Life is for Learning or Art From Start to Finish

Wow, I may have fallen off the KIOS wagon, but three days in a row with art to share...way to go Sweets!  *pats self on back for an obscene amount of time*  

So...as a present to myself, I am taking Jane Davenport's (known as JD from this point on) Supplies Me class.  I had gotten her Whimsical Faces Video from Cloth Paper Scissors (when on super sale...egads, I love a good sale) and it was such a good video, probably the favorite one I've bought from them (so far...hehehe), and I knew I really wanted to take another of JD's classes at some point.  I just didn't think it would happen anytime soon.  But then, surprise Xmas bonus at work (HUZZAH!)=me getting to take one of her classes!

This is my Week 1 (Texture) homework for the class, from start to finish:

Light gesso layer, followed by washi tape, tissue paper, fancy napkins...

Followed by more washi, tissue paper, fancy napkins, and sheet music...and a coat of gesso where I smooshed the pages together while the gesso was still wet (for added texture)...

Followed by Dylusions sprayed through two different Heidi Swapp stencils.  Can I just tell you how much I didn't want to add anything else to the page at this point?  It was so vibrant and glorious...the picture just doesn't do it justice...GORGEOUSNESS!  ...but I was good and added more, starting with a layer of clear gesso...

The gesso faded out the Dylusions background a little bit...making it, as Donna Downey would say, touch worthy (hehehe)...  So here's where I started sketching in the face (with colored pencil...Trust me when I say to start sketching with colored pencils if you don't already.  I swear that was one of the best tips I picked up from the Whimsical Faces video...as a former compulsive eraser, I can testify that I LOVE not being able to erase now!).  Then a light coat of craft acrylic in a flesh-ish tone for the face and a light gesso wash in the hair area.

Blurry picture, why you so blurry?!?  As you can see (hopefully, despite the blur...), I started adding in more color and shading with Inktense pencils and Neocolor II's.  On a side note, I want the entire sets of both of those things now...especially the Neocolor II's.  Then more shading with some Distress Markers (which I got on clearance at Michaels...yay for clearance) and a little bit of Winter White acrylic paint for the eyeball whiteness...

Close-up of texture-y goodness!   This picture makes me so happy I could squeal!  Why can't all my phone pictures turn out so awesomely?  (I'm looking at you, blurry picture above!!!)

And because it worked so well the first time, another EXTREME close-up!

Finished face...used a Micron, a few gel pens, a Sharpie paint pen, Distress Markers, and Bombay India ink for the finishing touches... 

"Life is for learning."  (Quote from Joni Mitchell song which you can listen to below)  Finished spread!  I used Distress Marker, Bombay India Ink, Recollections Signature markers (which I've had FOREVER) and Sharpie paint pen for the lettering...and then splattered some of the India Ink on the page for a finishing touch...  On a side note, most of my desk is now splattered with India Ink...including my computer screen.  I am writing to you around dots of color...  I'm hoping it will come off (at least from the computer screen!), but if not, it's ok, my stuff is just extra decorated now...

And here's a photo collage of all the pictures above, just because I made it for the class, and because I feel extra technologically advanced for making it! *more shameless back patting of self*

 I LOVE this spread!  Aside from the hair (which I will be practicing thanks to an AWESOME video my friend Boo sent me the link for) and the lettering (which I will be forcing myself to practice...for real this time...), the thing is just swoon worthy!  Even the hair and lettering being less than perfect doesn't really bother me horrendously...I'm still self-swooning!

As promised, here is the song that I got the "Life is for learning." quote from (Woodstock by Joni Mitchell):

Aah, Joni, my love for you is boundless...I swoon for you...and this journal spread...and you...le sigh...

Now I'm off to start Week 2 of the Supplies Me class...colored pencils! Enjoy your creative life, wherever you are on this fine day...

Mail Art Goodness!

Oh Happy Day!!!  I got some lovely mail art yesterday!  Happy, happy, joy, joy!  I am doing the dance of happiness!  It mostly involves me frolicking around the house like an idiot...but an idiot who's REALLY happy, and that's what counts! 

First, I will show you this loveliness from fabulous Denise in Canada, the front of the envelope:

The feathers were inside of the envelope too!  Can I just say that when I stuck my finger in the flap and felt those feathers, I had an almost-peed-my-pants moment of "What the crap am I touching?!?"  I was very relieved when I saw the feathers!  I can't wait to use them!

The back of the envelope:

I love those Stamps!  Such neat touches!  

And what was inside the envelope (besides the feathers that scared the crap out of me!):

I love her SO much!  She's even better in real life!!!  Everything about this piece is fabulous and amazing!  I love that the lyrics showing in the sheet music say "hours away; passing too."  I don't know why, but that made me so happy when I saw it!  Thank you, Denise!  

And then, from the wonderful Jana all the way in Sweden:

The envelope:

Aren't those stamps THE COOLEST EVER?!? (I wish we had cool stamps like that...or that I would remember to ask if the post office has cool stamps...)  I love her envelope too!  I will tell you about the pink paper below...

What was in the envelope:

There were many goodies in the envelope, including a tea filter (on the right), a beautiful Swedish smile  at the top, a beautiful leftover piece from where she made the envelope (I REALLY like this piece, and I wonder what it says! ...that will be a great mystery...I will have to ask Jana...the suspense is killing me!) and the neat pink paper. The pink paper is some that Jana had dyed with beet juice!  Isn't that so cool?  I can't wait to use all of these awesome things!

Also in the envelope was:

An awesome kitty for me!  I love it!!!

And this:

An original artwork by Jana!  I loved this piece when I saw it on her website, and I didn't think it was possible, but I love it even more now that I've seen it in real life!  Thank you, Jana!

