Challenge Week One of Documented Life

I am participating in a challenge by five artists called Documented Life. Since I journal everyday and keep several art journals at a time, it was a perfect challenge for me to participate in.

Week one challenge is to portray your front door. You can do this anyway you want. Since we use our back door more than our front door, I chose to do it. Here's my page and the reason what the door signifies to me.







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Knitted Hat

My daughter is an APP State graduate. Several years ago I made her a scarf with APP's colors. I had some of the yarn left so I decided to make her a hat to go with her scarf for Christmas. I found this pattern some time ago and taught it to a friend of mine. She'd made so many of them, I decided to give it a try. This is actually the third one I'd done since Thanksgiving. Since it was rather plain, I made a flower ( on a pin ) so she could remove it if she didn't want the flower. It really snazzed up the hat quite a bit.

I've already made another hat and half way through another one since making this hat. It is an easy pattern and I usually knit at night when watching TV. Her hat is the only one with a flower. Each hat looks completely different depending on the yarn. So since Thanksgiving, I have made four (almost five) hats and a scarf. Not bad, me thinks!

Next I think I'll attempt some fingerless mittens.




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Christmas tree O Christmas tree

Before the tree comes down signifying the end of this years Christmas season, I thought I'd post a picture. The picture is mainly for me to remember what a beautiful tree we had this year. It was the perfect size for our living room. I'll keep it up until the 1st so I can enjoy it for a few more days. I love then Christmas and like to enjoy it for the whole month of December. I especially like to keep up the tree and other decorations through my birthday, which is tomorrow. It has been my tradition for as long as I can remember.




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Poinsettia

I did this Poinsettia in watercolor. My poinsettia plant had lost one of it's stems, so I used it as a guide for drawing and color. I was also influenced by Lindsay (thefrugalcrafter).

I want to mat and frame it but cut the paper at an odd size for commercial mats. Guess I'll have to cut one myself.









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Vintage Santa

I requested Lindsay from the FrugalCrafter do a Vintage Santa. She did one on tan toned paper and used Pastel Chalk pencils to draw him. So I decided to try it, too. Here's my version. He was so fun to draw and thought he turned out so cute. I still want to do a watercolor one but decided to try this first. Wouldn't have thought of the pastel chalk pencils without Lindsay. I have learned so much from her and really enjoy her videos.

Her link is www.thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com






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Tags

Thanks to Lindsay the FrugalCrafter for this idea. I painted watercolor tags to attach to gifts for friends. They can use them as ornaments or bookmarks after they open their gifts.






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Christmas Wreath

It's beginning to feel like Christmas!

I made this wreath from Frazier Fur branches the tree lot guy gave me when we bought our tree. I have enough left to do a smaller wreath. I love making wreaths and usually do a fresh one every year for my front porch.





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New art course

http://jeanneoliverdesigns.com/blog/2013/12/03/brand-new-art-e-course-and-a-huge-art-supply-giveaway/#comments




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Experience each day

I didn't set out to do another thankful page but it just happened so I thought I'd share. I did this watercolor earlier in the month but knew the page wasn't finished. I hadn't found a quote that I felt fit this page. But this morning I saw this quote and felt it was perfect for what I wanted. Now the page is finished and I am happy with it.




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All you need is love

This art journal page was inspired by our church bulletin. The minute I saw it, I knew I had to do a page with it. It is based on I Cor. 13.




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Thankful

I've done quite a few things lately but I just haven't posted. This art journal page was a result of a challenge. I love fall and all the beautiful colors of fall. The challenge was to do something about being thankful. I have so much to be thankful for in my life, I just wanted to express that thankfulness.




I used alcohol inks on parchment paper to make the leaves. The bigger background leaves were inspired by some real leaves I found in a store parking lot. They were drawn, painted and cut out to collage on the background. After collaging I added some more color with pan pastels. The three oak leaves were die cut on some book paper and paper towels used in cleanup from another project. I used my black stabilo pen to give depth to the leaves.
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Fly

Time to spread your wings and fly




Inspired by a challenge to use three diecuts.


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Junelle's new class

Just watched the open house teaser video for Junelle Jocobsen's new class. Here's the link :
http://yesandamenblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-art-of-goodness.html

She's a great teacher and her videos's are fun to watch. She has such a sweet spirit. I've enjoyed every class I've taken with her.

