Two Blogs or One?

At one point in time, I had hoped to have two blogs with different purposes. After awhile, I realized that I could barely keep up one blog, let alone two! For now, I've decided that my Making Prints blog will be the one that I update most frequently. If you are interested, it can be found at www.makingprintsok.blogspot.com.

I hope that you will go and check it out!

Life Book 2016

How long does it take to complete one Life Book lesson? Apparently for me it takes nearly a month! I started the first LB lesson about three weeks ago and I am still working on it. Part of the problem is finding time to actually sit down and focus on the creative process. I feel like it takes me a good hour before I'm "in the creative groove." By that time something always comes up and I'm de-railed from any further work. I haven't solved the problem where to squeeze in more art time. I've heard others who have creative time before or after work, but I lack the energy to do this. (Maybe I should learn to love coffee??) I'm hoping I can start to put aside more time on Sunday afternoons. Personally, I vote for three day weekends for everyone! How do you find creative time?

Below are two of the LB lessons that were taught by Tamara Laporte in January. The Zentangle butterfly lesson titled "This Year I'm Letting Go of..." and the "Happy Traveler" lesson are pictured below. While the butterfly is complete (yay!!!) I'm still working on my traveler and will post final pictures when I have completed her. The third lesson is one I started last week, "Finding Centre with Madalas," taught by Faith Evans-Sills. I had time to add the first layer of mostly paper, but not much else. I'll take some pictures of the progress on that one and share them in my next post. I've watched ahead on her video and am loving the process she has used so far. It will be my first time creating something with spray paints!!

Top pic: Zentangle Butterfly, LL: Happy Traveler, LR: Collage for Mandalas project

I created the above collage using the Live Collage app. There are quite a few options for photo arrangement as well as some fun fonts! I'll definitely be playing more with that as I add future pictures.

Have a creative weekend! :)

Journal Page Play

I finally finished up one of Tam's lessons from LB 2014.  I'm gradually getting back into doing some journal pages and paintings! It's been a challenge to keep up with creative projects with work and marathon training lately. Last weekend we had an extra day due to some ice that cancelled school, so I took advantage of it and started another journal page! 

The page below is the lesson, Sacred Inner Eye by Tamara Laporte. It was primarily created by using Dylusions inks and Posca Pens. I chose to write a quote versus what Tam had us do in the lesson, so my page turned out a little differently. I like the bright colors, but think the eye might be a tad on the creepy side. ;P Either way, it sure was fun using the Dylusions inks. I love that product and think that the colors are incredible!

Journal Page FINISHED! 

The following page is the result of a lesson taught by Mika Diaz. I learned so much in this lesson!! I loved the collage elements, additional layers, and the use of tracing paper (who knew tracing paper had so many uses??) It didn't quite turn out as I had hoped and the end result is a little zombie-ish in appearance, but it was fun and I learned a lot. I would use this technique again, but would definitely not try to do too much on top of the tracing paper once it was glued down. So...what do you do when a journal page doesn't turn out quite right? I say....play with it in various photo apps and make it look even quirkier!

Here's the original. Not only does she look like a zombie...she appears to be a very sad
one too!

Let's give her a little twist. I created this using the Pic Lab app...as if that wasn't obvious. :)

How about a "stache" and a little hat to put a smile on her face???

Washing away all the color....hmmmm?? 

For the last two I can't remember which apps I used with each picture, but I did use PIC TAP GO and Pixlromatic. I just kept playing with various filters and messing around with the original until I came up with a quirky version I liked. 

Creating anything is all about experimentation...whether you end up loving the final version or if it was just a learning experience. It's all about play!! 

Works in Progress and New Books

Unfortunately, I haven't had much time for creating....even over the short holiday break. Life has just been busy and it seems like every time I turn around I'm sick with some virus or another. This school year has just been that way. I guess that is part of the deal when you work around 800+ students a week! I've been working my way back from sickness this past week/weekend. Lots of vitamin C, probiotics, and rest. I'm starting to feel like a permanent extension of the couch. Times like this definitely make you appreciate wellness.

Last weekend, before I was sick, I started one of the lessons from my Life Book 2014 classes. While I haven't finished the entire lesson, I did make a nice start....

Beginning of a new journal page. This lesson is taught by Tamara Laporte. 

I have taken two years of the Life Book classes and loved them, but didn't sign up for LB 2015 since I wasn't even able to finish last year's lessons. My goal this year is to finish my 2014 classes and experience various activities in a couple of new books I purchased with gift cards over Christmas.

 Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces by Jane Davenport was just released and came recently in the mail. It looks fantastic! I'm looking forward to starting the lessons inside this title. I've starting reading it today and have been learning a lot about different types of supplies. I took a moment to flip through the book and was amazed at the step by step process that Jane uses to show students how to create whimsical faces. Not only does each facial component receive a detailed explanation, but there are also tips on keeping things symmetrical, in proportion, and various types of shading. In addition focus is given to skin tones and various hair styles. Wow. I'm amazed and I haven't even started using this book yet. I think it is going to be one of my new favorites! Looking forward to sharing some things from this one very soon.

Jane Davenport's new publication, Beautiful Faces

I've had my eye on 20 Ways to Draw a Tree, by Eloise Renouf, for quite awhile. It's actually a workbook  that provides various things from nature to illustrate with blank pages for practice throughout the book. I've done a little doodling of mushrooms, birds, and flowers so far. There are several other titles in this series as well, such as 20 Ways to Draw a Tulip...a Butterfly....etc. It's a fun book to get the creativity up and running!

Time to Doodle!

