Have Some Fun

I saw a post on Laure Ferlita's blog about making a photocopy
of some pictures after turning them to a grayscale version. I think this is a fun way to change and personalize a photo to fit wherever you might want something a bit different. It is recommended that you use watercolor paper but my printer wouldn't take anything heavier than a drawing paper so I tried that. I think I made mine too light a version of gray so be careful not to make it too light. The pink daisy is my result. As you can see it's quite a bit different than the original shown in the other color picture.

This is fun. Give it a try. Thanks for the idea Laure.

A Trip to the Beach

I just recently took A Trip to the Beach, a class with Laure Ferlita. I've posted all the pictures I painted and journaled in this trip. I've put them all on my other blog here. I hope you'll go see them. This has been a wonderful experience and I think everyone should take at least one of the trips she offers. There is a trip to the beach, England and Paris right now and all are getting ready to take off so hurry and sign up! I can't tell you enough how wonderful taking a class with her is. You have to try it to see for yourself. I had not really used watercolors up to this point and look at what I did. If you can draw basic shapes you can do it!

J Inchy

This week's inchy is the letter J. I went to bed one night and an idea of what to do came to mind but I didn't get up and jot it down so by morning my wonderful idea using J in multiple ways was gone. This is my second idea and probably just as good as my original idea (unless that idea comes back to mind I'll never know)! This is Pitt pen and watercolor. I can see doing watercolor might be best done with a finer brush now that I see the one inch square blown up so large. Ah well it is what it is....
...which is

Jack and Jill went up the hill

to fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown

and Jill came tumbling after.

You all remember that rhyme don't you? And do you remember lots of rhymes without having to look at a book?

BJP Off and Running!

Hooray for me! I finally finished the January Bead Journal Project piece!! I know it's March but I am still happy as I wondered if I'd ever get anything done! I took the project more literally this year. I also want to finish each piece as a stand alone item before starting the next. My beadwork piece is
2 1/4 inches square. I made it to complement fabric I chose for a journal.

When I was done I made a book 5 1/2 x 8 inches. I glued the square of beadwork between a cover board with the square cut out of it and a thin piece of card to back it. This way it is flush with the cover and won't snag putting it in a bookcase or stacking other books on it. I filled the book with drawing paper and watercolor paper. I made 4 signatures wrapping each one in a decorative paper to go with the cover. I'm very happy with how it turned out and hope I don't need to do too much changing or adapting for the next book. If I have my math right and wrote the corrections down I'll be okay!

I've Been Awarded!

Yep I sure have. I've been awarded the Kreativ Blogger award. I think it's going around a fun group I am in on Yahoo called Blissfully Art Journaling . If you like to journal and add some art to it this is a good group to be in. Anyhow to get back to the point, several of the ladies have been kind enough to give me the award. In fact three of them on this blog and three on my other blog! This award here is from Tammy, Shay and Ramona.

Now as part of the award I have to do seven things:

(1)Post the image of the award.
There it is over on the right!

(2)Thank the person who gave it to me.
Thankyou all three of you ladies. Your cyber friendship means a lot to me.

(3)Link to the person who gave it to me.
Will do as soon as this is posted!

(4)Tell you seven things about myself that you wouldn't know.
See below.

(5)Choose seven great bloggers to give this award to.
Oh dear, well I think most of the people I know have received it or don't want awards so I am going to be the party pooper and not pass it on.

(6)Give a link to their blogs.
See number 5.

(7)Leave them a message on their blog.
See number 5.