I wish I was a better photographer so that you could see how totally awesome all my lovely mail art goodies really are!  Ooh, I also have to say before I forget, that both Denise and Jana have THE BEST handwriting ever!  I was reading over the notes they had included and was possibly drooling in jealousy of how beautiful both ladies handwriting is!  

I can't wait to display my lovely art on the wall of my craft room so that I can look at it every day and get the same squishy happy feeling I have now each time I see it!  Thank you ladies so, so much!  You made my whole weekend better!

Prompt6ix #10 Page

I just finished my Prompt6ix #10 Page (you can read more about Prompt6ix  HERE):

It is BRIGHT!

Before I go any further, I just gotta say how much I love the Dylusions spray inks.  They are so easy to use and in great colors...  I've had a fun time experimenting with them!

This is the first time I've done a two page spread.  It was a little difficult because I did it in the journal I made, and there is a hump where the pages connect...I think it would have worked a little better in the middle of the journal, as opposed to close to the beginning, which is where I did it...less of a hump in the middle of the book (or on one of the middle pages of a signature), but I didn't think about it and here we are...  I don't mind so much, but I will know for next time.

Here's a close up of the left page:

And the right page:

This is the breakdown of the six prompts and how I used them:

1. Lyrics- I have lyrics from 3 songs on the page, "Your Color" by Mama Kin ( 'The silence pushes into me'; 'You go your way and I'll go mine.'; 'Now my footsteps echo in the hall'; 'I miss your color most of all' ), "Don't You Cry" by Guns and Roses ('You'll be alright now sugar.  You'll feel better tomorrow come the morning light...'), and "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele ( 'I can't help myself I'm looking for you').  I love this prompt to use lyrics in the page...  I am a lyric junkie!
2. Museum- Is in the journaling, which says: 'I realized my mind was some sort of horrible museum where no one curated the archives of what stayed and what faded away.'  Those are my words, inspired by this image: that I saw on Pinterest
3. Kaleidoscope- For the background, I cut out a paper snowflake and used it as a stencil!  That was A LOT of fun, and I am going to have to do that again!  ...and improve my snowflake cutting skills...snow flake intricacy, here I come!
4. Tag or Label- On the left page, there's a label (that has the G&R lyrics on it)...I hand cut two bigger labels to go behind (the blue and black outline) the label punch (green part) that I already had to try to balance out the black of her hair on the other page.
5. Lime Green- In the background and her hair and the book page ephemera...again, I love you, Dylusions spray inks!
6. Tape- I used some washi tape with music notes on it that I had.  Woo hoo for kismet!

On a side note, the other night, my husband woke me up by violently shaking me and was saying: "I let it out!  I let the snake out!" over and over...  He had apparently been dreaming some really weird dream about a snake being lose in the house and crawling under the bed...he was freaking out!  After I realized the house wasn't on fire and there wasn't an serial killer in the house, it was hilarious! 

I think I must have been thinking about that when I was doing her eyes, because now when I look at her, I think she has creepy snake eyes!  Maybe it's the lighter color around the pupil?  I don't know...I may have to revisit those eyes and see if I can make them less snaky.

I've Got Mail (Art)!

Saturday, I walked out to the mailbox and found something something really awesome: Mail Art!  I am EXCITED!

This is the first mail art I have gotten, and my lovely friend Cheryl actually sent me two separate things!  On Saturday, when I first opened the mail box, I saw this peeping out at me:

My band-aid collage from Cheryl!

I love the girl's face (I have a thing for faces...aka an obsession) and I really admire Cheryl's collages...she is one of the people who inspired me to try my own collage that I shared a few posts back!  The ephemera on this piece is so neat...it makes me wonder if Cheryl has a big huge room full of old magazines and newspapers...and then it made me wonder if I can go visit Cheryl and her room and swipe some good stuff! (ha ha)

And then, today when I came home from work, as I was looking through the the mail, I was super surprised to find another piece of mail art!  (She's so sneaky!  I didn't know there were going to be two!) I saw this beautiful diamond among the coal (aka a big stack of bills...boo for bills!):

An envelope busting at the seams with goodies!!!

So, I opened (extra carefully) the envelope (because it's so pretty, I want to keep it!) and check out all the neat things that it contained:

Some really great sheet music...I don't know what song this is, but if I remember music class correctly, I bet it's a peppy song...IF I remember right...just know that music class was a long time ago...

This sweet patchwork heart napkin!  I also sew a little, so this is very cool  on two levels!

This beautiful bird napkin (I can't wait to use it!)...I am really going to have to check out the napkin section next time I go to the store, because I am missing out on some really cool stuff it seems!

This wonderful ATC (artist trading card)...I love silhouettes!  And this one has just the perfect amount of sparkly goodness...I wish I was a better photographer so you could see just how perfect it is!

And this amazingly gorgeous ATC, which I love, love, LOVE!!!  There really aren't enough exclamation points or letters UPPER CASE enough for me to express how much I love this ATC!

I am so happy and excited about receiving such lovely art!  Thank you, Cheryl, so very much for making my day with your beautiful pieces and fun goodies too!  I sent my mail art to Cheryl this morning before work, and I was so excited, I actually forgot to take pictures!  I was literally skipping into the post office...for the record, when an adult skips into the post office, the man at the counter looks at her very oddly...and that's ok...I was too excited to care!  

So, in a few days, Cheryl will get my mail art to her, and I hope that she will like hers as much as I like mine! (Or at least close to as much, because I REALLY like mine, so she'll have to pass out from excitement to be able to like what she's getting more...and while I hope she likes it, I don't want her to pass out...hehehe!)

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Cheryl!!!