It's All About The WHIMSY!

A pocket palette!

A sweet pocket palette arrived today from Daniel Smith! I can't wait to try it out tomorrow!  I hope Mother Nature cooperates...

A part of today's sketchbook entry.  A familar piece of jewelry for some...quite fun to draw chain!

Journals..all kinds of journals

If, dear reader, you are part of the No Excuses Journal group you are familiar with using a daily planner as an art journal.  Gina Armfield's excellent book No Excuses Art Journaling gives pages and pages of prompts, examples and techniques.  I try to use a different journal each year, it's fun to experiment!  

a ledger style planner...

 

a soft covered planner...

But as one journal is never enough, I make my own journals using watercolor paper as well.

This journal was made with a recycled vintage book cover, binding with ribbons.  A nice look and it can be as fat as you'd like.

I made this journal over the weekend..thank you to my sister Judi for the instruction and inspiration. Book board with a cloth cover and 7 signatures of watercolor paper waiting to be filled.  Lovely!

I am also "playing" in the ARC system from Staples.  

Big plastic disks will allow for a nice fat finished journal.  The paper quality is nice and works quite well with wet media.  I have not yet tried using copic markers but there is no leak through using pitt or koi brush pens.I love that you can easily add pages of any size you might choose using the ARC hole punch.  I've been adding 140 lb hot and cold press water color paper to the stack of paper that came with the large set up; no difficulty turning pages.  

I would definately recommend this for those who might still be looking for a No Excuses journal!

Happy journaling!

 

Spring creeps in slowly

A few of the highlights of my week so far...

Last weekend a few brave crocus bloomed in the front lawn.  

Evidence of Spring!  Small and cheerful they offer hope for the end of winter...

This seemed to inspire Miss Maggie who decided to jump in the frozen pond, with resulting ice break up, for a little swim.  What was she thinking!!  We had a lovely indoor shower to clean off the scum and she slept the rest of the day.

 I do think I was wetter than her!

This is my outdoor painting Lukas palette.  As spring seems ready to burst forth and it is looking rather sad and depleted I made a trip to Jerry's Artarama for refill tubes of watercolor.  I am proud of myself~I stuck to my shopping list and was not drawn in by the allure of all the lovely art supplies!  It looks much happier now and I am ready to head outdoors when it warms a bit more.

And last but not least a few pages from my No Excuses art journal ..

 

 

I hope your week is going well!  Think warm and sunshine!!

Friday musings...

 

I know we all love to look at magazines to see what other artists creative spaces look like and drool over all the lovely, beautiful and inspirational "stuff" inside..  just wanted to share that THIS is a work space as you can tell by this photo.

 

 

 And creating ART is a messy process!!

Ok I feel better now...

A glimpse around the rest of the studio as there is work in process..

He is waiting for something I've yet to discover...

 

Loving my No Excuses journal format this year!

 Bigger hard cover planner with great paper!

No water color ground was used on this page.

Part of the week and a few card peeks..

 

Have a great weekend!

Watercolor Ground!

 

 

 

Hop on over to The No Excuses Art blog for tips

on using watercolor ground on your journaling pages.

http://www.noexcusesart.com/blog/2014/01/adding-watercolor-ground-to-your-pages/

 

You'll be glad you did!  

Loads of fabulous stuff on Gina Armfield's blog page!

Rebinding No Excuses Journal, Part 2

 

NME 2012 journal

For those who have asked for a more information and have questions this is a step by step explanation of the process I have used to expand my journal.  If your journal is soft covered, this is not necessary.  It will grow through the year without falling apart.  If you are using a hard covered daily planner these steps will keep it in one piece as it grows.

 

 

Here's the book unaltered

 

Use an exacto knife and slice off the cover.

 

Repeat on the back.

 

Remove the spine.

 

 

Cut your choice of fabric to fit the size of your book and add enough width to create the gap that will allow your planner to expand.

 

Here you can see the gap that will remain, 1 1/2 to 2 inches..your choice.

 

 

Apply PVA adhesive to front cover wide enough to match your fabric.  

 

Using a brush spread a thin layer of PVA.

 

Adhere the fabric to the cover.

 

 

Repeat the process on the back cover.

 

This is how the cover will look, from the inside.  Notice the gap that has been created.

It is important to allow time for the PVA to fully dry to avoid frustration!  

At this stage the book binding tape is used to join the cover and book pages back

together.  Cut tape to fit the length of the cover, press onto thecover first, then draw cover up to adhere the other half of the tape to the book pages.

