T Stands For Breakfast Tea at AJJ

My name is Tippy and I'm in Kindergarten.  I'm enjoying my breakfast with my parents and Art Journal Journey before I have to go to school.

Bleubeard was responsible for creating the words that I had chosen for this post, but he got it wrong.

You can see my parents are really having tea with cream, sugar, and lemon, which is directly below my sippy cup.

I guess the teapot gave it away.  That's why Bleubeard had to take a marker and change the story line a bit.  Note also, that Bleubeard added some lines to the roses, too.

Bleubeard and I (Tippy) welcome you to join us for T this Tuesday.   Any drink is acceptable, and I would gladly let you borrow a sippy cup filled with whatever you want to drink.  Or you could have tea or even coffee if you choose (which is what Bleubeard thought my parents were having).  Once you link, Bleubeard, the T gang, and maybe even Elizabeth will join you for T.


I hope it's not too early to remind you to look for that perfect second look you want to share on the 2nd right back here.  And don't forget there's still time to join Bleubeard and Elizabeth at Art Journal Journey for more Back to School fun.

The very best teachers!

I have two spreads today even though each is independent of the other.

I want to begin by honoring all teachers with this quote.

The best teachers
teach from the heart

not from the book.

Materials used include computer generated text, a heart cut from some of my painted paper, a bird punch, and an image of books fussy cut from a book store cafe menu.

For my second spread, I also believe parents need to be involved with teaching their children,

just as much as a good teacher does.

Parents need to pick up when the school day ends.

Of course, there's always time for a bit of humor when it comes to parents and their teaching skills.

For this second entry, I actually began with the two quotes, then found a really old magazine image I thought would match the sentiments.  First I laid down a sheet of pale green copier/printer paper.  To that, I added the found image, some gifted glittery tape, and computer generated text outlined with pigment ink.
 

Bleubeard and I are delighted you joined us today where we paid tribute to all those teachers who shaped our minds and empathized with parents who must shape those minds when school is out and where teachers leave off.  Please also join us at Art Journal Journey where the theme this month is Back to School.   There's still plenty of time to join in on the fun.

It's really awkward

 I've not shown any step out photos this month while I hosted Art Journal Journey, but I wanted to explain how I created this background made with various flash cards.

This is one of my favorite techniques.  I mix Staz-on reinkers and 91% Isopropyl alcohol and spread it onto my substrate (in this case, flash cards) using a pipette.  By mixing all the colors ahead of time, then adding the colors quickly, they mingle together and four Staz-on colors turn into many.

Of course, once I added the other flash cards over the first layer, most of it didn't show.

The boy in the blue hat was heard to say "So awkward going back to school and saying hi to everyone you avoided for three months."  It was a quote I found on the internet, and just had to use.

These are the students who the boy in the blue hat has been avoiding.

This is another look at the final layer.  Materials I used include various flash cards, some of which are old, some quite new, four "children" from a same/different game I found in my stash, and Staz-on reinkers mixed with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol.

Bleubeard and I are honored that you joined us today while we explored the awkward side of heading back to school, this month's theme at Art Journal Journey.

Two more spreads for Art Journal Journey

Today I have two more spreads for Art Journal Journey.  Both of these have an old school feel, one retro, one vintage.

Let's begin with the retro spread.

When I first started working on my Back to School book, I heard this statistic on a national news station.  I immediately wrote it down, because I could not believe how much sleep young children need.  I'm used to sleeping two to three hours, then being up for at least, 16, then sleep for two, then back at it again.


I can see our young lad has awakened refreshed and happy, greeting the day along with the singing bird.

This 11 to 12 hours sleep a night simply blows my mind.

However, the young boy seems to believe his mother and not put up a fuss when told to go to bed.

For this spread, I began by laying down a background of dictionary pages.  I then used an image from a child's book I had been given, which I turned into a tape transfer.  I was so lucky that the image came off nearly complete, so I was able to use the back side at the top of the page.  Text was computer generated on yellow copier/printer paper.

The second spread deals with

the one room schoolhouse. 

I feel sorry for the teacher who has to handle all those children of different ages.  Did you notice the children in the tree?  Of course, I love the bell that was used to announce school would soon be in session.

It appears some of the children walked to school, while others came by carriage.

How times have changed.

For the background, I used a piece of black construction paper that had been exposed to light.  It had acquired a greenish tint, which added to the idea of a black or green chalk board.  The focal image is from the internet, and the carriage and written words are from a sack paper bag I received from an Amish shop a few months back.


Bleubeard and I want to thank you for visiting.  Please also join the two of us at Art Journal Journey, where this month the theme is Back to School. 

The Write Stuff and First Day on Campus

Today I have two very different spreads for you.  One is current, the other vintage.

This is a fun piece I thought up when I saw these young people in a magazine ad.

I spent a lot of time creating these words in my word processing program.  Each word had a different fill pattern, but when I printed the page, the designs disappeared.

Still, not to be deterred, I added the labels from three crayons and a pencil with a now "defunct" eraser.

When the words didn't print with patterns, I tried to add my white Gelly pen, but it somehow refused to work properly on the ink, then quit working altogether.

Regardless, I'm still quite happy with the way this piece turned out.

