November 2021

What is an Art Journal and What is it For?

1 Comment / Art Journaling /

I’ve been journaling in one form or another most of my life.  I started making an art journal long before I knew there was a name for the type of journal I was making. It seems that many people would like to journal but have so many questions that they never get started.  I hope to answer most of those questions here and help you get started, if that is on your mind.  Journaling is a wonderful way to free up your mind from stress, expand your creativity, and make a mess!  If you start a journal now, you can have as much fun as I do with my journal.

What exactly is an Art Journal?

Most people who make art journals will answer this question simply.  An art journal is a visual diary–a place to put your thoughts, keep a record of your day, save your memories, and to try new things out.  You can write in an art journal; you can paint in an art journal; you can collage in an art journal.  You can combine any or all of these things in your art journal.  It is your safe place to play, record thoughts and feelings, try new mediums, learn new techniques, or write about your day.

Why would you write in an Art Journal?

Some art journalists like to write in their art journals, some do not.  I sometimes write stuff down to get it out of my head then I cover it up with paint or collage. What you write, or even if you write, is a personal choice.  Either way is correct.  You can write a quote, you can write a song, you can write your feelings, you can just write about your day.  Anything goes.  As I said, I write to get things out of my head mostly, but sometimes I write quotes that resonate with me that day.  If I write about my feelings, I usually cover that up with paint to keep it private, but you don’t have to do that.  Sometimes my day is perfect and I want to capture everything that happened, so I write it down.  Like I said before, it is your journal and there is no right or wrong unless you make it so.

Why should you keep an Art Journal?

Keeping an art journal is a way to express yourself creatively.  You can try new things and experiment with new materials there.  It is a reasonably cheap place to make mistakes and you don’t expect to get any masterpieces there.  With your art journal, you have permission to play and make a mess.  No one will punish you for it and you just might learn something about what works for you and what doesn’t.

How does it work?

You can use loose paper to journal on or you can use a bound book.  It’s your choice.  It is an open-ended art form where you are free to practice and try out new ideas without inhibition.  You can let your creativity loose and see where it takes you.  You are in control.

What are the benefits to keeping an Art Journal?

Art journals help to relieve stress, help you to focus on the activity at hand, and inspire creativity.  You will find that if you art journal regularly, you will be inspired to do more creative work in all aspects of your life.  It has been researched and proven that journaling benefits your brain in many ways.  When you art journal, you get into the zone and your body relaxes and your mind empties.  It is a refreshing break from the stress of everyday life that you can do anytime you want.

What are some good journal topics?

Anything goes in an art journal.  The topic is a personal choice, but if you draw a blank, Google “journal topics” or “journal prompts” and you will find more things to journal about than you can ever do in your lifetime.  Seriously, you can journal about anything and everything.

In case this has not answered all your questions, below are a couple of good videos about Art Journaling for you to enjoy.  Keep in mind that for every person who give you advice, there are many others who will tell you something completely different.  That’s because journaling is such a personal and private thing and everyone is different.  So, watch the video, gather your tools, and start journaling.  You will not regret it and may even enjoy the process.

I hope you enjoyed this post.  I know that there are many other blogs that have this information, but I thought I would tell you about it from my point of view. If you made it this far, please leave me a comment to let me know what you think.  I also have a new post on my FB page that you could check out if you have time.  It is about making Christmas cards and I think you would enjoy it.  If you go there, please like that page and leave a comment please.  Thanks for being here with me.  I really appreciate you giving me your time. I hope you come again!

 

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Another Kid-Friendly Christmas Craft

Leave a Comment / Crafts /

I was scrolling through YouTube yesterday and saw this really cute Christmas craft that is easy, cheap and turns out really nice.  It looked to me like the hands belong to a young child, so I assume children can do this with supervision.  I really liked the finished product with the glitter on it.  I can see it on the tree twinkling with the lights.

Anyway, without any further ado, here is the video.  Let me know if you try this and show me pictures, please.  I think I may be trying my hand at this on the weekend.  The only drawback I could see was that it is time intensive, in that you have to let them dry completely between stages and that could take a while.

