This week in review

Frigid Friday...it's about zero degrees out there...and I'm staying IN. Not that I want to make you jealous or anything, but I have a four day week end...again. I used to work 4 days a week, but with this ecomony our firm has cut back hours, so now I'm encouraged to work 24 hours a week. Which I LOVE.

Still battling the head cold. I managed to work my 24 hours, but fell into bed each night, and am definitely blurry headed today.

I have been "art journaling" every day...because...well... I always journal every day. Now I'm just adding some fun accent or doodle now and then. I discovered clear mount stamps this week, and OH MY, what an amazing idea. They take so much less space to store, and they are sold in great big sets. LOVE THEM. I've been utilizing my 40% Michaels and JoAnn's coupons, and also picking up other sale stuff. One problem with reading all these arty blogs and books is that I am being introduced to SO MANY NEW art supplies. Thank GOD I have a lot already from olden artsy days...but still...so many new products.

Anyhow, on this Moleskine page I stamped a *flourish* (one of 8 or so in the flourish set) and then punched out a flower with my great big new flower press. No, I have not popped for one of those die cut machines, but will be picking up a few punches with coupons. So, after I punched the Moleskine page to make a peek a boo window, I dabbed a bit of acrylic paint around it. On the following page I stamped a script stamp (one of four in that set). I like the little hint of anticipation, don't you? And of course I wrote wrote wrote. Journal therapy. In color. :D

I'm not actually too artsy here...just playing around.

Then today I watched a video by Julie Balzer which got me ALL PUMPED UP to go and collage collage collage, but decided to make cards first. I really do want to GIVE joy with my art rather than just play in my journal, and have to somehow balance my time. Once complete, this time I remembered to photograph them before addressing. :D On all three cards you can see my flower punch again - the flower, and the leftover stencil after punching out two flowers.

Yesterday I spent 7 hours driving to and from a meeting in small town northern Wisconsin, and on the way home I stopped at a thrift store in a teeny town. For $3.50 I bagged an atlas, two dictionaries, some sheet music, a ledger and three books. Two books are $19.95 (each) current art books, and one book is a classic I've been wanting to read by Hannah Whitnall Smith. Anyhow, the other stuff is all to cut up and punch out and use in collage and on cards. Very fun scouting about in that little store.

On the sympathy card I used part of an old hymnal (of which I have many copies), and on the other card I used a passage from an old Bible. (of which I have way way many) It's kind of hard to cut into a book, but really... this is a great use of them. I loved adding a Bible verse to two of the cards, and think that is a pretty honoring way to highlight some old pages. The hymnal page is watercolor washed, too.

Oh, and those black spots...a new pencil's eraser...dipped in an ink pad. Thanks for that idea, Julie!







I wish I had more energy. I'm just puttering along at a snail's pace, usually simply curled up by the fire reading. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back to my art journal experiments. I did watercolor some pages this week, so tomorrow I'll do something with those.

Nighty night.