DLP unPlanner - August

Can you believe it's August? Kids are starting to go back to school, but it's still super hot
here in Texas!

I've been delinquent in posting pages for the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, the DLP moderators posted the fifth week of July (since they post prompts every week on Saturday, that fell on July 29 so they considered it another week of July). I considered it the first week of August!  The only prompt was a PAC to incorporate two stencils. I didn't do one as I've done several cards with multiple stencils  in the past.

So now on to August! The August theme is: "And then again, NO - The Power of Saying NO". I have not done my monthly divider yet, but here are the weekly calendars for the first two weeks.

Week 1

The first week I went with a background of pink, yellow and orange - probably inspired by the Texas heat!

Week 2

For the current week I used a foam floral stamp and stamped repeatedly over the background with a turquoise ink and blended with ink to create the background. We are going to Chicago this weekend to visit my youngest daughter and her fiancé so I will have lots of stuff to add to
the last few days of this spread.

The PAC challenge was to use collage.  I started with a painted background and added a strip of the inside of a security envelope on the right side. Over that I added a small piece of tissue tape. The bird image is a black and white print-out left over from some other project. I lightly colored it with my new Prima water-soluble oil pastels. The scalloped border at the top is another security envelope - I love saving these pretty patterns! Then I stapled a small piece of hand-dyed ribbon to the top and doodled around the outside edge.

Documented Life Project - Weeks 50 and 51

December Theme - Storytelling with the Written Word

Week 50 - Dec. 5

Art Challenge: Words, Front and Center

Journal Prompt: Life is a book. We fill the pages.

For this week's spread I wanted to use this large "I Am Artist" stencil from Donna Downey. I've had it for awhile but never had the perfect place to use it.  For "words front and center" this fills the bill!

The background started out like this. I collaged many under paper scraps and also 

the text wrap from a candle.

Then I toned it all down with some brayered white paint. I topped that with lots of stamping in black ink and the stencil in black paint.

Week 51- Dec. 12

Art Challenge: Using Quotes and Lyrics as Storytelling

Journal Prompt: "One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter."  James Earl Jones

For this spread I didn't follow the journal prompt but concentrated on using a quote. 

The background is collaged "under papers". If you're not familiar with that term it's the paper used underneath a project while painting to catch the mess! Often it is prettier than the project itself!

I added white paint with a palette knife to tone it down and blend the background together. The black and white chevron is washi tape. There's lots of random stamping with black ink.

I found the quote on Pinterest - it is watercolored by Amy Tangerine. I simply printed it and taped it in place with more washi tape.

With these spreads finished, the end is in sight! I have last week and this week to finish before the end of the year!

Documented Life Project - Week #47

November Theme - Stencils, Stamps and Masks

Nov. 14 - Week 47

Art Challenge - Use Hand-carved Stamp

Journal Prompt - Tapestries

I'm a few weeks behind - story of my "documented life" it seems.

I decided to use this iconic photo of my hometown (Stowe, VT) in the fall and create a "tapestry" of sorts.

I first spread yellow, gold and orange paints across the pages with an old gift card for a random background.  Then I printed out the photo and cut it into vertical strips. I attached the strips, leaving a  small space between each to insert a thin metallic sticker strip. I then wove fine gold thread into the bottom portion, glueing as I went. I had intended to do this for the entire photo, but it was so tedious I scrapped that idea quickly.

I hand-carved 2 leaves and stamped them with copper, brown and orange inks and orange paint. I also added three "silk" fall leaves for a bit of dimension.

The title is: "Autumn is a tapestry of color." I gold embossed "autumn" and wrote the rest with a gold pen. Finished this up yesterday and I'm now on to the next week!

Art Journaling Workshop

I recently signed up for Christy Tomlinson's online art journaling workshop, "She Has 3 Hearts", and have worked my way through all the videos.  It has been very inspiring and motivating.  Since I've been off for a few days and have been trying to keep cool (110 today!), I've been playing in my art journal.

This first page is done with acrylic paints (regular craft, heavy-bodied, and fluid) on a gessoed background, along with a bit of stamping.  It's similar to one she demoed on a video but I need to work a bit on my paint technique. I used an old credit card to swipe the paint across the background, but I think I used too much paint. I prefer a more random look.  And that's what art journaling is all about - learning and playing and enjoying the process rather than focusing on the finished outcome.

For the second page I started with my Ranger paint dabbers.  I own six, but as luck would have it, three were totally dry and the other three barely came out. So the background was very light and is not even visible now.  Then I used a mist over a stencil (turquoise) and added other mists with a brush (orange and green).  The music and circles are stamped with ink and paint.  Christy had one video showing how to make these adorable flowers with yarn, floss and Mod Podge directly on the page, so that's what I did!

I have several more pages started and at various stages of completion, awaiting further inspiration!  This is such a fun, relaxing way to spend a hot summer day.