Seven Things You Would Not Know About Me:

1. I am taking a watercolor class by Laure Ferlita or should I say, I have taken one and am ready to start another. These are cyber trips and I highly recommend them. In fact I will post the pictures on my next trip so you'll see how much you want to go on a painting trip too.
2. I'm busy as a bee as I am also taking a class starting this Wednesday that is a beginning oils class (although I will be using acrylics) by Nel Jansen . Go here to see her paintings. You'll love the variety.
3. But I bet numbers one and two aren't what you were expecting were they? Okay how about I'm one of those strange Americans who actually loves fruitcake? Really. I make some every Christmas even if I am the only one who eats it. I have a great light fruitcake recipe too with canned (not candied) pineapple and coconut in it.
4. Every Easter I make chocolate covered coconut fondant eggs for my daughter and her family. They taste just like See's Candies! I got the recipe in a candy cookbook over 30 years ago.
5. I bought a guitar over a year ago and want to learn to play it but the books are too hard to learn from especially since I couldn't even tune the thing from the directions I got. I'll take lessons someday after I quit paying for art classes!
6. I love quiet! Real quiet as in no sounds at all unless it's the wind outside or a bird calling. I don't need the noise of the TV blaring or even music although after doing without music for 20 years I got an Ipod and enjoy it now occasionally - very occasionally.
7. I'm shy. Yes, yes I am. When I am around strangers I am painfully shy. You all are not "strangers"!

Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed my answers. Thank you again for the award.

Orangutan and the Hound

Orangutan and the Hound

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The Letter I

Hi everyone. This week's inchy is for the letter I. I goofed and started my writing at the bottom of the inchy. Oh well, I'm sure many of you will understand my nostalgia wherever I started the writing.

Journal Page

This is a page I made last night for my journal. I was tired and didn't want to draw or do anything complicated. I thought this glass of ?pink lemonade? looked so refreshing on a cover of a last summer's issue of Better Homes and Garden's that I cut it out and made a page of it. I guess I'm jumping ahead of even spring and wanting summer which I sure won't like when it gets here and is around 100 degrees everyday!

I used a journal I made with bristol board pages and put down a watercolor wash. This paper doesn't take a wash well but with adding a border and the focal piece not too much showed anyhow. I had fun making this page. Hope you enjoy it too.

H is For

This week's inchy is for the letter H.
I made mine with a simple little heart
stamp and then some writing. The background is my blotter paper I keep on my art table for wiping brushes and stamps or for testing things on. I cut it up for use as inchy backgrounds.

You can join in making an inchy of your own. If you do, post it for all to see at Inchybyinch.

Another Inchy!

I've finally done another inchy! This is for the letter G and the last one I did was for the letter A so I have some catching up to do. I've been visiting family in California and taking too many classes. Some of the classes are ending so that may help me catch up on these inchies and other projects that have gotten behind - like the Bead Journal Project. Boy oh boy am I behind on that! Anyhow, G is for green and goats. This is a cutout of two baby goats (kids) of which we still have the one with the red collar. Her name is Mary Muffin as her dad was Stud Muffin.

Birthday Journal Page

Two of my granddaughters have just had birthdays. I got a
journal page made for one of them this morning. I made this from various bits of her giftwrap along with a pogo print of the party attendees and finished with a little ink. My granddaughter loves the monkey theme as she is a competitive gymnast.

Inchies are Back

The Inchybyinch blog has started up again. This
year we are going to work our way through the alphabet. So this week it's A for Alphabet!

Mandala Done

Well I made my mandala following the direction of that video I posted here. Now I realize they did it a bit differently. Oh boy, that shows how well I follow instructions! They changed pen color as they went along. I'll have to try that on the next one. This one is made with a Pitt pen and watercolor pencil. It was fun. Have you tried one yet?

Doodle Fun

My daughter and her husband gave me a daily calendar for Christmas. It's a doodling one. Every day there is something drawn or partially drawn and a prompt given for working the page. I figured I'd have fun with doing some VERY quick drawings and then I figured I'd post them for your enjoyment.

Since I can scan four at a time, I guess that's how I'll post them. This is me getting silly! I don't do that often.

Mandala Anyone?

I saw this video on Vicki Holdwick's blog Faint Heart Art . It looked wonderful and I just had to share - even before I tried it myself!