November Art Journal Pages - Documented Life Project 2015

The year is quickly coming to an end and here I'am playing catch up with the Documented Life Project 2015. It seems every year around the holidays, our normal routines in life kind of get brushed to the side to prepare for the holidays.  I want to be able to say I finished my DLP this year.  It is now the third week into December and I'm just now starting on this months challenges.  I keep telling myself "I can do it".  Is anyone else finding themselves playing catch up too?  I wanted to share with you some of my pages  from November since I've been seriously slacking on blogging my pages with you. Enjoy!

November Theme

Stencils, Stamps, and Masks
November 7
Art Challenge: Stencils - Made or Bought
Journal Prompt:  On the edge of uncertainty…what are you afraid of?

November Theme

Stencils, Stamps, and Masks
November 14
Art Challenge: Use a Hand Carved Stamp
Journal Prompt:  Tapestries

I just love this quote by Maya Angelou.  It was quite fitting for the challenge.

November Theme
Stencils, Stamps, and Masks
November 21
Art Challenge: Use a Mask
Journal Prompt:  "Mask"arade

What seems ordinary is often the extraordinary.

November Theme
Stencils, Stamps, and Masks
November 28
Art Challenge: Combine the Three (Stencils, Stamps, and Masks)
Journal Prompt:  "Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."-Henry James

Be kind always to others and most importantly to yourself. 

Practicing my faces...

Thank you all for stopping by and checking out my November challenges for The Documented Life Project 2015!  

You had me at hello...

October Theme

Translucent Papers
October 3
Art Challenge: Deli Paper
Journal Prompt:  You Had Me At Hello

Fall is in the air... For most of us it is, anyway.  Here in Southern California it looks and feels like summer still.  Since moving here from Ohio, I've longed for the beautiful fall days where the leaves are changing colors, the air is cool and crisp, and I can wear scarves, boots, and sweaters, and go to a pumpkin patch. October has always been one of my favorite months, with it being the month where it starts to really look and feel like fall. I felt inspired to incorporate a fall theme for this weeks challenge.

Steps :

1.  Cut out the leaves and pumpkins using my Silhouette electronic cutting machine.  

2. Put down deli paper covering both pages, sealed with a matte medium.

3. Painted the pumpkins and stems.

4.  Colored the background with Faber-Castell Gelatos

5.  Used a stamp with brown ink to add texture to the background.

6.  Adhered the pumpkins to the page, then the leaves around the border of the page, then adhered the gold foil chipboard work "hello" and die cut "October".  

7.  Out lined and added shadow around everything.  

8.  Added gold shimmer mist splashes in the background.

And with that I'm calling this one done.  

.Happy Fall Y'all!

Krystal

Art Journal DLP Week 38 Silhouettes

September Theme
Journaling with Photos
September 19
Art Challenge: Silhouettes
Journal Prompt:  There is no shadow without the light...

For this challenge, I knew exactly what photo I wanted to use.  A few years ago while fishing at Jenx Lake near Big Bear, California, I was sitting there taking in the scenic surroundings watching a blue bird foraging for some food.  I remember trying to get a good shot of him and as he went to fly away I snapped the button on my camera.  It has always been one of my absolute favorite photos that I have ever captured.  This photo went perfect with the art challenge of using a silhouette, and fitting with the journal prompt of no shadow without light.   

I printed out the photo with my inkjet printer, which I found out last week through trial and error that it is best if you spray a fixative over your photo because the matte medium, or modge podge you put on top the photo will smear the color in your photo. This week I sprayed the fixative first and had no problems.  Lesson learned.  After it had dried I adhered my photo copy to the page using Liquitex Matte Medium.  I used Tim Holtz Distress paints for the background, and Tim Holtz "Burlap" stencil with Ranger texture paste.   Recollections Alpha stamps were used for writing out the journaling prompt.  
   

Thanks for checking out this weeks layout in my Documented Life Project.

Happy Crafting!

Krystal

Art Journal Week 37 DLP - What makes your heart sing?

September Theme

Journaling with Photos

September 12

Art Challenge: Digital Imagery & Design

Journal Prompt:  What Makes Your Heart Sing?

Zazu is what makes my heart sing every day.  Meet my 2 year old Congo African Grey Parrot.  She recently had her 2 year hatch day on September the second.  A hatch day for a bird is the equivalence to a birthday for humans. I have hand raised this little gem since she was 6 weeks old.  She is so loving, chatty, and smart, most of all she has such a special place in my heart. When I seen what the journal prompt was I knew that I was going to pay tribute to her this week, which lead to her being the star of my layout.  

For the art challenge of using digital imagery and design, I first started with this photo I took of Zazu while we were outside enjoying the sunshine together on my I Phone. I used a photo editing app to edit and crop the photo.  I then uploaded the photo to my computer. 

As some of you may know from previous blog post, I have a Silhouette Cutting Machine and use it all the time!  There is a Silhouette Design Software program that you can download onto your computer that goes with the  Silhouette machine.  With the  Silhouette Design software I was able to upload the photo edited of Zazu and put a floral frame around the photo.  Next I had a watercolor image uploaded to the software. I then searched the Silhouette store for a scallop border, once I found one that I liked I uploaded the scallop border image with the watercolor imaged and made about 6 scallop borders that I wanted to put around the pages.  

