Creative Block?! GET YOUR WARPAINT ON!!!!!

Over the past two or three days I have just been sitting round reading magazines and watching youtube videos on how to sew clothes( yes I want to try) instead of acctually creating anything. I did do the picture above in my art journal, but it is horrible!!!!Ans more importantly I made myself do it and it was not fun. It is time to rise up and put some warpaint on ( aka liquid eyeliner) and get creative.
First let's go onto iHanna's art journaling catagory and see what ideas that gives us...
Hmmm... Maneki Neko Sketch ,
Sounds fun huh? So I went on google and found a cool pic of this cat and drew it.

Better than the girl painting and it was fun!!YAY!! So my tip for creative block: Go onto one of your fave art journaling websites, pick a post they did that looks fun and for which you have all the supplies, turn the music up and start mindlessly working.And voila!!!
At the moment I am really into japan, so i did a bit of research about this cat.
Basically:
Maneki Neko: means Beckoning Cat aka Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money Cat and fortune Cat.
The raised paw is not a greeting, but has a meaning. If the left paw is raised it means the statue or image will bring customers into a shop( they are commonly placed outside shops for this reason)and if the right paw is raised, it means wealth and good luck. A lot of people think that, the higher the cats paw is raised , the greater Luck or the greatest distance good fortune will come from.The cat normaly has a red collar, which may be red because it reminds of the red flower hichirmen, which was popular during the Edo period when it was first created( 1603-1867) and a bell and/or bib. The bib may be something to do with the bib which grateful parents are said to give to Jizo Botsatu, the protector of sick children.
The histiory of this cat is mysterious. It could be because emperors and other important people say that someone passed a cat, that was waving at him. thanks to being distracted by this cat, the man did not walk into a trap. Thats why cats are considered wise and lucky spirits.

I can't argue with cats being wise and lucky spirits!
I got the info from Wikipedia, there you can also read about the 3 legends around the actual cat statue.

So that did it for me. How do you go to war with your creative block?

End of week round up 25.6.2010

My latest journal pages( check out and try the photo mono printing, if you want me tp post a tutorial on photo mono printing, just leave a comment,)

Hello
First of have a lovely summer!!! The warm weather has just kicked in for good where I live, so i hope this will open a whole new door to my creativity: getting inspiration from the great outdoors.

But for today I want to bring you all the creative things that have been passing my mind lately. first of all this amazing video by journalgirl, about reflecting on your day is super inspiring when you need a topic to journal about and it has already made my art journal more true and juicy.


Click to make the above image bigger, it was inspired by her video:
www.ustream.tv/recorded/7661471

Then these two links have a lot of potential: how to make flowers to use in art and a magazine canvas. Check them out.

The photo mono printing journal page is also my Grid page prompted by GPP Street team prompt. I just created a grid around my photo mono print, which I had doodled on and then in each grid a drew, doodled or wrote the first thing that came into my mind. This was a cool exercise.(click on the yellow journal page at the top to get a bigger picture).

To finish off some ideas on my todo list:

1. a journal page in red
2. create a zine about animal rights
3. make and use some homemade clay
4. Make some artists trading cards
5. Art outside
6.work on my secret journal house(i will be sharing my slow progress soon.)

Have fun!!!
One last question to every one plaese leave a comment with the answer, I will post a comment with my answer in it:
What is your all time fave art supply and why?

Art must haves for journaling in the garden

So a few posts ago, I posted a very cool page I create in the garden. I LOVE DOING So during the summer. IT is just so inspiring and fun! So, if you want to spend some time makin art in the garden, just grab a little table and chair or sit at your picknick table. Now garb a lunchbox and fill with goodies:

• Camera(to take inspiring photos)
• acrylicpaints( TO paint with:))
• suncream(you dont want to get burnt and it can be used like gelmedium as a glue)
• paintbrushes and water
• pens for journaling

I only use these basic supplies and then just create whilst listening to craftpodcast such as craftsanity and craftypod. What pod casts do you like to listen to?

