And another page ......

This page is about things I like to paint with. It's hard to see the writing but just in case you're interested, here's what it says ....

Things I Love to Paint With! My studio window open, birds chirping. I like that there are no trucks around here! I like the sound of a hot summer Sunday. If I look out my studio window, there are birds at the feeders. I like the colour of the water in the pool. This aqua. I like the sound of the summer breeze gently moving the wood blinds and the bamboo wind chimes. I love to have some flowers on my painting table so they can die and be painted by me. A bottle of wine, a wineglass and a few sips. My favourite brushes. A dip in the pool when the heat gets to be too much. Then back here. Living in my swimsuit ALL day long on each day off - rain or shine. Quiet. I love how QUIET this house is. I love how this house breathes. I love how this house sighs with deep contentment. I live in this beautiful house. It speaks to me. This house speaks good things to me.

Too weird?

Still Journaling

Another journal page. This one is kind of plain so far - I'm still not sure yet what I'm going to write on it but I like the theme of French Canadian appeal - if you have to ask .... It's funny how these pages go - I don't have a theme when starting. I just keep playing around. This page is one of the narrower flaps that will fold out.

There's snow on the ground here - I hope it all melts and that we have a green Christmas and a green winter.

I spent a really relaxing weekend of not doing much. Hope your's was relaxing, too.

Journaling in a handmade journal

Well, it's been a long time. Again. I had been hoping to participate in a twenty minute challenge this past weekend but I got caught up in journaling. I stumbled (quite by accident) across Teesha Moore's videos on journaling and just had to try them. You can get an idea here of her work. If you do make some, please let me know. I'd love to see them!

Sooooo, I made two books. I still have to stitch them together but decided to start painting in one of them because I just didn't feel like going to shop for the proper 'thread' needed.

These books are soooo much fun! You make one book out of one full sheet of w/c paper. In her videos, she mentions to not use Arches. "Only use Fabriano." Her reasoning is that Arches will crack when you fold it. Bull feathers. I made one out of the last sheet of Fabriano that I had and then, because someone told me not to, I had to make one out of Arches, too. The Arches one seems just as good. (And I've always loved the way Arches reacts to paint anyways. You could say, I'm partial to Arches. To put it mildly.) And it did not crack when I folded it.

I followed her style and painted the first book in brilliant and bold colours. My next book will be painted in more earthy muted tones, I think.

At first, you just don't know what to 'journal' about. But, after cutting out some pics in old mags and catalogues to use as a few collage pieces, the ideas started flowing. And the best thing is to not plan these out. Just do it. Go with the flow.

Here's a pic of the page I've been working on and a shot of the bold colours I painted the pages in. Sorry these pics are a bit dark. I'll take better shots tomorrow during daylight and will replace these. I decided to use a pic of the drawing I did of Death Becomes You.

When it's all stitched up, there are 16 pages, 8" x 10" in each book.