My life is Nevr-Dull

 

I just recently watched a this Katie Kendrick video and thought I’d drag out the old Nevr-dull and give her technique, for making background papers, a whirl.

I started by pulling colored pages out of magazines and books.  This technique is easy and fun….you just use a wad of Nevr-Dull to rub the background ink off the page. 

So here is page one, I just laid a cardboard coffee cup wrap under it and put a piece of sequin waste on top……took the piece of Nevr-Dull and gently rubbed.

 

You can see in the texture of the cardboard underneath if you look in the dot pattern, interesting!  Then you go in with white paint and ink to add more interest to the page.

This is the final look….after ink and paint were added! 

This is the second page, I actually collaged pieces of paper to this page, too……

Page three and, below, page four……..

Try it!  It is truly a fun and easy way to make interesting background papers for your artwork or journal pages.

The before and after…..

 

It is interesting to look back on some of my journal pages before I wrote on them and after…….which is better?  Pristine or character?

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind “ a Dr. Seuss quote.  Below is how it looks after my notes and mementos have been added to the page…..

Now, you know what an amazingly interesting life I lead…..not!  But, by golly, I’ll know when we got our new tires and went to see “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”.

Those who make journals use the term “tip-in”.  Ever wonder what that was?  Well, here is an example, above are two facing pages in my journal……with tape I affix a separate single page in between the two…..like this……

flip the page and it looks like this…….and that is a “tip-in”.

 

This is after it has been written in………

 

Another page, before…….

…..and after!  I prefer the after….saving memories and bits and pieces of life is what this journal/diary is all about!

Thanks for stopping by….please leave a comment.  I’d love to see your journal, too!

End of season in the garden

 

It is almost November, pretty much the end of the garden season in my part of Oregon, but there are still a few “lovelies” remaining……such as our Beautyberry!

She’s a pretty flashy lady with her bright, iridescent purple berries that the birds, especially the robins, love.

It is a fairly large shrub, that can be pruned back, other than an occasional trim this is a very easy to care for plant with the added bonus of white flowers in the spring.

I love to dry these Hydrangea blossoms but I have four plants….makes for a lot of dried flowers.  I’ll figure out something to do with the extras.

It amazing the different shades and colors that can be on the same Hydrangea plant, isn’t it?

We had some frost the last couple of nights, so the tomatoes are officially over, but the figs are getting ripe and sweet…..now it’s  race between the humans and the birds to see who gets the most.

The last rose of summer…..literally!

In my garden, this is a personal favorite..….hardy geranium “Roxanne”.  It blooms all summer but the best flush of flowers is in the spring and again in the fall.  Right now, it is glorious!

It’s all about color combinations for me!  Every year I have favorite and not so favorite plant combos in my flower beds….here are a couple I really like this year.  The yellow of the Wallflowers against the blue-violet of the Hydrangea are beautiful complimentary colors.

I really like the pink of the Hardy Fuchsia against the dusty pink of the Hydrangea with the reddish stems of Barberry and the touch of Blue Oat Grass brings out the blue-ish cast in the Barberry leaves.  Yummmmmmmmm!

All too soon these flowers will be gone and the rains will be here but for now….ENJOY!

Thanks for stopping by, leave me a comment and let me know how your garden grows!

Join me at Jean's Bloomin Tuesday and visit more fall gardens.

WOYWW Helper Cat!

 

This isn’t exactly my every day work desk, but I often work on the dinning room table when extra space is needed, except today…..it seems to be occupied!

By…ta da…..Mister Al cat…..who muscled his way into the basket and shoved the hydrangeas aside.  I couldn’t resist sharing this photo of helper cat!

On my really workdesk it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  I am getting some goodies ready for a local Christmas art sale.

 

 

 

Earlier this year, I found 24 of these tin Christmas light reflectors at a flea market.  So, with the help of a little alcohol ink they, now,  look like this………..

 

I’ve collaged some pictures to the back of glass nuggets and added lace and papers to turn them into refrigerator magnets, tree ornament and/or even a brooch or two………..like this….

or this…..

I’m just getting started……have a few more started but I’m a long way from finished!

I’d better get to work!  Now, is a good time for you to go off to visit all the other workdesk of artist around the world at Julia's Stamping Ground What's on you Workdesk Wednesday.

I’m, also, going to a place I haven’t been in a while, Debra's Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday.   I love this party, you will too……so much talent in one place…it is amazing!

Colors for Cyprus…….

 

I am participating in a color swap with five other women.  For this swap, each participant determines the colors they want their pages to be and the size, the theme is up to the person designing the pages.

My swap pages were sent off to Cath, and their new home, on the island of Cyprus.  Cath choose black and yellow for her pages which she will bind into a book after she receives them all.

Black is a really hard color for me to work with…..so this was a challenge but that is why it is fun to do!  We each send two pages finished both sides…….

First page front……..

The other side….looks like this!

Page 2 front is something I remembered seeing in Jane Davies’ book, “Adventure in Mixed Media”….I’ve always wanted to make an art paper doll, so here she is…….

And last, but not least, on the flip side is a place for the signature tag.  It is a little hard to see at first glance but the yellow piece is the tag.

That was a challenge and a fun one at that!!!!!  Had to sneak a little blue and/or violet on to each page…..hope you don’t mind, Cath.

It’s home……………….

 

My much traveled altered book returned home this week and I’m delighted and excited!

For those of you who are new to this blog, earlier this spring I signed up to become part of an altered book round robin.  That entails, six women selecting a hard cover book, gluing pages together and adding art that reflects the their theme to the pages and cover.  Then on a monthly basis we mailed the books to each other, each person contributing her art and then mailing it on to the next person.

I figure my book has traveled approximately 8000 miles since last May 15, the day I mailed it off to Amy.  Amy, by the way, was the organizer/mother hen/worrier/enforcer of this project and she did it all very well.

So here we go…..this is my cover.  It is a book cover glued onto a book cover to which I added a clock face, tin type of child, watch face, plastic mesh, a vintage key and some great metal fringe topped off with a velvet ribbon.

 

Opening pages were done by me with a library card showing the title/theme of my book “Letters and Numbers”.  I wrote on this card when it left my house and asked each person to date when they received it and mailed it…..fun way to preserve the book’s travels.  The other side of the page is a library card pocket full of tags signed by each participating artist.

Then I left a few pages open to preserve the original book and display the publish date of 1919. Next…..another page I did with a subtle “six”!

Another page by me, I promise the other’s are coming up…..

See…..here is Amy’s, who my book traveled to Louisiana to visit, cute page!  I had forgotten that “7 ate 9”….PERFECT for my letters and numbers theme.  Thanks, Amy for all you did.

Next, is a very touching page by Dekida in New York.  Art should evoke emotion and Dekida’s art truly touches the heart. 

  

Next is a much more joyful piece, also, by Dekida.  Thanks to you, Dekida!

This next beauty was done by Connie, who lives in the state of Washington! I’ve learned a bit about book selection, this one may have been a little too old and how to remove pages, those two things are what have contributed to this page looking like it is coming loose.  I may reinforce it with tape but it should be fine, if it is handled carefully, just doesn’t look as good as I’d like.

This in Connie’s second page……

Are you getting some idea of how talented these women are?  I love Connie’s style and her beautiful use of color and collage. She is so talented.  Thank you so much, Connie.

  The next pages are from Corinne in Southern Oregon!  Corinne has a wonderful way with fabric and stitching….love these colors!

For this layout, Corrine, used a clear overly with watch faces and cleverly stamped and stenciled the facing page.  So wonderfully imaginative and creative, thank you Corrine.

Next is another page of mine……

I used some die cuts, stamping, paper and cut outs.

Mine, too……using one of my favorite (and often used) photos of my mother!

The pages on the right are a section of the book I am preserving to show some of the original books content!

Phrenology Illustrated is a clear overlay that states it is “where numbers live”!  This is my page, too.

The next incredible page is by Laura, who also live in Washington.

 

Unfortunately, the camera does not do this page justice….it is so full of texture and beautifully designed.  Laura used glass tiles to form the letter “T” and on the right, a sandpaper disk is stamped and centered with disks of paper.  Laura gave birth to a little girl in the middle of this round robin…..TIME and the lack of it were on her mind and she expressed it so well here.  Thank you for this wonderful piece, Laura.

This layout is mine, too. 

As I write this blog and really study each of these wonderful works I can hardly believe it is my good fortune to own this book.  I will treasure it forever, thanks ladies!