Prompt:Childhood friends

(Click for a biger version)

Did you have a favorite childhood toy? An object you thought was real?I did. I had this cute Bunny Rabbit called PEter Rabbit. Todays prompt: document this childhood friend. If you have a photo, stick that in, if not try drawing it from what you remember it was like or draw how you remember it feeling like.
I think this is really fun to, just play in my art journal and let myself explore meyself.Start with small things like toys, fave tv shows, books ect. Then dig deeper.What are you passionate about and waht are you opinions on religion, technology ect. Experiment with writing, using quotes, lists or even drâwing a comic strip.
Have fun

Art journaling 101:Paper and journals

The first thong you will need if you want to start art journaling is a surface to work on.I like to have my art journal and then have some side projects on other surfaces.There are two basic options for art journaling:

1.A journal

2.A artbox: you work on paper and then collect in a box.

Lets take a closer look.Basicly you have to choose wether you want to work in a journal or if you want to work on seperate pieces of paper and then collect these in a box.
For the journal you have many options.But i recommend one with strong paper such as a cardstock kind or watercolour paper, though you may want to try out a few diffrnat kinds to get your personal prefrence.If you want to buy a journal, i recommend a moleskine the watercolour or sketchbook kind.Get a size you feel comfy with.At the moment i am working in a huge book.Which is nice to have so much room, but i think i like a smaller portable one best.If you dont want to buy a journal, you can make one.Just search in youtube or google and you will find many wonderful tutorials.Now lastly if you do make one your self you will be able to pick the cover decoration and the paper.Also you have the choice between a bound or a spiral bound art journal, both are fine.But in a spiral bound one, id like to try one for my next journal, it will be harder to work in a two paged spread.

If you want to go with a box: You will be able to buy lots of diffrent papers and then decide on them at the spur of the moment.The box should be big enough to hold all your diffrnt paper sizes.You can use any kind of box, a shoebox, zigarette box...Decorating the box is half the fun , so be creative.

I will be contining this series, so keep coming and reading.
Happy art journaling!!

Springtip:
Take your art journal outside or by a window and make art outside!!!!

My Handmade art journal(with tips for making your own)

The most basic art journaling supply is a good journal.I have used 3 sketchbook moleskins, 1 watercolour moleskin and an altered book so far. This is my first ever art journal I have made.My next planned one is like this one on journal girl( http://www.journalgirl.com/httpwwwjournalgirlcom/2010/2/17/diy-wednesday-wire-bound-journals-can-be-cool-and-easy-to-ma.html).

On to my actual made journal. Above you can see the cover.It is made from some ikea fabric with a scrap fabric colour wheel on it.I thought this was such a cool idea.This art journal has 44 pages, it is made half from watercolour paper and half from drawing paper.I really love this combo, as i can switch between the two kinds of papers depending on my mood.Here is a quick description of how I made the journal, sorry I didnt take any during photos.The reason why I am not turning this into a tutorial with images is cause I learned how to make it of a friend as I went along.Any way, first I folded the paper down to size and sewed up the folds. I loosly attached the segments with thread ans then glued the spine using white glue.I let it dry and cut a cover from book board.Next i cut a thin strip for the spine.I cut holes in the cover and thread 3 pieces of woven fabric through it. Glue down.Cover spine with bookcloth sandwiching the spine bookboard and glue.Make the coverquilt.Glue down cover and DONE!!

The back and pages!

So here are my tips for book making:

1. Make your cover personal in some way. You could sew a fabric cover, paint some fabric or paper, cover in paper and then paint once on cover.Try to dipict some symbol or the colour wheel that reminds you of what your art journal means to you.For me I want to grow as an Artist and show all the colours of my life in it.
2. When glueing, protect pages with some baking paper
3. Wash glue brush well with soap after glueing or you will kill it(talking from experiance)
4. Use your favorite papers in a combo that works for you

The beautiful inside paper!!!

5.Save any scraps you may get(like from the above paper) to use in collage
6.Use a bonefolder to create lush folds

Hope these tips and Images inspire you to try your own handmade art journal.

Makealife XO

Let's talk about the product!: Neocolour II watersoluble crayons

Today I am going to start a new series on my blog.Every so often (at least once a month)I will tell you all I know about a product.This can be my own techniques and ideas on how to use, links to good resources or videos that show you techniques.The art product I'm talking about today in NEOCOLOUR II.
I love watersoluble crayons they are so highly pigmented it is lovely to just smuch them onto a page in a random way and then add a bit of water and they will transform into a fab background base.Of course you can also draw patterns and then let them blend.The Neocolour II is the only kind of watersoluble crayon I have tried so in this post all my results will be with these.

In my many months of art journaling I have found that:

• These crayons work on any surface, cardboard,paper,canvas,silver foil , coffee filters just to name a few.Experiment!I'd love to hear what surfaces you have tried it on.
• They are a bit sticky.I have figured out a little technique to stop their stickyness.Instead of water solubleing(is that a word?) them with water use watery white acrylic paint or gesso.This tones the colour down a bit but stops any stickiness(although sticky ness normally occors before you put water on them ,but whatever).
• Most gel pens don't work or at least not well over them.Ones that do work:Tip ex pen, other crayons.If you user the technique above pretty much all pens work though.

Now reasons why you should buy some:

1. They are fun to play around with
2. They are clean
3. As they are in crayon form you can take them anywhere with you

Some fab links:

• http://makealifeandmore.blogspot.com/2009/12/tutoriallast-minute-pressiecollaged.html I show you how to make collage bookmarks using crayons as a base.
  
• http://makealifeandmore.blogspot.com/2010/01/make-art-with-friends.html I share pictures of some things I did using neocolours and my friends
• http://thepaperphantom.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/5-ish-art-journaling-supplies-week-4-watercolors/ A very good post about crayons with a fab video over at paperphantom

Note: Neocolour I is not water soluble and Neocolour II is, just remeber thaat when you go out to buy some.
So that is all I know(or can think of now) about neocolours, so go buy yourself some and start using them and comment below on how you use your crayons.

Makealife

9 Reasons why you should doodle

This is a rose doodle i did on top of a journal page.

"We can mourn because roses have thorns or rejoce because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln

9 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD DOODLE

1.Its fun

2.It will make waiting for longperiods of time seem to pass a lot quicker

3.It will improve your drawing skills and control over your pen

4.You can do it on any piece of paper-no matter how big

5.You can do it any where(so alwys bring a pen and doodle on a recieppt or napkin if you don't have any paper.

6.It will make you relaxed

7.You dont have to be good at drawing to do good doodles

8.Doodling hepls you take in information-your mind processes things you are thinking about while your hands are in a mindless action

9.It helps you unwind before you go to bed

DOODLING TIPS

• Dont think about it to much, just sit in a comfy position, grab a pen and paper and just start.
• You can dooodle on anything, but it would be nice to have your own little notebook(tht is small enough to fit in your handbag)to carry round with you.
• You can use any kind of pen or pencil to doodle with, but i recommend finding a pen you love and buy a extra one(in my case the fine artists pITT pen) as it may get lost in the process of taking it any where
• if you find it hard to start check out daisy yelllow (see link below) for some fab mandala doodles and also check out sue doodles(http://suedoodles.wordpress.com/)
• Use a waterproof marker the you can upgrade your doodle by colouring it in witha water coulours
• Another way to upgrade it would be to collage around your doodle or to colour it in with another medium
• Doodling in neocolour is diffrent but fun!!!!
  

I have been reading daisy yellow a lot lately(http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/).On it you will find lots of prompts , quotes and links.So almost every post has high value.So go check it out.

Stamp making fun

I had a lot of fun making stamps and here are the two others i made besides the one in the tutorial.i made one in a grided shape out of craft foam and one out of bibble wrap but other wise the same as in the tutorial(the post before this).Happy art journaling!!!!

.

tutorial:Craft Foam Stamps

So its really fun and super easy to make your own stamps.This was my first ever attempt on making any, so i choose a really simple way to make them.First gather you supplies: an old hardcoverbook(i used my old maths book hehe) craft foam, scissors, stanley knife, charcoal pencil(or any thing else that will cut your hardcover book), masking tape and ink . oh and a strong glue

So to get started, cut the inside of your book from the cover, as shown above.




Above you can see the next step, cut the spine out.Next cut out a square from your bookcover using a stanley knife.Now put masking tape around any raw edges.