I hope you try this with your family.  It really looks like a fun family craft to me!  Also, please leave me a comment here to let me know that you visited.  I really appreciate you spending some of your precious time here with me.  Thanks for reading!

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Another neat Christmas craft for Mom’s of small children

Leave a Comment / Crafts /

 

I was scrolling through my Instagram feed yesterday and I spied a really cute idea for a Christmas craft (but I forgot to bookmark it and can’t find it now).  It is perfect for this time of year, but I can see it being used anytime during the year as decorations.

Basically, we all know that when you have children in school, they love to bring you their art they made.  You of course put it up on the refrigerator because you are so proud of your baby.  However, it quickly gets covered over with other important stuff and then it gets lost.  Well, what if you too, that beautiful art and made a decoration from it?  That was the premise for the Instagram story/post.

She cut stars out of the art and folded the stars to be somewhat 3-D, then she placed the cut out stars back to back and glued the edges after inserting a string for hanging.  What you end up with is a beautiful 3-D star made from your child’s art to hang on the tree or on the garland around the house.  Think how proud your baby will be when their work is hanging on the tree!

All you have to do is find a template for your star and then cut out both sides from the same piece of art.

Here’s a tutorial I found for both cutting out the stars and gluing them together.  The only thing different is you are using your child’s art to make them.  I think this is a really neat way to showcase your child’s artwork and show your child just how much you like their work.  We all know how important it is to build esteem in our children and this is one way to do just that.

As you can see below, I have made these stars before myself and they are really simple and easy to make.  I just made mine into a wreath and painted my stars.  I hope you try this craft out and enjoy the process.  If you make some, please send me pictures and leave me a comment about the process.

 

My stars are ready to paint
All painted

 

As always, if this post interested you, you might want to visit my FB page to see another idea there.  If you go there, please like and comment on the page.  I really appreciate you spending your time here.  Come back soon.

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Still feeling crafty? Here’ s a round-up of cool Christmas crafts

1 Comment / Crafts /

There is something about this time of year that makes me want to do fun crafts–maybe it’s the time change, or the change in the weather, or just the holidays all lined up at the end of the year.  Whatever it is, I have been in the crafting mood lately and I wondered if you also might be feeling the urge to craft?

If so, then you are going to love this post.  I have a round-up of cool crafts for you to try.  So let’s jump in:

  • If you have toddlers at home, here are a few crafts you can do with them and they can ACTUALLY do these crafts quite easily.  I know when mine were little it was a challenge to find fun crafting activities geared to their little hands and coordination.  So, try some of the crafts found here:  https://www.lifewithmylittles.com/toddler-christmas-crafts/— I  really like the photo tree here. 
  • If you don’t have toddlers, but still have young children at home, here are a list of fun crafts that you can turn into fun family activities:
    https://crazylittleprojects.com/simple-christmas-crafts/— since this blogger is a mom to 4 boys, I think she may know what she is talking about.  I especially loved the String Christmas Trees; I thought they were really pretty and would look lovely as part of your Christmas décor.
  • If crafting with children isn’t your thing, here are several crafts for adults to enjoy:  https://www.prudentpennypincher.com/christmas-crafts-for-adults/ .  In this group of crafts, I really loved the framed wreath ornament.
  • Last year, I discovered how to make Christmas star yard decorations using plastic hangers and this one was a really good tutorial for me:  https://thefrugalgirls.com/2021/11/diy-plastic-hanger-star-with-lights.html .  Try it out and let me know how yours turned out.  Mine was really beautiful and I hung it on the door.
  • Here is a Pinterest board that shows you that you can configure
  • these hangers in many ways to get different looks: https://www.pinterest.com/sherron/plastic-hanger-crafts/ .  I may try my hand at another one this year and I’ll pick a different look this time.
  • This is video that shows you how to use these hangers to make an angel: https://youtu.be/lvl6B8Vtq4I   .  I may try this at another time because it looks really big to me and I am not sure where I could put it up, but if that isn’t an issue for you, you may want to try it.
  • And finally, here is another video that shows you how to make another type of angel using Deco Mesh: https://youtu.be/_GkhiAGhvvw .  I think they are precious and will definitely be trying my hand at these!

So if you try any of these, please send me a picture of how they turned out and I will post a follow-up here with all of your results.  Don’t forget to leave me a comment below and visit my FB page to see more art and crafting posts. If you go there, please like my page and leave me a comment to say “Hi!”.  Thank you for being here and enjoy the crafting time!

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OMG! Gouache is beautiful!

Leave a Comment / Painting /

I had never before tried to use gouache.  I barely knew how to pronounce it (see below).

Okay, that was silly.  I could have just written out how the dictionary says to say it, but I liked the video better!

As he said, gouache is a type of paint that has pigment, a binder, white paint, and sometimes other add-ins.  Gouache has been around since the 16th century. Currently, it is finding popularity with illustrators because of its vibrant colors and opaqueness.  It is much like watercolor in that you use water to activate the paint and the opaqueness depends on how much water is added.

Here’s the type of Gouache I am using, but I also have a small collection of tubes.  The thing about gouache is that just a little goes a very long way and you can rewet your palette each time so there is no waste of paint.  For me, that is a game changer.

Himi Gouache Paint Set

You can dilute it enough to use it as a wash of light color, much like watercolor, but what would be the point of that.  Just use watercolor if that is the look you are going for.  You can build up layers, but you have to go slowly and be very careful.  Gouache paint is easily reactivated, so if the layer you add is very wet, all that happens is you reactivate the bottom layer and they combine to form another color.  Sometimes you may want to have that happen, but usually you don’t.  If you aren’t careful, you just create mud-like colors.  Gouache can be challenging, yes, but the paint presents in such an array of beautiful colors that most artists cannot avoid using gouache.

Here is an excerpt from  “The Oliver’s Madhouse”:

Fast drying
As with watercolours, gouache dries very quickly. This means you can add many layers in the space of a day or if you are only doing a basic painting you can mat, frame and hang you picture the same day.

Easy to clean
Because it is water-based, it is easy to clean up but has the advantage over watercolours of producing opaque colourings in the style of oils.

Easy set-up
Also like watercolours, gouache paints offer an easy set-up and are known to travel well. It also has the advantage of being mostly cheaper to purchase.

Best of all worlds
Gouache could be considered a super paint in the way that is has the best properties of many different materials: it can do a wash like a watercolour, blend like an oil and dry brush like acrylic.

Easy to photograph
Because it dries to a matt, you do not get the glare from a gouache painting, meaning it is easy for you to photograph. Here are some examples of gouache paintings for inspiration.

Rewettable
Gouache does not chemically change when it dries which means it is always possible to re-wet the paint and amend a picture. Likewise, you can rewet the mixed colours you have prepared in a palette and previously allowed to dry.

So with that said, what can you paint with gouache?  Anything you want.

Below are a few videos that show you how you use this medium:

So now you know what it is and how to use it.  Right?  That’s what I thought, too, but it seems that there is a long learning curve to using this medium.  I am slowly getting better and I really love how this paint covers the page.  The colors pop and painting is relatively easy.  The paint, however, does pretty much what it wants, so learning how to corral it and get the results you are looking for takes me some time.

All that said, I plan to continue to use this medium because it is fun and beautiful.  I think time will make it easier and easier for me.  Just like anything else, I think it requires lots of practice to become proficient with this medium.

Here are a few of the sketches I have painted using this medium:

You can see that I am learning how to use this medium, but I think I have slowly gotten better.  What do you think?

There is another type of gouache called Acryla Gouache that is more like acrylic paint. I have not yet tried this type of paint out, but do plan to at some future time.  If you have used this paint, let me know in the comments what you think about it and do you like it.

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Are you crafty?

Leave a Comment / Crafts /

On my Facebook page, I have just posted a really fun craft that is suitable for the whole family to work on together.  I have done this craft myself before and am planning to make more soon to add to the festive décor for the upcoming holidays.  I am always looking for fun and CHEAP crafts to do, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

I think it is never too early to start making Christmas cards and getting the entire family in the process is even more fun!  Try out some of these videos to see if you can find the cards that are just perfect for your family to send this year.  We all know that homemade cards are the best and mean the most, so let’s start crafting!

 

or this one:

 

 

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