Art Journal Fun

Things are looking up! Finally got my Mom's apartment empty, clean and keys turned in. What a relief! One woman should not be allowed to have that much stuff in a one bedroom apartment! It is all in storage now, except what she needs here. That was a big job and let me tell you that my husband is a saint! He worked relentlessly getting that stuff packed, loaded and unloaded at storage. Mom is still in rehab, and I am not certain when she will be coming home, but all is done! I have been working on several projects and as usual, I can't keep up with all of them, art journals, Zentangle, knitting, and so forth. The thing is that I am always busy and I like that. I have about 10 or 12 sketchbooks now, some with projects in them and some still empty. My favorite is the Moleskin. There is just nothing like it, anywhere. The pages are so smooth and yummy! I have also been trying a composition book art journal and boy have I made some messes! I have been gluing stuff to the pages and then doing art journaling on top. The only one that I haven't liked is the one I put aluminum foil on. I could never get it a color that I liked and then the art pieces I used didn't suit me, but all the other pages have been fun and I really like them. It is amazing what you can glue into a book! Practically anything! I have used lots of stuff that would normally go in the trash.....recycling if you will. Each time I have something to throw away, I stop and look at it and say "Could I use that in my art journal?" Alot of times the answer is YES! If you have not done art journaling, I strongly recommend it. It is "Play" for grown ups. They are your journals, so you can put anything in them that you want to....Fun! Til next time!

Where Did July Go?

Here it is, July 29. Where did this month go? I can't seem to keep up these days with all that is going on. My Mom is back in rehab and we have spent the month of July first trying to adjust to having her here with us and then back in the hospital and then to rehab. I keep hoping that I will find time to post regularly, but that never seems to happen. All things considered, I did accomplish a few things this month. I am taking a lettering class with Joanne Sharpe online and doing it at my pace. It is a wonderful class and I just love it. I am learning so much about lettering, which is my most favorite art or craft, if you will. I love letters, fonts, numbers, etc., and I am really learning a lot in this class. Here are a couple of my practice pieces:

I have also been learning to do art journals. Mine are not very creative at this point, but I am hoping as I learn more, they will improve. I am doing one in a composition book (yes, the plain old black and white ones) that has some good pages and some not so good ones. I consider this one a training journal, because I am learning techniques for painting and other cool ways to do an art journal. Here is one photo from my comp journal:

And, like most people, I have also dabbled in the SMASH journals. I like them alot, but I think they have much room for improvement. I did see a blog post the other day where an artist made her own smash journal from only materials she had on hand and then wire bound it herself. It was very cool and I like it alot. Here is a page from my Smash Journal:

I do most of my art at night after everyone is asleep. Between work and taking care of my Mom, I don't have any time otherwise. It relaxes me and helps with all the stress. Keep crafting!

Joy Journal Project

Today I am joining the Joy Journal Project. I feel that this will help me get back on track from all that has been going on in my life. This project is to help inspire you, remind you of the good things in your life and help relocate your creativity. If anyone ever needed this, it is me. Here are a few of my recent projects: This is the tangle that I just finished:

This is a tangle that I finished last week:

Lots going on this next week. My Mom will be home on Wednesday, and we will start trying to acclimate her to our house. It is the July 4th holiday too, and I am looking forward to a few days off. Til next time....

Life and other things

Well, I am going to try and do a quick update. It seems that no matter how hard I try, I can't post on regular basis. My Mom is still in the rehab hospital, being discharged on July 4. She will be living with Randy and me and I am nervous. The experience with this rehab hospital has been a real chore, to say the least. Dealing with these people who are only interested in MONEY can really wear you down. I have had to fight for everything, literally. I am tired and frustrated, but I am beginning to see a small light at the end of the tunnel, so I am hopeful. I am still working on my art journal and I hope to get some photos posted today or tomorrow. I am also tangling as often as I can. I am really loving it and I will have to say that it has helped me through this hard time more than once. I have decided to join the The Diva's Weekly Challenge, even though I am starting in the middle. There is a link on my sidebar if you want to take a look. I am going to start a new sketchbook for this and dedicate it to this project. I will be posting pages in the near future. In the meantime, I will keep trying to post on a regular basis, it is so good for me and I enjoy reading the blogs that I love. Take care~~~

The Cute Cousins

Today, I finished a couple of pages in my art journal with Lucas and Colin. I am especially proud of how well these pages turned out. Look for more in the future on the cousins!

