Chosen Moments Art Journal

By Leave a Comment

~ * ~

This article is written by Tamara Dinius

Purple circles feature in Tamara Dinius mixed media art journal layout

These videos (Part 1 and Part 2) show the process of completing an art journal layout start to finish. The layout was completed using Dylusion Sprays, Liquitex Acrylic Inks, stencils, papers, gold leafing, as well as other items.

Follow along and complete a layout in less than 30 minutes.

Part 1

Part 2

“Chosen Moments” art journal close-ups:

Purple circles feature in Tamara Dinius mixed media art journal layout

Purple circles feature in Tamara Dinius mixed media art journal layout

Purple circles feature in Tamara Dinius mixed media art journal layout

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tamara Dinius lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and chocolate lab. She has two grown daughters who make her life meaningful. They support her, ground her, embrace her, and are amazing people in their own right.

Her love for mixed media has taken over most aspects of her creative journey. She believes mixed media allows for a broad range of styles and anyone can find success in this form of artistic expression.

You can find more of Tamara’s work, and on her website www.countrycraftersusa.com or via her Etsy Store.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

.

.

Filed Under: Mixed Media Art Journal Tagged With: , , , ,

Inner Child Journal Inspiration

By Leave a Comment

This article is written by Melanie Statnick

Summer time. Every child in the world loves summer break from school.  Knowing that this is quickly coming up or is already in session for the at home mom/working artists trying to find something to keep the kids happy and busy can be a job in itself.   It can also suck the creative life out of you.  Face it, kids have high energy and they siphon it from you like little gas tanks.

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

Its late the kids are in bed, and you are out of mojo. Where do you get inspiration over the summer? From your inner child of course. We have all read articles on how to let your inner child guide you through art, talking to it, playing etc… But does it really influence your art? Can you really let go and just do some art play? For no reason but to just create?

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

I live in a different country then where I grew up and spent many summers enjoying the great outdoors.  Thanks to the internet I was recently able to take a virtual tour of the streets where I grew up. The nostalgia was overwhelming.  Remembering that little girl, playing in the yard, climbing the wall across the street and discovering new things, watching all my favorite TV shows, I was even reminded of the grape purple overalls I wore out running and biking around. I wore them everywhere.

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

This reminder of how much fun and new summer felt inspired me to get into the groove again.  I took out my watercolors and just played. Doodling and painting all the wonderful things that made my inner child feel good.  This is a great prompt to help you get started if you are stuck for journaling or painting.

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

Look through old photos of you growing up, where you liked to play, were you liked to play the most, the imagination you had to play house and make forts in trees, the fun friends you made over the summer. Summer vacation can look a lot brighter when you remember how to play like a kid.

Summer Vacation can be a challenge and seep away your creativity; Melanie Statnick has a few suggestions for keeping your Inner Child well nourished.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Melanie Statnickis a Published Artist out of North Carolina USA. Melanie creates art daily from her private studio. Her style is fun, whimsy and eclectic. Melanie is also an Art Instructor for local venues and community colleges for students of all ages.
.

.

Filed Under: Mixed Media Inspiration Tagged With: , , , ,

Art Journal Page Inspired by Nature

By 1 Comment

~ * ~

This article is written by Cecilia Sanchez

I like to look for inspiration in the shapes, colors and textures of nature. Seeking inspiration I found a tree that had many things to tell me.

Art journal project

I started trying to reproduce the shapes, layers, shadows, but not knowing how it would end.

Art journal project

Gradually, the creative process leads you to the final draft.
Sometimes you see the end result from the beginning, but sometimes you need to wait several days and re-cover it with new layers.
This is the best of “Mixed media”: Anything goes!

Art journal project

Here is a video with the whole process.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

My name is Cecilia Sanchez (CeciScrap) and I live in Málaga, Spain.

I am married and we have three gorgeous sons. They inspire me every day with their crazy ideas.

Since my childhood I liked the photography, drawing, collage and make photo albums with cuts and travel souvenirs. I also love crafts in general. In 2006, a few months after birth my twins, I discovered scrapbooking, digital first and then the traditional. I love to do 30X30 pages, cards and mini albums, and for a while now I am fascinated with the Art Journal and Mixed Media, and I do not imagine scrapbooking without getting my hands dirty.
I am inspired by everyday things, feelings … The art journal is a real diary for me, because sometimes I need to express feelings with colors and shapes.

I love learning and discovering new techniques and materials.
I am part of the European design team of KURETAKE, and I am also designer for a monthly blog challenge Sweet Card Club. I contribute with some blogs and digital magazines and organized Scrapbooking workshops in Malaga.

You can see more of me at:

ceciscrap.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/ceciscrap

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

.

.

Filed Under: Mixed Media Art Journal Tagged With: , , ,

Vintage Vacations Altered Book Layout

By 1 Comment

~ * ~

This article is written by Michelle Brown

This month’s mixed media art ephemera sheet is all about Vintage Vacations – I just LOVE these cute vacation brochures that were part of my Great Aunt’s H-U-G-E collection of paper ephemera that I inherited. How cool is that font?!? You can get your own copy of this ephemera sheet here ~ Mixed Media Art Ephemera Sheet – Vintage Vacations. We had lots of fun putting this sheet together for you

To ignite your creative spark, I have created this combined altered book layout.

mixed media art ephemera images

For the first page I decided to highlight a road trip my family took a few years ago – we travelled from Victoria and across to southern South Australia for 4 weeks and over 5,700 km. We only got as far as the outskirts of the Australian Outback but it gave me a glimpse of that part of Australia.

This altered book layout already had a layer of gesso and blue wash – prefect for the endless skies we saw on our vacation. First I printed out the ephemera sheet and tore out the brown brochure; just the shade of the endless dried grassy plains. This was glued in with Paper Mod Podge – Matte.

Then I stencilled in some birds (Black Crested Cockatoos) and gumtree trunks with greys.
[You can make your own Gum Tree Trunk stencil using the photos from the Mixed Media Art Technique Sheet]

Then I added some leaves in two shades of green (forgot to take photo of that step!). After printing out a selection of photos (there  were quite a few photos after 4 weeks of vacation!), I edged them in StazOn Stone Gray ink and arranged them onto the layout with double sided tape. The photos were edged with charcoal pencil.

The second page was thrown together along with a page from an old atlas and a few Aussie stickers – this page isn’t finished yet as I want to add a photo of my Great Uncle, who was a Coach Driver with Hannaford’s Coaches. I’m sure many of these brochures came through him to my Aunt. I love the romantic images these brochures bring to my mind, back in the day when travel around our vast continent by coach and ship.

Happy creating!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michelle G. Brown is passionate about mixed media art and enjoys sharing her knowledge and techniques with you to allow you to express your own creativity. Michelle understands that many of us have an inner need to create. By learning a few basic techniques the amazing world of mixed media art is accessible to everyone!

Michelle lives with her husband and two boys in Melbourne, Australia.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

 

Filed Under: Altered Book Art Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »