Catch Up #1 on Summer DLP

This has been a busy, busy summer - as witnessed by the lack of blog posts. But I have been keeping up on on my weekly challenges with the Art to the 5th Documented Life Project. At the beginning of the year my recollection was the DLP would be part calendar, part journal, and part art journal. And that's exactly I how I have been using, or abusing, my little mole skin planner. Here are my takes on a few weekly challenges. 

Week 31 - Add a pocket and recollections of the week. 

I used a library pocket I'd had laying around forever and started playing around the new Tim Holtz dragonfly die and embossing set. I am in love with it. I used twinkling H2O's to paint and then used the left over paint to color up the scraps and that's what I used to make the flowers the dragonfly is soaring above.....I filled my pocket with goodies from the week, including some photos of art projects and activities.

Week 30's challenge was the "Smash Book" style. Since that is kind of what I do anyway, and I wasn't aware there was a style - this is what I went for....

This was towards the end of the month, so I made a collage on the right hand side using design elements from my desk, clips, from magazines, and a bit of happy mail.

Sometimes throughout the week I add journaling, quotes I pick up, and essentially this and thats....like below. It's all so much clearer now isn't it??

Week 29 - Make a Wish List. Not my favorite page - but you know - not everything is a home run.

Week 28. Add an instagram or other tiny picture. My honey and I on a whim took a great day trip on July 4, and we took this selfie along the way. I love the picture, and it's a great reminder or a fun, fun day. Again, I used some Happy Mail, doodling, die-cuts, left over paper cut into circles....I seem to be on a real circle kick lately!

That's it for now...I have lots more pages to share....whenever I get a minute!!!

Catch-Up!

I'd complain about being busy, but what's the point? My life is full of work, art, family and friends and I feel very lucky (most days ... that is when I'm not eggs-haunted which is family speak for exhausted!).

But I do get into the Fun Room most days for the Art 365 challenge. Every day make a little bit - and they do mean little bit - of art. Mostly I work on 1" x 1"; if I'm feeling really expansive I go to a whole 2" x 2". Some days its nothing more than a quick little doodle. It always invovles whatever is on my work desk at the time. It's a great way to experiment.

Here are the March results:

I've also been playing right along with the Documented Life Project (DLP). I'm just in love with it...so many wonderful, generous, giving, talented people in that little word. Last week's prompt was write your name and embellish. Well, let's be kind and say I am just at the beginning of my embellishing career. I found it pretty relaxing though.

 

 

DLP was created by five ladies in southern Florida who share their talents and tips. One week Sandi Keene   demoed her deli paper flowers. I'm in love,  can't make enough of them.

 

 

And finally there is the amazing Dyan Reavely, queen of color in my book. She suggested a springtime bonus lesson in Lifebook 2014...quick, fun, and yep, colorful!

 

 

Here in Alaska it's still winter...14 degrees this morning, with fresh snow two days ago. But the days are long and it's sunny...hope you're enjoying you're version of spring no matter where you are!

 

Happy 250 WOYWW

For 250 weeks (oh my goodness!) our friend Julia Dunnit has hosted an every changing and always constant array of desks around the world. The next couple of months have been and will be super busy with two trips, lots of classes, kids moving back to the area, but I did want to say Happy Anniversary this week to WOYWW.

It's surprisingly tidy. On the corner of the desk is my Planner....for the Documented Life Project. Here are my last two weeks. On the left is the week with "add a bird" and the week on the right is "include something from a magazine".

I just finished a class at my local store The Stamp Cache on stencil techniques. A GIANT shout out to Jennie Atkinson for her amazing flower tutorials on her blog...I found her when Tim Holtz called her out as a February tag winner. I love the internet!!

In the US we have something called the Cooperative Extension Service which is program of our University system...they have wonderful information about home and hearth. For three days last week some shop keepers in our town worked with CES to host a lot of classes throughout the town. I was asked to do do something with paper...in an hour...that wasn't messy. Hmmm. 

Yep I went back to the guy who brought me to the party...Tim Holtz. Turned out of the seven people who signed up for my class, six were already friends, and of course I made a new one out of Annie. We made little 3" x 3" books out of a piece of scrap book paper. 

We had a blast!! Hope your finding fun in your days too. 

