metallic gel pen. Both images were fussy cut leaving a narrow white border, matted with black cardstock, and fussy cut a second time leaving a second narrow border. Blondie was popped up with foam tape and Sabrina was glued flat to the background.

The tag background was easy peasy. Designer paper was cut into a tag shape and bordered at the bottom with a strip of purple patterned paper as well as a scrap of striped washi. A reinforcement was cut from the same purple paper to pulll that colour into the top of the tag. A small star was stamped in three places with Jet Black Archival and coloured in with red pencils to pick up the red from Blondie's shoes and accessories.

The tag background was matted with black cardstock and a second section was cut the same width as the tag but only 1.75 inches deep. The sentiment was printed onto white cardstock and adhered to this small hanging piece which was attached to the tag base with black thread so that it moves. Red satin ribbon was added as a tag topper.

The background of the art journal page where Sabrina was destined to live was brayered with Wilted Violet Distress Oxide to cover it lightly. Carabelle Studio Spider Web stencil was set on top of the background and the same ink was used to add more colour through the openings. Deep Purple Archival Ink was used to apply a VLV grid stamp as well as an Ellen Hutson Bokeh circle stamp.

To give Sabrina some ground, a strip of vintage dictionary paper was adhered behind a torn strip of black and white Halloween paper with a mad scientist theme. A strip of red gel printed paper was layered over that to anchor those awesome boots. The skellie head from the Blondie image was given red gem eyes and adhered beside Sabrina's feet to repeat the skulls in her hands and on her dress.

Three red epoxy dots were added to the top left corner to bring a little of that red to the top of the page. The sentiment was printed onto white cardstock, matted with black. A simple black doodled border was used to finish the page.

Thanks for joining Blondie, Sabrina, and me today. That was awesome of you! When you get a chance, pop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group to see what others have created with these two wonderful images.You won't be disappointed :) Both are available along with many of their friends in the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure Week 37 - Funny or Odd

Hi everyone! It's Week 37 of the Joggles Art Journal Adventure and the prompt this week is to include something that strikes us as funny and/or odd. I don't know what it is about anthropomorphic images but for some reason they crack me up every time. That's the direction I decided to go combining images and species on a collaged background.

The background started with a 6x8 inch piece of patterned paper in a ledger style which was adhered to the same size piece of chipboard to give it strength. Layers of vintage dictionary paper, patterned paper, and die cut pieces were combined with ephemera pieces and a torn piece from the top of a watercolour paper from a pad. To emphasize the layers, black Pitt Pen and Coffee Archival Ink were used to outline/edge the areas, giving it a more graphic feel.

The body images came from an image from Hidden Valley Studio. I ruthlessly chopped off their heads, substituting them with a cat head from Joggles Snowy Portrait 2 collage sheet and the buck from the Watercolor Winter Animals collage sheet. All images were fussy cut with no border or matting, although the edges were inked with black Big Brush Pen to remove the white. The heads were adhered to the bodies and outlining was added once the newly joined images were glued down. Bucky was given a green bow tie which was drawn by hand and shaded with pencil. He was also given silver Posca Pen buttons. I love adding tiny details. Pure fun!

The saying is a Small Chat sticker which was cut apart to fit and matted with black cardstock. A simple border was doodled with black pen and stars were added to the red label. Xs were added to the black scallops with a green Pentel Milky Pop pen.

Thanks for joining Miss Mew, Bucky, and me today. We appreciate that. To check out what the others in our wonderful Joggles Art Journal Adventure Facebook group, be sure to pop in over the next week or so. It's always so fun to see the varied and fabulous directions everyone takes. I love that!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Use It, Already journal ~ pages 19-22

I created a few more collage pages in my Use It, Already journal. This is a journal where I am using scraps,bits and bobs that have been in my stash far too long, either because I was hoarding or because I had forgotten all about them. It's time to either use them or pass things along to others who will use them.

The backgrounds are layers and layers of scraps of designer paper, mixed media papers, vintage papers, book text, and digital paper bits from kits. I also used a couple of Bo Bunny Journal Pages which have been in my stash forever. I'm happy to finally have a use for them. There's even an old Monopoly Chance card in the mix.

For now, I am using Tim Holtz Paper Dolls to star in these pages. I like adding little pops of colour in the form of flowers, hats, bowties, and other decorations to make them my own and add some of the background colour to the sepia images.

The wording was added with Big Chat, Small Chat, or Chit Chat stickers as well as rub-ons. Some punched or die cut borders, strips of patterned paper borders, and even a piece of lace plus some leftover die cut arrows helped to finish the pages. I like how the pages are untied by colour tones, by adding black reinforcements to the holes, and other black details. It makes for a more cohesive and pleasing flip through.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm glad you did!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie