Jen Bowles Design

SEWN: New online class from Mary Ann Moss

This looks like fun!

SEWN from MAM on Vimeo.

Registration begins on June 15th, more info here.

Thanks for stopping by,

Fabric Patchwork Art Journal

Back in February I started the Brave Girls Soul Restoration online class and I'm happy to say that while I haven't completed all the projects, I'm still plugging along.

Journaling is a big part of the class.  We aren't art journaling per se, Melody Ross includes a plethora of art technique videos in the curriculum that you can use to enhance your projects.  A plain black art journal was just not going to do.

Hello, patchwork!

Here's the scoop...

I cut and ripped pieces of assorted fabrics and used Mod Podge to attach them to the journal.  Yep, rocket science right there ;-).

It is important to coat both side of the fabric with the Mod Podge ~ and a final coat over the top helps seal everything in.

The back cover

I did want to add a little something in addition to the fabric pieces so I freehand stitched the word 'restore' onto a piece of plain canvas cloth. 

I like to challenge myself:  I don't write the word on the fabric ahead of time and I don't know (yet) how to use my free motion embroidery foot on my sewing machine so I just kind of wing it with the regular foot.

I was relatively happy with how this turned out, I don't even mind the wonkiness of the uneven zigzag stitch when I went to attach the word to the backing fabric.

This was my second attempt at freehand sewing a word on the sewing machine.  Here's my first attempt:

(I like this one even better...)

I put this word on a drawstring bag a made out  of a vintage pillowcase.  This bag is to hold my Truth cards from the class:

Back to the journal, I'm contemplating putting a flower on it...

Hmmm, we'll see.

Thanks for stopping by,

Go Go Gertie!

  In an effort to find some focus for my creative energies, I've been working on a series of  art journal type books over the past month.  Along with doing some inward focused thinking and searching for meaningful quotes, I've been playing around with some different art techniques.  After all, trying to find your path in life is supposed to be fun, right??

Here's a collage I did for the inside back cover of my current book.  It's called Go Go Gertie, for obvious reasons I think...

Go Go Gertie is a card from a vintage Old Maid game.  And she's hilarious.  Also used:  scraps of patterned scrapbook paper, pages from thrift store class record book, words from vintage sheet music and a boating safety manual.

Who knows, maybe I can use Baton Betty on the inside of the front cover...

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time,

Art Journal Peek

Since filling up my Moleskine months ago, I've been a bit adrift in terms of working in any sort of an art journal.  A few weeks ago, armed with a 50% off coupon at ACM, I finally took the plunge and bought myself another book to play in. 

The pages are much larger than my Moleskine, which is good and bad but mostly just different. With the goal of just getting something started, I looked to one of my favorite children's book illustrators for inspiration.

Oh, Melissa Sweet.  I could look at your artwork all day long.  She's only in Maine, I wonder if she gives studio tours?? I can only imagine: all the paint, writing instruments and ephemera...swoon!

This first page is pretty much a complete "scraplift" of the green and haiku page in Carmine, with a few of my own touches.

I replaced the text with an Anne Frank quote and substituted letters cut from books and magazines for most of the handwriting. 
I used gouache (first time), watercolors, colored pencils and pens. Using the watercolors is particularly relaxing...

This next page is also heavily influenced by one of Sweet's illustrations, this time from the back cover of Carmine.

Again I added a few things to try to make it my own, at least a little bit.  The ABC letters are cut from magazines, the ruler paper tape is from Cavallini & Co., and the rub-ons are from my stash (by Karen Russell for Creative Imaginations I believe). 

I really enjoy looking through my shelves of old books for fun and quirky words and phrases to use.  The sentence at the top about festooning a pig is from a book of letters from Theodore Roosevelt to his children☺.

This striped and dotted page I did on my own--notice the drop off in detail!
  I used gouache to paint the stripes and then I was stumped.  I ended up adding numbers from another roll of Cavallini paper tape and book text along with the circles cut from assorted scrapbooking papers.  
I tried out an old fountain pen dipped in ink to write the words.  I had some puddling of ink and then turned the page, forgetting it wasn't dry.  Oops.  Ink blobs add character, right?

Finally, this page that is actually the first one in this new book.  This was quick and easy. 
Again, I used gouache for the background and spattered brown acrylic paint with a toothbrush (hard to see).  All of the words and the image are cut from magazines.  The central image is from a TIME magazine (January 2009) issue about the brain.  The words are from Woman's Day or a similar publication.
  It seemed fitting.

So there you have it, my new art journal/play book.  I'm underway and doing my best to experiment with some new materials & techniques and...enjoy the process!

Thanks for stopping by,

Moleskine Art Journal: finally finished!

Well, it took me a few extra days, but my very first Moleskine art journal is complete!

That only took me...3 years.  Literally.  I completed the very first page in this book back in March 2008.  We still lived in North Carolina back then.  Yep, you could say it took me a while to get into it.

At any rate, here they are, the last dozen or so pages {click to enlarge images and/or visit my flickr photostream for complete views}

All the Single Ladies

I love the font I found for 'ooh la la', it was cut out of one my Parent's Book Club books by Jack Kent.

Remains of Valentine's Day

Used a few odds and ends from the Valentine's tea party celebration, including tissue paper that I decoupaged to the page for a background.

Think Spring now

Getting a bit impatient even back in early February.  Incorporated some rub-ons (KI) from my scrapbooking stash.

Let the Elephant Roar

The centerpiece of this page is a reproduction matchbox sticker from my stash.

Oh Baby  

I wanted to incorporate some fabric bunting onto a page.  The thing about the piglets made me giggle--and be thankful I didn't give birth to 34 babies at once.  Two nearly killed me as it was. Literally.

Polka Dot House

This page totally makes me smile.  More dimensional elements in the form of paper flowers.

No. 4

This page came out of having 4 circle stickers I wanted to use and listening to Ebby & Caroline repeat lines from the I Am Number 4 movie trailer over and over during a vacation visit.

Tell Me of Your Love

This is something I started singing to my kids when they were babies.  I still say it to them but I'm more likely to get an eye roll than the sweet responses of yore. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

Time for Spring, Now

Even more impatient...

Create

I love this page.  I was totally inspired by a page by Samantha Kira Harding in a past issue of Somerset Art Journaling magazine.  That's one of Cuyler's spelling worksheets in the background.

Window

Bird from old Cavallini calendar, lots of hand cut letters from old books

Lucky You Wish

I particularly like the quote about the Queen's tirade.  I may or may not have been thinking of my favorite teenager whilst creating this page...

Colorful Life

One more collection of magazine phrases, along with Amy Butler die cuts from K&Co. and some doodling.

The End

Thinking I might use this phrase on every last page of my journals.  Of course I may forget that by the time I finish my next one in 2014 ;-).

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek.  Hoping I march forth this month with continuing in a new art journal along with getting back to creating some banners and other etsy shop type goodies.  I'm feeling like the art journaling really helped with my creative motivation. 

Now I just need to clean-up my work table!

 

 

Art Journal update

Hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend (and start of school vacation week...).  We had a light dusting of snow this morning and then dragged took the kids to the beach for a nature walk in the cold, bracing wind.  We did reward them with lunch.  At a restaurant.  Inside.

I've been working away in my art journal/Moleskine and have a few pages to share.

Just Go For It   

(fuzzy goat cut from vintage children's storybook)

Early Spring Beauty

 

Build A Nest   

(some text cut from a swap pile copy of Make Way for Ducklings)

 

Cheerio, Office Mates!    

 

Sailor's Song

(mermaid illustration cut from another swap pile book)

Start Fresh

(illustration cut from a magazine, silverware is rubber stamped)

Kite

Let Them Eat Cake     

Pikachu: a cooperative page with Cuyler ☺    

 

My book (that I started in 2008...) is filling up!  My goal is to have the entire book completed by the end of February.  One little trick to help me reach my goal: gluing the pages together.  Mostly for stability, with the side benefit of there being fewer of those sturdier pages.

Wishing for Spring...

 

 

Art Journal pages and a must-read

I've finished a few more pages in my art journal/book and thought I'd share ☺.

My latest inspiration?

Magazines.

I love magazines.  I love getting them in the mail, I love sitting in my comfy chair reading them, I love ripping them apart for inspiration, and I love saving them--for you never know what...

Lately I've been cutting them apart. 

With this first page, I started with the image fo the laughing jelly beans.  Or whatever they're supposed to be.

I cut the letters, words and phrases mostly out of magazines, but a few out of my stash of thrifted books. I added a torn piece of scrapbook paper on the bottom along with a crown from another ad.  Next, the text.  I finished up with a scalloped border in my two fave colors, outlined with a black Pitt pen and highlighted with white paint dots made with my favorite broken dental tool.

As I was looking through my stash of magazines to cut out individual letters, phrases began to catch my eye.  Soon enough I had a whole stack of phrases.  And then I had  my stroke of creativity.  Introducing my version of a haiku.

Of course my version is nothing at all like an actual haiku.  But I am enjoying the challenge of telling a story in just a few snippets of phrases.  There are some interesting stories to be told.

Speaking of magazines, hello total fabulousness.   Amy Powers (and friends) has outdone herself with the latest online issue of Inspired Ideas!  This is a beautiful holiday magazine worthy of the newstand.  Stunning and full of wonderful projects.  Go. Read.  You won't be disappointed!

With that, I wish you a wonderful weekend,

 

Return of the Art Journal

Last week, I finally cracked open my art journal after neglecting it for months.

I'm not sure if I could really consider these pages art journal pages in that I've not really journaled in them.  But all the pages involved art supplies and words in one way or another so maybe I'm safe...

This book is a 5.25"x8.25" Moleskine, so not terribly big.  I had painted background colors on a bunch of pages so I was a step ahead there. 

I hadn't intended for this to be a two page spread when I started, but once I finished I rather liked the way the two pages looked together.  The right page has ripped text from a children's book along with an image cut from the cover (?) of Better Homes & Gardens magazine.  I used a cool glittery walnut ink spray that my mom brought back for me from Art & Soul to add some irridescence.  I also used watercolor crayons to try to build up some layers of interest on the page.  The left page is really simple. It's just a charcoal pencil line and a painted heart with text from a magazine.  I smudged the line on purpose and like how the walnut ink oversprayed onto the yellow page.

So, I'm in the midst of painting our deck.  I'm thrilled, as you can tell.  I waited too late in the year and it's really not warm enough at this point but I started the first coat and I have to finish before the first frost.  Hopefully I'll be more motivated in the spring for the 2nd coat...

I used acrylic paint, a Pitt pen and words cut out of old books and magazines.  The paintbrush is cut from BH&G and the painting girl is cut from a vintage children's dictionary ~Little Golden book.  My favorite part about making this page was using an old broken tip dental pick to make dots with the white paint.  It could be my new favorite tool.

Finally, an ode to fall.  And baking.

The inspiration for this page was an ad in Lowe's Creative Ideas  magazine featuring a page full of apples.  I spent a while cutting out the letters for the pie crisp muffins words, but I find that task oddly relaxing. Looking through my stash of old children's books, I found a poem about apples and was able to cut those words out whole.  See, it pays off to have way too much stuff--you never know what you might need for a project☺.

 

Image & Inspiration Book

After looking at several 'clip out collage' pages (Kari at Artsy Mama, Lobster & Swan, my own books from an art class in grad school), I finally started putting some of my  clippings into a book.

Um, hello. So. Much. Fun!

  For this first batch of collages, I went through a bunch of magazines & catalogs I'd been saving.  I ripped out images that I liked (pictures, rooms, patterns, lettering) and put them in a big pile.  Because there were a lot of home decorating magazines,  I also created a pile for 'complete rooms'.   I might put those in a 3 ring binder or an accordion file.  In the meantime, it's great to have a book I can flip through and see some of my favorite ideas and images.

Who knew paint swatches and thread samples could be so much useful ;-)

{Sources include, but not limited too: Pottery Barn & Pottery Barn Kids catalogs, Serena & Lily catalog, BHG, Domino, Country Living, Country Home, & Hallmark magazines}        

Finally finished: Art Journal page

It took a while, but finally I finished my first Teesha Moore inspired art journal page.

Phew.

Perhaps if I had worked on it for more than 10 minutes at time, it might've gone faster ;-).  I moved some of my art supplies up to a drawer in the kitchen and it's been easy to grab my journal and play around for a few minutes here and there while waiting for something to cook or the kids to get ready to go.

I {very} literally followed all of Teesha's steps that she outlined in her videos.  I think I'll probably do a few more this way and then try to inject more of my own style going forward. 

It was definitely fun, and I do love how it turned out--especially her eyes.  I wonder if they  make mascara that will do that?!