(Note: by clicking the photo’s, the images will enlarge for a better view)

..

I had a ‘miscellaneous’ (did I spell that right this time 😉 ) art journal going on
that  I started in September 2009. I finished the last page in that book last
week (I made a page for Summer Camp, so I can’t show you yet – all the other
pages can be seen in my gallery on top of this blog under ‘finished journals’.)

Anyway – I needed a new ‘miscellaneous’ book and I decided to make it
a little bit larger this time… here it is.

Miscellaneous #2

It measures A4 (21 x 29,7 cm - 8.3 x 11.7 inch)

I think I will work on one page at a time, but I might do a spread
now and then. In that case, measures will be 16.6 x 11.7.
Wow, that’s a lot of space to fill!

I kept the cover simple. I painted it black, and glued a photo from
a magazine to the front. I had that photo laying in my stash and I
like the elderly Argentine couple dancing the tango.
This is to remind me that we are never too old to dance!

Here’s the back of my journal…

As you can see, I staid with the theme… this is a picture of an Argentine cafe.

And a pic of the spine, so you can see the binding.
(BTW: This is the binding I will be teaching in the live workshop)

And I added  something new to this journal!

I found this blog called From Hell 2 breakfast by Natalie Quintos Uhing.
It’s a craft tutorial blog which I found through iHanna (thanks for pointing
it out to me Hanna!)

I tried out her tutorial about book headbands for book binding.

It’s not very easy to do, and I messed up the first time because my thread
appeared to be too thick. I found thinner thread, but it still is a little bit
too thick and not very neatly done. I need more practice! Because I am a
qualified seamstress I can see what needs to be done differently next time
to get it better…

And here’s the inside of my journal.
I found nice magazine pages to glue on the back of the cover.

And ofcourse I worked in my new journal!
Again, I can’t show you the first page, but here’s something I CAN show!

I made this for the May challenge of  Scrapbookers Anonymous
Theresa and Lea started this challenge blog last year, my best friend is in
the DT and I never played along, so it was about time I submit a page!

The MAY challenge is to use stamps to make at least one piece of patterned
paper for your layout and 3 stamped embellishments.

This page also goes for this week’s challenge at Wednesday Stamper
(theme: ‘Pirates of the Carribean’)

(21 x 29,7 cm - 8.3 x 11.7 inch)

I painted the background and used my grid stamp all over it.
I stamped the shells onto thick paper which I’d coloured with distress ink.
They then were cut out, and glued onto the page (some with foam dots)
The pirate lady is an image from a magazine and I finished the page with the
quote (new sharpies – YAY!) and some colouring (water soluble crayons)
to add depth.

And here’s a fun ‘extra’ that Scrapbookers Anonymous only recently added
to their challenges: if you make a card with your left over scraps, you’ll have
another chance to win!

You all know how I love to use my left overs for ATC’s… here’s my second
entry for the May challenge.

(ATC 6,35 x 8,89 cm - 2.5 x 3.5 inch)

The background is a left over piece of paper from the inked background for
the shell stamps (see explanation above) I had some cut out shells left,
which I coloured a bit more to make them stand out.
The lady with the hat is stamped and covered with a shell…
I finished it off with text and some colouring around the edges…

This month I have the honour to have an article in Artella’s e-Zine:
“The Art Journal Journey”.

Artella is a very inspiring place to visit and I recommend you do that!
So much fun to see, read and learn! I always find interesting topics and
inspiring art over there!!!

Weekend is almost here… the weather should be beautiful (so they say)
and I plan to work in the garden ánd paint/create some more.

I’ll leave you with these words that always bring a smile on my face…
this sentence is printed (painted?) on the dish that I use for mixing my paint
and I see it almost every day…

“Celebrate the day. On every moment.”

Happy weekend!