{ musings }

Alphabetica: Darkness

"Before you, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars---points of light and reason. ...And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. "   -Edward Cullen, to Bella in Twilight.

And so it goes that my chosen word (from a selection provided by Marilyn in her "Alpha Muse" journal) was "Darkness."   Knowing our shared affinity for the wonderful trio of books by Stephanie Meyer, I just HAD to make my journal entry into her book about Edward and Bella.  Edward and Bella...sigh.   

I was nervous (and a little excited) about the prospect of doing a "dark" journal entry...not really my usual style, but I've got to say, I really like this one.  It was FULLY inspired by Marilyn's own art...and I readily admit ripping off her punched stars here, but they just work!!  For the base of this one I used a recycled file folder split in half length-wise, then painted it with layers of black gesso and metallic watercolors.  There is some red tulle and machine stitching, as well as a lot of murky, black paint drips, a-la-Journal Revolution.  There's also the requisite layers of vintage ledger paper in there, but of course, it's been spritzed with my new favorite Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist for good measure!  Oh, and just so you know, there is really a bunch of alpha stamping in the deep layers of the background, after all!  (More photos here.)

Alphabetica: Laura

alphabetica: laura #1, originally uploaded by bebe beaux.

I am guilty. Guilty of "sitting" on Laura's beautiful journal for then entire time I've been here in Oxnard. It was just so HARD to begin without all my "stuff!"  But...looking at all the STUFF I had to think about packing into my car for the return trip home next week, I realized that I really MUST get to working on it in order to lessen the load by one 14x14x4 box.  ;-)

So...last night I busted into my kid's metallic watercolors (oooh!) and painted the backgrounds for my entry.  I then picked this photo of an European looking lady, who I named Ariana...which then led me to bust open the small parcel of vintage papers I brought with me, and collage on some sewing patterns, blue chip stamps, wall paper and sheet music.  I then added that cool frame sticker (which is by Daisy D's and came to me in my design team box from the company WHILE I was here) and some other doo-dads.  A little white Sharpie paint pen and some mica flakes...and voila!

The STORY I imagine about this "beautiful and unusual" lady is that she is an immigrant from some Eastern European country whose husband sadly did not survive the voyage across the Atlantic, leaving her to fend for herself and two small children.  Not speaking much of the language, she took to her only known skills, needle and thread, and supported her little family by mending clothes for the wealthy ladies in 1930's Los Angeles and by collecting blue chip stamps.

My Sweet-art

I've been searching for some time to dig into Sue's playful Alphabetica journal...and tonight was the NIGHT!  Her theme is "A Play On Words" and the invitation was to simply PLAY!  How lovely!  It seems my insatiable sweet tooth led me straight into this one:

I gesso'd the cool blue "tab" page Sue offered for use, then blended some pink acrylic with some glass bead texture gel.  I added some vintage wall-paper from Pam and some really old ledger paper, ribbons and trims from Papier Valise, then sewed myself a cupcake out of some fabric scraps in my stash (yes, it IS puffy...I stiffed some battign in there..wink wink).  Yes, there is some bubble-wrap painting goin' on there, as well as some mica flakes and some bling (of course!).  The vintage clothing tag (bottom left) is from my new pal Kim and I just scribbled the title with a charcoal pencil.  Voila!  Sparkly, sweet, collage yumminess!  Off it goes tomorrow to the queen of collage.

Alphabetica: Beth

First you need only look:

Notice and honor the radiance

of Everything about you...

Play in this universe.

Tend all these shining things around you:

The smallest plant, the creatures

and objects in your care.

Be gentle and nurture.

Listen...      

- Anne Hillman

This is the inspiration for my entry into Beth's lush Alphabetica journal.  Her book is loosely based on the idea of doors.  Doors you've opened in your life....doors you wish you hadn't opened, doors you'd like to open.  Inspired by this quote, I chose to do this art journal entry on opening the door to "nurture."  I am finding this word urgently relevant to many areas of my life, and the world at large.  We MUST remember to nurture ourselves, each other, and our planet!

The image is that of a painting done in the very early 1500's by Albrecht Durer called "The Madonna with The Iris" and I am drawn not only to the vibrant oranges and reds of her gown, but by the peaceful smile on her face as she nurses (nurtures) her child.  I also LOVE the portal behind her shoulder...it worked so nicely with the theme of "doors!" 

As far as products and techniques, I've got some Karen Foster card-stock as the background, then some vintage ledger paper and I hand-cut the photo into a sort of sunburst.  There are some paint splatters in there and some sandpaper/water distressing on the photo.  I added some gold thread, a puffy golf heart from Papier Valise and a yummy acetate overlay from Hambly and there you have it.  I hope you like it, Beth.  It really brought me *peace* creating it!

Leticia's Journal

On a roll....two journals in one weekend!   Tonight I plan to begin work on my ATCs for my "Naughty or Nice" ATC swap at Silver Bella! 

Leticia's journal was another super cutie...I am just amazed at how each journal can be so wonderfully unique, and in turn, can inspire such unique entries!  Her journal is about the ABC's of what inspires you.  You are supposed to choose a letter and go from there, creating your entry on a manilla envelope - how cool is that?  I would have chosen "P" for photographs, but since it was already taken, I took "O" as in "Old Stuff!"  I used bits and pieces of vintage empemera and bric a brac, and on the backside of my page, I even included a tiny photo of me at age 6.  All the vintage goodies are from my stash: more wallpaper from Pam, the antique sequins were a gift from Marilyn and the flowered trim was a gift from Carolyn.  The 1960's hairnet package was a score from this summer's antiquing in Ventura, and the vintage snaps and notions are from my grandma.  The butterfly wings are from a collage sheet I got at D-Muse, the gold German scrap crown and bus tickets are from Papier Valise. 

Debra's Journal

It has been a long dry spell without any Alphabetica journals to work on, but in short order, Carlene supplied me with two!  aack!  So, before I even allowed myself to open the package containing Leticia's journal, I set to work on Debra's.

First, let me tell you that this hand-made book is amazing.  She made the entire thing by hand, including the delicious covers and handmade signatures.  The book in itself is pure art, so I felt a bit of pressure to create something worthy.

My starting point for this piece was a gorgeous piece of vintage wallpaper (the yellow floral) sent to me by Pam Garrison.  I've been dying to use some of the rich stash she sent me, and when this piece fell out of the box I had been keeping them in, I took it as a sign.   I began with a thick coat of gesso, which I scribbled in, then painted with a lovely turquoise acrylic and a few smears of gold Lumiere. To this, I added some wonderful vintage ledger paper from Janice, scraps from Foof-a-la, 7 Gypsies and the alphabet tags from some old Mustard Moon I've been hoarding.  The alpha tags somehow made me think of typewriters, so I dug out a page from an old typing lesson book given to me by Kim Kesti, and a vintage photo given to me by Carolyn.   Doesn't she just LOOK so proud of her 35 words per minute typing skills?  Mavis Beacon, watch out! Ha!  There is lots of machine stitching and also some vintage lace from my grandma on here, too.  I also made an imprint of my hand with Diamond Glaze and sprinkled it with a little bling, just for good measure!

Marilyn, I hope to ship this to you tomorrow!!

Glass Bottom Boat

Today must have been my lucky day!  So many AWESOME things happened to me today!!

First, after drooling over Carlene's entry all morning, I finally got Tia's Alphabetica Journal delivered by the mail man this afternoon.  SO COOL!  Her theme is "transportation" and my place in the alphabet lineup just happened to be "G" which led me to this ------->

It is a pretty simple entry...but I am loving the Plexiglas!!  I busted out my mighty little Dremmel and drilled the holes, then used part of a vintage green-stamp booklet, some MM paper and a piece of old ledger paper for my boat.  The "g" is from American Crafts and the waves are made out of....yup, duct tape!  (The paper piecings are on both sides of the project...so it looks cute on both the front and the back!)

I just couldn't resist the idea of a "Glass Bottom Boat" - and this little bit-o-art makes me HAPPY!

Second...while we're on the topic of HAPPY, I got an awesometastic invitation to participate in something absolutely MAGICAL with one of my most favoritest artists on the planet yesterday!!  I can't spill the beans yet...and only the artist and the Hubs know what the big secret is...so I am ABOUT TO BURST WITH EXCITEMENT!!  Today I got to chat on the phone with this artist-friend and -MAN-OH-MAN!  This is gonna ROCK!  If you've known me for even a little while you'll totally understand WHY I am so excited about this opportunity...and lest I give too many hints about it, I'd better be quiet for now.  RATS!  I so suck at secrets!

(Artist...please, oh please, hurry up and let me know when I can let the cat out of the bag?!?!?!)

"E"

By the time you are reading this, I am probably sweating my ass off at the "happiest place on earth" with my little girls, the Hubs and my parents.  Since we will be at Disneyland Tuesday through Thursday, I jumped ahead of schedule a bit and got my entry into Heather Simpson-Bluhm's "Alphabetica With Wings" journal.  (click on the images to see larger versions!)

As you'll probably note, things are much better now that I am flush with art supplies (or at least some essentials) and I had a BLAST on this one!!  It seemed as though the artists previous to me were going in order with their letters, so I decided to play nicely and follow in queue with the letter "E."

With this in mind, I got it in my head to either use a winged egg or a winged elephant as my focal point...and well...as you can see, I ended up using both!  The elephant images are actually a series of photos I took on our trip last week to the Santa Barbara Zoo...and they worked perfectly.  The egg is just an oddball image I found on the internet.

Technique:  Heather's book pages are a really nice, heavy hand-made paper, so I started my spread with a good coat of gesso, followed by a few layers of acrylics mixed with matte medium, occasionally blotted and smooshed until I liked the way it looked.  I added some free-hand cut, organic shapes from a piece of gorgeous K&Co paper I bought the other say at Violets (which is also the inspiration for my color palette).  I used some Fontwerks rubber (the circle of dots) a Making Memories "E" foam stamp, a wing from Wendi Speciale and some of my favorite chalk inks to add depth.  My images were simply printed onto 24# inkjet paper (not photo paper) an hand-cut.  Lots more matte medium, a few crystals and voila!!  I hope you like it Heather!  Marilyn...I'll be shipping this off to you on Friday when I return so I don't innundate you!

OK...now, on a more whimsical note, lookie what little Livvy did with Mommy's leftover elephants all  by herself!!  I simply showed her Heather's journal, then explained what I was creating.  Did you notice the words in the upper right-hand corner?  She cut those out ALL on her OWN from a Barbie Mermaidia coloring book?!?!  And the elephant has a hat!  Be still, my heart!!  Genius, I say!  A mixed media artist in the making!!  I couldn't have been more proud!

Finally!!!!!!!

Yesterday the postman brought me not one, but TWO delicious Alphabetica journals to work on.

This led me to once again assess the pitiful assortment of art supplies I have on hand here at the beach, and then desperation set in.  After a momentary lapse when I considered just going to Michael's and scavenging for something decent, I googled "art supplies Ventura county" and guess what came up??   VIOLET'S RUBBER STAMP INN!

Lickety quick the girls threw clothes on, and I threw them in the car...we were off for a little art-supply fix!!!

The store is a teeny, tiny little hole in the wall in the older section of Ventura and you would (I did) easily zoom right by the nondescript sineage if you're not paying close attention.  Upon entering, I was greeted by the delightful manager, Jana, and a riot of sights!  There was rubber piled to the ceiling, along with a mish-mash of papers, mediums, doo-dads and, of course SAMPLES!  WOW!  Seriously - much of the sample art displayed here was on a par with the best I've seen in any great stamping store in AZ or UT!

I managed to unload a few (ahem!) dollars on goodies and, after showing her some of my work on-line and in print, a very gracious invitation to come back next summer and teach!  WOW!  This could be fun...especially since this humble little shop has a teaching roster that is off-the-charts!  Hello....Tracy Bautista is the headliner in October!!!!!!!!!  WOW!  I am flattered beyond words!

Anyway...the new supplies have been put to good work already (I was up well after midnight) on Lainie's journal.  Her journal is themed "What's Your Word?" and we are each to pick a letter of the alphabet then create art around a certain "word" beginning with that letter.  In true Kim style I got 3/4 of the way through my entry with a certain word in mind, only to realize someone else ha already used that letter!  DOH!  Mayhaps I should read the instructions??  NAH!  Oh well....I am used to fixing on the fly, so my entry is entitled "Awaken."

I used some watercolor crayons with polymer medium as my base, then collaged some newsprint and magazine clippings, topped with my wonderful white (Japanese) Uniball Signo pen, acrylic paints and some sparkle (which I swiped from Olivia's art stash...shhhh!).  I also used some collage bits from Melanie Sage's Juxtaposed group and some Basic Grey ribbon and May Arts twine.  There is also art on the back...but I'll leave that for the Alphabetica girls to discover on their own!  ;-) 

The poem, written by a falun gong practitioner (and which is written in white on the newsprint swirl and is intentionally transparent) is:

To turn our sights above mountains steep,
Paths beyond darkened skies.
Where countless beings awaken,
New horizons unfold,
Let the highest song of our hearts resound,
Never too late to shine…

OK...I just got words that my parents are coming home tonight from their 10 day trip...must hurry and clean up my art-fest-mess (all over their 12 seat dining room table!) and tidy up the house a bit!  Good thing it is foggy today...Mama has some work to do!!

ABBA-Licious!

This was tough for me, since I am about 500 miles away from my beloved studio and 99.999 % of my art stuff, but I told myself TODAY would be the day I got Heather Binnie's Alphabetica Journal DONE!   

Seriously...I don't even have so much as a sheet of watercolor paper here...let alone any ink, paint, rubber...nothing!  TORTURE!  What I DO have is my adhesives and a couple of basic mediums, a few good pens, my Dymo labeller and a small box of choice ephemera.  I also just received two boxes of goodies:  one from my recent Papier Valise order (a big thanks to Janice for shipping to me in Oxnard...like food for a starving woman!) and one from my darling friend Carolyn Peeler.  Those Canuk girls sure know my sweet spots!  ;-)  (Have I told you lately that I LOVE you girls?!?!?!)

Heather's "theme" is ABBA...which was an additional challenge for me, as I am not a fan of ABBA at all.  Oh well!  This page (front above, back here...click to enlarge) was created entirely of vintage kids' card games, my Dymo and a piece of corrugated cardboard from one of the shipping boxes my goodies arrived in!  Before leaving AZ, I scored a complete boxed set of four 1940's children's card games on eBay for under $5.00 - I knew it would be put to good use!  So here some of them are...a fitting backdrop for the Abba song "Name Of The Game."  One game is on the front... one on the back.  Can you identify the games?

"...Whats the name of the game? (your smile and the sound of your voice)
Does it mean anything to you? (got a feeling you give me no choice)
(but it means a lot)
Whats the name of the game? (your smile and the sound of your voice)
Can you feel it the way I do?
Tell me please, cause I have to know
Im a bashful child, beginning to grow..."

This is an almost embarassingly simple entry into a journal, but I am just a wee bit proud of myself for stepping up to the plate and making it happen WAY out of my comfort zone.  Compared the entries already in the journal...mine is quite humble, but it is MINE.

Marilyn...this little ABBA-Licious journal is on it's way to you tomorrow!