Don't Worry - Be Happy!

Up to this day I'm worried about almost a dozen of packages I sent to fellow RAK-ers at one of my FB group.  To date, 20 already got their mails but 11 still floating somewhere :(   As far as I know Swedish postal service is really fast (proven nth times) but what I'm worried about is when it gets to the country's destination.  I wonder if it really takes almost 3 weeks for them to get it?  Weird, coz a lot from US got theirs so how come some US friends haven't got theirs, right?

Heniweys, I made an art journal last night just to release the tension I'm feeling and  all I have to do now is just trust in God that soon - very very soon all 11 packages will finally arrive, haist!

 Have a great week and happy crafting =)

(Week 16) - Journal 52: Recycled Art

I just love, love, love to recycle and upcycle things.  Hubby says I'm a nightmare garbage woman hahahahahaha.  I really save items like pringles containers, perfume boxes, vitamin tubes, empty toilet paper rolls, etc., etc., etc.!  I even pick up items from streets or forests when I go out ... as long as it is clean (touchable) =D

Here's what the prompt says as seen at Journal 52 site :  "With Earth Day coming up next week, I thought it would be fun trying to see what we could make out of recycled materials or scraps of projects we already have.

For this week’s prompt, create something out of recycled or scrap materials you have just laying around the house. It can be anything – junk mail, newspaper, old books, old magazines, cereal boxes, past “Art Journal Fails” – the sky’s the limit!"

Ooohhhh after reading the prompt I was ssssssssssoooooooo excited.  Too much excitement that I can't decide what to do.  I have done a lot of recycling and upcycling projects which btw reminds me that I have to upload and post here at my craft site.  Anyway, yesterday when I had  a lunch date with hubby, we decided that we will go to Greece for 2 weeks this summer.  I really want to go back to Greece this time because I miss the clean and clear blue waters.  Spain is a big NO for me this year coz I got tired of it.  We then decided where to go to Greece and that gave me an inspiration for this prompt =)

Since RECYCLING is the theme of the prompt, I naturally used one of the acid-free papers I made with my son few summers ago.  If you are interested on how we did it then just click the photo =)

Other materials I used are inserts from items I bought at IKEA particularly the numbers and one of my empty perfume boxes. The mini triangles you see are extras I made from my previous journal page, Party Animals.  You might be wondering about the doily and that is a cut from Edge to Edge Cartridge which I mentioned on my previous blog post. As for the colorful yarn I found that on the street on my way home from work.  Yeah I did also use colorful stripes washi tape and of course my homemade Enamel Dots which I will soon show you the said project especially my lessons learned ... that's another story =D

Now, I have to check our prompt for this coming week.

until then....

Happy Crafting!

(Week 15) - Journal 52: Party Animal(s)

Happy Easter everyone!  Hope you all had a blessed Easter Week =)

Last week's prompt was about Party Animal(s) and I'm late in submitting since it was a week holiday for my son and had to spend time with him.  Before I go on any further let's check the prompt as written at Journal 52 -"For this week’s prompt, make a page about your favorite animal…party hat optional. It can be a pet, an animal at the zoo, or even a completely made-up creature."

Well, here's what I made for the said prompt:

The painting paper was warping so I decided to scan it instead =)

Aside from animal stickers, here are all the materials I used:

The Story of my page:

Every year there is an annual Easter celebration and all the animals are invited coming from different areas.  Always as in always the snails arrive too late for the party :(  So, this year all the animals in one area decided they will accompany the snails rain or shine and thus it means they have to start the journey a month before just to make sure they will ALL arrive just in time.  The birds are cheering and giving the snails support while some animals walk a little ahead of them so they will be protected from evil mishaps. 

Oh well gotta go ... need to hang some laundry while the sun is shining so bright =)

Have a great week everyone and Happy Crafting!

(Week 14)- Journal 52 : Rain or Shine

Finally I had the strength and the mood to do the week's prompt.  I could have done it at the start of the week but we were mourning for the loss of our Kasper.  It's only now that we can talk about him without crying BUT we still sleep holding and smelling his favorite blanket =)

The week's prompt was "Rain or Shine" and here's the prompt as stated at Journal 52:

“You can’t make a rainbow without a little rain.” – Unknown
“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” – Pema Chödrön

For this week, make a weather related page in your journal. Think of your favorite season or type of weather. You can paint, draw, collage – whatever medium you choose!

When I got the prompt our home was raining with tears due to our mourning but we always know that  days or months from now everything will be better.  Tt will never be the same but slowly we will get used to living day by day without our dear Kasper.

As for the prompt, If you know me well then naturally the answer is SHINE!  I'm happy when the sun is shining and literally I cry a little when it rains because it just reminds me of me and my mom playing outside while my dad watches.  We would dance, laugh, and exchange splashes when it rains.  Good thing we had a high wall and gate hahahahahahahahahahhahahaha.  It doesn't rain really hard here in Sweden and those soft rain just makes me sad reminding me of one of the happy memories of my childhood to single days.

Due to the fact that I was down and mourning when I got the prompt I just made a simple journal page.  I love the effect of stickles =)

 Goodnight everyone!

Forever Young Ladies in Shadow

The weather is great this day as compared to yesterday.  It was cold, windy and snowing and I was not in luck coz I had to work BUT this day I'm free so I got busy in my craft room NOT cleaning nor sorting but simply playing.  The first play I did was with the Forever Young Cartridge.  It has been a long time now since I really wanted to cut those ladies in shadows specifically for my art journaling.  I'm not good in illustrations so either I cut human images from magazines or use stencils/templates/masks. 

I'm happy with all the cuts I did.  Yeah, I did cut all the ladies in the cartridge - 20 all in all and each is 7" tall just the right size for my art journaling.

 Definitely I will NOT throw the negatives from the cut coz they're oh-so-delicious to use in art journaling, too.

 Ok, time to cook dinner =)

Happy Crafting!

(Week 13) - Journal 52 : How Does Your Garden Grow?

Are you asking me?  Are you sure?

Hubby and I were laughing tremendously when we read the prompt.  He has been teasing me about gardening.  We have a big front lawn and big back garden.  When we bought the house I was itchy to create an area where I can plant my own vegetables but it was put on-hold coz I gave birth and breast-fed my son for 3 years.  We actually tried planting and growing our own carrots but we got disappointed coz the carrots didn't grow to its normal size.

Our garden in some mysterious ways just grow beautiful flowers season after season.  I am so amazed that our roses can grow as big as a saucer - red and yellow.  We have a lot of typical Swedish flowers growing and flowers that give signs of a coming season.  We are now looking forward to the tulips in different colors.  Butterflies just love our garden during summer and they can come in batches, too.  I sometimes wonder why here in Sweden anything I plant it dies but back in the Philippines I really have a green thumb.  I guess when I gave birth to our son in a normal way, all my gardening powers came out with him hahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahha.

Honestly, I feel very very sad whenever someone will give me a plants or flowers in a pot because it will surely die!  Hubby calls me a flower/plant murderer hahahhahahahhahaha.

Now, to ask me how does my garden grow, well it's simply wild and woolly!!!!!  Everything just grows and I just make sure once a year, ye only once a year that I remove unwanted grass so that the flowers can grow freely.  I really have no talent in creating an oasis garden BUT I really appreciate every flower that grows in our garden.  We also have trees:  green summer apple, red winter apple, plums, and cherries.  Our berry bush died a long time ago and in fact our cherry tree is dying and hubby and I can't save it at all but we'll see this summer if we get to harvest some cherries again.

Let's check out the prompt before I show you my journal page for the week.  It says that "

Week 13: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Spring seems to finally be arriving here in Pittsburgh, and we’re starting to think about one of my favorite things: flowers and gardening! Even though I don’t have much of a green thumb, there’s always much inspiration in gardens.

For this week’s prompt, create your own garden in your journal. It can be any type of garden (flowers, vegetables, rock gardens, etc. etc.) and you can either paint/draw or collage – make it realistic or abstract, whatever you’d like to do!"

Ok, for this week's prompt I played a LOT with my cricut.  I had to find a reason why I should buy the latest cricut machine :  Cricut Explore.  At this point I do feel that I need to buy the machine but how will I justify to hubby that I really need one when I haven't tried my Brother Scan N*Cut machine neither my Cricut Gypsy then my Silhouette Portrait I only played with it twice.  I think I will wait a little before I buy the machine.

During my cricut play for this journal page, I had a difficult time cutting the Tinkerbell Filigree in a smaller size.  Even when I cut it into 4" I was not at all satisfied (but still not enough reason for me to buy the Cricut explore hehehehehehe), maybe I should change the blade I really don't know ... yet.

Anyway, here's my journal page:

I opted to create the page using a card style =)

The Cricut Carts I used are:

Art Nouveau - the lady in yellow dress in 7"

Country Life - grass in 2,3, & 4 inches;  sunrise scene in 2";  apple tree in 3"; and "Wild & Wooly" phrase in 2"

Garden Soup - "Growing Garden" phrase in 3";  worm in 1 1/2"

Heritage - lamp post in 8"

Ornametal Iron 2 - the gate in 5 1/2"

Tinkerbell and Friends - tinkerbell in 3 3/4" (filigree)

plus lots of stickles and red crystal beads

double sided cardstock which I bought in a pack at Lidl years and years ago

Here's a closer look of the cover:

Closer look of the Inside Page:

Now, I have to conceptualize for the next prompt =)

Happy Sunday and Happy Crafting!

Thanks for dropping by =)

(Week 12) - Journal 52 : A Day in the Life of Me

Oh yeah I'm not late to submit my entry this week.  Although I'm still recuperating from flu in whcih I suffered the whole week last week, I was just too excited to create my page for this week's prompt.  At Journal 52 blog, everyone will be able to find every week's prompt so go check it out and join the fun or just simply do your weekly pages if you don't feel like joining.

What's exactly the prompt this week?  Here it is:

Week 12′s Prompt: A Day in the Life of Me…

What do you do everyday from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep? For this week’s prompt, create a page in your journal about your favorite part of the day or the things you do each day. You can collage, paint, doodle – whatever is most fun for you!

I decided not to enumerate what I do upon waking up till I go to sleep but opted to highlight my favorite part of the day ... everyday =)  For this prompt I decided to use my Cricut coz it has been ages I think since I played with my machine.  Yeah, I still need to find time to play my Brother ScanNCut for the first time.  Hhhmmmmm, maybe next week or maybe tomorrow... we'll see !

My favorite part of the day is (drum rolling......)

Having a quiet time with the Lord!  I read the Bible based on the Scriptures for the day then write down what I learned in my Bible journal.  Sometimes I write a prayer based on the readings.  It is the best part of the day for me because I get to intimately talk to God.  I have a habit of praying no matter what I do even when I'm cooking or have to finish my obligations at work or waiting for a bus or riding the car.  I see to it that God is part of my every single move everyday.  Yeah, even crossing the street or taking a walk with our dog, crafting,  etc., etc., etc.

Oftentimes I sing this particular song before I start or after reading the Scriptures for the day with a big smile on my face.  I believe almost everyone knows this song from The King and I :  Getting to Know You.

Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to (like) know you,
Getting to hope you like me. 

Haven't you noticed
Suddenly I'm bright and breezy?
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I'm learning about you
Day by day. 

The materials I used are :

So there you go!

Happy crafting and peace be with you =)

(Week 11) - Journal 52 : STARS

This journal page is really a late entry submission!  I do have a valid reason and I have been vocal about this right from the day I got the prompt.  Before I dwell on the matter let's take a look at the prompt as stated at Journal 52.  It says.......

Week 11 Prompt: Stars

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” – Vincent Van Gogh

For this week’s prompt, take inspiration from stars or the night sky. You can doodle, draw, collage, paint – whatever medium is most comfortable for you.

---

When I got the prompt I knew I will have a difficult time doing my page!  Stars!!!!!

Here's a poem I have written so you will know what STARS mean to me.

I love the twinkling stars high up in the sky.
No one knows how many they are
but one can just imagine that it covers the entire universe.

I always watch the stars at night with my mom and dad
We make a wish ... even wishes from falling stars.
Some wishes were granted some wishes were forgotten.

