A friend of mine wanted to start art journaling but the idea was so overwhelming—the supplies, the ideas, the creativity, what’s wrong, what’s right?— that she couldn’t get started. So much joy in creating—and she was missing out! So many questions racing through her mind: How do you start?  What goes on a page? What [...]

Be prepared to laugh along as I guide my husband as he makes his very first art journal page from start to finish. He definitely puts his own twist on the page as only he can in this free 4 video series all about getting started art journaling. The first video is all about him [...]

Studying the masters is a great way to learn.  Who are the masters that I study? Kids!  For this week’s Let’s Play video, I am going to act like a kid by getting my fingers in the paint.  I’m going to dip my hands right into the jar of paint and some sparkling goodness too! [...]

  One of my favorite ways to let myself play is to act like a kid. After all, kids are the masters of play so it is no surprise that they are the inspiration for this month’s Let’s Play theme. This miscellaneous box of inexpensive oil pastels created a scribbled background in my art journal.  The [...]

My imagination ran away with the idea of another world while I was art journaling.  Perhaps all those sci-fi shows I love like Stargate, Star Trek, and Dr. Who have had a bit of an impact on this page. But in true sci-fi fashion, I didn’t start out thinking I would find another language or [...]

“Ordinary” things, like a kiwi, can lead to colorful play.  That average kiwi was the start of this colorful pattern which clearly is not a hyper realistic pattern that I’ve made.  It’s more like gum ball kiwis for this week’s Let’s Play video. What is Let’s Play?  It’s all about rediscovering the ability to play. Each month I share a [...]

There was real terror in my studio last week.  Not artful terror.  Animal Planet kind of terror. A 3 foot long black snake.  As Indiana Jones said in Raiders of the Lost Ark, “Why did it have to be snakes?” Of course his were venomous and angry…mine was scared and harmless.  But emotionally, I was [...]

I had a plan that was inspired by a pattern on the sidewalk I noticed when I was on a bike ride. It was a crazy crazy plan.  It involved precision.  Straight lines and measuring. If this was a movie, you’d hear the ominous music playing. But this isn’t a scary movie, it’s play inspired by the everyday, this month’s Let’s [...]

Precious paralysis struck while I was making this art journal page.  I was between a rock and a hard place.  I loved this background so much that I didn’t want to ruin it.  But I wanted to add more to the page. Was it a bad thing that I had a bit of paralysis?  Not at all!  One could [...]