Life Documented 2017 - November Week 2

One more week in my planner. It was a fairly uneventful week for a change! The background of both pages is watercolor. On the right page I smooshed a few more colors with the yellow, added a doodled border and a tag that I received in a swap years ago! The quote is a stamp.

We are getting ready to leave for Mexico today. We were supposed to go tomorrow, but the flights are all filling so we are going to go to Albuquerque tonight through Houston, and then on to Phoenix, Yuma and Mexico tomorrow. And, no, I won't be lounging on a beautiful beach for Thanksgiving - I will be completing my dental implants! Hopefully this will be the last dental work for awhile.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Catching up on planner pages - Oct. Week 4 and beginning of Nov.

I've done so much traveling/babysitting this year that it seems all I do is play catch-up!

October - Week 4/5

This was a long "week" so I used both pages to include the last days of Oct. I used acrylic paint on the background and then used many washi tapes, stickers and photo flips to document all that happened during this busy time.

November Monthly Spread

The background for this spread is also acrylic paints. I used a very old sticker border on the right edge. The decorative border on the bottom is from a mail advertisement.  I used a small leaf punch to punch out the dates from an old calendar.

November - Week 1

I used a roller stamp with acrylic paint for this background. I used the Art-to-the-5th date stamp on orange card stock and punched with a one-inch circle punch. The quote on the right page is a freebie from a You-Tuber Patreon account and the pumpkins are a stamped image I colored with colored pencils. I also added a photo of Mitchell since this was the week he stayed at our house.

Life Documented 2017 - Oct. Week 3

October - Week 3

This week was a busy week with friends. Tuesday two friends and I celebrated our birthdays jointly. Mine is in August, one is in Oct., and the other is in Nov., so we try to set one date to celebrate them all.  We went to lunch and shopped at a few antique "malls."  Then on Friday a friend who moved away about 2 years ago was coming into town so we met for a long brunch.

The background of this spread is acrylic paints scraped over the pages. I used thin strips of patterned paper for the dividers, stamped the dates and cut out the days of the week from an old calendar.  On the right page I added photos of our birthday celebration with some stickers and three flowers I had saved from the birthday card my Mom had sent me. (Hate throwing things away!)  I've saved the tiny strip of lace for forever so was happy to use it!

I'm Back - and Catching Up, Again

It's been another busy few weeks. On Wed. the 4th, I went to Albuquerque to babysit Drew and Grant while their parents went to Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon to run two races. Then I left there on Saturday and went directly to a week-long retreat in Taylor, Texas, with six other artist friends. I just returned this past weekend and we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary on Saturday.

I've caught up on my documented life planner and am working on putting finishing touches on my retreat projects, which I will share later.

October Monthly Spread

I used watercolors on background and washi tapes for the top and bottom borders. The dates are punched pumpkins with numbers written in white pen.

October - Week 1

Background is acrylic paint. Dates are stamped and dividers are washi tape. On the right spread I added an ATC I received in a technique swap. The technique was "cracked glass."  The photo is a collage of the boys and I since I was in Abq. that week.

October - Week 2

This was retreat week. We each take a fully-kitted project to "teach" and we do one or two per day, depending on the type of project.  For the right page,  I created a collage of the finished projects and printed a 4x6 photo to use as a tip-in. I also made a tip-in of the business card of the restaurant where we celebrated our anniversary.

The left side of the above photo shows the other side of the "tip-ins."  The right page has more photos from the week.

Life Documented 2017 - Sept. Weeks 4 and 5

This is my spread for the week of Sept. 17-23. It was mostly a catch-up week except that my husband had a heart ablation (his fourth) on Thursday and my oldest daughter from Austin flew back into Dallas from Spain, stayed overnight and then drove home the next day. It was fun seeing her and hearing about her awesome trip.

For this background I started with Distress Stains. Since this is just regular paper, they didn't blend very well so I added gesso lightly over the pages. I used doodled blocks for the days of the week and added various stickers and doodles in the blank areas.

And this is this past week ending today. I dry-brushed and finger-painted bright Scribble Sticks (Dina Wakely) on the background and made marks on the dark blue areas with a white pen.  I love these watercolor crayon sticks, but it is hard to get anything to write over them as they are a bit waxy. I went to the annual Pinners' Conference yesterday with a friend and the red and white polka dot strip I used is part of the wristband from the show.

For the right page, I found a great quote from the words I cut and save from magazines and also a cute photo from an old Somerset Studio magazine. I layered the image with two different colors of tissue paper.

Life Documented 2017 - September

I'm late in posting the first few weeks of September's planner spreads, but here they are!