The dawn has come for my mom to say good-bye
The day has come for my dad to say good-bye
What's left of me is emptiness
Tears were uncontrollable
But I have to live as long as God wishes.

The last words mom told me...
I will be watching you
I will be with you
All you have to do is close your eyes and think of a star
shining bright smiling at you ...
that's me.  I love you!
Thank you for your love and care my daughter.
I know you will be alright for we have raised you
so well with God' love.

The last words of my dad to me ...
When you are sad, happy, confused, worried
uncertain, joyful, victorious, or in pain
Look in the sky and find the 2nd best shining star
for that is me and your mom as one
watching and guiding you.
We can never be the first best
for the best shining star is God.
Look for it and feel HIS love and peace.
I love you
Thank you for taking care of me up to my last breath.

Honestly, it took sssssssssssssoooooooooooooooo much effort doing this entry ... laughter but more tears were part of the process due to memories but I did my best so here it is:

Materials:
Canvas sheet
Black Gesso
Flourescent (Neon) Acrylic Paints by Panduro
Studio Acrylic Paints - Pearlescent
Silver Acrylic Paint by Panduro
Letraset Neon Markers
Glitters - silver, snowflake, and crystal
Crafters Companion Stick and Spray
Balzer Designs Stencil - Burst
Star Beads
Nylon thread plus big hole needle
Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen - White

The Process:

• Cover canvas with black gesso and let dry.  I used heat tool to dry it faster.

• Drop randomly all neon acrylic paints on the sheet.

• Spread it wildly using a paint spatula and I got this look..... love, love, love the texture!

• Once dried, spray glue and scatter glitters all over then let dry to make sure it adheres properly.

 

• Get your stencil ad using a spatula add silver paint and spread evenly.

•  While it is still wet add more glitters and let dry!  FUN!!!!

•  Make a star and adhere then cover it with silver glitters.  I added red on the sides of the star using Pearl Maker pen.  I used Yellow Neon Letraset marker to highlight the rays =)

•  Let it dry for 30 minutes coz there are a lot of layerings.  Sew star beads around the edges and write your sentiment.

 I really love the texture, layers, and twinkling of the different glitters I used =)


Ok, now I have to end and post this coz my son is coming home any minute now.

Happy crafting!

(Week 10) - Journal 52 : Why Do I Make Art?

That's one question I never get at all!  But for the sake of argument ... or should I say explanation and justification for all the tools and materials I have I will gladly answer the question for this week's prompt.  But first let me orient you on the week's prmot which was given to us by no other than Chelle Stein of Journal 52 =)

Week 10 Prompt: Create for a Cause

"So often we make art, and ask ourselves? Why? What’s the point of this?
Well, art can be used for a number of wonderful things – for health and healing, for personal development, to bring people together, for raising awareness for a number of causes.
For this week’s prompt, create art that has a cause…why do you make art? Or, think about a cause you are passionate about that you could create a page about in your journal."

Now that's deep, isn't it?  I have no cause why I make art.  I do it for myself but maybe someday I will be involved in making art for a cause.  Well, every year I make cards or art works for Cancer month.  Normally a fellow crafter from around the globe will request us to make bunch of cards and send it to her in which she will be giving it to a hospital or an organization.

Anyway, I really, really, really reviewed deeply why I spend money and time/effort in creating crafts.  Most of the time I make for clients ... other times I make it for friends without any reason .... in some cases which is often I create items as gifts ... BUT I really do make art for the love of it and the fun that goes with it.

As I reviewed deeply I was able to summarized my justification et al explanation in 5 pointers:

• God's Gift - I'm honing and using one of the gifts that God has given me.  I share it by creating and giving and teaching.
• Balance -  I need to find balance in my everyday life in this crazy world.
• Sanity - oh yes!  I'm a multi-tasking mom and it will drive me crazy to just do things under the title of a mom, wife, and homekeeper.
• Enjoyment - I need to do things that makes me happy otherwise hubby and my son will suffer hahahahahahahahhahahaha if you know what I mean.  Plus doing art brings out the child-in-me, don't you?
• Expression - I do almost all kinds of craft but in art journaling I really get to express what I feel.  There are many ways to express art but I enjoy most expressing my feelings through colors.  Most of all Art is an outlet fro me to express myself as an individual.

Here's my entry for the said week:

The Process:

1.  I sprayed the canvas with colors then used a corrugated board with white paint for some effect on the whole layout.
2.  I used a 3D paint on the stencil for the silhouette effect.  I love how this turned out coz it feels rubbery.
3.  I highlighted the silhouette with stickles thus creating a shadowy effect.
4.  Got some color chips from a paint store and opted to use ROYGBI (yes without the V)
5.  Grabbed my alphabet stamps and decided to emboss it, too.

6.  I had to use a black UNI pen to write the words so it will be readable then wrote my justification.

7.  I adhered each color chip using magic tape.  One just have to flip it to read what I wrote.
8.  Used Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen (white) and Neon Pen by promarker to write my title question.
9.  Added an angel wing on the silhouette
10.  Last touch is adding question mark paper clips.

Have a great week!

Thanks for viewing =)

(Week 09) - Journal 52 : Color Swatch Inspiration

I thank God that I was able to do the week's art journal page for Journal 52 this day =)  It was an easy one I guess for everyone participating in the workshop because we get to play wither with colors we love or colors we hate or colors we have never applied ... ever.

After getting the prompt from Journal 52 "For this week’s prompt, choose something to use as color inspiration and use those colors to create a page in your journal. Color is everywhere! You can use colors from a piece of clothing, a dish, a picture, or of course there is always Pinterest or make your own color scheme for your page."

Who doesn't love colors?  No one I believe.  In my case there is one particular color that I will never learn to like but only to appreciate and that is pink.  Yeah, I know almost all women especially little girls just love pink.  Sad to say not in my case.  Before you judge me or condemn me for saying that please know first the reason why.  Pink make me sick literally :(  I'm the kind of person who gets affected with the colors I wear and this has been proven thousand times over by my friends and my parents.  I get fever for some reason we don't understand.  One example I remember very well is that when one of my closest friend at our church was getting married, I was her maid -of- honor and I have to wear a baby pink long dress.  Guess what?  Three times we had fitting and just after minutes of wearing it I felt weak and  ... fever followed next :(  Yes, the bride-to-be decided that I wear something else and I wore an ecru dress filled with different small colorful flowers ... yes it has pink flowers but it didn't make me sick at all due to other colors of flowers sewn all over the hem and shoulders, whew!  So, now you know and hopefully understand why I can never ever love pink ... only up to appreciation.

Now, for my project, I entitled it "In Sickness and In Health".  I played with PINK and my favorite colors of all time ORANGE and YELLOW plus added grey as my neutral shade.  Wearing bright colors make me energized ... if I wear black and white I am so prim and proper ... if I wear the sky colors I'm so calm but happy and contented.... if you let me wear neutral colors I'm quiet as can be like I feel invisible.  Have you ever been influenced by the colors that you wear?

You can obviously see that I played with ribbons and  yarn flowers using my flower loom I patiently made a long time ago.   The tag?  I made it as a tag from the inspiration page I got in Damernas Swedish fashion magazine:

 The simple process:

Chose ribbons that I want to use then cut strips.

sew ... sew ... sew....

I wonder what would the next prompt be.

Happy crafting =)

(Week 08) - Journal 52 : Found Poetry

Honestly, I almost gave up on this week journal :  Found Poetry.  I can't find any English material here at home nor anywhere that I  may find inspiration thus use in my page.  I was nearly to asking what would the punishment be if one does not submit for the week.  You might be wondering why so let me explain to you my reader more of the week prompt.

It says at Journal 52 that:
"For this week’s prompt, we will explore found poetry. Whether you decide to write a haiku or a sonnet or a freestyle poem – all depends on what you can find to make poetry out of!
According to Poets.org, “Found poems take existing texts and refashion them, reorder them, and present them as poems. The literary equivalent of a collage, found poetry is often made from newspaper articles, street signs, graffiti, speeches, letters, or even other poems.”

Using an old book or magazine, create a poem for your art journal using words cut out from the pages or by block out parts of the text with a marker or paint. Don’t worry about rhyming or making sense – just find words you like and put them together on a page!

If cutting up a book or magazine makes you cringe, you can always copy/print a page of text and use that!"

See what i mean?  It might be so easy for you but when you're in Sweden and you are an immigrant and still feels uncomfortable with the language you will really have a hard time for this prompt.  Anyway, as I almost gave up and thought of checking ALL my Cricut Cartridge cases - thinking that I can definitely find poetry in every title of my carts BUT something fell from my bookshelf yesterday morning and Lo and Behold I found few of my roller stamps packaging and at the back are words in ENGLISH, yehey!!!!!  I read and read and stared at it as a whole and viola I was able to make a poetry out of it.  I decided not to cut each words coz I think I will just save the packaging board for reference everytime I will use my roller stamps in my Project Life.  I stamped the words instead.

Here's what I made for my journal page:  I used gelli plate with Adirondack Dye pad for my background then I doodled and used Faber Castell Pitt Pens for coloring... stamping here and there ...adding washi tape and the bunny foams =)

The title of my found poetry is .............. C E L E B R A T E !

Hello Sunshine

today we....

love, love, love

happy memories

Here and There

this and that

I love you lots.

Today

at this moment

documented

real life

happy memories

celebrating

best day ever

all together

let's fly away.

The Materials I used:

Roller Stamps where I found my poetry

Gelli Plate
Ranger Adirondack Dye Pad (instead of paints for my gelli plate)
Posco Pen (black)
Faber Castell Pitt Pens
Stamps
Washi Tape (flag and word celebrate)
Bunny Foams


Hhhmmmm I think I'm ready for the next prompt and I wonder what it would be =)

Happy Sunday!

(Week 07) - Journal 52 : When I Grow Up

It's time once again for my weekly journal under Journal 52 and it's all about what I want to be when I grow up.  All of us I believe had dreams when we were a kid about what we ant to be.  I also believe ALL parents asked their kids about the same question, right?  When I read the prompt which says "
When you were a kid, did you know what you wanted to be when you grow up? Maybe you wanted to be a teacher or an astronaut for example.

For this week’s prompt, create a page about your “dream job” – what would you do if you do if you could do anything? If you already do work you love, make a list of the things you enjoy about the work that you do. If you’re not sure, then think back to being a child – what activities did you enjoy or what did you hope to do when you grow up?"

I, of course had an immediate answer to such question even up to now when someone asks me and that is for me to :be a STEWARDESS.  I remember I'm always in awe when I see flight attendants in their clean and crisp uniforms and all of them I must say are beautiful indeed in their own way.  I do have a cousin who was a stewardess and I adore her.  Imagine, they get to travel all over the world and even when they are serving food in the plane they stay elegant until one leaves the plane either for next flight or just going home.  Yes, I tried applying and I humbly say I got accepted but it was really my dad against the whole idea.  He told me horrible and possibilities that may happen to me so at the end I pursued my career in Fine Art major in Advertising plus music.  I stayed in the private world for a decade and joined the government as one of the Presidential Staff Officer concentrating on Social Media and Advocacy for 2 Presidents.  My last stint in the government was being the Chief-of-Staff in a prestigious PR agency.  I have no regrets on the path I chose for I met my hubby at the right time, gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Aside from being a Stewardess, I dream to of course be married to a loving, kind-hearted, understand, patient, good provider, and God-fearing man .... then have a child ... be a fulfilled woman in a lot of ways that I don't have to go into detail about that .... grow old with my husband and die peacefully.  ALL of which God has given it to me except for the fulfilled woman part coz I'm in the process as well as the dying part AND being a Stewardess hehehehehehehehehe BUT I'm thankful for that because for many years now I get to travel to see the world with my family anywhere I want PLUs I'm the one being served in the plane and not the other way around.

The main technique I used here was clear packaging tape transfer which I will share with you later.

What was your childhood dream when you grow up?

Happy week-end everyone and God bless!

(Week 06) - Journal 52 - The Lost Art of Love Letters

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Aw, what a sweet prompt this week - The Lost Art of Love Letters!