She has an open house this week and is posting some samples to get you interested. Here's a quick and I mean quick, like three minute watercolor I did from watching her open house video. For this one, I decided to use water color pencils.




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Falling Leaves

This art journal spread was really fun to create. It was inspired by a page that I saw where the artist used manilla tag's as the base to create the leaves.

This jump started my creative energy and off I went. I love this page!

I used Manila tags as the base to cut the tags, acorns, and pumpkins. The media included in these two pages were distress stains. Inks, gelatos, paints, Pitt pens, gesso, thread, stamps, TH tissue paper, glossy accents and grunge letters.




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Mrs. Pumpkin Man

An oldie but now a classic Fall decoration. I did this one back in 1999. It is acrylic done on slate. I love her and display her every Fall!




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Door Challenge

I was challenged to do a door, any door, any medium. I chose a rust door done in watercolor and some mixed mediums elements thrown in. Just playing and having fun.




I decided to take this piece and make a journal page. I love to use created background pages to enhance the artwork.




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Think FALL

I am thinking FALL today!

I love the colors and smells of fall. All the reds, yellows, oranges, greens and rust colors immediately bring fall images to my mind. This is the time of year when I get my ALL things pumpkin fix. This year they have a new pumpkin flavor of M&M's. had to go to two Target stores to buy what ended up being the last bag. Very good!

Pumpkin flavored coffee and creamer is my favorite coffee. I always buy enough to get me through the year because it is usually only sold in the fall.

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Breathe

This page was built around the orange/rust colors in this girl. She was on a piece of junk mail that I got. When I saw her I knew I wanted to create a page in my journal around her. I just loved the colors.




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In the Meadow

I enjoy working with alcohol inks on Yupo paper. This is another of my first attempts at this process.




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The Unknown Bird

I painted this bird in watercolor on canvas paper. I used Dr. Ph. Martin's hydrus watercolors. They are so intense. They have such a different effect than the traditional pan or tube watercolors. I'm trying to get used to painting with them.

The canvas paper has a different tooth than the watercolor paper. It soaks in the paint faster and doesn't pool as easily. I like working with it, but it is taking some getting used to.

At first I wasn't very happy with this bird, but now that it has dried I think he's ok. My inspiration was a picture I found and now can't even remember where I found it. Hence the title, the unknown bird.

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Alcohol Ink and Yupo paper

Last week, while traveling, I went to Cheap Joe's to get some art supplies. They have things that our local stores don't carry. I always spend too much when I'm there, but since that isn't very often, it's ok.

I picked up some watercolor paper, and a Golden paint I hadn't seen before. But my big purchase was a "set 2" of Dr. Phil Martin's hydrus watercolor paints. I love working with them because they are fluid and the pigments are so intense. I have " set 1" but hadn't seen set 2 anywhere. I had to get them. I just had to!

I'd heard about a paper called Yupo. While walking down an isle, I saw a pad of the paper. Having no idea what medium was used on it, I asked the sales person. Not much info from her. But as I was checking out I saw a lady that was buying a pack. So I asked her what was she going to use it for. She opened up a whole new line of mixed media to me. She explained that it was a synthetic paper and was used mostly with alcohol inks. Yay, I have lots of those. Told me to search on you tube and blogs, that it was all the rage. Well, once you know what to look for, it is everywhere.

So all that said, I started playing. This is one of my first attempts. It is fun and just like gelli printing, it is addictive.




I think they look just like flowers. But then again, it could be my imagination!

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Egg-tastic

Chicken eggs in a nest influenced by the Frugalcrafter Lindsay. Her site is thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com
This was done in watercolor. I love to watercolor!




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Quote

Saw this quote today. How true!

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."

---Henry Ward Beecher

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The Farm

My friends live on a farm. We love to go and spend time with them. Since I was playing with watercolors today, I decided to do this scene of the barn and the mountains on canvas paper. It was from a photo i took last time we went to see them. It's small but I love it. Think I'll frame it and hang in my studio. Looking at it makes me happy!




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Flowers fever

I've worked in my journal a lot this week but haven't had time to post any of the pages. It is more fun to paint than to post. LOL
Here is a page I did in acrylics and used some Pitt pens and charcoal for shading and outlining. I love to feel a page after it has been painted in acrylics and coated in gell medium.
This is a technique I saw Donna Downey do and I wanted to try it. You create a wild background, paint your focal points and then paint over your original background letting some of it show through. Add some textures for interest and you!re through.
I think I'll try this again. It was fun.




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