Giveaway at Little Coffee Fox blog

Shelby from Little Coffee Fox is having a giveaway on her blog. She giving a watercolor planner starter kit that includes a Moleskine watercolor album, a Finetec gold palette, a set of three Pentel Aquash water pens, and a Pentel pocket brush pen. All you have to do to enter the giveaway is to go to her blog and fill out a short form. There are also 13 other ways to enter that adds to the main entry form which means it helps in your chances to win. Giveaway end November 27th so hurry and enter for this fabulous gift.

Little Coffee Fox is a blog about productivity with planning. The blog also has other categories such as how to bullet journal, hand lettering guide, and about how to start a blog. She posts on most social media like Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter. I follow her on YouTube and Instagram. I don't bullet journal but I find her post most interesting that maybe in the future I might start.

Beginner Art Journalist: May Mission Inspiration Challenge

In my last post, I told you that the Mike Deakin mission inspiration challenge was a little daunting for me well I decided to try it this month. I always struggle when facing an empty page so this is a way to start. It is difficult having to take every step and wonder what the composition well look like in the end.

Finished piece.

1. added composition paper.

,

3, 4, 5.  I added a teal color to the background
glued ribbon from a lanyard as a border,
and added 3 focal points, shoes, map,
 and the mountains.

6. bubble wrap and a toaster oven utensil
to make marks with titanium white paint.

2. I stamped book pages with butterflies
and flowers using archival ink.

7, 8. I add words for the month
and add cardboard strips. I added
gray paint to the cardboard
to balance the color.

I used the butterfly and flower stamps from these sets. And rummaged around to find these household utensils.

Beginner Art Journalist: Mini Mission Inspiration art challenge prompt cards

The mission inspiration is a monthly challenge with 10 prompts or steps which is the brain child of Mike Deakin. I find those monthly challenge to be very daunting but recently he came out with a mini challenge that gives a word prompt on an index card.  It is A to Z so in the end there will be 26 indexed cards. What I understand is these are to be indexed after each month so you'll have 26 cards to have when an idea for an art journal isn't forthcoming.

I decided to do each month's mini challenge on an 3" x 5" index card. For the letter A, the theme was Aquatic.

 Here's the prompt index card.

 I painted the background with Dylusion's paint London Blue with a blending tool.

 I added Dylusion's paint Cut Grass with a blending tool.

The background was a little to bright so I toned it down with Titanium White.

I drew half of a shark to give the illusion of it swimming through a reef, of sorts. I painted in sea grass, sea anemones, and a clam but I didn't take photos of the process, sorry. I also stamped some circles and flower shapes to the background to give some depth.

2017 a new year to experiment in art journaling

It's been a few months since my last post. I have been journaling just hadn't sat down to write and photograph my work. Today is Valentine's Day and it got me thinking about who or what I love. I love my family immensely but art is an acquaintance.  Art isn't a genre that I am comfortable in a manner of paint on canvas or paint in an art journal. It has been a struggle getting outside the box of Darlene. So here are a couple of pages I did. I didn't document them on what medium or colors I used.

I cut out the images from a local magazine. Use acrylic paints for the background and then stamped a few butterflies randomly on the background. Stenciled with modeling paste for texture. Used my brown pitt pen to shade in the images and highlighted with a white gel pen. Added a phrase I acquired from the Internet. Shaded the white blocks with a black pitt pen. Then I did a goofy thing and added a border that I colored in the blocks with a white and black pen.

The next art journal page I glued down Tim Holtz tissue wrap and then painted in acrylics of blues, greens, and toned down the colors with white gesso. I stamped with Dylusions stamps of leaves on the journal page and on some white paper which then I colored with Derwents Inktense color pencils. I used a water brush to activate the colors. One night I had an idea for what to do with this page. I thought of a beer garden in a nonsensical way with beer hanging from the vines. I then looked through my stash of magazines and found one about beer. I cut out the images of beer cans and glasses filled with beer. I glued them as if they were ready to pick from the vines. The stamped leaves that I colored were cut and glued around the beer images to give a more natural scene. I later added the bottom border which I didn't like to put white gesso over it to tone it down. I wrote some journaling around the page.

Last tag of 12 days of Christmas Tags!

Wow, it's been 12 days! I can't believe I did it! So here's my last tag of the 12 days of Christmas tags. A puppy for Christmas, Surprise!

Drew the box and the puppy's head sticking out. Then painted the puppy with black and brown woodless color pencils. Colored the box red then colored the background in light blue, blue, and a little yellow. I didn't like how it looked so painted with a white wash of white acrylic paint. Went over the box with red acrylic paint. Painted the puppy with black, brown, and white paint. With Sakura red gel pen went around the box, and with brown gel pen drew around the puppy's head. Wrote with the brown gel pen, Surprise! With clear glitter pen drew around the box and the word. I added the box top on the side and drew a box around Surprise.

11th Day of Christmas Tags

In the home stretch with 11th day of 12 days of Christmas tags. I did a winter scene with buttons hung on the tree like ornaments.

Gesso the tag then painted with light blue and white acrylic to make a sky. Drew a tree limb with branches and painted it with brown and black acrylic paint. Dabbed on texture paste then when it was dry, added white acrylic paint to look like snow. With a needle and thread, sewn on buttons hanging from the limbs of the tree. Highlighted the snow with Sakura glitter pen and wrote Love Peace and Joy with colored glitter pens.

It's 10th day of 12 Days of Christmas Tags

I have to admit it getting pretty difficult thinking of ideas for these tags. Today's tag is a Christmas present with gold foil glued to the tag with Tim Holtz distress collage medium.

Cut silver ribbon and glued that to the tag. Made a really small tag and painted it gold with Golden iridescent. Made a bow with the silver ribbon and glued it in the middle of the tag and then glued the smaller tag with foam tape. Then wrote Love on the small tag with Faber-Castell black pitt pen.

9th Day of the 12 Days of Christmas Tags

So here we are on the 9th day of Christmas tags. Today I thought of old St Nick as my subject for this tag.

I drew an image of Santa Claus then for some reason gesso the tag which smeared the pencil drawing but I worked around that.

Next I painted his hat red and used texture paste to add dimension to the fur around the hat and the ball at the tip. Then I painted the fur rim of the hat white and the ball on the tip of the hat also. I then painted the background with light blue then red and toned it down with white acrylic paint. I did Santa's face last, drawing in his eyes and nose with a Faber-Castell black pitt pen. Painted his face with a mixture of white, red, brown acrylic paint, then went back with more white. Added red acrylic paint for his lips and rosy cheeks. For the sentiment I painted HO HO HO. I get so engrossed with the project that I forget to take photos of each step I did in the process.

8th Day of Christmas Tags

It snowed last night and it was very chilly today, so it's a snow theme for this 8th tag in the 12 Days of Christmas tags.

Started out with putting gesso on the tag. I wanted a night scene so added blue, black and purple acrylic to the whole tag. Added metallic texture paste at the bottom of the tag for a shiny white ground for the snow people, I had to apply a few coats so it was more opaque. I cut out snow people caroling from last years Christmas card. Spattered some watered white acrylic paint  to look like snow and when it dried added the snow people.  I wrote "Let it snow" as my sentiment. Any acrylic would do though the texture paste is a Heidi Swapp brand.

7th Day of the 12 Days of Christmas Tags

Over half way through this personal challenge of creating Christmas Tags. I gesso the tag then dribbled brilliant red acrylic paint with water and let it drip down the tag then did the same with sap green. I didn't think that was enough so did the same with Golden iridescent gold. I wrote 'Tis the Season with Sakura glitter gel pens, burgundy and gold and Sakura white gel pen. Placed a sticker of a Christmas tree with presents on the tag and then it was done. I couldn't find my phone while I was making it so there is just this one photo of the tag.

6th Day if the 12 Days of Christmas Tags

I didn't realize how difficult this was going to be thinking up new ideas for Christmas tags. Well day 6 with 6 more to go. Cross your fingers that I'm going to make it to day 12.

Here is another simple tag, fireplace with stocking hung waiting for Santa Claus. I drew the fireplace with a pencil that outlined with a Faber-Castell black pitt pen.

Colored the bricks of the fireplace with crimson red prismacolor marker and added some dimension with a red Sharpie marker. Colored the mantel with Prismacolors sienna brown and dark umber. The hearth was light umber with Spanish orange. I wanted it to look like tile, I added some lines with Golden iridescent gold. I didn't like the look so painted the whole thing in the gold. Drew candles on the mantel and painted them gold. I blackened the inside of the fireplace and added logs on fire with red, yellow and blue colors. I had some stocking stickers that I put hanging from the mantel.

I wrote Stockings hung as my sentiment.

5th Day of 12 Days of Christmas tags.

Today I took an old Christmas card and cut out the birds that were on the front of it. I wanted to use Faber-Castell gelato but needed a smooth surface to manipulate the colors so I put distress collage medium from Tim Holtz on the tag. Then smeared on aqua dolce and silver ice onto the tag. I put two coats of those colors and white gesso, to give the illusion of a winter day. I laid the birds down on the card to see how I wanted them to go then pasted them down with a glue stick. I forgot to shade around the cut outs before gluing them so got out Derwent pastel pencils to use as shading. Then with a water barrel brush activated the pastel lines. I added some tree branches with Faber-Castell brown pitt pen and Prismacolor black brush tip marker. I also added color on the branches with red pastel pencil. To complete the scene I added snow with Heidi Swapp metallic texture paste.
I didn't take photos of all the steps, sorry.

4th Day of the 12 Days of Christmas Tags

This 4th day was simple but elegant.

Sprayed the tag with Tim Holtz distress spray stains, abandoned coral and cracked pistachio. I tried to ghost with a Tim Holtz mini stencil but it didn't really work. To make circles I used the bottom of a plastic medicine measuring cup and dip it in Golden brand iridescent gold paint then with my finger filled in the circle.

I traced the globes with Sakura gelly roll non color glitter pen. Made the tops of the Christmas ornaments with Faber-Castell gelato, silver ice.

I didn't like the blandness of the color so traced again with the glitter pen. With gold glitter pen, drew that piece of metal on the ornament where it attaches to a ribbon or hanger. The sparkle doesn't show much in the photos, sorry to say.  I drew in the bow and string to make it look like it was hanging. I wrote Seasons Greeting with Faber-Castell Pitt pen in black.

I might not explain this well but you see what I mean.

3rd day of the 12 Days of Christmas Tags

Today I made a simple tag with a Christmas tree and a pigeon with a string of lights wrapped around it.

First I gesso the tag then heat blast it then paint a light coat with Tim Holtz distress paints, salted ocean.  Then added more gesso to lighten up the blue.

I'm don't draw well but I decided to draw a Christmas tree then painted it with 3 shades of green; light green, sap green, and phthalo green. On card stock I drew a banner and wrote MERRY on the flags, using different colors of glitter gel pens for each flag. I also put non colored glitter gel pen around the flags and string. I used a Faber-Castell black Pitt pen to outline the Christmas tree. Finally I set the wrapped penguin next to the tree. The penguin is from my stash, I've had it a long time. It looks so cute!