15 minutes of mixed media

Yay for Tuesday! Here is another take on my 15 minutes of mixed media - a lesson in art and time management!

I had trouble staying focused this week. I think because my mind was racing with the details of ten million other things I wanted to stop the timer. I was really tempted this week. I really wanted to hit pause, take my journal over the gelli plate, create a beautifully colored background and start over.

I am proud of myself for not doing that. It took great effort. My page isn't as busy as usual- another hint to as how my mind was wandering. I do like the colors and simplicity of the end result however.

Since I have devoted the last three or four week's to a blank page start I think I will reward myself with a bright and beautiful background as a springboard next week.

I hope this reminds you that just because we create every day, doesn't mean it comes easily every time we put brush to paper. We are allowed a day to fumble and stall. The point is to keep going. Don't hit pause. I was glad I stuck with it. One more page called done in my journal.

I hope you enjoy the process.

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SUPPLIES I USED THIS WEEK ----->

 Apple Barrel White Gloss, Key West and Neon Pink and Yellow, Painters Brand Paint Pens in Red & Orange,  Water Brushes filled with Dylusions Inks in Bubblegum Pink, Lemon Zest, Funky Fuschia, & Pure Sunshine Sharpie Oil Pen in White, Sharpie Mean Streak in White, UHU Glue Stick, Scissors, Collage Papers from my stash of art journal papers, and both homemade and store bought stencils, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Ripe Persimmon, Pilot Multiball Fine Tip Pen and a hand carved stamp. I also used paintbrushes, an old gift card and a heat embosser. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are a few other journal pages I created using this technique-------> Click on the images below to see how these journal pages were created using 15 minutes of mixed media.

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*as an amazon affiliate, I receive a small incentive if you purchase a product through these links*

the documented life project - weekly challenge 12

Welcome to Week 12 of The Documented Life Project!

March 15 - Cut Up A Magazine - Add To Your Planner.

This week was fun. I took the challenge literally for once, but I have to admit it was for one reason only. MY PLANNER IS GETTING REALLY REALLY CHUNKY.  I think I need to incorporate a FLAT page every once in awhile or we are going to have a book bursting at the seams over here- and pretty darn soon.

It's okay though. I love how this page turned out. AND it forced me to be a little bit creative with how I added my magazine bits. In the end I hauled out a LONG UNUSED tool - the BIG SHOT die cut machine. I forgot I liked this thing. I forgot that it can turn any little scrap of paper or thin fabric into something cool for my planner.

I chose a magazine with bright images and some wording. I cut out several sizes of this shape and this shape. I adhered the cut outs on with a glue stick and painted stripes in the white space. I added a zillion pops of black and white with my favorite paint pens and some funky lettering before telling myself I should be done.

I cut a ton of magazine scraps up while creating this challenge. Then, when I was done,  I went around the studio cutting even more stuff up. Maybe I won't be burying this tool back in the closet afterall!

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This week's challenge supplies: magazine, scissors, uhu glue stick, Golden Acrylic in ultramarine blue, Golden Acrylic in green gold, Painters Brand Paint Pens in White and Black, Big Shot Die Cut Machine.

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-------> Art to the 5th Blog - Our Story

-------> List of Weekly Archived Challenges

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            Rae

            Lorraine

            Sandi

            Barbara

            Roben-Marie

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artist print pack no. 2

UPDATE: AND WE HAVE A WINNER! CONGRATULATIONS TO SANDRA G. IN ARIZONA! YOU ARE THE LUCKY WINNER OF THIS ARTIST PRINT PACK 2! Thank you to everyone else who left such a sweet comment. I will have another giveaway soon! Check back for details!

I want to thank you all for the overwhelming response to my new artist print packs. Pack no. 1 was such a hit I couldn't wait any longer to share pack no. 2 with you!

...another bold, bright mix of my favorite art journal pages, ready for you to use in all of your mixed media projects! Cut. Collage. Stitch. and more...

Just like before I am going to send one lucky person a pack of these newest art prints! Just enter below by leaving a comment. COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED! CHECK BACK SOON FOR ANOTHER GIVEAWAY! On Saturday I will choose a winner and POST THE WINNER HERE - so check back on Saturday to see if you are the lucky recipient of these pretty papers! If you are, just email me here on the blog (USE THE CONTACT TAB AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE) with your mailing address and I will ship your goodies right out! 

I can't wait to see what you create! ENjoy!

coffee filter wreathe

When I was moving recently I came across a handful of foam wreathes- leftover from a school project. Rather than find a place to store them I decided to make a few little wreathes for Spring.

This project took just under an hour and requires only a few supplies - most of which you might have on hand.

You will need: a foam wreathe (mine was 8" in diameter), assorted coffee filters, assorted paints, twine, scrap of muslin, tissue paper, and a floral embellishment. I cut up some polyester material I had on hand and shaped it into circular petals for mine. You will also need a glue gun and a glue stick or two.

First I scooped a very small amount of Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Paint ( I used Fluorescent Pink, Fluorescent Chartreuse, and Fluorescent Green) into an old container. Next I added about two cups of water and mixed it up very well. If you are making a larger wreathe you will need to adjust the paint and water quantities accordingly.

Once the paint & water were mixed well I began crumbling up the coffee filters and stuffing them into the mixture. I divided the filters up evenly and made sure they were well beneathe the surface of liquid. I let them soak for 30 minutes. For my miniature wreathe I used approximately 50 large filters, a combination of both natural and bleached, and 15 white cupcake wrappers. (Depending on how tight you crinkle them when adhereing them to the wreathe, you could use more or less)

These colors apprear VERY bright while soaking, but they will be much, much lighter when dried. Adjust your color preferences accordingly. After 30 minutes I carefully (they will tear easily) wrung out each filter. You can do this with several at a time. Leaving them loosly balled up, I tossed them in the dryer on the coolest setting for about 6 minutes. Once dry I gently, and only partially, unfolded each filter.

They look so yummy! ... like cotton candy peonies! I was tempted to just pin them to the wall at this point...but I went ahead and finished my wreathe. Maybe next time.

Next I began crunching and gluing my filters onto the foam wreathe. You could use straight pins too - but I wanted mine to be premanent. The glue will slightly melt the foam, but this is ok. It makes the depth different for each flower and I like it. I chose to add my filters randomly and layer the smaller cupcake liners with the larger natural ones.

I continued to add filters on the outside of the wreathe, as well as on the inside center ring. I cut a length of twine and muslin, knotted each end and glued the ends to the back of the wreathe.

Next I added my pops of color. I am an not a big pastel person, so while I wanted my wreathe to resemble Springtime, I needed a little punch to call it mine. I began by cutting up circles of polka dot tissue paper, approximately 4 inches across. I scrunched them in the middle and glued them in a cluster on one side of my wreathe. I repeated this step with the pink silky centers.

Lastly I added a piece of muslin and tissue paper to the handle. I love it. Springy and easy and fast. Perfect.

...now...where to hang it?

Enjoy the process!

15 minutes of mixed media

It's Tuesday, so here is this week's take on my 15 minutes of mixed media - a lesson in art and time management! 

This week I started with two colors I rarely use. Blue and Green. I tried. As you can see though,  the pink took over. As usual. Oh well. In the end I liked it because this is what I love to do!

 I am still working in this art journal and love it! I don't LOVE starting with a blank page, but since I didn't have time to create a new batch of backgrounds this week, I had no choice. I prefer, as you know, to start with some color on the page, something I usually create using the Gelli Plate. It is so easy and fast for creating beautiful backgrounds. I hope to work on some of these this week!

SUPPLIES THIS WEEK -------> Golden Heavy Body Acrylic in Pink Fluorescent, Apple Barrel White Gloss, Apple Barrel Lime Gloss, Dylusions Spray Ink in Calypso Teal, Painters Brand Paint Pens in Red, Black, White, & Orange, Ink Joy Ink Pens, Water Brushes filled with Dylusions Inks in Bubblegum Pink, Lemon Zest, & Funky Fuschia, Sharpie Oil Pen in White, Sharpie Mean Streak in White, UHU Glue Stick, Scissors, TUL Fine Tip Permanent Black Marker, ( I buy these in bulk because I love them so much and use them so often! ) Collage Papers from my stash of art journal papers, and both homemade and store bought stencils. I used this one and this one. I also used paintbrushes, an old gift card and a heat embosser.

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Here are a few other journal pages I created using this technique-------> Click on the images below to see how these journal pages were created using 15 minutes of mixed media.

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*as an amazon affiliate, I receive a small incentive if you purchase a product through these links*

new artist print packs - and a giveaway!

I am happy to share something new with you today! Artist Print Packs! Art journal pages straight from the studio to you...

...a bold, bright mix of my favorite art journal pages, ready for you to use in all of your mixed media projects! Cut. Collage. Stitch. and more...

Because I love to use these papers in my DOCUMENTED LIFE PROJECT I thought it would be great fun to do another giveaway!To enter, leave a comment here, then hop over to the  ART TO THE 5th blog and leave your name and email address in the comment section, so I can contact you when you win!

I can't wait to see what you create! ENjoy!

15 minutes of mixed media

Welcome to 15 minutes of mixed media. Because of the overwhelming and positive response to the film version of this exercise in time management, I thought I would share another process video for this weeks self imposed challenge.

I think it is important to create everyday. When I first made the committment to do this, I doubted it's ability to help me be creative. I was wrong. Making the time to put any medium, to any substrate, on a daily basis has done more to motivate and inspire me than I ever thought possible.

This week's supply list: Apple Barrel Acrylic craft paints in - Key West Bleu Turquoise and Sublime Lime Gloss, Craft Smart Acrylic craft paint in Neon Pink, Painters Brand paint pens in red, black white and hot pink and orange, Golden Fluid Acrylics in Van Dyke Brown Hue, UHU Glue Stick, Water Brushes filled with watered down Dylusions Inks, a few stencils, scissors, paintbrush, brayer and an old gift card.

I am working in this art journal and love it! I started this week with a blank page, as I have had a few requests to do so. I usually take a day and make backgrounds so that when I go to create I have a colorful substrate to jumpstart the creative process.

Here are a few other journal pages I created using this technique!

Click on the images below to see how these journal pages were created using 15 minutes of mixed media.

 

 

*as an amazon affiliate, I receive a small incentive if you purchase a product through these links*

15 minutes of mixed media

Welcome to this week's 15 Minutes of Mixed Media !  It is a bold one this week! I mentioned I have been experimenting with color, specifically those I shy away from- so this is what happened when I set the timer. !5 minutes and counting....Go.

I started with a simple background- two oversized swipes of bright color. I like the FolkArt Neons in pink and orange. They are nice, inexpensive paints to use for backgrounds, as much of it get painted over later in the process. I also grabbed some paint pens, a few collage papers, a glue stick, scissors, two Golden paint colors - Ultramarine Blue and Diarylide Yellow,  two ink pads - ripe persimmon and seedless preserves , a few stencils and a water brush filled with a mixture of water and Dylusions ink in Bubblegum Pink.

I began by adding a few pieces of collage paper using the glue stick, followed by several swipes of white paint. (I failed to mention that I also used my go to paint for everything - Apple Barrel White Gloss Craft Paint. ) Next I stenciled several shapes and dried them quickly with my heat embosser. I journaled large words with a paint pen and made several more small marks and swirls also using the paint pens, drying layers with the embosser as I went.

I stamped my ink pad directly to the page in several areas and moved the color around while still wet with my ink filled water brush. I added some small marks using the same brush and dried again with the heat embosser. I laid a stencil down and rubbed white paint over it in several areas to create some texture.

I hope you are enjoying the process. Setting your timer doesn't have to be stressful. I used to find that my teeth were actually clenched when the buzzer went off. I got over that. Once I realized no one was grading me, testing me, watching me- the tension slipped away and it became an enjoyable creative exercise. Need more time until you are comfortable creating this way? Set the timer for 30 minutes and have those supplies at the ready!

Here are a few other journal pages I created using this technique!

Want to see more simple background ideas for your art journal pages created using 15 minutes of mixed media? Read here----->

Click on the images below to see how these journal pages were created using 15 minutes of mixed media.

15 minutes of mixed media

Welcome to this week's take on 15 minutes of mixed media. This week I thought it would be fun to share a video of me creating a journal layout using my tried and true method for spontaneous creativity! Don't worry- I sped up the video so you can view the entire process in about 7 minutes!

I hope you enjoyed the video! I love being able to create an entire layout in just a few short minutes. Just to let you know- I am creating in this Small Dyan Reavely Creative Journal.

Here are a few other journal pages I created using this technique!

Want to see more simple background ideas for your art journal pages created using 15 minutes of mixed media? Read here----->

Click on the images below to see how these journal pages were created using 15 minutes of mixed media.

stitching on paper

Ever since I learned how to turn a sewing machine on I have stitched on paper. I am sure in the awesome world of great seamstresses this is a big no no. Well, I can't help it. There is something about paper and thread together that make me very happy.

What started out as scary and frustrating, is not my favorite thing. I have broken a hundred needles, clogged my bobbin too many times to count. I break my thread on a daily basis and have to look up how to change the tension every. single. time. BUT I love it. I love it. I love it.

Enjoy the process. If you get frustrated, keep going. I promise one day you will love it.