it was a happy birthday to me!

Yesterday was my birthday and I'm still smiling over what a great day it was. 

Started out with a few hours in my art room and got to finish this piece I'd been working on.

Following play time we went to Art in the Park, a juried artisan fair with over 150 exhibitors which is always a jaw-dropping event. When we finished there we went shopping (including a quick trip to Michael's Crafts - YAY) then had a great dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I had such a fun day.

In between all the activity I kept checking my Facebook of course (if you visit here from time to time you already know that I am a self-proclaimed FB addict).  I was just stunned by the number of well-wishers and birthday greeting I received. Every time I looked there were more and more. It was exciting and humbling all at once and I appreciated each and every remark.

What a great day I had and my thanks to all of you that made it so memorable <3

Thank You

Renee

just this...

that's all, just love one another

all about multi-tasking

There are lots of art challenges to be found on the internet. I have a couple that I like to play regularly however, this week I have a few too many commitments piled up so I've combined 2 challenges in one piece.

This is a mixed media piece approximately 6 x 9" on watercolor paper.

The first challenge is a weekly quote prompt on a Facebook group. The quote for this week is by Dalai Lama "the purpose of our lives is to be happy". And the second challenge is a weekly technique challenge on http://littleglimpsesstudio.ning.com . The challenge for this week is to use circles in some way.

I'm hoping to join a few of the other challenges on the web but need to budget my time a little better (or keep multi-tasking).

Thanks for stopping by.

Renee

Gluebook Round Robin

One of the facebook groups I belong to is for an art journal round robin. I joined in the middle of a round as did a few others so we are doing a round of our own.

These are my contribution to Melody's book. Melody chose the theme of "flying oddities".

Try This Today

I love watching youtube videos of people creating in their art journals. I do not have a video camera so instead of a video I thought I would just do a short pictoral of the technique I shared in the current issue of Somerset Art Journaling.

Here are the basic steps to get you started. As you are working on yours go ahead and tweak it to put your own twist on it.


1. The idea behind this is to use up all those scraps that are too good to toss in the trash but not good enough for a large project. Glue assorted scraps onto your page covering it completely.

2. Drop a few blobs of gesso on the page and use a brayer (or a brush, or your fingers) to spread the gesso around. 

3. Using spray color and a stencil (I used Adirondack color wash spray and large-holed punchinella) place the stencil on the bottom half of the page and spritz with color. Immediately invert the wet stencil onto the top half of the page and press gently.

As you can see some of the background will show through and if you use a water based spray you can blot areas with a damp cloth if you want more background areas exposed. At this point you can finish your page in any way you choose.

If you used a water based color I would suggest that once you are happy with the background spray it with a fixative or sealer so the color doesn't smudge as you add more things to the page.

I finished the rest of my page like this:

1. Take a large tag and crumble into a small ball. Unfold it and rub distress ink across all the creases and ink the edges. You can spritz with water too so the ink bleeds a bit.

2. Using distress inks and spray wash color a piece of cheesecloth and a strip of torn muslin.

3. When the tag is dry attach a charm or embellishment of your choice and with a strip of muslin or a ribbon attach a twig through the hole.

4. Glue the cheesecloth onto the bottom half of the page (I used tacky glue but gel medium or other glues would work too).

5. Glue the tag on top of the cheesecloth. You could glue the whole tag down or just the hole end or you could attach with a brad.

6. Print the word "simplify" (or a word of your choosing) and use the same inks to color the paper and glue it to the top of the page.

I hope you will try this and if you do I would love to see it - leave a link in the comments.

Thanks for your time.

Renee

would you change?

Our journal prompt from Roc for July is "what is one thing you would change about your life if you could?".

I thought alot about this one. My initial thought was to change something about my looks. I thought maybe I would like bigger eyes or a smaller nose. Healthier teeth would be really good; so would a smaller butt or a bigger chest. Maybe thinner, curlier hair or hairless legs (don't we all wish for that)! But all these things are just superficial and really, once we are out of school and stop comparing ourselves to our peers these things become pretty unimportant.

So my next line of thinking went to the intagible side. I often wish I were wiser. I have to say I am wiser than I used to be but have such a long way to go. Along the same line of thought I know I have room to be kinder. Sarcasm flows way too easily and freely sometimes but I'm learning little by little to be rein it in. I feel like I am pretty accepting of diversity but of course there's always room to grow. I suppose I could pick just one of these things however I feel like these are things I've been put on this earth to learn.

I am a work in progress. The place where I exist on this day is the result of every experience, every wrinkle, every gray hair on my head.

I've met people who've seen kindness and understanding in these green eyes. I've contributed to a few dentists' retirement funds along the way. I've learned to try to be patient with those who need it. I've been a friend.

So after much consideration I would have to say in answer to the prompt "what is one thing you would change about your life if you could" I would say "not one thing".

You can join the prompt journal challenge at http://www.flickr.com/groups/1570781@N20/

Thanks for stopping by...

Renee

opportunities

I am sitting here nervously waiting for the time I have to leave to go to the dentist. I'm trying to put a positive spin on it but in my mind there is nothing positive about this upcoming experience! All this attempted reasoning made me think of different people's attitudes.

As I've mentioned on this blog before I have become a Facebook junkie. Because of my FB addiction I read lots of people's status updates and have come to the conclusion that some people really attract alot of dramatic events in their lives through no fault or wishing of their own. Other people, however, seem to interject themselves into the drama. They may even create drama; for whatever reason I don't know.

I invite you all whether you are a drama seeker or not that just for today try to remember that there is always an opportunity to put a positive spin on life and life events. I would like to share a spread in my Altered Renaissance journal.

I hope you choose to look through your open window.

Renee