Jeudi Journal - Tabs

This week I did not find it an easy quote to portray - "My brain has too many tabs open" - something I can relate to quite often but to put it down pictorially???  However,  I  found the perfect head - one which very rarely gets used because I don't know how to use her.  But more on her later.

I had a page already sprayed with Dylusion Inks, Funky Fuchsia and Tangerine Dream, so I decided to go with that as my background and rather than add things like stencils and stamping to the background which I normally do I added die-cuts.  I have so many leaves, mushrooms, flowers etc cut out but never tend to use them so here was my opportunity.  

I made up a tree using a mushroom stem that was lying about for the trunk and added some leaves for the top of it.  Then came some peculiar leaf type things at the bottom for a bit of grass type foliage.  Next came some mushrooms, the ones with writing all over them that never get used, so I coloured them red and painted the spots black.  Think I prefer them that way but next time I might leave the spots white.

Next I found a fawn that had been cut off the top of a head (yes, a head) and it fit beautifully on top of the mushrooms but I decided to give it a bed fella and as Art Journal Journey is featuring "hearts" this month I put a couple of hearts above them.  Afterall they do look like a young couple of fawns in love don't you think?

Whilst rummaging around in my die cut shapes I found a bird that says 'always' on its body, "go on" I said to myself, "put that on the tree".  The words "this way - that way" also found their way on the top of the page (to cover some black that had seeped from another page really) and, "perfect!" a hand pointed the way to them.

Now to the head.....  This lady has her head in her hands which to me makes her perfect for the quote. So she had the swirls she normally wears cut off and I made her some new ones.  Now I needed to put various things on her swirls which, you have guessed, were her "thoughts".  

To begin with I searched Google images for a variety of mathematical symbols and having printed some out, plus a bit of Kanji and some Greek I was disappointed to find that the printer had not given me the stark black and white I wanted.  What was I going to do?

Well, I realised I had a Chinese story book so that took care of the kanji, what else?  In my search through the great big box of rubbish I save I found some sheet music, a dictionary page, a Chinese newspaper (from buying something in Chinatown, LA years ago), a map, and some foreign or old English script (it's so tiny that I cannot quite decide).  Hurrah.

So carefully drawing around the shape I already had drawn and cutting each one out I had my "Tabs" ready to put on her head.  I carefully stuck each of them down in turn, going around the outside of the shape with a thick black marker.

I have never spent so long on a page for ages, but I must admit I enjoyed it - oh and I drew a border around through a stencil of Dyan's too.  So this is my very Dylusional page.

When I finished this page yesterday I thought it was for next week and I was a week in advance.  On waking up this morning I had a dreadful thought, which was right, I had not done my post for this week and it was, indeed, the one about 'open tabs'.  So it was out with the computer, a quick scan of the page and a write up.  Almost half the day is gone and I am posting my Jeudi Journal at last.

WOYWW 557

Another Wednesday, another visit to Julia and her Merry Band here on WOYWW.

My desk - well for once, it has been a hive of industry.  I have actually made something in the last few days.  Yonks ago I saw a book that Miranda (Miranda van den Bosch - on Pinterest and Facebook - see her work, fabulous - and check her drawing out too) had made and I fell in love with it.  I bought the stamps I thought necessary for it (PaperArtsy) and then on one of our trips to Nijerk in The Netherlands bought the die to cut the pages.  Everything was done ready for it to be decorated but could I work out how to do the book, how to put it together, could I heck!  So I messaged Miranda and bless her, she answered me and told me how to do it and even said if mine was a copy of hers she would not mind.

Well it isn't, the first page more or less is but it still needs words adding to it before I video the whole thing to show you.  In the meantime here are a couple of pages showing the little flaps that happen between each full page.

As well as that I have been slowly but surely starting to sort my room out on my better days.  Some have turned to bad days because of sorting but I am very slowly getting things done.  Yesterday and Monday was spent looking at all the 12 x 12 papers I have and whilst I still put them back, well most of them, I have put a couple out for the bin.  I had to leave it last night as my back was hurting with all the moving about so this is my desk as it stands.

As the Chinese New Year celebrations end this coming Saturday here is my Chinese Unicorn, bought in LA a couple of years ago.  Gong Hei Fat Choi!

Jeudi Journal - Magic

The quote for today is "It's better to take a risk than miss a moment of magic".

To begin with I sprayed some blue and some green ink on the page but didn't like it so I used a paintbrush to spread it about.  It ended green as expected.  Then I messed about with various figures because I already had an idea in my head as to what I wanted to portray.

I came down on the side of using the girl in suspenders as she was the closest to a magician's assistant.  For the head I chose my new Crown of Roses plate and the large head from it.  Sadly the head was just that too big so I chopped a bit off - namely one strand of hair - and the outer roses got clipped a little bit.  The other figure was the dog one but I changed heads and put a plain human one on and then used the trousers I usually  choose for this jacket.  

The story behind the page is a role reversal one where the magician's assistant is firing an arrow at the apple on the magician's head and the magician is taking a risk in allowing her to do so.  Hopefully he won't be hit and therefore miss out on the magic he performs (well, we know he will be safe as the arrow is in the apple).

Both figures were coloured with Promarkers as was the arrow, apple and bow.  I used a gold 'Script' pen to colour the stars through a Dylusion stencil and then put a dab or two of 'Wink of Stella' on top of the stars, but am not sure it is working as I cannot see much twinkle.

The words are new to me and the accessories are all newly drawn so therefore I am entering this into Art Journal Journey where Jo's challenge is nearing the end and is to use something new or a new technique.

Wonder what we have for February?

WOYWW 556

Wednesday again and apologies for missing some of you last week, promise not to miss you this week (unless something happens like the computer goes kaput!).  I will be on the computer shortly to visit Julia, our head desker and then all the other WOYWW'ers here.

Still waiting for my stamps for my fairies/backgrounds but decided to do some more work in my mini Moleskin Journal for a change.  So I set to with my Distress Ink Pads and my inking tools and got several pages done for backgrounds for the future.  Have now only got three pages to fill with figures but had to come to a full stop as I have no images for them.  I have now filled the book with the few Stampotique images I have plus a few Octopode ones and finally all my Zinni's including the ones I bought in the sale (thanks Helen and Shaz).  I still have to do some doodling on the pages so will show you just a couple for now and unfold them bit by bit when I have nothing else to show.  

This little journal is really bulky now so I must apologise for the dark shadow (centre) on the picture above - the first one must have been in a better place in the book so it scanned better.

Especially for Julia and LLJ I am showing you something I bought last Wednesday evening, too late to show last week so it has been saved for today's posting.  A friend alerted me to this whilst we were messaging on the phone and following a lot of research into the various gin/teapots I could buy I settled on Asda's - because I liked the set and because the price was right.  If you check some of the teapot and teacup sets they are up in the £20-30 range and above.  This cost me £9 for the teapot, £3 for the milk jug (for tonic or whatever) and £4 for the sugar bowl (what???? - for the lemon/lime slices of course).

Now what do you think about that?  I can just see me sitting with Sue on the patio sipping our G&T's this coming summer.  Roll on sunshine!

Jeudi Journal - Ask My Kids

"Ask My Kids, they know Everything" is the latest quote chosen by me from my new plate of quotes by Dyan.  I thought it would be relatively easy to do and I started out with a painted background which got a bit messy.  I decided to use Amsterdam's Burnt Sienna with a little of Dina Wakley's  Cheddar mixed in.  It went on rather patchily and not quite as I had hoped for.  Not to worry, the leaves from the Dylusion Stencil in Amsterdam Yellowish Green helped to disguise it.

For my figures I wanted to do something not quite so obvious so I went down the road of using dogs.  Not Dylusion dogs either - to ring the changes I used the Katzelkraft ones.  I just love the expressions on these faces and felt that the little pug sat by his mother is sort of looking up at her with a kind of sad look and the little guy next to him is a bit cheekier and saying "what on earth are you on about" judging by the expression on his face, "of course we know more".  Am not sure the baby of the group, who is far busier with his cup of hot milk, really knows what is going on or is even part of this conversation.

Because I wanted it to be mum and not dad who featured I changed heads from the original Dylusion figures so we have a rather grumpy looking 'mum' standing there with her hand on her hip.

Not sure if you can tell but I have highlighted some parts of the 'family' with a little Glossy Accents - the cup of the baby dog, the bow tie and nose of the middle one, the bowler hat and the eyeballs of the pug and the nose of mother.

As the words are new and the Glossy Accents is a new one plus the Cheddar (gorgeous isn't it, thanks Angela for putting me onto it) I am entering this into Art Journal Journey where the theme, by Jo, is something new.

Will pop off now and see what Wendy has done.  See you next week.

WOYWW 555

Julia thinks her desk looks a mess - I think mine is too.  It's been a funny old week with a lot of back pain and a procedure to have at the hospital.  But more on that lot later, you are here to see my desk in all its glory.  Why?  Because that is what I do, each Wednesday joining in with Julia and the other deskers and baring my, ahem, desk.  Pop along to see Julia's and join in the fun.

I did say a couple of weeks ago I would show you what I did with some fairy stamps - well, still haven't done them.  Not for lack of trying as I have started but realised I needed more stamps to do the background (the ones I thought would work didn't).  So here is the start of some fairy cards.

Just to prove I started at last

turning the corner - my Vagabond

and the whole picture (below)

As you can see my desk is in a bit of a pickle.  I am trying to get my journal done for tomorrow's challenge, I have my box of white card out, my trusty old Vagabond is waiting to be put away along with the circle cutters and the sticky backed paper I use for the circles on my fairy cards.  Oh, and there's a few tiny inkpads in a tiered container that I thought I might use but didn't.  A bit further down on the left is my box of Christmas stuff (not put away yet because I cannot reach into the cupboard for fear of my back going) and a bag of dumfing which I have not been able to do - again because of my back.  My Distress Inks are in the lounge on a trolley so I can do a bit whilst resting my back.

Health Update:

Went to the chiropractor on Friday and she was thrilled I had been having such a good couple of weeks so she went even deeper.  Well, it has not been that good since.  I have had pain at the slightest movement in a morning including Monday when I had to go to the hospital for the Endoscopy Camera Capsule.

Getting into the car, ever so carefully, it went and so began the agonising journey, in rush hour, to the hospital for the 8.30 visit.  Just made it.  Luckily they let Chas stay with me and he rubbed my back for a solid half hour and got it stable.  Then I had the belt fitted, the receiver attached and I swallowed the copper pill.  Luckily for me I had the 'new' pill which meant instead of a sip of water I could have a glass and I could drink water when I got home.  At 2.15 I had a slice of bread and butter and at 5.30 I had some fish, veg and boiled potatoes.  Bliss!  At 9 pm I took the contraption off.

(T shirt tucked into my bra so you can see the size of the white belt full of those stickers and wires and the receiver attached by a tube sticking out of the bottom of the belt.)  Brilliant technology!

Next day they rang early to remind me to take the belt and receiver back but as my back was so bad it ended with Chas having to take it and me having to lie flat with a hot water bottle on my back until the neighbours and our gardener had a row!  But that is another story.

Not a good week for crafting or anything - hope it gets better so am resting for two days (if I can, I hate sitting about) in the hopes my back settles.  Can't see the chiropractor for three weeks as she is in India on a much deserved and needed holiday. 

Jeudi Journal - Smile

The last of this session is "Smile it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart" and it is one I had on the bottom of my list with the words "where do we put this one?" so it got forgotten about and now is in at the end.

For mine I decided that I would do an Industrial background choosing to use a Gabrielle Pollocco Stencil, 'Rivets', so I mixed black and white paint to give a steel grey (or battleship grey as the brother in law would call it) and then used a black inkpad to put the rivets of the stencil on.  Didn't work!  Holes  and lines too fine.  So I mixed some black paint with some water to make it a bit more fluid and used that - not very successful but it gave an Industrial look to the page and I told myself any smudges looked in keeping with it all.

I then started to go through the heads of my Dylusion figures to find one with a smile - do you know there are not that many and I ended up using "Survivor" and the small figure with the big head - the closest two I could find to having a smile.  I wanted to convey the message so chose a face that looked very sad for the third figure.

The whole page was quite drab with the grey and black so I decided to use my new stencils of leaves (thanks Lorraine) to represent grass and leaves growing on wasteland by this industrial area - two shades of green, very similar, were used and I was quite pleased with how they turned out.

The figures were added and then the small figure had her hands held out as if gesturing - or could it be they were holding something?  Well, that gave a cue for a key to be added and I had an old die of a lock shaped like a heart - perfect!  A few more red hearts and the page was finished.  At least it has all the elements on so I hope you like it.  

Next week we begin our new set of quotes so more challenges lie ahead and some are rather difficult!  Ooer!

As this has my new dies on I can enter it into Art Journal Journey again where Jo chose to have some reference to 'Something New' on it.  Hurray, I can enter this one now.  Thanks Jo and the Team.