Make a Mess ….

‘Make a mess, clean it up’. That was the instruction on this page …

… and I know it doesn’t look very much like a mess, but if you saw how I made it you would have have to agree that I followed the instructions!!

I had been working on the Kelly Rae inspired journal that I’m currently making and had various surfaces covered in leftover paint lying over my desk. I should have taken some pictures … but it was the early hours of the morning and I was more concerned with getting cleared up and into bed. But I hate just throwing things away! Then I remembered this page in the ‘wreck my journal’ and I knew what to do!! I used a very wet paintbrush to loosen all the dried paint and plonked the journal into the wet paint. I did this several time until all the paint was used up … et voila!! … one completed jounal page and nice clean surfaces … mission accomplished 🙂

The scan of this next page really doesn’t do it justice.

The page instruction said to ‘Draw lines using abnormal writing utensils dipped in ink or paint’. I went for the paint option and dipped into it a paper clip, a hair grip, a make-up brush/comb, a cardboard tube, a plastic covered wire tie, a lolly stick, a bottle top, a button, and a staple remover. It looked Ok … but I wasn’t finished! I added a thick layer of glossy gel medium and used a small comb to make lots of ridges in it. Then I left it to dry. I love the way it turned out … it has a really great texture … the only problem is that the gel medium sticks to itself when the book is closed and it is quite difficult to prise the pages apart … but it make a wonderful noise when you’re doing it!!

Burning, Making Coffee and Licking the Page!

Yes! …. I finally got around to the burning page in my journal.

It was quite scary how fast the page burned … I had to use the coffee I’d made for the next page to douse the flames!

As I don’t drink coffee, I thought I’d add my own twist to this page … I made the coffee and spilt it over the page (and the rest of the book – it really is a multi sensory book now!!) then shook some coffee graunles onto the page and gave them a good stir with my fingers. Result … one very smelly, sticky page!!

While I was in the kitchen I thought I might as well do the tongue painting page!!

I used food colouring straight from the bottle …. quite a colourful result!! The journal is getting quite hard to close now …

… in more ways than one!! It’s so freeing and inspirational … and I’ve still got loads of blank pages!!

More Inspiration from Kelly Rae Roberts

I started reading Kelly Rae’s book nearly two months ago and have been meaning to have a go at making the art journal in chapter one for ages. I finally made a start this weekend! I started by making the fabric tags for the spine.

I’ve been using wonderweb and iron on interfacing to create material collages for some time now, but I had never thought to paint on top of it! You need the clear gesso as a base, but once that’s added – it really is like painting on paper.

The letters were added using a black Sharpie and a white Sakura Souffle pen. The eyelets were added using a Cropodile Big Bite. I really love this process and the way the tags feel!

Next I made a start on the front cover of the Journal. I was a bit nervous about adding a person, and wasn’t sure which media would be best to use as I don’t have any oil paints …. but in the end I plucked up my courage and just used my acrylic paints.

Considering it’s my first attempt at anything like this – I’m quite pleased with the result 🙂

This is the inside of the front cover all ready to be written on!

Golden Gel Mediums

I’ve had my eye on them for some time now … coveting them!! Yesterday … I gave in and treated myself to this starter set of Golden Gel Mediums!!

Having waited so long … I just had to have a play, and what better place than on the Draw with Glue page in my ‘Wreck this Journal’ book. I wasn’t too sure how to go about using them, so I tried a few different approaches … but the one I liked best was using an old rub-on stick (like an old fashioned lolly stick but made of plastic) to dob the gels onto the paper and then add some colour in the form of lumiere paint. The scanned image really doesn’t do justice to the amazing textures …

… I just have to keep stroking the page 🙂 I can’t wait to use them on a serious project!

Altered Vans and pencil shavings …..

Altered Vans and pencil shavings are two of my latest experiments ….

The Vans (as in shoes) were on special offer, but I thought they were a bit boring being black and white, so I got my new Sharpies and coloured them in!! Now I can wear them with any outfit as they are all the colours of the rainbow 🙂

On a messier note … I have been glueing random items on these pages for a while now, but the other night when I was emptying my pencil sharpener after shapening all my water colour pencils I wondered what the shavings would look like stuck to this page. This is the result! No only does it look good but it smells good too 🙂 ( I love the smell of pencil shavings!)

Smelly Plants, Messy Hands and Gooey Paint!

Smelly plants, messy hands and gooey paint …… mmmm …… now what could I have been up to? …. Yes, you’re right …. I’ve been playing with/destroying my journal over the weekend!

The hot weather has killed most of the weeds wildflowers that normally can be found in my garden, but I managed to find a few, and some lovely variegated leaves. I’m no gardener …. my thumbs are black – not green …. so I have no idea what any of the plants I gathered are called apart from the one at the bottom right corner which is mint …. It’s smelled the whole book out! Any ideas anyone?

Painting my hands is much more my kind of thing …..

…… and dripping and squidging paint …… Yes! Lead me there!! Just one slight problem ….. the paint was soooo thick (even after the squidging) that it didn’t want to dry. So I set the heat gun on it and nearly caught the page on fire!! Even though the paint is now dry … I still have to prise the pages apart as they keep sticking together 🙂

p.s. If you look really closely …. you can see where the paint bubbled and blistered!

Take some wax crayons, a foil takeaway container, a pair of tongs …..

Take some wax crayons, a foil takeaway container, a pair of tongs and a sharp knife.

Use the knife to scrape some shavings from one of the wax crayons into the takeaway container (don’t use more than one colour or you’ll end up with a muddy brown colour!). Holding the takeaway container with the tongs, carefully heat the container on the cooker until the wax melts (it only takes a few seconds).

Remove the container from the heat and drip the melted wax onto your paper. Repeat in different colours until you are happy with the result!

The wax has a lovely soft feel to it. I may go back to it later and try scratching a pattern into it 🙂

Take one Vintage Book …

Take one vintage book, a sharp knife, some sharp scissors, a photo of your choice, a word to sum it up and a few embellishments, add some lumiere paint and a huge dose of inspiration from Kelly Rae Roberts in her book Taking Flight … and this is what I got 🙂

It took a lot of courage for me to cut the book up like this … I was brought up to respect and almost revere books by my schoolteacher father … so damaging a book in any way goes right against the grain for me … but I’m really glad I took the plunge! Dad might be turning in his grave, but I’m really pleased with the new life I have given to this old book!

Inspired by Meringues!

At a recent business seminar we were given small gift boxes containing tiny meringues from Head in the clouds. The meringues were delicious … but I have to admit … it was the boxes that appealed to me the most!! I had to find out how they were made and have a go at reconstructing them. This is the result 🙂

I’ve been so busy working lately that I haven’t had much time to get messy so it was a real treat to play with these boxes!

Take one wooden picture …

Take one wooden picture, some magazine illustrations, a celtic knot frame (yes it is the same one you’ve seen before!), a mixture of alcohol inks, some lumiere paint, a few grains of perfect pearls powder, an enormous quantity of mod podge, and a graphite pencil – mix well making sure to get your hands covered in all of the above ….

… get a massive dose of inspiration from one of your favourite artists [I just started reading Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts … and this is what I got!

I’ve been meaning to try my hand a some mixed media collage work for ages. I’m quite pleased with the result of my first attempt. I hope you like it!