Design your stamp, as you can see it took me a while to get the heart shape right.




Once you get it right draw it onto your craft foam.Next cut it out.






Lastly glue to your cardboard back, aka your old bookcover, and try it out using ink.

Soon i will post more photos of what other stamps looked like(which i also made) so stay tuned.

HOW TO USE: in your art journal, who wouldnt love personal stamp in their art journal?

I love my new crochethook and my palette knife

What do you think of teh face above?I bought myself a palette knife and i am learning to use it.Well i am just experimenting really but its fun and thats all that matters.The way i use my palette knife is to just grab a dooleb of paint on to it and then to smear it to the page.




I am working on a little croched stripy bag....




This is the crochet hook i am using.It has like a padded area so when you hold it , it is softer on your hands.You should really try it sometime soon

Bubble wrap printing and a another art journal page

I got inspired to have a go printing withj bubblewrap , after i had seen this blog post on daisy yellow(http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/vividlife/bubbled-brayer-backgrounds.html).Then after christmas i had some left over from one of the presents i had got.So then I just went for it.I do not owm a brayer so i just put a rolling pin over it.I used acrylic paint (i guess you could also use ink).Once the background was done, i simply cut two heads out from a magazine and drew a body.Then i wrote down my new years resolutions(http://makealifeandmore.blogspot.com/2009/12/creative-2010.html).



Above is just a close up of one of the figures, as you cant see her that well in the above photo.Her dress was draw with awhite gelpen(i love these, you need one too, yes you do).

This is just a journal page i created.The background is watercolour, then a sketch of my room in pencil and the journaling is using a pitt pen and a gel pen.

"Perfection is not the quest for the best,

it is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves,

the part that tells us nothing we ever do will be good enough-

that we should try again"

- Julia Cameron

More from my artjournal

So here are some pictures of my latest art journal pages.I have left lots of room between the pictures and my writing as some very helpful forum attendars(does that make any sense) said i should.

The first two pictures are both from the same page, one is just a close up on the person I drew as you cant see her all that well.This page was made over christmas , so alot of it is just trying out my new art supplies.;)

The 3rd picture is a little bit of doodling I did with my artists PITT pens.But i hate the girls lips.I still posted it , cause I think this blog should not just be about me showiung off my art but also ma failures.

The last pink picture has some pink wrapping up paper in the background.I like how its gone with all the layers.

Happy art journaling!!!!

My December faves(art supplies)

This is a new monthly series i am starting.At the end of each month I will show you what my favorite art supplies of the month are and some ways to use them, which I think is cool.Cause then you can go out and get your own...If you have any questions or requests just comment below.So lets start;

1.Artists PITT pens

I love these pens and use them in almost every journal page i make.For writing, drawing , doodling and to do mandala doodle pages.I love the all of them but the essentials are just black in all four sizes.The colours are just a bonus:)

2.My little winstor and newton watercolour set:

I am really loving watercolours lately.You can use them for so much painting pictures, backgrounds , on paper and then collage it in...

3.A mini canvas and stand:

It is so cute , a friend gave it to me and I love it. But its just deco.

4.Palette knife:

You can apply paint in a cool 3d effect.And its lovely to create textures in the background and right now, i am working on a cool journal page where i have used a palette knife and a tipex pen to create a face.Post it when done.Mine is a 1018 conda.

5.A tipex pen:

This is such a cool thing, you can write and draw and doodle with it all over your page.

6. uni ball signo broad pen ;

in white(for doodling onto magazine cut outs and on a dark background and one in metallic pink just to doodle and write with.

7-A mini natural sponge:

This can be used to make backgounds and to ad depth.Like here:my collage bookmark tutorial http://makealifeandmore.blogspot.com/2009/12/tutoriallast-minute-pressiecollaged.html .

8.A cool . but weird double sided tape dispencer:

For sticking stuff

9.A flat paintbrush:

nr.6 da vinci-college 8740

for painting:)

So these are my faves in dezember.I will do another one at the end of january.

Happy art journaling!!!!!!