Materials include a portion of an ad for an ink pen, three crayon labels, one pencil, and one sheet of yellow copier/printer paper with computer generated text.  I can't really claim the white pen, since I couldn't get it to work properly.

For my second spread,

we're heading off to college where a vintage image

shows these lovely ladies from (what appears to be) the 1940s sitting on a campus wall displaying their bobby sox and loafers.

It's obviously their first day on campus.

Materials I used for this spread include a piece of scrapbook paper that reminded me of argyle socks, an image from the internet, green variegated thread, computer generated text, and matching letters I outlined in black pen.

Thanks for joining Bleubeard and me today and don't forget to join us at Art Journal Journey where we're heading Back to School with our write stuff and bobby sox and loafers.

Honoring my instrumental music director (for CB and AJJ)

Today we are visiting the Craft Barn where the latest alpha letter, X, has been chosen.  Thankfully there are no twists, so it didn't take me long to determine the word I would use.  I wanted it to be a word I could use for Art Journal Journey, too.  I confess I had a brain fart, which is better than a brain aneurysm because I forgot that I was supposed to create this in my dedicated book I have for the Craft Barn challenge (one of the rules we are asked to abide by), and instead, created it in the journal I dedicated to my Back to School offerings.  I hope I don't get kicked out of the "club" for this faux pas because this one is very personal to me.  Of course, I sized everything to fit this size page, too.

Mr. Lily was my real instrumental music director when I was in Jr. High and High School.  In High School in the fall, we marched on football fields, in parades, and at the state fair.  When football season was over, we moved indoors and played in the orchestra.

Technically, Mr. Lily didn't encourage me to play the Xylophone, but he did encourage me to expand my horizons and play all the percussion pieces the school owned.  Originally, I only played drums, but after awhile, I began playing more percussion instruments in the orchestra, including marimba, timpani, and tubular bells.  So, thank you Mr. Lily for all you did for me.

The Xylophone is just one of the percussion instruments I learned to play.
Here is a table model made of wood with mallets.  The one I played was on a roll around stand, similar to the marimba.

My added X barely made it.  It looks like it's about to fall off.  But at least you can see the definition.  Looks like I was a xylophonist when I played it!

Materials I used for this project began with purple pigment ink that I spread all over the words on the original page.  I then sized and printed the Xylophone I found on Wikipedia to a piece of vellum.  The words were computer generated, then outlined with purple pigment ink.   I cut circles from a dictionary page, then spaced them on the page.  I added the purple letters, then added the dictionary definition and the small X.

Since we've already honored the art teacher, it's now time to honor our musical directors, whether it's instrumental, vocal, or both.

Once again I visited everyone during the last Craft Barn challenge.  It's courteous, and the proper thing to do.

So let's visit both the Craft Barn where the latest alpha letter is X,



and Art Journal Journey, where this month the theme I'm hosting is Back to School.

Homecoming

I'm saving the date because
homecoming is right around the corner.

According to Wikipedia:

Homecoming is an annual tradition in the United States. People, towns, high schools, and colleges come together, usually in late September or early October, to welcome back alumni and former residents. It is built around a central event, such as a banquet and, most often, a game of football.

At my undergrad university there's always a banquet and dance the night before the Saturday afternoon football game.  Everyone gets all dressed up and enjoys an overpriced meal of rubber chicken.

I'll be attending my undergrad homecoming this year in another state (thankfully not until early October).  The photos above are actually from my alumni magazine from Wichita State University (WSU), which no longer has a football team, so no homecoming.

However, at WSU, the downfall of the football team can be tracked to, according to the Wichita Eagle, our local newspaper, the tragic events of 1970.

Two planes carrying Wichita State football players, coaches, administrators and fans refueled on Friday, Oct. 2, 1970, in Denver. The team was headed to Logan, Utah, for a game the next day against Utah State.

The pilots of the “Gold” plane changed their flight plan, deciding to give their passengers a scenic view of the Rocky Mountains. But they could not pull the overweight plane out of a box canyon. It crashed around 1 p.m. about 40 miles west of Denver on Mount Trelease.

The two aircraft were named "Gold" and "Black" after WSU's school colors.  "Gold," the aircraft that later crashed, carried the starting players, head coach, and athletic director, as well as their wives, other administrators, boosters, and family. The designated "Black" plane carried reserve players, assistant coaches, and support personnel.

Further

The pilots of the doomed aircraft were blamed for the accident by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Finally

Thirty-one people died as a result of the crash: 14 players, 14 WSU staff and boosters, and three crew members. Eight players and one of the pilots survived.

After that, the football team never recovered and lost most of its games for the next few years, including every game in 1970, even though freshmen were allowed to play due to a special ruling.  WSU pulled the plug on football in 1986 due to lack of funds and fan support.  Therefore the only thing WSU students and alumni can do is reminisce about what was.

I covered up the word RSVP (which is from an original WSU invitation from sometime before the program was discontinued), with Homecoming and a stamp of a van (although it's not really legible).

Other materials include a sheet of ledger paper, a heart shaped paper clip, and a calendar page.

Bleubeard and I appreciate your visit today, and we'd love to see you at Art Journal Journey where you still have ample time to join us as we head Back to School.