Read her her rights ~ Inspired by a Vera Lane Studio image

Hi everyone! It's Tuesday and that means it's time to share my Vera Lane Studio design team projects. The first one I have is an art journal page starring the fabulous Lippy who was released in the shop last week. She is one sassy woman with a wonderful sense of style.

Lippy was coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils and fussy cut leaving a narrow white border. She was then matted with black cardstock, and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border. I generally do this because it allows me the freedom to make the background as busy as I want without worrying that she will fade into it.

The background started with a coat of white gesso over the 6x6 watercolour paper. I needed this to help the ink sprays move around easily. Carabelle Studio Cosmic Cubes Stencil was laid over the gesso and Texture paste was scraped through the openings leaving some places empty. Once dry, the page was then spritzed heavily with water and Lindy's Yellow Rose of Texas, Hottie Patottie Hot Pink, and Hag's Wart Orange were dropped here and there using the end of the pick-up tube rather than spraying. This allows greater control of where the colours go and by tipping the page you can blend and create drips. More water can be added to create a lighter area or to help the colour move. I like how the Texture Paste grabs the colour making it more intense and helping the stencilling to show more. A little stamping using Jet Black or Magenta Hue Archival Inks added text and numbers to the non-textured places.

To ground Lippy, a scrap of sprayed and painted background layered over black cardstock was adhered to the bottom of the page. Two more scraps from the same background were adhered to the right side of the page to create flow. Three black punched stars were added to pull a little more black into the page and also because Lippy is a star.

The wording was printed using different fonts, colours, and sizes to emphasize the word Fabulous. All word sections were matted with black to tie them together. A simple doodled border and edging with black Big Brush Pen were added to finish the page.

Thanks for joining Lippy and me today. We're so glad you did! If you want Lippy to star in your projects, remember to visit the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop where she and her friends hang out. You can see other projects featuring her and other VLS images by visiting our VLS Facebook group. Don't be a stranger...LOL

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure Week 41 ~ Tag(s)

Hi everyone! Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians! I hope you are having an awesome weekend. Today marks Week 41 of the Joggles Art Journal Adventure and the prompt this week is to include a tag (or more than one) to your project. The other day. I was sorting through my big stack of gel prints and other backgrounds and discovered a small stack of tags which had backgrounds started. I found two which had colour palettes which would work together and also were two different sizes. That inspired today's art journal page.

I knew that the larger tag was used to mop up Lindy's Starburst sprays and that the other one was colourized with either Distress Inks or Distress Oxides, although I suspect the former. I flipped through my Distress Oxide Swatches and matched the colours, then used those same colours to ink the 6x8 inch mixed media paper background which would be my substrate. Just for fun, I flicked the page with water and patted with a dry paper towel to create splotches. The edges of the background and the two tags were inked with Coffee Archival Ink.

Then I started layering and auditioning to come up with a layout which made me happy. I knew that I wanted a die cut silhouette of a flower (TH Sizzix) cut from black cardstock to be the focal on the smaller tag which was going to be staggered over the larger tag. To join the two tags, a scrap of old book paper stamped with script, and over that I layered a coffee dyed tag decorated with rub-on letters. Three different washi tapes were used to decorate the lower part of the flower stem and add a little more black to the page.

A scrap of  sheet music, and some vintage book paper were tucked behind the tags but they needed more. Torn black cardstock was layered under the music paper and next to the larger tag and a strip of yellow dotty paper was layered under that, after being inked with Coffee Archival. The other little piece of washi which I had torn to decorate the stem was adhered in such a way that it united the large tag, the black, and the dotty layers. I find this is a great way to add unity to the piece and to push the layers into the background.

To continue the layering and add more texture to the background, a clear sticker  with script was added to the bottom right corner, tucking it behind the other papers.

Rub-ons were added to the top right and bottom left corners and a simple border was doodled coming from those sketchy dots. Number rub-ons were also added to the larger tag to repeat the pattern on the tiny tag. An extra scrap of the dotty paper and the black was tucked into the space next to where the two tags meet to bring over the pattern from the other side of the tags. Another rub-on was used to fill in the top right corner as well as linking to the silhouette which could be a figure from a botanical book :)

The wording is an Idea-ology Small Talk sticker. The final addition before inking the edge with black Big Brush Pen was to add the other part of that book text scrap with the red border to the bottom right corner, again to unite the two corners and help the eye move across the page. The page was adhered to the black background common to all of the pages in this journal.