What materials to use?part 1

When I first started ar journaling, the only thing I

had to go by was one two paged artical in craft magazine.It gave me a rough idea of what art journaling was but just staded use any materials you feel happy with and you have on hand.Now this is a very valid point and I do agree that you should use whatever materials you have and love, but still when you start out this can be hard.mabey you havent done much art yet and you want to learn about what materials are good to use.So in this post i hope to help any newcomers to artjournaling to find some cool art supplies and to show you all what materials I use.A while ago i did post some good videos from youtube on tthis , as you may wish to check out:http://makealifeandmore.blogspot.com/2009/05/supplies-4-art-journal.html

so here we go:

PAINTS: I use two kinds-Watercolour and acrylic paints.I use the Studio Lascaux acrylic paints(http://www.lascaux.ch/english/farben/studio.htm) in dark red, bright red, yellow, lemon yellow, bright blue, dark blue, magenta(pink),black and a huge tube of white which also doubles as my gesso.I hayve a small palette of waterclours(see picture).

BRUSHESand other application methods:I use a bristle brush in size6,a size 11 and 13 0f those normal round ones,two one inched flat brushes for painting walls(i use for backgrounds), a small palette knife,an assortment of brushes in the sizes 6,6,10,4 and some unlabeld, a flat brush in size6, a middle sized waterhandeld brush and a sponge roller.

TO BE CONTINUED...

TUTORIAL:Last Minute Pressie:Collaged bookmarks

So just incase you have still got to get a few lastminute gifts but you have no idea what to make and acctuly you really feel like art journaling , why not make these cute collaged bookmarks?5 or 6 of them in a little set make a lovely gift along with some choclats.

1.Start off by cutting out some bookmarks from cardstock, they can be any size you wish!

2.Using watercolour crayons or pencils colour the whole bookmark

3.Using water paint with it

Now...

4.Either collect some pretty papers and stick them on or doodle a design on top of the painted surface

5.Now go over it in any colours you like, i picked black and whit, and sponge them, drip them , use handcarved stamps, use wine corks to get the round shape....

6.Write a quote on a piece of paper, either all in one block or in seperate lines...

7.Now you may want to outline the text boxes with a pen(I used artists pitt pens, brush)

8. glue the quotes down

9. add stickers and embellishments

10.Done!!!

Now this is just one way of doing it and i not saying its perfect or anything its just ment to inspire you!!!

Merry christmas!!!

PS:I found this really cool website , its got a tutorial for toiletroll angels, felt cookies....http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/

Workshop:layers

Right now i am really in to learning things about layers and also to try them out in my art journal and have lots of fun.It is going to be one of my new years resolutions to get better at layering.And I thought I may as well share it with all my blog readers.So this is going to be the first part in the series.You will learn along with me, about layers. Some of the tips will be from me but others will bw from around the web and books.
One thing I have already learned is that a good way to strat is with colour and then gesso, this starts of your page nicely.Next just keep adding not covering with every layer.I got this very good piece of advice from one of suzi blus videos.So for now i will leave you with the 3 best videos i have found on the subject:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1U_DB4UFmk

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You may also like:
http://makealifeandmore.blogspot.com/2009/12/pretty-layers.html This is one of my first layered pages i every did:
(I have decided to give you one or two links to other related posts on my blog to get you seeing all the work i have put in on older posts)

Merry christmas!!!

Inspiration

A problem a lot of art journalers are faced with:You sit down to art joournal but you have NO inspiration and art journaling with no inspiration is not fun!!

So where do you get some?

Well in your day to day life you can find an applethera of inspifration if you know where to look.Go through a day with me and I will give you ideas to inspire you:

1.The colours or theme of you cereal packet

2.Newspapers:Cut out intresting photos . word and headlines plus you can use the text in your background check out ihannas post on more ways to use text in your art journal pages(http://www.ihanna.nu/blog/?p=998)

3.Adverts can give you inspiration

4.A material can inspire you to, like a pretty paper

5.A cd may inspire you

6.Or a magazine( the magazine was staring at me begging to go in my art journal)

7. Someone elses blog or art

8.A film or book or tv show

9.Food packaging

......

pretty much anything that you like the colour, texture, writing or whatever can inspire you.So once you find something that appeals to you in some way , how do you go about using it?