WOYWW #248

I love the internet. What did we do before we had it? I now regularly post to Ms. Julia's What's on Your Work Desk Wednesday, as we trip around the world sharing our desks. I found the Art 365 challenge, although I don't think the good folks at Blue Twig Studio call it that - where I make a small one inch by one inch (or 2 x 2) piece of art every day. And I, and about 5,600 other people are seriously into the lovely ladies at Art 5's Documented Life Project, or DLP for short. Not to mention Lifebook 2014, a series of classes every week.

The usual goodies. Underneath the top of the ruler, you can see a piece of Happy Mail I received today. And boy do they make me happy.

This is the start of the Week 10 Lifebook project - should be intersting. Hopefully I'll be able to show you the finished product next week. Ooo. And peaking out from behind this is ANOTHER piece of Happy Mail I got today!

I have developed a serious addiction to washi tape of late...all that COLOR and PATTERN. Be still my heart. I'll knock these back with paint probably and see what develops. Who knows?

Here is this week's set of inches. Happy colors....I often just start with what's on my desk and see where that takes me. Over the weekend I was really into little strips of paper I had colored or covered in yes, washi tape. Did I mention I like color a lot?

And finally here's last DLP prompt - recycle. The background is made of the insides of billing envelopes. The flower and leaves were the left overs from making background paper a couple of weeks ago. I used a stabilio pencil to outline it and then went around with a fine paint brush dipped in water. I like how it grounds the heavy piece.

Well that's it for me this week. Thanks for stopping by! If you feel so inclined let me know which inchie is your favorite this week.

Another WOYWW is Here

So another week has passed and I've had some time in the Fun Room. And thanks to Julia, I'm showing you What's On My Work Desk since it's Wednesday somewhere in the world. One of the things I've been doing lately is Lifebook 2014. This week's lesson is what is on my desk this week. 

It's been so much fun - especially since we had Monday off and I had a few hours to work on it. 

This is the first layer....believe or not. Water, ink, fluidity. Very fun. 

This is the current state - in progress....unlike anything most things I've done before. 

I also did some of the old stuff...making colorful papers. 

This is one of the papers I made. I needed to do it for my Documented Life Project; this week's prompt is a tip-in. I was fortunate enough to receive HAPPY MAIL!!! and I used a heart I received as my tip-in. So not only was I blessed with a beautiful gift, it was also inspiring! Thank you Anne Ryan!

It makes me happy just to look at it! And then I made several ATC's for my own version of happy mail!

And for those inquiring minds, the cassoulet turned out beautifully. How, how, how did you all know this???

Hope you have a wonderful week ahead...

The New Normal

Last week, my desk was a disaster. Funny thing. It still is. With different stuff, but still quite the mess. Wondering why I would even show you such a mess. It's cause it's Wednesday, and every week we bop around the world showing each other what we're up to through Julia's What's On Your Workspace Wednesday.

Bad huh? Oh well. It's been a week of this and that's. I did manage to get the first page done in my Documented Life Project. Last week's prompt was be inspired by a favorite...artist, picture, project. You get the picture.

My inspiration was Ingrid Djikers, a woman of amazing talent. I took one of my first ever classes from her at Art & Soul in 2011. I learned how to make that great edge of buttons, but it really wasn't suitable for this project. Fortunately I hd a picture of it I was able to blend into the page.

This week's page is still in progress. Use a shape repeatedly. Pretty original huh?

The colored hearts were made from some "test run" swatches I did with chalk ink, gesso, and water colors. We'll see where the rest of the week takes us on this one.

I'm still working on my Art 365. What started  with inchies, has now progressed into twinches, and 1 x 2's - which I don't yet have a name for!

The Olympic rings were a pain in the tush! The way they interweave is actually kind of odd. I finally just accepted it was going to be far from perfect. The partial 8 next to them was an experiment. I put gloss heavy gel (goodness only knows why I bought gloss????) through a stencil and then started playing with alcohol inks. At one point I added some paint but that wasn't the answer so, it just got darker and darker. One of the real benefits of Art 365 is the chance to take those kind of chances with all sorts of supplies.

Ravens are all over Alaska and they are indeed amazing birds. This took me about 4 minutes I think. Have to admit I'm really liking the embossed edges.

Many more little experiments on the desk. Maybe something interesting next week! Enjoy.