Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Art Journal Conversion is addicting!


This has been the best 5-day weekend in a long time. Of course, it was nice to spend an entire weekend with hubby on Sunday and Monday. That's a given. But I also finally got finished my shopping list for my Art Journal Conversion workshop that I'm taking from Roben Marie Smith. And I have spent the last two days reviewing the videos and reworking my pages some, working past the ugly stages to arrive at this glorious point. What point? The point where I can actually say that I love every page I've done following this course. Every one. I completed six.

Now mind you they aren't quite finished yet. I'm converting them into art journals. Each should have about 20 pages, which will make great gifts. I think I'll keep two or three. Well maybe more, if I find I absolutely can't part with them.

I've been playing more and more with different medium and I have to say that this one was probably the hardest for me to work through, or past the ugly stages. Gesso is my friend now. We were acquaintances before, but now we're buds. And the inks! Oh I love ink now. Especially now that I have barrier cream, but that's a mute point. Even if I didn't have the cream, I'd still want to play with these inks every day.

This project might actually have turned me into an art everyday kind of creative. And I've learned too, which I have to say makes it all the more worthwhile. I could definitely get used to starting off a few pages with some backgrounds using stencils and inks. Then move onto some more texture the next day. Then layer some more the next day. A focal point? Yep, I'd do that the following day and by the end of the week I'd have something I'm absolutely in love with.

This course has been a real joy to take and I'm so happy that I'll have something tangible to show people when they ask what I've been doing creatively.

I'll post the completed journals later this week. I just have to sew in the signatures and goodies. So stay tuned. In the meantime, let me know what you think.

Have a great week!


The yellow on this page isn't so vibrant in real life. It's a little more subtle.


I wasn't so crazy about the teal water dripping, but I kind of like it now.

I think the orange heart is what makes the page pop.

This page reminds me of the innocence of popping bubbles on a warm sunny day.


One of my fave pages. It took a lot of thinking to figure out where I wanted it to go,
but I'm glad I took the time.


Not my fave page, but I love the diamonds.



By far my favourite page. The journaling is from Jimmy Wayne's You Are,
which darling hubby and I danced our first dance to at our reception.

I love the chevron stencil from Balzer Designs.