tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57973365772196041992024-03-07T01:40:22.914-06:00Artful MusingsSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.comBlogger1642125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-29307932547834495902022-09-27T11:09:00.004-05:002022-09-27T11:12:49.561-05:00Life happens! My life has become so crazy lately! We are about to leave on a month-long trip to Italy to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and I just returned from a week in Mexico to finish up some dental work. We return on the 30th and leave again two days later to babysit the grandboys in Albuquerque while their parents go to Patagonia for two weeks. It seems I won't have any free (art) time Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-6109936008874649342022-09-06T11:00:00.001-05:002022-09-06T11:00:00.175-05:00August Junk Journal Page Swap The base of my August junk journal page was cut from a master board made of lots of leftover scraps from previous projects. It measures 5" x 7" with a floral focal point cut from a magazine. I also added a portion of a doily, a few labels and a butterfly before adding a vellum pocket. I sewed around the edge and added another butterfly and label to the front of the pocket.Two tags fit into Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-63634931086004813442022-09-01T12:08:00.000-05:002022-09-01T12:08:00.348-05:00I'm Back and Catching Up My mother had a TIA in early August and I spent a few weeks with her in Vermont to make sure everything was ok. She recovered very quickly and has little or no lasting side effects, thankfully! She turned 94 in June and is remarkable, still living at home and getting around by herself.Needless to say, I did no art for those several weeks! I'm happy to be home again and have been catching upSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-224842846895882142022-08-07T10:00:00.001-05:002022-08-07T10:00:00.185-05:00Collage Challenge - Weeks 30 & 31Week 30Prompt:What do you think oof when you imagine a secret code? Is it a string of random numbers? Is it a strange looking alphabet? Is it symbols in a strange order? Create a collage with something that could look like a secret code.I was at a loss on this one but I had recently done an afternoon session of gelli plate printing, so started by using some of the prints I'd made to collage the Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-58632700358259712242022-07-30T11:00:00.001-05:002022-07-30T11:00:00.180-05:00Collage Challenges - Weeks 28 & 29 Week 28Prompts:1) something related to coffee (didn't use this prompt)2) anything with a bit of pink (lots of pink!)3) something in the shape of a hexagon (3 punched hexagons)4) a photo or portion of a photo (photo of tulip I've had forever)5) ink - whatever that means to you (India ink bottle)Bonus: a piece of dictionary page (upper left corner)Week 29Prompts:1) something that turns of Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-20341593769025983282022-07-25T11:00:00.001-05:002022-07-25T11:00:00.163-05:00July Junk Journal Page SwapThis is my page for the July junk journal swap. I covered an old greeting card with scraps for the base and made an envelope with a page from a botanical book. It is glued to the front page on three sides to form another pocket behind. I trimmed the placket with a bit of lace and added some washi tape and a few labels to decorate. Inside the envelope is a mini-notebook "Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-10797466446715832762022-07-20T11:00:00.001-05:002022-07-20T11:00:00.191-05:00Collage Challenges - Weeks 26 & 27 Week 26Prompts1) something that emits heat (hibachi grill)2) a pair of something (two quilt mosaics)3) a face (Japanese chef and face on stamp)4) something royal (English stamp)5) a bit of green (washi tape; strawberry leaves; butterfly)Bonus: text other than English or native language (page background)Week 27Prompts1) something with a bumpy surface (embossed paper)2) anything that can blowSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-35787955684420532762022-07-15T10:30:00.001-05:002022-07-15T10:30:00.158-05:00A Crazy, Busy July Where has the first half of July gone? We have been traveling and spending time with grand boys.We spent July 4th weekend in Austin with our daughter's family and then brought the two kiddos home with us for a week. As soon as we put them on a plane home (they were very excited to travel as unaccompanied minors!), we boarded a flight to Albuquerque to spend the weekend celebrating another Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-10714111789557697782022-06-29T11:00:00.001-05:002022-06-29T11:00:00.173-05:00Collage