4 down and 117 to go!!!

I'm in an Art Techniques Yahoo group and we are putting together a book of techniques only. We have to use something that is recycled and I chose to use paper from my 1948 Funk and Wagnalls dictionary. I covered the pages with my cheapie metallic acrylic paint; you know, the craft paints that cost 89 cents at Michael's! I like the sheen to that paint when it dries; makes for a nice smooth surface to work on. I then used sequin waste and Staz-on inks to make the circles.

I use this technique A LOT for my collage backgrounds. Give it a shot...it's real easy.

BTW...there are 120 people in this swap!!! I've made 4 so far. So that makes 116 (and 1 extra just in case something happens) to go!

Some Tip-In pages for Elizabeth...

In my Mixed Media Madams group, I have Elizabeth as my partner this month. Ironically, we both have houses as our page shape and we both love doors, birds, nests, eggs, etc. She made my pages first, so I tried to make these pages as different as possible from what she made. Of course, since I love these images, it was a joy making these for her.

Soul Journal~Power Images

This is for Prompt 17 of my Soul Journal group. We had to use our power images~"images that speak to us". These images are the ones we use all the time. I find myself using birds, eggs and nests ALL THE TIME!!! There has got to be a subliminal message in them for me. I can only guess...taking flight (bird)? New life/ The cycle of life(egg)?

I guess you can call these images my warm fuzzy images.

Let me get back to the prompt. Here is a partial message from Kathryn:
Basically with this page there are a couple of ideas to consider:

1. Painting with paper rather than paints, or pencils.
2. Creating a landscape. (Oops! I didn't do that...)
3. Starting from a place of gratitude and in this case thinking back
on the things you were grateful for in 2008.
4. Create a place for your power image(s) that will inspire you
towards reaching your vision in 2009.

What I did do, instead of covering my words with my art, was make a flip page. If you lift the bird, you can read my text and also view some more thoughts and art. Again, a very relaxing journey.

I really do encourage all of you to art journal. It is very cathartic. Now, can it help me lose weight?

Jen's Journal Prompt~Zendala

The prompt on Jen's blog this week is Zendala, or Zentangles. Here's mine! I have to tell you that this can be addicting!

One World One Heart

Today is the day!!! We get to post our giveaway for this wonderful event started by Lisa Swifka in 2007. Here is a quote from her post: "I wanted to talk about something else to do with OWOH and that is the connections. The whole idea behind doing this and trying to get as many as possible to join in, was and is to meet new and wonderful people."

There you have it. It really is as simple as that.

In order to win my entry, all you need to do is leave a comment on THIS post. I will not be able to move comments from one post to another...sorry. This giveaway is open to everyone who leaves a comment, however, my comments are moderated and will not show up right away. SO DON'T DESPAIR!!!!! Your comment will not be lost! Also, I need to be able to track you down, so I'm asking that you please leave your email address on the post so I can contact you if you are the winner. This event will end February 12th and the winner will be announced on that day. BTW, I'm an equal opportunity kind of gal, so I'll be using the random number generator to pick the lucky person.

So now here she is.....
She is a sweet little doll who stands at about 6 inches tall. I used a combination of fabrics on the front; heart fabric on the back. She needs a good home! So leave a comment and good luck!
Click the logo if they want to know more about this event.

Journaling Zetti Style

I have been journaling every day. Some entries are just too personal to upload. This one, however, provides a little insight into what I've been dealing with with my 17 year old son. We've gone through so much with him already; it just seems never ending. I shared this entry with him and he smiled. He just loved my "mind's eye" and was so happy I was willing to share it with him!

My little Zetti Valentine...

My friend Beth, whose Zettiabilities are out of this world, is hosting a Zetti Hanging Valentine swap over in the ZettiZoo Yahoo group. Now, my Zettiability is, shall I say, just beginning to merge. I always give it my best shot; I'm hoping one day to be able to compete in the "big Zetti-league".~LOL

12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women

Okay...this is NOT my favorite journal page in reference to the art, but I do love the message. I was just playing around with some techniques I found at Art Journal Gypsy and combining it with the first prompt from 12 Secrets...Women (yeah, I really am all over the board, aren't I!) which was to Acknowledge Your Creative Self. Too much on the gel pen, I'm afraid. But it's the journaling...the release of my feelings that have been bottled up for a while. More of what's been going on here at the homestead at a later date. However, do check out the journal sites. I swear, you won't be disappointed!

Soul Journal~Defining Words

This week the prompt focuses on finding our defining words. Since my word is RELEASE, I chose to move on from there. We were to look in magazines for words that help to define our selves, our goals, dreams, or whatever tickled your fancy when it comes to defining ourselves.

I have uploaded some links under Friends To Visit that you may be interested in if you are on a journaling mission this year. Look at Jennifer's Weekly Prompt, 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women (this site is based on the book of the same title, but you don't need the book to do the prompts), Kathryn of Soul Journal/Collage Diva blogs, and Vale of Art Journal Gypsies. I'm sure there are MANY others; these are just a few that I found that I really liked.

Happy Journaling!

Thanks Jen!

I got this award from my friend Jen today. What a sweet thing. Now I have to list 7 things I love and then 7 people to awad this to.

1. Love my family.
2. Love my dog, Petee.
3. Love my art time.
4. Love to get pedicures!
5. Love to travel.
6. Love to teach (although I'm not right now)
7. Love the friends I made through my art groups!

Now for 7 people...
1. Elizabeth
2. peggy
3. Barb
4. Marion

Hmm...I need time to think of 3 more!

Soul Journal Doodle Prompt

One of the older Soul Journal Prompts was "Doodle". For whatever reason, the Coca-Cola jingle from the Seekers (recorded in 1971) was playing in my head so I decided to make it the basis of my doodle. "I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony!!!!! I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company!!!!! Yup, that's the song. So here is my doodle...and I hope the jingle stays in your head for a little while.

I think if you click on the picture it will come up bigger on your computer and you can see all the detail.

Happy Birthday Moniqui!

Moniqui at A New Leaf is turning 40, so she is doing a giveaway everyday of the week before her actual birthday. I won the first one; I never win anything. She has a very sweet blog, so stop by and wish her a Happy Birthday!

Oy! I'm always getting tagged!

Martha tagged me! Here are the rules:
* go to your 4th picture folder
* go to the 4th picture in the folder
* tell everyone 4 things about that picture
* tag 4 more people

Oh Heck! Blogger isn't letting me upload any photos. I'll come back to this post in a bit!

OK...it's the next day and look what happened! I was able to upload my photo. Now I have to tell you 4 things about this photo

1) This is a picture of my dad when he was about 5 or 6.
2) It is one of the very few photos I have of him as a child,
3) This photo is cropped. The original has my 2 aunts (who are much older than my dad) and his father, who died when my dad was 7 years old.
4) My dad was of Moroccan decent. We have NO IDEA where the blond hair came from!!!

My "Self-Portrait"

Jennifer has a weekly Journal Challenge on her blog. I do believe she is also doing the Creative Every Day 2009 Challenge as well. Anyway, her last challenge was "self-portrait". Now, I CANNOT DRAW! I have monocular vision (I do not have depth perception) so my way of interpreting the world is a little skewed. I have tried to draw...tracing is my best bet!

I took a photo of myself and just had fun with it. I saw the grapevine picture in a magazine and voila! I don't know what I enjoy more, painting the background, journaling or creating the page. But whichever one it is, my SOUL is being RELEASED of whatever is stressing me out!

Creative Every Day 2009

I want you all to know that I have really been Creative Every Day! It's just that things needed to be done in steps; things needed to dry; a journal needed to be bought; etc. So after a few days of arting, this is what I came up with. I joined a Yahoo Group called Soul Journal which I just happened to chance upon while blog surfing. This was like a gift from above! There are prompts there every week, if you need one, and now my Creative Every Day 2009 journal and Soul Journal are one book. I do have other journals that I will art in and post from time to time. But this is my year for healing and I do feel that this is the journal I will probably work in most often.

The latest prompt for the Soul Journal is Dream Weave. I chose a couple of my favorite water color mists and sprayed hot pressed water color paper. After weaving, gluing and trimming, I pasted it to the back inside cover of my journal. It's actually a pocket:
The pocket holds Dream Strips that I'll write on. These strips will be a great way for me to RELEASE (my Creative Every Day 2009 word...) those bad vibes and dream of a healthier and more creative way to live my life. Are you getting the inter-connectedness here???

Here is the first page of my RELEASE Soul Journal. It's a little cluttered, but boy, did I have a GrEaT time making it! I guess because I made it for ME!!!!!

A New Year's Giveaway!

Karina from my Arttechniques group is having a wonderful giveaway. She's giving away the book Art Journals and Creative Healing, so for those of you who are doing the Creative Every Day 2009 challenge, this would make a great addition for your journey. If I don't win, I'll be purchasing it!

You can find the link to Karina's blog, Herland Story, here.

Wahoo!!!

Here are the Zetti pages together!!!

Zetti Pages for Deana

Deana in my Mixed Media Madams group had a great theme. We had to express ourselves Zetti style. For those of you unaware of what Zetti is, just go to Teesha Moore's blog; the link is on the right. This was A LOT of fun to do; it just takes many, many hours!!!

Hope you like them Deana!!!