lara

This is my Serenity layout for the new prompt at Dirty Scraps. Gauche Alchemy is also having a Product Spotlight for Punchinella so I had that in the back of my head to use. However, when DON'T i use it these days?!!!!!!



Really the only time I feel truly at peace is when i'm making art - especially now that I've found acrylic paints and have really started experimenting with all the different mediums and gels! On this layout I first did the painty techinique I posted about on GA. Then I cut up the paper and retaped back together. Then I took some plastic canvas and spraypainted through it. After all that I took a couple of different types of punchinella and stenciled with ink and paint and also some molding paste.



The letters are alpha chipboard I gesso'd then used String Gel Medium with Acrylic paint to build them up and add color. Added a Fortune Cookie fortune I've been saving for such an occasion, put on the punchinella I had used for stenciling and VOILA.

if you want to learn how i did this - go here :D

that is all.

prompt "Move" from oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/. I used
punchinella and plastic canvas and a heart i cut out of a box as stencil and spraypainted with burgundy and silver spray paint. Then i mixed some silver paint with Tar Gel medium and dripped it. I really love this :)

Scoutmob (I don't know if this is an Atlanta thing or national) had a 50% off coupon for a local art store so i bought a bunch of different gel mediums to experiment with! Very exciting :D

This was actually a super fun layout to make!

For the new challenge at Gauche Alchemy!

I trashpicked these lovely early 70's Betty Crocker recipe cards and collaged them together to make the background. I then used Punchinella and Plastic Canvas from the ACME Lot #3 Kit as stencil and spray painted silver and white spray paint onto the background. The photos and ribbon I got from various ACME Kits.

And voila!

Layout prompted by the new challenge at guttergirlz.blogspot.com - "Not It" using Stitching.

This is an art journal page, I used more photos from my 365 Photo Challenge and layered them on the background along with sewing patterns from Gauche Alchemy (that's my idea of stitching :D ) and dripped some gesso and put some screen on to finish off the collage.

I compiled all the 365 photos into one document which looks like this:



That's Jan 1, 2010 in the upper lefthand corner and April 30, 2010 in the bottom righthand corner - and believe me the math to make all that line up nearly split my brain in two....

OK, so the prompt right now at Dirty Scraps is "Facts of Life" and if nothing the last 4 months has taught me is that life, especially this adult life where you're completely responsible for yourself and wellbeing is full of ups and downs and all arounds. Granted, i think i've had a couple of extreme downs, but still....

I wanted to find a way to incorporate all of these photos with the journalling so i came up with this 12x12 layout which uses a hidden panel, if you will, to hide the journalling (and the metrics of this also almost broke my brain!)



The background is cardstock that i first put some sewing patterns on then glued wax paper i'd been using to protect my table from paint. Then I cut the photos into squares and made different levels



Then i used a brad to adhere the panel i was going to use to hide the journalling so it would swing back and forth - on the opposite corner there's a little pin that also holds it in place



And finally the journalling:

Haven't posted 365 Photo a Day photos in awhile - here is, omg, 6 weeks worth! That really is awhile!!!!! I'm cooking up a project to do with the first 120 days of the year... hopefully i won't lose steam halfway through :)

Layout prompted by the new challenge #8 at Dirty Scraps - Compassion.

To create this I took 4 sheets of patterned 6"x6" paper and journalled about my compassion, or lack of, for myself and all the shit I've been through over the last two years. Felt good to get it out of my head and onto paper. Felt better to then cut those sheets up into smaller rectangles then tape back together to create the 12"x12" paper canvas.



I then sprayed Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist over it and stamped and stenciled the paper before adding on the packing tape image transfer photo, dictionary page and other embellishments.

For the new Gauche Alchemy Challenge - to use this vintage ad as inspiration:


The image is from an Adobe Photo Library I found at work. The background is some old Basic Grey papers i cut and put back together. I used that Punchinella which is behind the girl also for the stencil of the dots. The text at the bottom is from some super old old old book i got at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago.
The paper lace I misted with my new Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist to match the paper better.

i gave it to a friend who needed some cheering up - one of her favorite quotes is "have you heard? the bird is the word" - so that's where that comes from :)
Check out the GA blog to see how others interpreted the ad - it's so interesting and fun!

"Not a Secret" layout inspired by the latest prompt at guttergirlz.blogspot.com.
Lyrics from "The Fly" by U2.

The background is scrapbook paper i never thought I'd use because they were "too pretty" but i've discovered doing this layout that pretty can also become pretty grungy - which i find delicious! Soooooooo .... i cut and re-pieced together two sheets of paper and some sheet music, sprayed on some glimmer mist and stamped and dripped gesso AND white ink.



I like how the back of the duck tape that I used to re-piece the paper shows through - that was a pleasant surprise :)

The photo is heavily processed in Photoshop - darn that Rachel at One Year in the Life of an Art Journal that recently issued a prompt involving photo effects :-p Now I can't stop!!!

Framing the photo I used two Pantone swatches. These are used in printing to specify ink colors. When both me and my friend April worked as graphic designers we would occassionally email each other and be like "today is a PMS (Pantone Matching System) 201 day" or "i'm feeling really PMS 2747 today" and we soooooooo knew what each other was talking about!!! hahahahahaha



Lastly I made this little flower with some ribbon scraps and a brad - I put some wire between the layers (cleverly hidden) to make the flower poofy!

For Challenge #7 at dirtyscraps.blogspot.com.
The prompt is: No More Drama - it immediately made me think of one of my favorite all time songs from Mary J Blige, No More Drama, and the line "I don't wanna cry no more" just encompasses my entire life at this moment in time.

Kind of a hybrid piece - the photo I made in Photoshop using two lovely texture backgrounds from webtreats

The background is paper i started to do stamping and stenciling and dripping on and then thought it look kind of boring so i cut it all up into small pieces and taped it back together. The Plastic canvas and punchinella are from gauchealchemy.wordpress.com. To finish it off i sewed buttons on.

Valencia! You are the winner of my Gauche Alchemy Blog Hop RAK!!!!!!!!
Email me your snail mail so I can get some goodies out to you :)

1lara1 at gmail dot com

YAY!!!!!!!
Thanks everyone for the amazing comments you left - you all brightened my day, week, month! For real!!!! xoxo

art journal page for Year in the Life of An Art Journal.

The prompt is the word "Un" and the
technique is using digital layers and textures on photos.

Since I use Photoshop for my day job I try to separate the "paper and glue" art I generally do from the digital art, but I have to admit it was cathartic to work on this photo (or photos). The filters and textures came from the stock site Deviant Art and the photos are courtesy of the 365 Photo a Day Challenge I am doing. They were taken on my iphone one night.



The background is acrylic paint with duct tape and newspaper for texture and then I used punchinella (from Gauche Alchemy) as stencil for the dots and some new stamps i got for the circles. The letters are also from some old stamps I took out of storage.

My 2nd complete art journal is done! I guess, really it's my third counting the "year in the life" journal from last year, however it has been in progress for like 8 months.


The three that are complete in their full glory:



And just a gratuitious painty macro shot of the cover :)

Extra, extra, read all about it!! The Gauche Girls Open Up!...

If you've stopped by the Gauche Alchemy blog today, you'll see that a brand-spanking new team has been announced, and in honor of that, all the Gauche Girls are Opening Up. How easy are we...to figure out that is! If you haven't started at the beginning of our hop, hop on back to the Gauche Blog and start in the fun there. There are RAKs up for grabs along the hop, so make sure you comment on each Gauche Girls blog for a chance to win some serious yumminess.

Now for the fun part: Each of us Gauche Girls have chosen a word that best describes why we're so Gauche! Honey, this is where you need to work it a little! Here's what you do: Find all the words and which hoppin' hunny they belong to, head back to the GA Blog & post a comment with your answers - if you get it right, you get a shot at a kick-ass prize pack from The Head Honchettes themselves! See, it's EASY. If you have already started on the hop you should have come from Nicole's Bloggity Blog.



I love the sauce ... but some would say I'm also a bit saucy ...moi? (pssst saucy is the secret word, yo....)

I used a file folder as the background, painted the front with acrylic, threw on a coffee filter and screen from the Wholey Sheets kit and used some Punchinella as stencil all from the ArtFire Store. Put on some lovely Muse lyrics and a photo from a Steampunk "Mechanical Masquerade" party ... and there you have it!

Leave a comment on my blog and I'll pick a winner by random and send you a little mixed media kit of some of my favorite things :)

Now shake your tail feathers all the way to Amy's Blog and stare at some more Gauchy Goodness and get to know the rest of the team, since I've OPENED UP to you already *wink*

For the challenge #6 at dirtyscraps.blogspot.com/:

Challenge #6
I know we all have those moments when we say
"Man I was totally wrong what was I thinking??" or "Where was my head??"
It is always a good thing to look back...reflect on a mistake or lesson learned and remember how we got here in life and how that mistake or lesson helped us move along.
After all what good are mistakes if we do not learn from them?
So this week's challenge is to scrap one of those DOH! moments!
It does not have to be negative, it can be a positive outcome, or great lesson learned...

The prompt kind of lead my head through all the horrible decisions I've made over the last two years and how their outcome has completely broken me down and i have surrendered to the universe. I'm exhausted and tired of fighting for sanity and happiness and just in a fetal position mode these days. C'est la vie.

It's actually a pretty simple but stunning layout in person - I used a sheet of paper I've been using as a acrylic paint palette on and off for about three years - cut it up and put it back together with a piece of upholstery fabric.

For the new prompt at guttergirlz.blogspot.com

THE PROMPT: Road Trip
THE SONG: The Climb by Miley Cyrus
THE PRODUCT/TECHNIQUE: A Map

I saw Muse a couple of weeks ago and all of these memories of the trip I call "Muse Odyssey" came flooding back. (for a looooonggggg memory of that, i posted this several years ago at my blog Muse Recap)



The layout background is 2 maps cut up and pieced back together to form a 12x12 paper.
There's a couple of layers because i kept trying stuff i didn't like and then pasting more map pieces over what i didn't like :) Kind of like a Clt-Z key :)



In the lefthand corner are lyrics from a favorite Muse song, Invincible, that are a tape transfer.



The faux frame is made up of scraps from the Gauche Alchemy kits - Wholey Sheets and Punchinella

Also used the Punchinella with ink as a stencil for the circles and stars :)

For the second prompt at http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/ - the word "unknown"



I am SO SICK of living with an unknown future.
So exhausting.
This page doesn't really feel good to me, but it's what came out when i tried, so i won't throw it away. But, i think i may need to pursue more pages on this topic.


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For the 5th challenge at http://dirtyscraps.blogspot.com:

I made this layout inspired by the prompt #4 at Dirty Scraps - "In Your Eyes".

After Charo passed Feb 5 I couldn't do anything creative. I really wanted to create a "grief journal" but couldn't even force myself to grab a pen and write. I took out dozens of photos of her to make a little mini-book but couldn't figure out how to put them in. But, I knew for me personally, creative therapy is really the best therapy and when i saw this prompt I knew what I wanted to do for it.

The photo I used I have all around me - on my phone, desktop, wall... it really captures Charo perfectly and i constantly find myself looking into the eyes of the photo because that's what I used to do with Charo all the time. Many dogs (and some humans :-p) don't have much going on behind their eyes, but she did - a deepness and connection.



Anyways....
I created this layout using my newfound technique of creating texture with acrylic paint and gesso. Then i also grabbed some supplies from my new favorite kit from Gauche Alchemy - Wholey Sheets Mixed Media Kit.



I am so in love with plastic canvas - the options are limitless!!! Here I used it as a frame with no backing so you can see through it!!!!! And I also used some of the screen from the kit, spray painting it a little to give it a red hue.




Journalling:

in your eyes
i never felt alone
you touched a part of me, that no one,
human or animal has touched before -
made it all warm and gooey and full of love
in your eyes
i saw the purest of unconditional love,
no matter what i did,
no matter how shitty the choices i made were,
no matter how depressed or anxious i was,
you looked at me with nothing but love,
in your eyes
i saw the reflection of who i wanted to be,
strong, sassy, passionate, independent, silly...
more than once you gave me a purpose
to keep on trudging through life,
so i could look into your eyes
i never took a minute for granted with you
always kissed you good morning
and snuggled you good night.
my greatest fear was
not having enough time with you,
and we didn't.
rest in peace my baby girl...
i will never forget the way you looked at me,
the way you fed my soul.
you will forever be in my eyes.