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Uplifting Words

Having Faith through the Ugly Layers & OOPSies thumbnail

https://youtu.be/ZRyWzh15srU There was a plan in my head when this began and it didn’t take long before the plan was abandoned. Generally, when things don’t go as planned, they turn out way better than I was expecting but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some rough moments along the way. Those rough and ugly moments [...]

Barbed Wire & Butterflies, a Stenciling Tutorial thumbnail

https://youtu.be/1g6L6iWT8sA This was a peanut butter in my chocolate situation. These two stencils were out on my table when I realized they’d work exceptionally well together. Even though I had a direction I was going, there were challenges. And all of them had to do with my impatience while art journaling. What’s the best paint [...]

When The Mojo Vanished thumbnail

Ever have a canvas or a page in your art journal that just stalled out when the mojo just vanished? What can you do when that happens? Give yourself a do over. If there is any part you like, keep that and then cover over whatever you don’t like. That’s what I did to jump start this canvas with white paint. [...]

Starting with an Ugly Layer was an Opportunity in my Art Journal since the Inka Gold totally dried out video by Carolyn Dube

Ever have a background you don’t like very much…that you just ignore and hope that one day you’ll like it – but never do?  There is still hope for those pages, after all this is mixed media art journaling and you just need another layer. I’m going to the dark side, of color that is, [...]

Fearless Women in My Art Journal thumbnail

What’s a fast way to stencil when you’re working in a large art journal (or any thing else that is big)?  A gel plate!  Not surprisingly, there was an O.O.P.S., an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly while I played in this vintage journal. https://youtu.be/lHoP3NnvVqc Watch Gel printing in a vintage ledger as an art journal on YouTube. [...]

It slices, it dices…well not really, but the Gel Press plate did just about everything for this art journal page! It masked, it stamped, it added the title and of course, made the background. https://youtu.be/f8BWolgkx_U Watch Stamping, stenciling and masking all on a gel plate on YouTube. Using a gel print from my stack of papers [...]

Gel Printing Outside..a Spring Treat thumbnail

The sun was in that wonderful late afternoon golden glow phase, the birds were singing, and I was playing outdoors.  Springtime is my goldilocks time outdoors, not too hot & not many bugs. It’s just right for play. A basket of fun was put together quickly, of what was on my counter, with absolutely no clear [...]

OOPS…Be Fearless thumbnail

How do I make decisions when art journaling?  Is it a scientific formula based on sound principles of physics and chemistry?   Nope.  It’s based on the theory of O.O.P.S., Outstanding Opportunities Presenting Suddenly. https://youtu.be/2dTd2hRRtJY Watch Art Journal Play with Washi Tape and Stencils on YouTube. The background began as this aqua colored, very blah [...]

OOPS…A No Fail Plan that Failed or Did it? thumbnail

O.O.P.S…This just wasn’t coming together.  The no fail plan I had in my head to use up the scraps from die cutting in my art journal flopped.  It failed big time compared to what was in my head.  But did it really fail? When things don’t come together, it is just an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting [...]

Using Leftover Scraps to make a mixed media card

Cleaning.  It’s a bad word in my world. I will do just about anything to avoid doing it and for good reason.  Sometimes inspiration strikes from the messes of other projects, like it did here! These bits and pieces have been floating around here for a while and instead of tossing them into the trash, [...]