 

It will look like this.  Repeat for the back cover.

 

Your finished book.  

Of course you can add ribbons or other embellishments

to dress up your journal!

Questions?  

Happy No Excuses journaling!

 

No Excuses Art Journal for 2014

Each year I like to use a different style daily planner for my No Excuses art journal.

Here's the shelf in the studio where all my journals live. 

For 2014 I wanted to try a hard cover planner with a larger format ~ more space to journal and paint!  This does pose a problem...I know from past experience that eventually, as it grows, the binding will break and the spine will split...not pretty..

 

I thought I would explain the technique I use to keep my journal in one piece. 

 

Basic supplies needed are:

PVA~I always have some on hand for book binding,  can be purchased through Volcano Art or Dick Blick.  

Exacto knife

fabric of choice and ribbon

book binding tape~this roll is 3 inches wide, just the right size, Volcano Arts, Jerry's Artarama, Dick Blick

washi tape if you like

Before doing any "surgery" I added all the inserts for the year: monthly intention and assignments, extra watercolor paper for card peeks and an envelope for ephemera.  Once these are added it is easy to see just how much additional space you might need in the spine. Now for the first "brave" step.  Use an exacto knife and slice off the cover, both front and back from the book...It will be ok, really, just do it.  I do this from the OUTSIDE with the journal closed.  You do NOT want to slice into the cover pages inside...

Now comes the fun part!  Cut a piece of fabric that will fit the length of your book AND allow additional space for the book to stretch; I used a heavy fabric remnant.  You can see that there is quite a gap there. I left a gap of about 1 1/2 inches.  The internal spine of the book is still intact..it will stretch as will the fabric as the book grows.  Using PVA glue the fabric to the cover and the back, remembering the gap between.  Allow the PVA to dry completely.  Walk away now, have a cup of tea..

 

This is book binding tape.  It comes in many colors.  This roll is 3 inches wide, perfect for loads of book taping.  Just my luck, it matches the inside cover of my book!  If it did not I would have put washi tape over it...

 

Place your "new" cover over your book pages.  Line up the front cover with the first page of your book.  Using the book binding tape attach the cover to the book.  Be certain the tape is fully adhered, then do the same to the back cover.  Yes there will be a gap in the fabric "spine".  That's why we did this!  

 

I added decorative ribbon at the top, middle and bottom to add additional support and to make it pretty.  Again glued to the book with PVA.  The center ribbon can be tied to keep my No Excuses journal closed!  

 

 

 

Should you discover a split inside the book at anytime, ther's an easy solution!

Tape!  Washi, duck, patterned packing tape...whatever suits your fancy.

 

Have questions?  I'd be happy to assist!

 

Inspiring eye candy

Sometimes it's nice to find inspiration for sketching and painting inside the pages of a magazine.  I routinely gather images from the UK edition of Country Living.  The photography is just wonderful, loads of images to recreate in my journals..

 

 At Barnes and Noble...yes a brick and mortar book store (and aren't we glad they still exist) I came across this FABULOUS magazine LandLove!  I just wanted to crawl inside!  Gardens, wildlife, homes, and travel with a British twist.  Pages and pages of inspiration...I don't know if it is a new magazine or one just now available in the States.  If you see it check it out, you too will be inspired.

 

 

And a resulting ladybug portrait in my No Excuses journal.

 

 

Have a grand weekend!  I'll be raking and blowing leaves all weekend, the downside of a house in the woods..but worth it for the inspirational views...

 

Inside the sketchbook

I am working in more than one sketchbook...not necessarily a good thing but different sizes and papers work for different pieces..you understand, right?  

 

Fuzzy Bunny is in a square journal with cold press paper..

 

 

 

My frog "collection" is in a moleskin rectangular journal, cold press paper as well..

 

 

 

Pond Poacher is in a rectangular journal, this time hot press..

 

Different papers yield different results.

I used to be in love with hot press, my new favorite is cold press.

 

But that could change tomorrow..you never know..

 

 

My front porch arrangement for the Thanksgiving holiday,

can you find the great heron gourd?

It is All about the WHIMSY!

Trying something new...

 Wandering in an art supply store can be a dangerous thing....

     so many tempting products to explore.

Ampersand makes watercolor boards, who knew?

So I thought why not, let's try it!

 

 

A fun experiment but watercolor paper

is still my favorite substrate.

The boards must be wet to begin to prevent bubbling....

seemed to make it much more difficult to control

bleeding and blending of colors...

but you'll never know until you try!