inspiration monday

i recently received some new art journals from stillman & birn (thank you michael!).  what's fun about this line of sketchbooks is you can tailor them to the way you create.....there's lots of different sizes, wire-bound and hardbound, and many different types of paper to choose from!  since i'm always on the hunt for a journal that's filled with smooth paper for lettering, but can also take some water, i chose hardbound journals in the alpha and zeta series.....and then i started to play!

 i was curious to see if the paper in the alpha series would hold up to their claim of taking light washes, so i got out my watercolors to test it out.  i was pretty generous with the koi watercolors and the paper buckled a little (but surprisingly not much!), but it dried beautifully to almost flat again.  i used less water with my watercolor pencils, and there was no buckling at all.  so i would definitely give it a "thumbs-up-like" when it comes to light washes!

then i dedicated a page to testing out markers, drawing pens, and pan pastel.....there was no feathering out, no annoying bleeding around the edges of my lines, and no bleed-thru onto the other side of the paper.  i tested microns, pitt pens, koi coloring brush pens, and pan pastel.  two-thumbs-up on this one!

but what i was most curious about was the paper in the zeta series journal.....it's heavy weight, almost like bristol board, and it's so smooth it reminds me of fresh ice at the skating rink right after the zamboni machine has resurfaced it!   this is the type of thing that makes my lettering-artist-heart so joyful that i feel like i'm floating up in the clouds.....

so i took some advice from someone who found joy floating in the clouds, too.....

and i was inspired to create a journal page using only three supplies:
pitt pens, pan pastel, and a 6B graphite pencil.
{for me, this paper is definitely a two-thumbs-up, plus more!}

p.s.  and somehow i made a huge mess in the process!  i think that's how you always know inspiration is hard at work......when you have everything you own out on your worktable!  :))

{supplies:  stillman & birn sketchbooks in alpha and zeta series, koi watercolor, pitt pens, micron pens, koi coloring brush markers, pan pastel, derwent watercolor pencils, 6B graphite pencil}




♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 thank you SO much for the sweet, sweet comments you left for my online class giveaway!!  you are the best-in-blogland, and i'm sending each one of you a huge, chocolate-filled cyberhug!!  xox

the recipient of the online class is gloria vivas!   many thanks from here-to-the-moon-and-back to everyone for participating and making our creative workshops giveaway-hop a huge success!!

inspiration monday

i like to add a bit of pan pastel to my journal pages every once in a while, so when i saw that donna downey was offering several classes on the subject, i was completely inspired to learn more!  donna has four different pan pastel classes, so i decided to start with this one......and i'm so glad i did!

 i must admit that i love to glue little squares-and-snippets of papers and fabrics in my journal, so it was fun testing the pan pastel onto different materials.   and the bonus is while everything around me on my art table seems to be in utter chaos, at least my art journal looks somewhat organized!

but you know there always seems to be a pile of squares-and-snippets left over.....

so, donna suggests why not collage them and add some pan pastel.....

until the entire page is filled with yummy square-and-snippet goodness?!
total fun!


{you might already be familiar with donna's artwork.....and she really is a fabulous teacher, too! you can read more information about the "pan pastel 102" class here!}

 {the blue smudges on my "square-and-snippet pages" are there because i had not sprayed the workable fixative on the pages yet.......i don't really like using it because it's SO stinky, but it's a necessary step if you don't want smudges and you're applying a lot of pastel to the page.}

inspiration monday

here's an easy way to grow your own journal garden!  first, grab all of your favorite paper punches (you can also cut shapes by hand)......

and some of your favorite papers.

punch out a circle, and stamp or write a word in the center.

(i distressed the edges of my circles with a stamp pad)

use adhesive to attach some "petals" to the back of your word circle 

(i used a tape runner, but glue will work too).....

 then add some fun little doodles and a paper stem, and you've got a flower!

add some more flowers to the mix (you can never have too many of these little cuties!), attach them to a colorful journal background.....

and you've got yourself a happy little inspiration garden!!

have fun, valentine sweeties!

click on images for larger view

supplies used:  rubber stamps, staz-on ink pad, assorted papers, assorted paper punches, green marker, micron pens,  uniball signo white pen, pan pastel for background

more on chalk

several days ago i was playing in my journal with chalk pastels (see here). this is a layout using the same stencils, same chalks, along with some micron pen detailing......but this time on a page from a discarded library book.. it's always amazing to me how the same subject matter can look so completely different when it's on a new background! of course, i'm so hooked on my cherished little heart-in-hand image, i think i'd love it on just about any background.....

that girl and some pan pastels

have you tried using these pan pastels yet? i treated myself to a set of these a while ago and finally pulled them out the other day.....they're really fun and surprisingly easy to use!

they come with a few art sponges and one that looks like an eye make-up tool.....and you can also purchase some of the plastic handles separately (you don't have to have these, but i found them much easier to use than the large sponge).

and after watching pam carriker's you tube video on pan pastels, i decided to give that girl some much needed color. waaaay too much fun.....it's coloring for grown-ups!!

artwork finished on plain copy paper using pan pastels and applicator sponge tools