September Monthly View

Watercolor background, washi tape, hexagonal stickers for dates

Week 1 (only two days so I decorated the left page for fall)

Scraped paint background, paper and magazine scraps,
planner stickers and die cut leaves

Week 2

Left page - watercolored background, lots of Freckled Fawn planner stickers, tip-in with photo

Right page - multi-layered colorful background, then applied bird mask and painted
with dark navy on entire page, doodled and journaled with white pen

Entire spread

Week 3

 

Painted background, washi tape, quote journal card, flower from magazine

I took photos of my process while doing the week 2 spread. If you are interested, keep reading and scrolling. Or, you can just finish the post now!

THE MAKING OF A PLANNER SPREAD

Step 1

After adding washi tape to the edges, I watercolored both pages with purple and green.  I handmade this Traveler's Notebook insert with just regular copy paper which is not the best for watercolor, but most will be eventually covered up anyway.

I was sent this sticker set along with a TN planner cover from Freckled Fawn so decided to use it on this spread. They have super cute products and a monthly planner kit.

Step 2

Since the days of the week were already printed on the insert, I just highlighted them with a black pen. I stamped the numbers with one of my favorite stamp sets from Rae Missigman and permanent black ink, then filled in the scallops with my favorite white pen - Signo Uni-ball.

Step 3

Added narrow washi tape dividers.

Step 4

Then I went to town on the left page detailing events of the days and adding many of the cute Freckled Fawn stickers. I also made a tip-in with two photos from our weekend with our grandsons. The photo below shows the other side of the tip-in. I used one of the circle stickers from the set, folded in half, as a tab at the top of the tip-in.

Step 5

On the right page I added many layers of color, forgetting to take photos of each step. First I added red ink with a chevron roller stamp, then orange paint with a foam circle stamp. Then I stamped yellow paint with a bottle lid and stenciled it through punchinella. Next came green and pink paint smudged on with my finger, then white paint with a circle stamp and black ink with a splatter stamp (these last two can be seen in the bird below).

Step 6

I placed a bird mask (a very old Heidi Swapp product) on the page and then painted all around it with  Dina Wakley's "Night" paint - a beautiful opaque indigo. I love this technique! I outlined the bird with white pen to highlight it and doodled scallops for added interest. Finally, I journaled with the white pen.

And here again is the final spread:

I hope you enjoyed following along with the process!

Life Documented 2017 - Third Week of July

I finished this week's spread a few days ago. For the right page, I used many of my left over pieces from the retreat rather than throw them away.

I love Frida Kahlo and had this one image left, as well as the little papel picado banner. The green rick rack was the final piece of a spool and I thought it worked perfectly on the edge.

I kept track of the steps I used in making the background.

1. Yellow and pink acrylic paints spread with gift card (like left page)

2. Loose, scribbly writing in pencil (almost totally obscured by end)

3. White paint applied with finger

4. Stamped circles and flowers with red Archival ink

5. Numbers stamped with black Archival ink

6. Texture paste through punchinella

7. Watercolor crayons (red and orange) scribbled here and there

8. Yellow and black paint splatters

9. Black paint marks with paintbrush

10. Collaged paper pieces

11. Adhered rick rack, banner and letter stickers

I really enjoyed doing this page. I love that I was able to use up some scraps.

Catch Up

Can you believe it's been over two weeks since I've posted here? It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun!

So what have I been doing? Yearly doctor appointments, mammogram, bone density test and a pre-cancerous spot on my nose removed. We also made a last-minute trip to Austin for the 4th of July, brought 5-year-old Carl home with us for a few days before heading to Albuquerque for the 5th birthday weekend extravaganza for Drew.  

Neighborhood July 4th Parade

Carl is excited to be going to Dallas with us

My four boys enjoying donuts for birthday breakfast

Drew's volcano cake for his Moana-themed party

A tired 5-year-old after his party

Two days after returning, I went on my online group's annual 5-day retreat. Luckily this is held every year practically in my backyard in Grapevine, but many gals travel from all over the country to attend. We had a blast (more on this later).

Here's a "catch-up" of the past three weeks' planner spreads.

Watercolor background, metallic sticker borders, collage sheet half-circles for dates.

Various star stamps on white background; washi tape dividers; labels with number stickers for days.

Background stamped with foam stamp and paints; days are printer-generated.

Hope to get back on schedule now!

And one more (Life Documented)

June Week 3

I so liked the layout I did several weeks ago using blocks of colors that I did it again for this past week.  I doodled the frames in black and white and then added doodled scallops. 

I like the white space for a change!

This week was a quiet one and I was able to get together with a friend for shopping. She bought yards and yards of fabric and wants me to sew valances for her kitchen and breakfast room. 

I also bought fleece to make a tied blanket for my grandson, Drew, who is turning 5 next month. I had made one for his 2-year-old brother for his birthday and he keeps asking me where his is, so...  I used fabric with construction vehicles as he just loves anything construction-related. It turned out cute and I think he will love it!

Another week (Life Documented) and a tag

Another week finished in my planner. 