Challenge Weeks 24 & 25Catching up on the Margarete Miller weekly collage challenges.Week 24PromptDo you have a favorite song, artist or style of music? Create a collagewith this as your theme.One of my favorite songs is "Ave Maria" - it was played at my parents' wedding, my wedding and my father's funeral. One of my favorite music artists is Andrea Bocelli and at the beginning of Covid he performed this at Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-68166555104381875632022-06-25T11:00:00.001-05:002022-06-25T11:00:00.181-05:00Washi Tape/File Folder NotebookI'm back from Vermont. It was cool and very green - absolutely lovely. And now that I'm back in Texas with triple digit temps, I will be spending a lot of time inside my art room working on projects!This is a small notebook I made before I left. I used an old manila file folder cut 8 1/2" wide by 6" high. When folded it is approximately 4 1/4" x 6." One side was covered with strips of washi tape.Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-25391396935437986542022-06-15T11:00:00.012-05:002022-06-15T11:00:00.209-05:00June Junk Journal Page SwapI am out of town again - this time visiting my mother in Vermont who turns 94 today! I'm thankful to have escaped the HOT temps in Texas. Since I finished this journal page for the swap and sent it off before leaving, I decided to post it while I'm gone. Front page and tagsJournaling flip-upThe base journal page was made by collaging scraps to an old greeting card which happened Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-51965251311910818652022-06-11T11:00:00.001-05:002022-06-11T11:00:00.183-05:00Collage Challenge - Weeks 22 & 23 Week 22Prompts:1) a tag (tag in upper left corner; also Knox Rose clothing tag)2) something seen in the sky (bird)3) something with wheels (wheelbarrow)4) something sharp (real safety pin added to tag)5) washi tape (floral/bird tape in several places)Bonus: money (3 real foreign coins)Week 23Prompts:1) song lyrics/song title (Moonlight Sonata)2) red (tissue paper and red shoes)3) a road Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-77406816148479195722022-06-08T11:00:00.001-05:002022-06-08T11:00:00.202-05:00Miscellaneous Cards In my last post I mentioned random weekly challenges. Last week the challenge was to use Twinkling H20 shimmery watercolor paints that were popular years ago. I pulled out mine from my stash and made this card. The background was made by swiping four different paints from the blue family onto small pieces of bubble wrap and then "stamping" them on to a watercolor paper base. This was Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-29694675533528124402022-06-05T11:00:00.001-05:002022-06-05T11:00:00.202-05:00Mushroom Challenge I participate in a weekly challenge online - it can be just about anything. Recently it was to do something with mushrooms.I used a page from a botanical book that happened to have mushrooms on it and folded it in thirds to make an envelope. Before glueing it together on the sides I machine-sewed a narrow vellum pocket to the front.I corner-rounded the top flap and added some book text and Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-73244236480191587032022-05-31T11:00:00.001-05:002022-05-31T11:00:00.207-05:00Collage Challenge - Weeks 20 & 21Week 20 Prompts:1) thread(s) or piece(s) of a fabric (yellow print fabric on left side of page)2) a famous person (Penelope Cruz)3) something you see through the window (flowers & bird)4) postcard or letter (postcard at top)5) a date written out (on blue invoice at bottom)Bonus: something blue (blue invoice, ticket & stamp)Week 21Prompts:1) a zoo animal (zebra)2) portion of a food/Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-54019644895490686292022-05-28T11:00:00.000-05:002022-05-28T11:00:00.183-05:00May Junk Journal PageBecause I was out of town part of May I only signed up for one swap this month - the Vintage Junk Journal Page.This is the front of my page. I used Tim Holtz packaging as the base and left the flap at the top intact.There is a flip on the right side for which I used more packaging as the base. Attached to the flap with a tiny paper clip is a paper and fabric cluster with a small flower.WhenSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-89939377851199520932022-05-23T11:00:00.001-05:002022-05-23T11:00:00.197-05:00London/England Travel Journal Since returning, I have been compiling my travel journal to document the memories of our trip and using much of the ephemera I saved. (It's interesting that there are not many paper tickets anymore - everything is bought or reserved online!)I made a