Cover and final page of French artjournal

I finally managed to get the cover of my recent French trip journal done and also the last page.
The main image on the cover was a scan of a plastic carrier bag we picked up in a local tourist shop. I altered it quite a bit in photoshop and then drew and painted over and around it, added the words journal 2010 etc. Like that I was able to stick to my plan to mainly use local bits and pieces for this journal. The background for the final page was a paper serviette. I found this amazing craft shop in Colmar where they sold loads of different designs and you could buy them singly!

Monthly Calendar page

Here is my page for August. This is the monthly challenge Kate Crane of the Kathryn Wheel posted way back in January. It took me a long time starting this and I always forgot to post my pages here, but anyway, better late than never.

Back from France

We got back from France yesterday. Had a great time with lots of wonderful warm weather and relaxation. Of course I had taken some art supplies and a journal, so I'll show some of the pages. Not all of them have the journalling on them yet. I used a lot of local bits and pieces for my collages in this journal, taken from leaflets, serviettes, paper bags and whatever else I could find. It was great fun looking out for things to use.

Off to France

The last few weeks have been very busy and I have not been able to create or indeed to blog as much as I would have liked. I also feel as if I have sadly neglected some of my blogging friends .
At last my holiday/vacation has started and tomorrow we are going off to France for three weeks, so again, I will not be blogging. But, when I am back I'll have more time again and will be blogging more regularly. I want to use this opportunity to thank all my blogging friends and followers. Your wonderful comments always mean a lot to me!!

A set of decorated hands

Here is a set of decorated hands created for a journal swap. The idea is that a journal is made out of the different hands created for the swap. Each artist participating has traced their own hands (so these are obviously mine) and then decorates them in whatever style. On the back of each one is a handwritten art quote.
We each have to make six hands in all so I still have two more to go but they are great fun to do!

Three Skinnies for various swaps

Here are three skinnies I made in the last couple of days. I like this 3 x 5 format, not too big and not to small...

The Three Muses "Ribbons and Bows"

Ribbons and Bows is the theme at the three Ms. This is a postcard I made for a swap. Ribbons and Bows are not a big feature in it but they are there, so I thoutght I could use this card for the challenge.

Body parts are from Studio Maya at Scrapbook Graphics (legs) Jacket: Lisa's Altered Arts, Head: Digital Collages (I think, found it in my stash). Borders:Deviant Scrap and my own. Curtains:Cut from paper from Cebeline.

Postcard for a swap.

This is a 4 x 6 created for a swap in one of my art groups. Main image from whimsical musings collage images. Borders from Cemeroni,Scrapbook Graphics and my own.

Journal Page "Dreams of Summer"

I needed a break from all the zetti type stuff I have been doing. As today is my day off I created this spread in my art journal.I called it dreams of summer. It's pretty cold here again and I can't wait til I go to warmer climes for my summer break... The background was created with a paper napkin, collaged over a painted background. The little girl image is from a free collage sheet from Land of Nod studios. Most of the borders are my own. The bird image came from my pile of collected collage images.
My journal is becoming so fat that it is very hard to scan it properly, hence the fuzzy bit in the middle.

Mini journal page for a trade

These are the two sides of a journal page I created for a trade at my favourite art place. One side was to be zetti the other free choice. The background on both sides are my own. All other elements are either freebees from flickr or bits from Tumble Fish Studio at Deviant Scrap. The coffee lable is from Efie's blog and the little girl's head from Paper Whimsey.

Crowabout week 83

After teaching meditation classes for most of the day at the adult education center where I work, I was somewhat in a mystical mood. Hence the rather unusual piece (for me) I created with the brilliant collage sheet Land of Nod studios provided for the Crowabout collage group on Flickr....
Background is from Joes Sistah (slightly altered by me) all other elements from the sheet.

Zetti skinny

This is a skinny for a swap on Swap-bot. The head is from Paper whimsey, the body from a little girl on Lisa's altered art. Borders are from Norma Frances and some crow about sheets or my own.

More mail art

Another decorated envelope. This one is for a free choice theme at my favourite art site. My theme is Provence. I used paper napkins and collage elements, paint crayons. etc. Main image from a Bouguereau CD from Lunargirl, most other elements from Effie's blog. I decorated both the front and the back. The grapes and Provence text are from the paper napkin

Journal page

My journal has been rather neglected in recent weeks as I have been too busy with other projects, both art and otherwise. But seeing as I joined up to Pam Carriker's journal 365 class and we were just given a new installment for June, I thought I better do a page and try out the new tecniques. It was quite a strange process as my heart was not really in it, really because just recently I have been exploring quite different styles. Still, it is always good to explore many and varied things and perhaps ultimately putting more and more of my own stamp on it...

The three Muses "Time"

The Three Muses have been going for one year. Time flies though in a way it seems to me as if they have been there much longer...
Anyway, the theme this week is "Time".
Here is my piece, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU LOVELY LADIES!!!

Another Envie

Here is yet another of my decorated envies. This one is for my dear blogging friend Martina, who kindly agreed to take one of the Decos that were sent to me. Thank you Martina!

Mail Art envelope

Here is another mail art envelope for a swap on swap-bot. Making these is just so much fun! I disguised the address on the scan as I thought the recipient might not like to see her address publicly displayed on my blog...
Main image Lisa's Altered Art altered by me. Most other bits from Efies.blogspot.com

Another Deco page

I received two deco booklets to do pages for so here is the second page I did. This ones theme was vintage travel. The booklet has been travelling the world since March 2008. I hope it reaches its destination soon. Main image is from Eliza's tintypes altered by me. Most other bits are from Efies blog. French text from a gift of Land of Nod studios.

My first Deco

Today I received two Deco books from one of my Flickr friends. I only recently found out about decos (there are just so many things to discover in the art world out there).
The theme of the first one was "Glamour Girls".
I decided to use my digital card I made for the SPA challenge on Sunday as my central image as it seemed to suit the theme just perfectly.
Anyway, here is my page.

I would love to start a deco myself now. If anyone is interested, please leave a comment.

Sunday Post Card "Show Business"

The theme at Sunday Postcards is "No Business Like Show Business".
I created a digital collage.
Credits:
Background:Joe Sista on Flickr (altered)
Main Image: Found on the internet and altered
Rose Embellishment: Gail Smith
Forground golden image: Efie at efies.blogspot.com
Tophat: Fidgetrainbow tree
Letters: Scrapbook graphics