Once I had my images ready to go I sent the designs to the printer, and put the photocopy of them on the sticky cutting mat and loaded it into the machine, then I sent the designs to the Silhouette machine to cut out around each of the images for me.  After all my digital images were designed, and cut I began putting down tissue paper by Tim Holtz to cover the background.  

Next I Put down a few different layers paint, drips and splatter.  I wanted to add some texture, so I used a few different stamps in the background.  Next I adhered the scallop borders around the pages with a matte medium.  

Then I adhered the photo of Zazu, and the alpha stickers to the other side of the page that read;  "Zazu you make my heart sing." Afterwards I used a white sharpie to doodle around the scallop border and the floral frame, then using a black fude ball pen I out lined the letters, and doodled circles inside the scallop border, and with that called it done.  

Thanks for stopping by, I would love to hear from you, so please comment below.

  

xoxo

Krystal

Photo Transfer - The Documented Life Project Week 36

September Theme

Journaling with Photos
September 5th
Art Challenge: Photo Transfer
Journal Prompt:  From Here to There

Can I please just start off by saying, how much I loved doing this challenge! Every Saturday on my local PBS station there is a T.V. show called Scrapbook Soup, and on this show I had watched a segment of them doing a photo transfer using packing tape.  I never had tried this technique up until this weeks challenge.   It was pretty simple and turned out good on the first try. 

Steps for photo transfer:

1. Print an image using a laser printer. (The Image I used was from a 1960 Fashion photographer named Sir Norman Parkinson.)

2. layer strips of transparent packing tape over the printed image,*Be sure to overlap the tape. 

3. Take the image covered in tape and submerge it in a dish of water. The image was printed on a heavy card stock, and I soaked the image for about 1 minute.

4. Begin rubbing the paper off from the tape with your fingers, until all paper is gone

5. Voila! You will have a photo transfer.

After making my photo transfer I put down some "book text" tissue paper. For the background I used some of the Tim Holtz Distress paints, and a pop of pink liquid acrylic.  Martha Stewart, and Recollections flowers were used to embellish the bottom of the page, and to help fill in the gap at the bottom of the photo transfer. 

The quote used on my page went with the journal prompt "from here to there".  I wanted to print it out off  the computer, cut down the paper and layer in onto the page. 

I wanted to give the page some texture, so I used a Tim Holtz Stencil with some Ranger texture paste to get the raised ruler look at the bottom of the page. The page was still looking bare, so I sprayed a paper doily with some pink tattered angels spray mist, and gold Color spray from Heidi Swapp. I went around the quote and doily with a brown Faber-Castell Pitt Brush marker to help blend it all into the page, and give it some shadow. Calling this one done.

I love the look of doing this photo transfer method.  There are many other ways to do it out there but since I had already seen this technique done and it seemed to be the easiest I had to give it a try.  I can't wait to try this again on other projects and on other journal pages.  For someone who can't draw (like me) the photo transfer method takes your creating abilities to a new level! Thanks for visiting my page today, below I have posted my process video for making this weeks layout.  Please Like, Comment, and Share, I want to hear from you!  

Happy Crafting!

Krysal Barto

Art Journal Week 34 The Documented Life Project: Layered

August Theme
Faces, the Human Form & Characters
August 22
Art Challenge: Layered (Using Multiple Mediums)
Journal Prompt:  Speak to your younger self- what advice would you offer?


While checking out this weeks prompt and visiting the ladies pages from Art to the 5th I felt really inspired by Rae Missigman's idea to use a magazine clipping.  
You can check out her weekly blog post here:
 https://rae-missigman.squarespace.com/blog/2015/8/19/expressive-layering





Last week I received one of my many free magazine subscriptions in the mail of Harper's Bazaar the Fall Fashion Issue.  The cover immediately grabbed my attention, with the collaged pieces of the face.  While flipping through the pages I seen one image of a woman in a pretty gown and a serious look on her face.  This was the image I knew I wanted to use. Soon after finding the clipping I went straight to work on this weeks prompt.  






Process for this weeks spread: 1.  Collaged some scrap pieces of Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap Paper, and patterned card stock.

2.  Applied magazine clipping of the woman.

3. Added two layers of Gesso

4. Colored in the woman using Derwent Inktense pencils, and Caran D'Ache Neocolor water soluble wax pastels. 

5. Used some texture paste with two different stencils.

6. Put down some color to the background.



7.  Added some stamped images to the background for added texture.

8. Sprayed some Kaisercraft Iridescent Spray to the stenciled areas of texture paste for an added grunge look.  

9.  Embellished the neck line with some pearl beads, and a flower in the woman's hair. 

10.  Last I took a DIY Library Tag, and wrapped some Recollections Washi tape around the folder.  I ended up not using the journal tag that came with it but rather a different journaling tag, which I painted, and embellished with ribbon and a rose button.  

11.  Last I used Neocolor water soluble wax pastels and lightly colored over the washi tape to give it some color.  

For the journal prompt of advice I would give to my younger self, I have written it out on my journaling tag. It was left blank here for photo purposes.  

Below is the video I have made for this weeks prompt, to share with you all.  I hope you enjoy.  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Craftin'

Krystal Barto