This was a quiet week - after several busy ones - and I used a few odds and ends for the right page. The flower "tip-in" is a scrap leftover from my play with  alcohol inks for the recent tag swap. On the back I added a vintage photo of my hometown, Stowe, which I'd picked up on my trip. The colorful tag at the top is a Dyan Reaveley sample from a stamp catalog. I just loved the colors and quote but don't have the stamps.

 For the calendar page on the left, I used Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers and the days are written on my handmade label stickers.

This weekend I received my tag from the swap. It's very large - 3.5" x 7.5" - and the "polished stone" alcohol ink strips are woven together. The Day of the Dead skull is die cut from silver paper and will be perfect to add to my book for my annual retreat in July which has a Mexican theme. Thanks Jan!

Life Documented 2017 - June Week 1

Here is the first ten days of June in my Traveler's Notebook planner. I used both pages to include the last 3 days of the preceding week.  The dividers and scallops are cut from some very old shaving cream marbled paper that I was about to throw away. The remainder is mostly stamps and images cut from brochures or magazines.

I am hosting a June tag swap using alcohol ink techniques.  We make one tag and swap with our partner. This is the one I sent off. 

I used glossy paper and dripped the alcohol inks all over instead of the usual punching with a felt blending tool. I also dripped alcohol in the middle of the puddles which made them fan out more and created some great texture. I doodled with black and white pen and then stamped the three words. The tag is mounted on a large black tag and machine-stitched. I'm looking forward to receiving mine.

Life Documented 2017 - Last week of May

Here is my spread for the last week of May. I can't believe the year is almost half over! 

Only four days of this week are in May, so I used large blocks of white space over the two pages for the days. It was a sad week with the death of a friend and I knew I would need larger areas for journaling.

I used pink and yellow "Mermaid Markers" for the background, leaving the white of the paper for the blocks. Then I doodled frames around each block, used numbers punched from an old calendar and stamped the days of the week. I stamped the little hearts on tissue paper and decoupaged that to the pages, along with various stickers and cutouts.

My Traveler's Notebook that I am working in is more than full and it's time to start a new one! Look at all that lovely chunkiness!  I think I will limit the next one to three months so pages won't be falling out like in this one. (I do love a stuffed, FAT journal though!)

Life Documented 2017 - May, Week 3

We left on Wednesday night for Albuquerque in order to babysit the grand boys on Thursday. We were going in for the weekend anyway, as our son (who has moved to Hong Kong) was in country and wanted to see the boys and the rest of the family. Albuquerque was the easiest meeting point. It was a whirlwind weekend and we just returned late last night.

This is my planner spread for last week. I collaged a napkin on the left page and then lightly gessoed over it, as there was bleed-through from the previous page. On the right page I used watercolor for the background and then practiced sketching a face in Mindy Lacefield's style. She has a sketchy, cute, quirky style that I wanted to try.

This Traveler's Notebook insert is starting to fall apart as it contains almost five months' worth of pages. The right page was tearing away, so I added paper tape on the back and washi tape on the front to help reinforce it. At the end of May I will be transitioning into a new notebook.

Life Documented 2017 - May, Week 2

This is last week's spread. It was a quiet week - puttering around the house, going to doctors and trying to get well again!

I follow a talented Australian art journaler on YouTube (LittleRavenInk) and she posted a spread a few weeks ago using blocks of color and doodled borders. So that's what I tried for this week. I quite like it for a change! The background is left white with watercolored blocks (using my Jane Davenport "Mermaid Markers").  I also used several planning stickers from Reset Girl from my stash.

This notebook is getting quite chunky! I will be able to get through May but will have to make another for the next several months. 

Life Documented 2017 - May, Week 1

This is one of the first week spreads I've actually completed during the same week! Feels good to be in town for awhile, even though I've been sick with a horrible cold since I returned.

This is last week's spread. I used pink acrylic paint for the background, floral fabric washi tape for the dividers between days and the Art to the 5th date stamps.  It was a pretty quiet week, especially since I was sick and didn't feel like doing much.

For the right "artsy" spread, I used an old technique of making a colorful background and then drawing (I used a floral stencil) an image and filling in the background around the image with a solid, darker paint. I blended it out toward the bottom of the page and then stenciled with an irregular dot stencil to make the transition more fluid.  I love how this came out! You never know until you do it what will actually be revealed. And I like the final touch of white pen against the dark background.

Life Documented 2017 - Week 4, April

The last week of April I was back in town for a few days before heading out once again for Austin for birthday celebrations.  This is my weekly planner spread.  

I used acrylic paint for the background and old silver "stitching" border stickers for dividers. I added lots of ephemera from the week along with a photo of Mitchell on his birthday.

His photo is added with a washi tape hinge so that it opens out to reveal the information underneath.

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It feels good to now be working on the current week!