Finally, I also purchased How to Draw Cool Stuff by Catherine Holmes. It's actually a guide for students and teachers, as well as hobbyists and self learners. The guide provides step by step instructions for drawing a variety of things from shapes and forms to animals and even a few lettering techniques.  I think this book will provide some fun sketching opportunities...not to mention I know I will be learning some new things.

Let's DRAW!!

Hopefully it won't be too long before I can share some of the great things I'll learn from these titles. Looking forward to doing some creative work very soon!

Mixed Media Journal Pages

This past year I participated in the Life Book 2014 class with Tamara Laporte. It was my second year to take the class and as always, I really enjoyed it. I'm very behind on lessons, so I'll probably be downloading them and working on them into next year! The middle two photos below were inspired by a class from Flora Bowley. I have two larger sheets that I've started as well...I just haven't had time to work on them lately! (I've been creating bath and body treats for the holidays!)

The flower pages were just exploration and play! I'm looking forward to more of this over the holiday break from school.

Practice with lots of layers....there were quiet a few different
looks prior to the final page!
Flower on watercolor paper, acrylics

Practice using found objects for making prints: cut potatoes, ruler edges,
plastic card edges, dandelion and other out door objects.
Watercolor paper and acrylics

More practice with making prints with found objects. 

Practice with layering and texture. Even though it's tough to see
in this photo, there's quite a bit of texture on this page. Collage pieces,
gesso texturizing with plastic card....lots of color exploration too! 

Hopefully, in the next day or so, I will be able to share my DIY ink tile coasters project. I started it last year as a gift for my parents, but never completed it.

In the meantime....HAPPY CREATING!!!

My Imaginary World

It's been several years since I created something crazy with Keri Smith's book titled, Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes. Her book was SO MUCH FUN and I always hoped to start another one. Just recently, The Imaginary World of (fill in your name) was published. So...I bought it!

Today I did the first project! To get started in the book, I needed to record some of my favorite things...books, weather, artists, landforms, and so on. I completely filled the page in a short amount of time. After I recorded my favorites, I spent some time just doodling on the page. I had some new colored pens that I wanted to use and couldn't resist brightening the page!

Building the database for my future Imaginary World.....

I decided to personalize the front cover by using collage and and a few Posca Pens.

I couldn't resist decorating the cover with my Posca Pens!

I'm looking forward to creating and exploring MY IMAGINARY WORLD!! 

Update and Return to Blog!

Wow....it took me a long time to get back into writing and posting on the blog.  The summer was enjoyable but very busy and the start to the school year, well, it's been a challenge as always. I've pretty much put everything creative on hold as other things were more important. I feel like it is time to get back into doing some of the things I love, so I'm putting my words into action with my first post in a very long time.

Much has happened since my last post...even prior to that post, so I've chosen a few of the highlights, some of my favorite things, amongst the last several months to share.

In June, we traveled to Sequim, WA (xoxoxo) and decided we were close enough to Seattle to run the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Well, it actually wasn't that close, as we had to get up at 3:00 AM...(YES 3:00 AM!!) and drive to Seattle. Even with the long drive and challenging course, we had a blast! It was the first time that we signed up for the VIP tent and it was definitely worth it. We met fellow runners while there and enjoyed hanging out before and after the run. The day was absolutely beautiful!

                                        

                                                 Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon, June 2014

Rog and I hanging out after the run...

After the run, we enjoyed many things in Sequim. There's so much to do! We visited two different Lavender farms (Purple Haze and Victor's Lavender Farm), ran along a trail to Port Angeles one afternoon, hiked to waterfalls, spent time on the beach, visited Hurricane Ridge and Dungeness Spit...and so much more. I could probably write a blog post about each day and what we saw along the way. I always love visiting the Pacific Northwest and this was definitely another amazing trip. There's nothing better than the ocean, the mountains, and perfect weather....

Purple Haze Lavender Farm. Lavender ice cream, lotion, spray, just about anything you could
dream of...made of LAVENDER! I would love to work here. 

My favorite running trail....right beside the ocean. It was incredible listening to the waves
and the rustle of the leaves in the trees (along the side not in photo). I wish I could run on this trail every day! 

Running along the trail to Port Angeles....we stopped in town and shared a
Dairy Queen float before running back!

Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park

Located behind the rental we stayed was a beautiful rocky beach and amazing views...like Protection Island. There's a really interesting story behind this island if you'd like to read it. I loved sitting on the porch and listening to the waves. I also loved watching the wildlife. During our visit we saw a killer whale the first day! We also saw bald eagles, seals, and a variety of other birds.

Ocean view of Protection Island one evening...I'm in love. xoxo

Leaving all that beauty behind was hard! I often wonder if people who live in such beautiful places take the nature for granted or if they truly enjoy it each day.

After arriving home, "Project Declutter" began. It's always a long process, but I did clean out and reorganize a closet and several drawers. We even did a little decluttering in the garage. I'm still not done with this project and hope to work on it more next summer as we have a lot of clutter!! 

Everything pulled out of the closet....

Two very cute beagles, but not such good helpers. ha!

We also had an extra job or two that we worked during the summer. Seems like there was something to keep us busy every day! 

It wasn't long before it was time to start back to school. I'm thankful for the time we had to journey to other places and get some much needed maintenance done around the house. I was also thankful for a little extra time with family.

The days since August have flown by quickly and I'm in denial that it is nearly November! A few things to look forward to in the coming months....Tulsa Run, Tulsa Half Marathon, a new book adventure with Keri Smith's The Imaginary World of ___________,(remember Messy Book?) and more of Life Book 2014. I'm looking forward to sharing each of these and more!

Take care and have a great weekend!