Making time for art

Everyday, when Ben goes down for his nap, I go downstairs, open my art journal and play. Sometimes I start a new page, sometimes I add a layer to a page in progress and sometimes I experiment. I'm not trying to create a masterpiece, although that would be nice, I'm just practicing.  I usually end up with backgrounds and I wanted to share some of my favorites.

On this page, I was trying to see if Studio Calico's Opaque White Mister Huey spray would mimic the same effects as the new white Dylusions mist while I wait for it to arrive at my LSS. It didn't work but was fun to try.



Trying out a new stencil...



Experimenting with a watercolor effect...



Collage with doilies...



Here's a closeup...




And finally, experimenting with silhouettes while I wait for the new Crafter's Workshop Silhouette stencils by Dina Wakley and Dyan Reaveley.



Right now, I'm using the Dylusions Journal by Ranger and I love it.  The pages are either manila or white cardstock signatures and are nice and thick.  They take all kinds of paint and ink and sprays beautifully.  You do have to be careful with the binding if you're using a lot of spray ink and/or water which can seep through to other pages.  And the binding is delicate if it gets too wet. That's  the only problem I've encountered and it's pretty easy to fix. I just put a stripe of tape on the binding and that solves any problems no matter how messy or wet the page.

Art journaling is such a wonderful, pressure-free and guilt-free way to create and express yourself artistically. And, as an added bonus, the art journaling community is the most wonderful, generous and welcoming group of people you could ever want to meet - both online and in person. So, grab your journal or whatever you have on had and have fun.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's naptime around here...

Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie