The binder I'll keep my July AJJ pages in

I have my friend Kathy to thank for this three ring binder.  She brought it to me recently filled with magazine images, techniques, and tutorials she had torn from various altered art magazines, including Somerset, Art Doll Quarterly, Belle Armoire Jewelry, and Altered Art.  Many of the techniques I had already tried, although some I had no supplies for, or no interest in trying.  So, I passed them on to my neighbor who lives across the street.

I was thrilled to be able to alter this binder cover, though.  You'll note one side is sort of my style and one side is what I would call "cutesy."  Regardless, it is definitely appropriate for Art Journal Journey, where I'll be keeping the Summertime Love pages Bleubeard and I created this month.

I created this side specifically with Try it on Tuesday's Let it Shine theme in mind.

Nothing shines better than a lighthouse when the sky is dark and the sea is dangerous.

And sunshine definitely shines.

Here I've captured both.

Then there's my incredibly handsome co-host at Art Journal Journey. 

He is the light of MY life, and my love for him shines brighter than the glittery paper I used for the background.

Even the two gold hearts shine.  Of course, since I live in "Tornado Alley," when I found a photo showing a tornado, I had to cut it out and add it to this shiny tag.

Next, it was time to alter the spine.   I forgot to take a photo of this before I inserted it into the specified slot, so it's really shiny, but only because of the plastic covering.

I used the same papers on the "2017" tags that I did backing the lighthouse (can be partially seen on the right).  I wanted a way to be able to tie this in to Bleubeard's and my month of hosting Art Journal Journey, so I created a smaller heart than the one I used for the front page at AJJ.  It was only after I had it in place, I realized it clashed horribly with the red and blue I used for the date.  I'm hoping no one else will be as critical of the color faux pas.

Next, I inserted the front into the binder cover.  The plastic covering plays havoc with the lighting.

The spine was already inside the protective cover.  You really can't tell the blue is corrugated cardboard, which made it difficult to write on.

That heart still looks garish to me!

I didn't have enough of the glittery paper to add it to the spine, so I chose another color.

The back page I created for the binder is not me at all.  One nice thing is if I find a better back cover, I can punch holes in this one, since it's the same size as most of the other pages (8.5 X 11 inches).  However, two years ago, I bought a ton of 3-D stickers for a single sticker.   Then I had all these left over with nothing to use them on.

In my stash of gifted images, I found the three colored die cuts I used on this spread.  In fact, there were two of each of these (as some of you saw in the ARTifacts post from two days ago), and I have many more, too, including another "Summer Fun" sun I used on the front.

I wasn't sure how well the dimensional images would slip into the binder, but I was going to find out soon enough.

Here are a few detail shots of the images, both flat and dimensional.

From this angle, you can definitely tell which are dimensional and which three are not.

Luckily, the  dimensional images went into the protective portion of the binder with no trouble.

Here is the completed binder.

But now it was time to fill it.

When I created the Summer of Love page, my good friend Cindy worried that it wouldn't fit in the journal.  I didn't mention anything to her because I already knew I was going to use this A 3-ring binder to hold my Summertime Love entries.

Unfortunately, I haven't been especially careful storing them until I could add them to the altered binder.  Several of them have curled or bent due to my inattention to protecting them.

This view is from the top, and you might be able to see I've placed Summer of Love first, and my favorite spread of all, the Bleubeard County Fair, second.  It may not have been my best spread by any means, but it was my favorite!

Today I'm sharing this entry with both Try it on Tuesday's Let it Shine,







and Bleubeard's and my Summertime Love at Art Journal Journey.  Thank you beyond belief for your continued support of my art.  It means the world to me.  Bleubeard is just happy you dropped by.

The collage that took many weeks to create

I want to update everyone on Journal 52's status and why I am no longer participating.  When I clicked on the link, I got a message that

This domain was recently registered at Namecheap. Please check back later!

Apparently it is available for purchase.  So Journal 52, although promised to last through the end of the year, is NO MORE.  I didn't quit J52, but it quit me!  Thankfully, I can say goodbye gracefully and be happy this challenge is now over for me.

Let's turn our attention to the collage that took forever to make.

Actually, this was not Day 1, but it was the first day I started documenting the process in detail.  Up until this time, I had mixed paint with pearl glaze.  Adding the paint and glaze to the collaged papers took a great deal of drying time, because it is not wise to use a heat gun if you don't want bubbles.

Next, I decided to add some reinkers to the mix.  I had no idea how the ink and paint would interact, but since they were both water based, I thought I would take a chance.

Have I mentioned I have a LOT of reinkers that I sort by type: dye, pigment, solvent, and distress?

Holy cow.  No wonder these were so cheap!  They were reinkers, all right, but they were meant to roll directly onto the ink pads, which I don't have.  I'll have to figure out a way to use them in fabric art, but they won't work with this pearl glaze I'm trying to color.

So there I was with ink stains on my fingers and fingernails, trying to get a decent color from this ink and glaze.

OK, this is horrible.  Once it dried, I realized I can't paint, not even what are supposed to be straight lines.

A close up shows an even greater mess.

So I did the next best thing and I painted over the entire piece with pearl glaze.  At least you can see the glaze

which is pearlescent.  Note how the collaged papers I glued to the book cover have started to buckle, too.

Next, I tried more pearl glaze, this time with more dye inks.  However, I didn't try to put it on so thick in places, but went for a more abstract approach.

Next I added a bit of silver glaze to the pearl glaze and attempted to repair the damage I had previously caused.  I also brought out some orange dye reinker and attempted to brighten the pearl glaze in places.

I can't find Day 4 or Day 7, except the detail , which seems to have covered the texture I created early on.  I confess I was tired of trying to make this look beautiful, so I decided a different abstract was in order.

This is the completed scan, but because the pods are so tall, it was difficult to get a good image.

I first tried scanning it so the pods faced against the glass, then with the book cover facing against the glass. Neither of these are true representations of the finished piece.  Once I added the pods, I really liked what I had.

These final shots were taken under my OTT full spectrum light.

You would really have to see this in person to check the subtle colors and shimmer it puts off.

Depending on the light source and position, you get a different visual every time you look at it.

I sincerely hope you like it because I spent a lot of time trying to get it right.  After about Day 5 or so, I realized it was never going to look like I pictured it in my head, so I let it design itself.  It has now arrived at my dear friend Patty's home. 

Patty commented on the pods, but I have no idea what they are.  I know I picked them up in the strip of grass between the two driveways, so they have to have come from someplace close by.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your continued support of my sometimes questionable artistic endeavors as well as your lovely comments. 

Rigid is rigid

I want to begin by saying how thoughtful the comments were on my post yesterday.  I used to have beautiful handwriting.  In fact, many of my friends would ask me to address their envelopes.  I'll have to dig out some of my old handwriting.   However, since my arthritis has flared so much (a condition I was born with, I might add), I can barely grip a pen. Add to that the hand I hurt is my writing hand, so the words that come out of my pen are shaky and ugly.  Trust me, because I remember how friends and coworkers used to think I had great penmanship.

Let's not dwell on that, though, and get right to the art I have for today.

I started this book cover using recycled book cover art back on November 19, although it looks nothing like the piece I created during 30 paintings in 30 days.  I had been gifted this translucent paper and was pleased when the background showed through.


This is what it looked like before I cut it into a smaller size and backed it with a page from a telephone book I painted using an acrylic craft paint called Lemondrop.


This is what it looks like today.

I cut the white background from a template my friend Kathy gave me from her die cutting machine.  Then I spritzed the paper with my shimmering mists and covered up any mistakes I made from the cutting by using black ink around the edges.

I included a strip of the cut translucent background paper minus the phone book, and sewed it to the dyed lace.  Then I added scrim on top of the paper and lace.

I chose a few buttons I had that sort of matched the background.  I got a bit carried away and once again photographed the piece before the glue I used on the buttons had completely dried.

I combined three colors of Staz-on reinkers with 91% alcohol in an attempt to match the background colors as well as the color of the little girl.

You can see the phone book background in this view.  I spent a lot of time trying to blend the dyed lace and scrim to the background.

When I first auditioned the button colors, I did so using my full spectrum OTT light.  I was shocked when I saw the photos that made the smaller button look very orange in the photo.

This is the back and I swear it looks dirty on the right side, but it really isn't.  I even checked it twice before I mailed it.

So why did I name this post "Rigid is rigid?"  This is a cautionary tale for those of you living in the United States who might be thinking of mailing a RIGID package through the USPS.  Somehow I thought that all I had to add was an extra $0.22 (USD) to have the post office hand stamp the envelope.  Instead, they told me there was a HUGE surcharge for RIGID things that could not bend at all, like license plates and my book covers.  The post offices rules are quite rigid, and I was shocked at how much extra I would have to pay.  If only I had turned this into a quiltlet, it would NOT have cost the extra surcharge.  This was a huge lesson learned as I sent two of these book covers through the mail on Tuesday.  As an aside, I learned the USPS no longer offers Happy Birthday stamps, something I fear they are misjudging how many of them they would sell.

By the time I got back to the car where my friend Sally was waiting, I was laughing, and joking about the rigidity of the post office, but at the time, it was a bit of a shock to learn how much I owed to send two book covers through the mail.  I'll show the other one next week, because the friend I mailed this one to doesn't read my blog, but the other one does.

Thanks for looking and thanks for your unconditional and continued support of my art.