Book review and upcate: Creative Wildfire by L.K.Ludwig

I have been on a mini road trip away from the computer. I have had a lovely time, reading books and coming up with creative ideas. I bought this fabulous book and will now review it for you.

I picked this book up because it had a lovely vibrant cover page, but when I saw the title: Creative Wildfire: An introduction to art journaling-basics and beyond, I thought it would be to basic for me. I was wrong though, it is full of fab content. This book is divided into 6 chapters. I will give you a rough outline of what is in each one.

Chapter 1: gathering fuel: How to get started
This first chapter is about choosing a journal structure and the how to on a few different ways to bind an art journal.

Chapter2:
The tinderbox:page surface techniques
This chapter contains many cool and new to me techniques such as scraped paint,reductive stenciling, different ways to work with gesso, and more. Each tutorial is easy to understand and offers a million suggestions for altering the idea. This book is full of ideas.

Chapter3: Building fire: Using Imagery
Also full of ideas on ways to add imagery through collage,image transferes and new ideas such as drawing on images, printing onto tissue paper and gelatin mono printing.

Chapter4: Bursting in into flames: Creating meaningful content
ideas about sources for fodder, topic art journals,begin with masters, how to stop creative block and more.

Chapter5: Feeding the fire: adding details
Ideas on how to use text, add pockets, envelopes, tabs and embellishments.

Chapter6: Keeping the fire burning: Fueling your creativity
This is about artists dates and finding the time to be creative.

Each chapter also contains interviews with many artists such as Katie Kendrick, Teesha Moore and Misty Mawn.

This book is very inspirational and leaves me bursting with new ideas. I think it is the perfect book to bust you out of your creative blocks and is therefore essential to every art journalist.

Book review: Mixed Media Mosaic by Laurie Mika

This was one of those books where you have just found an amazing book shop and as you browse the aisle looking for nothing like this, you find a magical book.Above you can see the title page and my very first attempt on making a mixedmedia mosaic box.It was so fun!
But what kind of stuff is inside?
Well, all the instructions come with photos and are very easy to follow. Though I think this is more a book where you read everything through and then just experiment.Any one can follow the instructions. Look at my box , I am a complete beginner in mosaic and look how cool it turned out, even if I do say so myself.Back to the book,it starts of by showing you how to use a few diffrent techniques in your mosaic making. She makess hers from polymere caly and also uses bought glass and clay tiles. She shows yu how to cut, paint and stamp on bought tiles. Then she shows us how to make your own basic tiles, how to transfere onto them, paint them, add little extras such as mica powders and gelpens.Then leran a few reallly cool ways to use mica powders and stamps and how to add beads to your tiles and much, much , much more.

Her next chapter is full of inspirational project ideas such as using the tiles to decorste a box, mirrow, make jewelry or create shrines.

This is an absoulute gem of a book and i think that evry art journal/mixed media artist should own it.Also one tip from me: I wanted to get started, but I did not have any mica powders, so instead I used artists pitt pens in brush and then wiped them with my finger, to create a matt, subtle colour like on the tile, on my box, with the x through it.

Avalible on Amazon:

XXo Makealife

Book review:Collage Unleashed

I really love this book.I got it a few months ago and have reread all the techniques and ideas over and over again.This book has 6 chapters, so first I will give you a quick round up of what is in each chapter.

1. Painting Paper and Fabric: This chapter is all about ways to put paint to paper and fabric.Traci treats both mediums as one.I find this very inspiring.In this chapter she shows you how to die paper towels, how to make crayon cupcakes,how to use an iron to melt crayons and then use them as art and much more. Each idea comes witha step by step tutorial with clear photos and extra ideas.At the end of each chapter she gives you even more ideas to try such as to use your painted papers for colour swatches, name cards, Bookcovers, scrapbook paper or roll up beads.
2. Printing, stamping and using transparencies:This chapter gives you loads of ideas such as layering prints,doodle monoprints and how to make and what to do with transparencies made from your own art.She introduces the concept of fabric collage with transparencies and offers many attachment methods such as making transparency sandwiches with dired flowers in them and some fab ideas for a texture toolbox.
3. Freestyle lettering and Doodling:This chapter really inspire you to go out and buy a million gelpens and to get lettering and doodling.She has a fun doodle warmup, how to turn your doodles into wonderful colouring pages,lots of ideas for funky calligraphy and doodling prompts.She also really incouraged me to use everything and anything to doodle with like sumiink and a pipette.Lastly she offers lots of handy tips for writing on fabric.
4. Combining Collage styles:How to create fusion dyed collage,ideas for collaging with symbols and fabric paper patchwork collage.At the end of this chapter she shares collage starters and themes.A truely inspiring chapter
5. Stiching bindings and funky embellishments:This chapter is all about how to make journals,She starts of by offering a clear tuorial on making signatures, offers lots of unique binding methods such as free form crochet,bead macrameor latch and rug hook binding and hand and machine sew embellishing stiches.I know where I am going to look for my next art journal ideas.
6. Projects combining techniques:Shows you how to make many journals, wall hangings and bags with the techniques learned throughout this book.

