AJC - Day #17

I started out decoupaging some pretty tissue paper down on this one, then added some other cut up paint sample sheets.  Unfortunately, as I kept playing they are mostly unnoticeable at this point, I didn't mean for that to happen, but that's OK too, right?  I used some gesso, spray mists over stencils, letters and some ribbon.  I'm especially fond of the quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Light tomorrow with today".  Something I have to do to have productive days, start them the day before.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Agatha Christie

AJC - Day #16

I used my left hand (I'm right handed) to make this entry in my art journal.  It was fun and strange.  I had to constantly remind myself every time I changed colors to put the marker in my left hand.  My concentration had to be different too to do this entry.  Nice experience.  The birds are from a magazine.  I used Copic markers for the whole thing.  If you want imperfect lines use your less dominant hand. 

Today is Julia Child's 100th Birthday!

I had to write something of what she meant to me.  I wrote it in my Personal Malden.  A special place for a special memory.

Organizing My Recipes

I decided to have two seperate binders, one for recipes I've made and we've all loved and then the other binder is for recipes that I really, really want to try.  The reason I'm doing this is because I want a one-stop place where I can go to to create weekly menus. 

I hate, hate, hate the 5:00 PM "figure out what's for dinner" scene.  I'm thinking that this will help me immensly also to stay on track with Weight Watchers.  If I know "what's for supper" then I know how to eat the rest of the day.

I copied (with a printer) my tried and true favorite recipes out of my cookbooks too, so that they could be in the binder as well.  I used different sorts of sheet protectors to fit everything in there, no matter what size it was. 

When I'm done I'm going to keep these binders in my kitchen where they will be accessible and convenient.  Once a week, I'll fill in my weekly menu chart that I have on my fridge and make a grocery list. 

This is Oscar waiting for my husband to come in the door after a hard day's work.  He heard his truck pull in the driveway and here he waits.  Isn't he cute!  How sweet is that!  (Tip:  Leather furniture is great when you have animals that think the furniture is theirs.  I can just wipe it down, cause you all know what's under that tail, LOL)

AJC - Day #15 HALF WAY THERE

On the left page I made a watercolor "frame" and then added this quote with funky lettering.  I love fonts and creative ways with playing with letters.  The right page I got out my scrapbooking markers (all of them from Close To My Heart, I used to sell that stuff).  I was just playing with whatever shapes called to me.  They must be about 8 years old or so and they still are quite juicy.  Only one has to be re-inked.  Not bad, eh?  (Technically this should count for two, so let's keep that in mind as the month progresses, ok?)

AJC - Day #14

Playing with inks, the quote doesn't really mean anything. I had the word style and then I just built on that.  Who knows - maybe subconsciously there is a meaning, whatever, right?.  Anyway, I drew and colored in the face on a seperate piece of paper, cut it out and then adhered it to this page.  You can't tell but the page is very shiny. 

AJC - Day #13

For this spread I did some thought stream writing on the background.  I wrote around and around and around until I felt that nobody could actually read what I wrote.  Then I went looking for a quote on listening and found this one that I really liked.  Except for the fact that I misspelled tongue, and had to write it over *(because that's how I am) I like how it came out.  I love journaling and I thinks it's very therapeutic to spew thoughts that are in your head onto paper, good or bad.  It's so freeing!

AJC - the First 10 Days

AJC - Day #12

I decided to broaden my horizons on using oil pastels, so I did what any curious mind would do, I went to YouTube.  I searched "using oil pastels" and lots of videos appeared.  I watched a few and then decided to apply what I learned on the above two pages.  I took out my Cray Pas Oil Pastels and began to work.   I colored, smudged and smeared the colors onto the page.  I also played with blending stumps and toothpicks.  I really enjoyed their smooth creaminess and their vibrant colors.   Blending colors was a breeze.  I give them a big thumbs up and an A+.

AJC - Day #11

I took this photo on Great Stirrup Cay last January.  My husband and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary by taking a Norwegian Cruise on The Sun.  We loved it, it was amazing!  The ship was great, the food was awesome, the scenery breathtaking, etc...!

This photo was sitting on my art table and I thought it would be fun to use it as the base of making the scene cover the whole page.  It was fun!  I mainly used watercolors and a Copic or two.

I have to admit that this is a favorite of mine.

AJC - #10 (One-Third of the Way Finished)

I took some inspiration for this one from a drawing my son did year's ago.  I really liked some of his lines and playful take on things.  *(I think he was getting it from one of the Mario Bros video games)  I was using oil pastels like watercolors in that I was using Turpenoid as the water.  I finished with paint pens. It worked really well in small areas but not so much in the larger areas.  It was a beautiful day outside and that's where I chose to create this page.  Along with a large glass of Tazo Passion Sun Tea, Yum!   Doesn't it look peaceful and unearthly?