Early Spring Blooms

 

Today we are back at Art Journal Journey, where our host Aimeslee, has chosen Flowers for the theme this month.

Bleubeard and I named this Early Spring Blooms.  We are also joining Triple B's May challenge, where we followed their spring mood board, and Try it on Tuesday, where their theme this month is Stencil It.  We also have a few detail photos.

I started this journal page by laying down three colors of water soluble crayons onto 110 lb cardstock.  I was going for a soft pastel look.  When dry, I added the focal image, which started life as a greeting card.  I then punched the green leaves from green card stock and adhered them using a glue stick. Next, I positioned the flower stencil over the lower left, then upper right sides of the page.  For those, I used a green dye ink.  When finished, I felt it needed something else, so I added the dots using a black dye ink.  You might be able to tell I used the same cosmetic wedge for the dots that I did for the flowers since the dots had a faint green at times depending on how much black ink I had on the wedge.

Thanks ever so much for joining Bleubeard and me today. We will be at Art Journal Journey, Try it on Tuesday, and Triple B. 

 

I will visit as I can because I am still typing with one hand, which is very slow going since Bleubeard doesn't type.

 

A Bird in the Hand

 

Bleubeard and I are back today with another entry for our recycle, reuse, repurpose theme we are hosting this month at Art Journal Journey.  

For obvious reasons, we named this A bird in the hand.  Because the toucan has a face, we are also joining Nicole and her Friday Face Off.  Since the toucan is a bird, it qualifies for the Triple B challenge, too.  And because the toucan has wings, we are also joining Country View Challenges, whose theme this month is Things with wings.  We even have a few detail shots.

The substrate is new 110 lb. cardstock that accidentally got some of my handmade shimmering mists splattered on it.  Not wanting to let it go to waste, I decided to use it as a background for the toucan.  The toucan was fussy cut from an old gifted calendar page.  Years ago, I printed the hands on cardstock that denoted sign language letters.  They were on a page with other images I had printed, most of which had been used in various previous journal pages.  The cardstock was getting a bit wonky and bent since so many images were gone.  I decided to use all the rest of the images, along with the hands, of course, on this page.  Although technically new, the page had so many empty spaces, I thought it was better to use the images now, than risk them getting even more rumpled.  Consequently, only the toucan was recycled for this journal entry.

 

Bleubeard and I greatly appreciate you stopping by today.  We hope to see you at Art Journal Journey, Triple B, Country View Challenges, and Friday Face Off.

Fate of the Monarch

 

Bleubeard and I are back today with another entry for our recycle, reuse, repurpose theme we are hosting this month at Art Journal Journey. We are also joining Country View Challenges, whose theme this month is Things with wings, and Triple B, which in case some aren't familiar, stands for Birds, Butterflies, and/or Blooms.

This started with what most people would call "junk mail."  I am not sure how or where it came from, other than I know it came from a piece of mail I received.  There's been some talk lately about the plight of the monarch, so when I received this, I had to act.

I've included a few detail images.

 

I started with the page I received in the mail to which I added an image of monarch larvae I found in an old Biology school book.   I had created a butterfly "film strip" several years ago, so I deconstructed the strip and used it on this new journal entry.  I fussy cut the butterfly and flower from an old calendar.  The words at the top and bottom of the page were part of the original page.  This is certainly a chilling realization and I'm glad I saved the page so I could use it this month to call attention to the plight of the monarch. I was shocked how many monarch butterflies have been lost over the past 20 years.

Bleubeard and I greatly appreciate you stopping by today to see what we recycled, reused, and repurposed.  We hope to see you at Art Journal Journey, Country View Challenges, and Triple B.  

 

Hello Spring

 

Bleubeard and I are back with another entry for our recycle, reuse, repurpose theme we are hosting this month at Art Journal Journey.

I apologize for this horrible overhead shot that shows my kitchen overhead light.

This is a bit better.  It shows two calendar pages, one from 2017 and the other from 2018.  I wanted to find a way to combine the two, which I did with a die.

It's obvious Bleubeard and I named this Hello Spring.  We are also joining the lovely ladies at Try it on Tuesday whose theme this fortnight just happens to be Hello Spring.  I also found a new challenge blog that Bleubeard's and my journal page should also apply.  Although most participants seem to make cards, there is no restriction as to what you can enter, as long as it fits their BBB requirement.  Triple B stands for Birds, Butterflies, and/or Blooms.  I truly believe these tulips qualify.

I also have detail photos.

I needed something to cover the hole in the calendar page.  I didn't want to cut the top so I added the sentiment there.  I actually created the words twice.  The first words looked better, but I lost that little rectangle that had been on my craft table and I still can't find it.  This came from the other calendar, which has a distinct texture.

I wanted to continue the pink from the sentiment, so I used my gifted pink Posca pen to add lines on various tulips.

I used one of my dies to create what I call a step-out image.  Note the texture is evident, especially in the green leaves.

For the background, I reused a failed journal page created from 110 lb cardstock.  I had written on the page, so had to turn it such that the die cut covered the writing.  The only thing new was the pink ink.  Everything else was recycled, reused, or repurposed.  

Bleubeard and I greatly appreciate you stopping by today.  We hope to see you at Art Journal Journey, Try it on Tuesday, and Triple B.  We also hope you recycle, reuse, repurpose in your art journals, altered books, or canvases.