Thanks for popping by to check out my response to the Tag prompt. To see what the other fabulous participants in the Joggles Art Journal Adventure Facebook group create with this prompt, be sure to pop by the group from time to time this week. It'll be worth the click!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Frankenpages Junk Journal

Hi everyone! Quite some time ago, when the neuropathy in my hands was really bad from chemo treatments, I made a bunch of Frankenpages based on a tutorial by Nik the Booksmith. It's a wonderful way to use scraps to create something new and useful and have fun in the process. Plus it was something that my hands were able to manage. I made large pages (no idea why) by gluing scraps onto larger scraps but I didn't stitch them together like she did. I added stamping and edged the scraps with Coffee Archival Ink before gluing them into a collage.

Then I wondered what to do with them so they sat patiently and waited for me to figure it out. I eventually decided to chop them up to make junk journal backgrounds for collage. They were cut to either fit into binders which I already had or to be joined with binder rings in a size I chose. Nothing was wasted. Even a few atc backgrounds were born.

These particular pages fit into an old MME binder from my stash. The pages are cut at 6 3/4 x 8 3/8 inches and are quite sturdy because of all the layering front and back. All holes in this binder are reinforced with black punched rings and the pages are edged with Coffee Archival Ink.  They are all also vintage and grungy in style which unites them.  I took each page  and started adding ephemera and left overs from other projects to decorate the page. I have had a sticker book from TH in my stash for years and years and made up my mind that I was going to use it up so you'll see a lot of those pieces in here.

I also have bits of punched borders, rub-ons, stencilling, and punched or die cut bits and pieces. At least one and sometimes two of the Idea-ology paper dolls star on each page and the sentiments come from Chit Chat stickers which have been hanging around too long. I also added the occasional charm or metal piece. a little washi, and anything else that was lying around and looked inviting :) I love this kind of creating...no rules, no expectations...pure play.

Thanks for joining me today. I have several more pages ready to share but I didn't want to bombard you with too much in one sitting...LOL. Until next time...

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Journal Faces Collage Sheet ATCs ~ inspired by Vera Lane Studio

Hi everyone! Last week, the most gorgeous set of collage sheets was released by Vera Lane Studio. They are called Journal Faces Collage Sheets and they come in different sizes and colourways, each one so beautiful. I decided to create an artist trading card set with three of them.

When I have small scraps of background left from other projects or if I have left over paint or sprays, I see if I can use them as atcs or artist trading coins. I have a stack pre-cut and adhered to cardboard backings so they are ready to go. Often these blanks will have stamping, stencilling, or Texture Paste already on them but if not, I add to them when I have the materials out for another project.

I add the fussy cut image with a white border to a piece of black cardstock, and fussy cut a second time leaving a narrow black border. Often, I use my coloured pencils, black Pitt pens, and white Posca Pen to add or enhance details on the images, adding my own artistic voice to them. These particular faces were popped up on foam tape to add dimension.

Then it's a matter of adding a word or words like these rub-ons, a doodled border done in black pen, and a little shading with an appropriate ink to the outside edges of the cards. Black Big Brush Pen finishes off the edges and hides the layers of white and gray.

Easy Peasy! Thanks for stopping by today. You can find these and many other beautiful collage sheets at the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop, or if you are in the mood to colour, there are images ready for that, too.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Be in the Know ~ inspired by Vera Lane Studio images

Hi everyone! Did you see the fun new release by Vera Lane Studio yesterday called Cate and Canine? I love the snooty look on her face and that crazy little dog makes me laugh. I decided they needed their very own art journal page with a quote that seemed to suit her.

I coloured Cate and her dog with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cut leaving a white border, and then matted them with black.

I also wanted Cate to have her shopping bags filled with her "must-haves". I used some of the images from the VLS set called Gift Bags. These were printed on atcs which I used to clean up Lindy's Starburst over-spray from previous projects. They were then shaded with coloured pencils, fussy cut, and matted with black.

I searched for a free printable of Monopoly money and found the ideal one for the background. Once it was adhered to the page, Ellen Hutson Bokeh Circles were stamped with Jet Black Archival, and shaded inside with Gelatos. A dollar sign button with the shank removed was popped up on foam on top of two offset 1 inch circles. I used the same green spritzed paper as the one shopping bag to tie the corners together.

A simple border was doodled around the outside edge and shaded inside with Inktense pencil before the pieces of the scene were adhered. The wording, which was printed onto white cardstock, was cut into sections, and matted with black to help it stand out against the background.

Thanks for popping by today. Cate, her lovely dog, and I appreciate that. When you get a minute, be sure to check out the other amazing stamps at the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop. You'll be sure to find some "must-haves" of your own :) Stop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group to see more projects using the Cate and Canine images. You'll be glad you did.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure Week 40 - Inspired by a movie

Hi everyone! The prompt for Week 40 of the Joggles Art Journal Adventure is to create something inspired by a movie.  I spent a  while considering which movie I would choose because there are so many that would be fun to use as a springboard for a journal page...so many that I have watched over and over again. In the end, I decided to go with a classic which is on my all time favourite list but which many people have never seen. The movie is a classic called Harvey, released in December of 1950...even before my time....LOL. It stars Jimmy Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd whose sister is trying to have him committed because he hangs out with a 6 foot 3.5 inch invisible rabbit named Harvey. Harvey is a Pooka, a Celtic fairy spirit. Not only is the movie funny but it also tugs at my heartstrings and I love the message.

I decided to recreate an art journal page similar to one of the original movie posters. An image of Jimmy Stewart sittin on the curb chatting with Harvey was printed and fussy cut. I just love the look on his face. Elwood P. Dowd is such a gentle soul who loves his friend...and people in general...so much. I have used kraft and black washi tape cut into a flag shape to serve as my curb. Two rabbit footprints were drawn onto gray paper and fussy cut so they could be adhered to the flag end of the washi.

The background used was a 6x8 inch rectangle of kraft cardstock because I wanted a vintage feel to the page and a subtle backdrop. Harvey's outline was sketched in with pencil and then shaded inside with Inktense pencil activated with a waterbrush to create a shadow (since he's invisible). Elwood was given a shadow by first tracing around the top and left of the fussy cut image which had been shifted up and to the left slightly. This was shaded the same way as Harvey's shadow and then Elwood was glued in place overlapping the shadow. Text was stamped onto the bare areas with Coffee Archival and tiny x markings were added with black Pitt Pen.

The wording is a quote from the movie which was printed onto white cardstock. matted with black, and then matted a second time with washi tape adhered to white cardstock. There are some fabulous lines in the movie and I wanted to feature one of my favourites. The other wording was created in the same way, omitting the washi tape border. All were adhered using foam tape to add dimension and natural shadow. To finish the page, a simple border was doodled with black pen and the edges of the page were inked with Coffee Archival. A wooden clock was added to the top right corner as a reference to Harvey's ability to alter time, an example of which you see at the end of the movie.

Thanks for joining Elwood, Harvey and me today. We are so glad you did. Be sure to check out what the other members of our Joggles Art Journal Adventure Facebook group create in response to this Movie prompt. I can hardly wait! They are such a creative and talented bunch!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Two Tag Tuesday ~ Inspired by Vera Lane Studio images

Hi everyone! Did you like that tongue twisting title? Am I stuck on the letter T today? I have no idea why alliteration strikes me as funny but it does. It might be because it's fun to say. I don't know but I accepted that fact long ago and I just roll with it:) Last Week, and this week, Vera Lane Studio released another two sets of awesome images calling out to be coloured. I created a tag for each: Catgirl and Skulldoos. I love them both so much!

I coloured the images with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils, fussy cut them leaving a narrow white border, and matted them leaving a narrow black border. All three were popped up on foam tape to add dimension and natural shadow.

The background for CatGirl (why do I keep hearing the Batman theme??) was a Joggles watercolour tag which I sprized with Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide Spray and then added colour to with Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink. The cat paws were added with a Kaisercraft stencil and Jet Black Archival and the text and grid stamps with Library Green Archival. Washi Tape over white cardstock created a ground line and pink puffy hearts picked up her hair colour. The tag was lined with black pen, edged with black Big Brush pen, and double matted with pink and black cardstock.

The background for Skulldoos and her chihuahua was a piece of text printed patterned paper cut into a tag shape and edged with Coffee Archival Ink and black Big Brush Pen. Across the bottom, purple designer paper matted with black was layered under orange dp, also matted with black. Across the top, a curvy border was adhered to keep the eyes on the tag instead of drifting off to who knows where. A simple border was doodled around the outside edges.

The text on CatGirl comes with the image set and the text on the Skulldoos tag was computer generated. Both were matted with black cardstock and popped up on foam tape. Simple ribbons coordinating with the tag colours became the toppers to finish them off.

Thanks for joining us today. We certainly do appreciate that! When you get a chance, stop by the Vera Lane Studio Etsy shop to check out these and all the other wonderful images. Pop by the Vera Lane Studio Facebook group as well to find inspiration galore. You're welcome...LOL

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie