ARTifacts for February (and the completed cover)

Back in January, I went through over 1000 completed art journal pages, hoping to join Seth Apter's ARTifacts, but didn't have enough pages to share that I would use for my own journal.  It sometimes takes me awhile to get "with the program," so I hope to make up for that this month.  I love making these journals, but I'm not big on writing in them.  So, when Seth offered this collaborative, I decided to join the project.

This is the front of the completed journal, with an embellishment that I attribute to Seth.  You can see how I created a similar one (my KEY journal) here.  I decorated it here.  I show how I attached it to the journal cover here.

I realize I missed the January deadline, so I don't want to miss the February deadline.  Although I have designated four pages for each month, this is the only one I will show for January.

I'm not really very good at creating journal pages for myself, so I know this looks wimpy.  I'm hoping I get better over the next few months.  Valentine's Day shares time with Mardi Gras, and the journaling is private, and written on the back of the Fleur de Lis.  I tried several techniques I haven't used before, including gelly pen stenciling,  Other elements include a gifted "M," a button, a feather (in Mardi Gras colors), and Valentine inspired stencils and stickers.

Now for some close ups.  I love my tiny rocking horses I used to embellish the

piece that has a lot of symbolism to me, including the pencil from my city and the feather I found on my porch.

The closure also has a rocking horse sitting on top of a clear button.

Here are all the pages after they were added to machine sewn into the journal.

I'm a tool geek, so this heart was right up my alley.  I admit, I prefer my miter saw to hand saws, though.

My journaling is for my eyes only.


Somehow the color shift is horrible here.

Here is one final look at my Rocking Horse journal I intend to use throughout the year in collaboration with

Seth Apter and his ARTifacts project.  Thank you for joining me today.  I'm very, very grateful to you and your visits.