I was giggling all the time when I was conceptualizing my art journal page for this week much more when I was making it happen.  It brings back memories - the time my hubby saw me at internet and he sent a letter to me.  From then on we exchange love letters everyday until the day he came to Philippines and proposed marriage to me.  Although we exchanged love letters thru internet I feel that it was best in our situation coz we were both not getting any younger.  Imagine the waiting and anticipation when the letter will arrive from mail posts!!!!!  I think it would have been a total longingness that one cannot breathe hahahahaha!

Here's the prompt I got at Journal 52: 
With it being Valentine’s Day this week, I thought I would bring up a lost art: Love letters.

For this week’s prompt, take inspiration from a love letter. Use a love letter quote or try writing your own love letter to a friend or family member, your sweetheart, secret crush, or even to yourself.

Receiving this prompt we hurriedly read and read ALL our letters to each other and it made us both laugh and blush like teenagers!  YES!, I printed out and compiled ALL our letters a week after I migrated here in Sweden.  Hubby wrote touching letters that I had to close my eyes and randomly pick one for me to use in my journal page.  I picked the letter dated June 28, 2002.  Every element in my page has a meaning =)

Materials Used:

Sizzix Tim Holtz Alteration Die :  Vintage Typewriter
Foil Cardstock - silver
Crystal Beads
Wooden Beads which I took from old bracelets
Leather string
Postal Washi Tape
Sweden flag Washi Tape
Fabric hearts
Fabric were I cut and adhere the tree and woman in blue
Felt hearts and bird with branch
Stickles
Handmade envelop using shrinkie plastic

I still love receiving love letters from hubby.  For me, writing a love letter is something very deep instead of sending love text messages - it's one of the setbacks in this new age.  I guess I'm still old-fashioned.

Week 05 (Journal 52) - Abstract Art Inspiration

Abstract Art is our week prompt for Week 05/52.  When I got the prompt I was excited coz I just love abstract art.  It was a funny moment for us who participated in Journal 52 because a lot got confused on Abstract Art and so one of the participants took a kind effort on explaining the difference between Abstract art Non-Objective Art.  Just in case you get confused, too, here is a simple explanation to which I quote Ms. Tina Grimes "I think many people are confusing Abstract vs. Non-Objective Art. This came up in college a time or two, and when I was teaching high school art my students often struggled with it. So I just wanted to offer some explanation, in case it will help anyone here who is struggling with it. Abstract Art has recognizable images/objects in it, however they are distorted from reality by the artist. Cubism is a great example of this, as is Picasso's art. Non-Objective Art, on the other hand, has no recognizable objects in it; it's all about the treatment of the surface, the colors, etc. The art of Jackson Pollock is a very good example of this. When you look at Non-Objective art, you simply don't see anything recognizable in it. When you look at Abstract art you DO see recognizable objects, they just are not depicted in a realistic way. This is how I was taught to understand Abstract vs. Non-Objective in college. I hope it will help someone here."
Ok, back to Journal 52 ...... as what is written:
"Abstract art is defined as art that does not attempt to represent external, recognizable reality but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures.

“Abstract artists tell their stories with shapes, color, edges, movement, and value – just like when one is painting a beautiful scene. The difference is, of course, there is no scene. The scene is within the artist.” – Gwen Fox

For this week’s prompt, create an abstract art page in your journal. Use colors, shapes, lines, textures. You can choose whether to paint, draw, or collage."

What I created for this prompt?  Well, I worked on it only last night coz I had to find my Spritzer which I bought last November 2013.  I really wanted to try the tool and luckily I found it just when I almost gave up.   I admit I need to learn more on how to use the tool properly coz I felt uncomfortable but I love what I achieved after playing with the tool and the Sharpie pens.  Spritzer by Perfect Paper Crafting says one can use any pens/markers but with all the pens/markers that I have the Copic Markers and the Pro-Markers wouldn't fit at all :(  I ended up using my Papermania and Sharpie pens.  How I wish all as in ALL pens do fit!

 Here's my journal page - Abstract Art Inspiration:

 

After looking at it thoroughly I entitled it "Moodswing" due to the faces with different emotions that I see.  Yes, I added glass beads  at the edge and used the alphabet beads to spell my title.

Happy crafting!