travelers' notebook-type journal, about 8" tall by 4" wide because that was the approximate size of many of the brochures I picked up. I had Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-87869818945300264132022-05-19T11:00:00.002-05:002022-05-19T11:00:00.193-05:00I'm back and catching up! We had a lovely time in London and England and now that I've re-acclimated to being home, I'm ready to get back to making art.Here are a few more weekly collage challenges.Week 17Prompts:1) something round (the die cut cogs)2) a piece of map (background)3) a shoe (pair of shoes at bottom of page)4) a tool your grandparents would have used (vacuum)5) a postal litem (postcard and stamp)Bonus:Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-55101563905306000222022-05-05T11:00:00.001-05:002022-05-05T11:00:00.218-05:00Collage Challenge - Weeks 15 & 16Another scheduled post while I'm gone...Week 15Prompts:1) a photo or portion (vintage photo of four men)2) a ticket (bottom)3) a bird (magazine image sitting on ticket)4) a date (on label)5) water in some form (magazine photo of river)Bonus: circled (background paper)Week 16Prompts:1) something round (gear die cuts)2) a piece of map (right side of page)3) a shoe (bottom of page)4) a tool your Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-32509140670387001742022-04-29T11:00:00.000-05:002022-04-29T11:00:00.184-05:00April SwapsI am scheduling this for when I'm gone. We will be in England for two weeks visiting our son who lives in London and also touring the countryside.This is the front of my junk journal page for the April swap with a sewing theme. On the right is a window envelope made into a flip. I collaged the front with scraps around the window. I added a cluster of a few pieces of fabric, lace and a tiny Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-60416994221855804812022-04-24T11:00:00.019-05:002022-04-24T11:00:00.347-05:00Retreat ProjectsEvery year for the past 15 years, the online art group I am a member of meets in Grapevine, TX, for a four-day retreat. Members come from all over the US. Due to the pandemic, it has not been held the past two years but we were able to resume this year. Each year has a theme and projects mainly coordinate with that theme. Everyone also makes their own book following the theme. This year's theme Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-35129340270836655042022-04-14T15:00:00.000-05:002022-04-14T15:00:00.173-05:00Collage Challenge - Weeks 13 & 14I'm back from my retreat - what a fun time it was. I will post some of the projects later.Here are two weeks of the 5-prompt collage challenge.Week 13Prompts:1) a poem ("Bed in Summer" from Child's Garden of Verses)2) a bird3) a measurement (measuring tape, top and bottom)4) stitching (real, drawn or stamped (real on sides of poem)5) repeated rubber stamping (background)Bonus: a portion of used Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-63337194805233589062022-04-06T23:00:00.005-05:002022-04-06T23:00:00.208-05:00Folded pocket/notepapers made from one large book page I made this large folded pocket from a large page from a gardening book. It's folded not quite in half vertically and the remaining piece folded over to create a flap. I covered the inside with a piece of avocado-dyed paper and added a tab and eyelet for the closure of baker's twine.For the left side of the "folio" I made a tuck spot from lightweight cardboard packaging, decoupaged Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-4429881518150880622022-04-02T11:00:00.001-05:002022-04-02T11:00:00.207-05:00Collage Challenge - Weeks 11 & 12Week 11Prompts:1) a child or children (vintage children image)2) a cleaning product (hand soap)3) a flower (blue flower)4) a barcode5) handwriting (used the base page in the planner which had handwriting)Bonus: something that works as a title for the collage (Janet & Jo nail polish)Other items I added: blue Bingo card, blue circle collar ad, patterned paper. I usedthe color blue to unifySusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797336577219604199.post-2559040364755063302022-03-30T11:00:00.000-05:002022-03-30T11:00:00.206-05:00Little Nature Flip-out with four pockets and tagsI created this cute fold-out booklet with four pockets following the YouTube tutorial by Barbara at 49dragonflies here. If you'd like to make one, check out her video as she gives dimensions and very good directions. This is made with a base of tea-dyed paper, book pages and some fussy-cut images, washi stickers and a few other paper scraps. This is a perfect little project to stick in a Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05578903823909805669noreply@blogger.com0