I think this bôok is fab!Anyone who loves art journaling and wants to venture into working on fabric aswell, or any one that just needs paper and fabric inspiration should buy this book!!!!!!!!!!!!

Autor; Traci Bautista

Book review

March is book review month on my blog.Starting tuesday i will post lots of artsy and craft book reviews!!!
These will include:

Collage Unleashed
Acrylic revolution
Green guide for artists
1000 Artists journal pages
Zakka sewing
The decorated journal
knitknit
Sew darn cute
Sewing green
The naughty secretary club

See ya tuesday
MAKEALIFE

Book review:The artful Storybook

Today I am going to be reviewing the book The Artful Storybook by Terry Taylor.

I first saw this on ihanna's blog and thought it looked good, so then i ordered it of amazon.And I can tell you it is good!!

The firts few pages tell you about the storybook basics and these include:

Brief history,Where to get your story from, How to plan out your book,A few diffrent solutions to what kind of book to use and some techniques for illustrating and writting in your book.This section contains some lovely ideas and tricks such as how to create a simple pamphlet and how to do a acrylic heat transfere.

Then we move on to the second and bigger section of the book:a gallery of diffrent books that have been craeted by so many diffrent artists.each one has lots of pictures, a materials and tools list, some tips and the wholw working process.There is a very wide variaty of both stories and books.Some of my favorite include: a fabric book about a person that was obseded with knitting socks, a marie antoinette mannequin book , a matchbook storybook, a field journal about birds that has a story layed out in a way like a diary and a book about aztecs with a bone cover-cool book!!

I am a beginner in book making and story writing and illustrating, though I have not acctually started an artful storybook yet(as I am am busiliy working on my next art journal, which i am making from scratch), I am very inspired to start one and I think this book is perfect for beginners-teaching them basic skills and inspiring them, but perhaps not foe advanced as it only tells you some basic techniques.BUT all in all this is a very good book , but it could do with some more techniques.I do not regret buying it though.

Book review : Journal revolution,Rise up and create

Authors: Linda Woods and Karen Dinino

I really like this book.Its message is to get down to it and create personal art journal pages.It starts off by showing you some cool techniques to use in your art journal such as how to do faux spray paint and how to distress with tape.Then we move on and learn a tone about what diffrent fonts can mean diffrent things but still say the same.This like every other chapter starts off with 'Theory' , then moves on to a project and finishes witha gallery.Alot of this book is aboût finding your personality in art .There are also fun ideas to do like spy on yourself and use your information to make a journal page.Lots of ideas and tips are shared in this book about how you can journal outside your art journal to for eg.On aa paper plate or a paper bag.

In a nutshell: This is a fab book for anyone who wants to learn how to journal the truth, get comfy outside of your art jôurnal and learn lots about art journaling.

Level: Anyone will love it!

Where to get it: Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Happy journaling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Book review:Artists journals and sketchbooks

Artists Journals and sketchbooks

by:Lynne Perella

price:US=21.99 dollars UK=14.99 pounds

It is a really good book,for a art journaler of any level.Lynne shows you many inspiring art journal pages by various artists, cool artists insights and material listings for almost every layout.The book is divided into 5 chapters.

chapter 1:

Here she explains in short the basics of art journaling.Then shows you many lovely layouts and has technic pages on such things as ading colour to your background and cool ways to alter pictures(not using photoshop).

chapter 2 :This chapter is about the book itself.So creative ways to decorate the cover including using Slide mount artworks. Again there are many inspiring pictures of what other artists have done such as a cool handquilted coverd journal(so cool).It also contains the idea of making mini journals and attachment technics.

Chapter 3 :

All about adding text, theres a list of ways to do so,how to use in a background , how to carve your own stamp and many things by artists.Also all kinds of ways to add hidden journaling.

Chapter 4 :

About diffrent sketchbooks.This includes pictures and explainations as well as tips for things like travel journals, planning future projects and much more.

Chapter 5:

Here she shows you how to do art journaling but not in a notebook, but on a skirt, quilt or cans.

rating (by me): 7 and a half/10

Resons:

It has many , many wonderful things in here, to get your creative juicies flowing, well explained technics and tips.The bad is that some text refure to other pages in a displayed journal layout and you dont get to see em.Also i think 7 whole pages dedicated to mount slide art work is way to much.I mean yes, to a small digree i am intrested and its a cool idea, but i didnt buy a book about mount slides did i?( no i did not).