The Documented Life Project

I'm participating in a year long challenge called The Documented Life Project. The link will take you to the face book page. A very supportive and excited group. Every week you have a challenge (prompt) to add to your journal. Most people are using a Moleskine Day Planner that they are adding pages to for their challenges. I had already made my Day Planner so I'm adding to that. The first challenge was to photograph, sketch, paint or somehow incorporate your front door. Here is my completed page:

I photographed my door and then painted the door red, cuz I like red doors and mine is white. So maybe I'll actually paint it red this year, who knows? I then used a permanent pen and drew around the door, etc. to make it look more sketched. You'll likely see many of my weekly challenges here mixed in with whatever else I've been doing.

Here is a painting I made for one of my sisters for Christmas.

I'm working on a travel journal that I'm going to gift a friend. Should be done in a couple days. Check back!

Polka Dot Socks and Jammie Day

Hi, I've declared it Polka Dot Socks and Jammie Day! Hope you can participate with me. I did get up and take a shower but decided that I probably wasn't going anywhere, so get comfy.

 So what's a gal to do in her comfy jammies all day? Well, yesterday I started preparing a quilt to be quilted. This is no ordinary quilt. This quilt was found by a dear friend, in her Mother's house, after her Mother passed away. She was looking through her things and found an antique quilt top, completely hand pieced, made out of flour sacks, clothing, and sheets. She wondered if I'd be interested in quilting it. I've always wanted to finish an old quilt top so I immediately said Yes! It was in fairly good condition considering the age. At the time she didn't know who had made it but has been asking relatives and I think she knows more about it now. It had been used and possibly even washed so the edges were frayed and the fabric faded but no major stains and only a few small holes. So I set out to layer the backing, the batting, and the quilt top on my living room floor, when it soon became apparent that this quilt top was not going to lay flat. No sir. The technology has changed quite a bit in the quilting world in recent years. These old quilt tops were made out of necessity not for show. I struggled with how to get the job done without ruining the quilt or not feeling like I'd done it justice. I decided that if I made some adjustments in several places I could get it to lay flatter. Nothing I would do would ever make it totally smooth out flat but I did my best and eventually got it to a place I could live with it. I decided on a simple grid pattern for the quilting. There would be some puckers but this wasn't a perfect quilt to begin with so as I was pinning it I started connecting to the ancestors who had made it and reminding myself of all the love and work that went into this amazing quilt. At one point I'm sure they were laughing at me, giggling that that was why they never quilted it. But here I was, determined to get 'er done! So yes there are some puckers and tucks but overall it turned out beautiful. I finished the quilting and now I will try to square it up. Here is a picture of it in process. The small pieced squares are a bow tie pattern mixed with plain squares and strips of other fabric I'm guessing was sheets.

Some of the fabrics I really loved. There are a lot of polka dots:).

I'm off all week so I should be posting more of my crafty good times in the days to come. Thanks for stopping by!

2014 Day Planner

In 2013 I decided to try and find ways to make my everyday life more creative, colorful and fun. So I made my own Day Planner out of a small Smash Book. If held about six months and the size worked out well but I wanted to have more say in what papers I used, etc. So for my Birthday I got a Cinch binder system so I could make my own spiral bound day planners. The video below is the outcome of doing it all from scratch. I chose to have only six months at a time to keep the size manageable. I carry my Day Planner with me in my purse and I use it for scheduling and for all my to do lists at my job. Having my creative Day Planner makes writting in it more fun and adds cheer to my day. Hope you enjoy! Also, if you want to check out The Documented Life Project on Facebook I'm going to be participating in that group. Sounds like fun!

2014 Day Planner (video link)

I'd love to hear how you add creativity into your everyday 'to do's'.

It's been awhile...

Hello everyone, I've been busy as I'm sure you have too. I have been doing crafty stuff, just haven't posted in awhile. Here are some pictures of what I've been up to.

I had a lot of fun making this page. I felt like I was really trusting the process and not knowing what it would turn out like. Always good when you like how it turns out!

Here's a page in progress. I think that this girl actually looks like me. Kinda cool!

This is a watercolor girl that I was afraid to color because I really liked the pencil version. I am happy with how she turned out though. Her face was done with Prisma Colored Pencils first.

Back side

I made this journal from an old book. I took out the pages and revamped the cover. Then I added my own paper (resume paper) and put beads on the spine. Fun! This will be a writing journal.

I've got more pictures a brewin'. You'll have to check back later for more!

It's Spring!

Spring is here and it's time to come out of hibernation. I have been creating jounal pages, so I'll share with you what I've been working on.

I've also been making journals. Quilted covers and recycled papers...

What has spring inspired you to do?

Stuff I've made recently

I have been making backgrounds lately with the intention of putting inspirational quotes or mantras on them. Here is one I made for my sister:

And here is a painting I did for a friend. Collage papers with acrylic paint and original drawings.

What are you working on?

New creating space

I haven't posted in awhile and admittedly I haven't been doing as much art or journaling lately. But, I have revamped my studio space and now I'm back in action! Here are some pictures of my new digs:

The area with the square stool is my painting area, and the office chair is where my sewing machine goes. I've already been sewing and painting since it's completion. All components are from IKEA. I'll try to post some of the projects I've been working on soon. What have you been doing to feed your creative spirit?

Yes, another journal

Ok, so I'm on a roll. When I get into something, I get into it. I finished this one Friday night and I've already worked on some pages. The cover is made of a recycled photo album I got at goodwill.

Front

Sorry it's a little unfocused. Edges are duct tape.

Back

And here are the pages I've been working on...





Making journals

I'm in a journal making mood! I just finished a journal using an old hard cover book. I took the book block out and collaged the cover. The innerds are made of drawing paper and I embellished some of them with small pictures or stitching. This journal is a gift for someone to write in, not necessarily for visual journaling. I used several coats of varnish on the cover which gives it that shiny and hard surface.

I got so into making this journal that I signed up for Mary Ann Moss' Full Tilt Boogie class to learn how to make several other types of journals. Fun!!

Here is the front:

and here is the back:

What are you working on?

Art Journal flip

Here is a look at my first art journal I started. It's not complete but I'm tired of waiting for that day. Hope you enjoy!

ART JOURNAL FLIP

Tangle time

I've been working on a Zentangle in my Moleskine journal. It took me a while but I'm pleased with the final product. I used a quote from Albert Einstein that I liked.

I've also done a couple Mandalas as well.

I realize these are not the clearest photos, but you get the idea. The bottom two are from my tiny 3.5"x5" journal.  I've got a whole board of pinned Zentangles on my Pinterest site. There's a link on the right side of the blog. Happy Tangling!

Etsy site!

Hey everybody! I now have an Etsy site where I have stuff for sale. No art yet, but some quilts, bags, and a journal. I just made the journal and I really love it! Here is a peek-

There is a link on the right hand side of this blog if you want to check out my Etsy site. Thanks for visiting!

Flow

So I took another class from my 21 Secrets workshops I'm signed up for. It's called Flow and taught by Connie Hozvicka. You're just suppossed to paint, pick some colors start painting and see what happens. add some lines and see where it goes. This was quite fun and I was surprised by the outcome. I would definitely try this technique again. I've only done the first lesson. There are several others to try as well. Here is my attempt:

To me it seemed like alien beings speaking their language, all with different reactions to their environment and different emotions.