Catching Up

Today has been a fairly nice day. Even if I did have to stay at the ER with my Mom until 5:00 am and didn't get very much sleep. Her stroke has really been hard. This one was much worse than the other and she is not recovering as well as I had hoped. I pray everyday that God will help her to recover and be able to live with Randy and me, but I am not sure that will ever happen. I have done some additional art projects as I have been sitting in the hospital and waiting for various things. I have a serious case of bronchitis and a sinus infection right now, and I have not been feeling my best, but I have tried to get in a few things. Here is the latest entry in my art journal: This is Brian and me riding go karts on his birthday. He turned 7 on May 5, and we had such a great day at his birthday party. This one is a photo that Anna's Mom took of her, and I managed to transfer it to my journal: Poppy went over to visit Colin today. I did not feel well enough to go, but he got a couple of really good pics that I am going to put in my journal, time permitting. I really like this one: Here are few more pages in my journal:

Thankful I Rediscovered Art

I have always loved art. Even as a child, I loved drawing, coloring in coloring books, music, books, and all the wonderful things that are considered art. I have never had any artistic talent, unfortunately, and I always wondered why I loved it so much. Over the years, I have tried all forms of art. I have to say that my favorite is music. I love the classics, my favorite being Beethoven's Sonata #14, or Moonlight Sonata, as it is commonly known. I sang in glee club at school, choir at church and always wanted to be a musician. As life would have it, that was not my path. Our lives are so complex and the paths that we take are, at times, odd. Sometimes I wonder how I arrived at the place that I am today. But, I think that things happen for a reason and God always has a plan. I taught myself to crochet at about 16 and then later on, learned cross stitch, embroidery, rug hooking, macrame (remember macrame plant hangers?) and a bit of knitting. I learned all these from a dear and wonderful friend that I shall always love and cherish. Her name is Dixie and she is the most talented person I have ever met. She can do anything. For a number of years, I was so busy raising children, working and living my life, that I did not have the time or patience for art and completely gave up all my hobbies other than gardening. A few years ago, I learned to knit for real and started dabbling in watercolors. I realized very quickly that I am not a painter nor am I an artist of any kind. I am much better the with the needle arts....quilting, embroidery, cross stitching, but one thing has always remained the same....and that is my love of letters and numbers. Fonts, puzzles, calligraphy, lettering, writing. All those things are so dear to me, so I decided to go in a little different direction. I started doing Artist Trading Cards and joined some ladies at my work in a card club. We meet every 2 weeks and make a variety of greeting cards. I really enjoy this and seem to be fairly good at it. In my search for ideas and creativity for my ATC's and greeting cards, I literally stumbled onto something called Zentangle. At first, as I researched it, I never thought I would ever be able to do such beautiful artwork, but I discovered that I can!!! My life has changed forever. I now carry a sketchbook with me all the time. I am constantly looking for new ways to do my art, which now consists of Zentangle, ATC's and greeting cards. I am so happy and thrilled that I have found an art medium that I love and can actually do! My mother has been ill off and on since last summer and recently had a stroke that was very severe. She is still in rehab and we are thinking that she may never be able to live alone again, or even with me. The past few weeks have been so stressful for Randy and me and I have spent so many hours sitting in the hospital with her and trying to help her understand what has happened to her. My art has been my life saver. When she is sleeping, I sit in the quiet and tangle, or work on ATC's and I truly think that this has helped me to get through each day. The future is so uncertain and each day, I wonder what is going to happen. I thank God every day for allowing me to have this art....sometimes things do happen for a reason.