Well you can just let yurself be driven by inspiration.Or you can take your Magazine (or what ever inspired you) and look at it again...Ask yourself:

1.what do i like about it the colour, the theme, the font, the context, he images ...

Now find a way of using this in your page.You could simply cut out the word or image and stick it in in some special way .Or you could try to draw or paint a face like the one in the photo.Or you could write you opinion and add cut out quotes on the artical.Or you could just use the colour that is so inspiring.Do you get the picture here? Basiclly:

Find out what it is that you like and think of creative ways to use this in your page

______________________________________________________________

So above you will see the 3 photos from my art journal. The first one the giraffe is what inspired me to do the giraffe page beside it .The giraffe just keept looking at me and asking to get in my art journal so I did. This is a simple collage with doodling:Things like this can be preped and then taken to a cafe and you can journal there.The second one is based on Avril Lavignes album The best damm thing.

Happy journaling!!!!!

Tips for your art journaling space

As I got more and more into art journaling, my stash of pens, papers, old books,paints and so on grew.At first I kept all my supplies in a big box, which I took out when I did art journaling and put away again when I was done.But soon this was impossible as my supplies no longer fit in the box, so I decided to make my self a crafty corner.

Your desk
DO NOT go and buy yourself a new one, as you will spill paint , glitter and tea all over it!!!Just use an old one you would other wise throw away or go and get one in a second hand shop. It should be big enough though for all your supplies.Also it helps if it has drawers and lots of room underneath to store supplies.

Lighting
Your best option is to get two lights - one coming from the left and the other from the right, but if you only have onê put on the left if youre righthanded and on the right if your left handed. Otherwise your hand will block the light hitting your journal properly.

Chair
Make sure it has a backrest so you can journal for hours on end .And it should be comfy!!!

Storing supplies
Tins or jars are a great sulution for storing paint brushes, pencils, pens and scissors.
I pile my books I use for art journaling on my desk, but you may want to put up a shelf for them.I think the best way to store stamps is n a drawer.I just arrange a lot of my stuff on my desk. But I do keep paper in a basket under my desk- I have 3-One for pretty patterned paper, one for Junk paper and one for old magazines.


Inspiration
Their are many ways you can get inspiration from your work space:
Create an inspiration board or file-simply fill with images you love but dont know how to use yet.Hang up lots of pictures and postcards that inspire you.Keep your fave books close.Arrange your supplies in an inspiring way.Have lots of magazines around you.Cut out random words in adveance and when you dont know what to journal about let them inspire you. Have some kind of music player near so you can get inspired by your fave music whilst art journaling.

Propmtfile
Keep a notebook or file to record all the great quotes and prompts from the web near so you will always have an inspiration kick!!!!

So that was just a few tips based on the way i have my artsyden organized.Tip: Have some comfy seating solutions near you, so can do the page at your desk and then journal in a nice comfy space:)
Happy art journaling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first page in my 4th art journal and more cool stuff

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3

4

5


1.The newest issue of lets knit.I love this magazine, okay Im really not that good at knitting but it has some nice simple patterns to and is full of inspiration for diffrent things. This issue has an extra mag with it on knitting hats, scarves and gloves.

2. This is Scrapbook magazine.I have never seen a magazine about art journaling( so let me know if you know of one) but this is really quiet good to.Every issue comes with free paper which is fab to use in art journaling. Also all the techniques used and explained in the magazine can be refunctioned to work in an art journal.

3. This the wonderful shrug / bolero my grandma knit me.Its made from eco cotton and I LOVE it. Whats really nice about it is that depending on how tighly you tie it closed it gives a completly diffrent affect and the colours are so nice!!!!!Thanks Grandma

4 and 5. This is my first ever page in my new watercolour sketchbook moleskine.Its an evil angel.I got inspired by suzi blus video on angels and orange trees to do an angel.First I drew it , then picked colours and started mixing and painting.The red background is meant to be fire and her eyes are black:)She is painted over a two page spread. Then I added the journaling which is just about my inspiration for this page . As I like mentioning this so that later when I look at it ill remeber why I did this page

Thats all if done this week . Had a lot going on ...

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