Playing With Lettering My Word

Playing With Lettering My Word

One way I explore my word of the year is by reading books that will help me live out my intentions for my word. At the end of last year as I was exploring my choice for my 2020 word, fruit, I ran across an article that quoted Dallas Willard. As I looked up the Dallas Willard quote in one of his books, I realized that he had a lot to say about the areas I'm trying to further explore and grow in. So I decided that I would re-read, or finish reading, a few of his books this year. So, for me, this is the year of Dallas Willard! I am starting with his book "Renovation of the Heart", which is all about how we grow spiritually and what spiritual transformation looks like. I highly recommend it!

One way to keep what I'm reading in my mind is to slow down and write quotes from the books in both my writing journal and in my art journal. I used a few quotes to play with some of my lettering styles this past week in preparation for this week's challenge in our Living Your Word group, which is to letter your word and to think of a color that reflects your word.

Cutting letters out of painted papers is one of my favorite ways to make words. Green seems to be the color I am gravitating to for my word this year, as green is a color that symbolizes growth. On my page spread I used painted paper cut letters and then I lettered my quotes with my hand lettering and filled it with color.

Since I was thinking about my lettering styles, I played around throughout the week writing one of my theme verses for the year in a variety of the lettering styles I use. It was a great way to play this week!

Pop over to our Living Your Word Facebook group and join us in exploring ways to live out your word of the year. There has been a lot of great conversations and examples form group members of how they are living out their word. Valerie Sjodin has also written a blog post today about lettering your word of the year. Read it here.

Living Your Word 2020 Opportunity!

My friends Bernice Hopper, and Valerie Sjodin, and I share insights through blog posts for creatively living a word of the year. In our Facebook group, we encourage one another by posting questions and prompts to inspire living out a word focus, keeping a journal etc. It is a safe place to ask for prayer and support. If you would like to connect with others in creative ways about living your word, you can ask to join our Living Your Word of the Year 2020 by clicking on the link below.

URL for Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/livingyourwordoftheyear/ 

Hashtag for Instagram:  #livingyourword2020

Check out their blogs:

Bernice: https://newlycreative.com

Valerie: https://valeriesjodin.com/blog/ 

Living Your Word of the Year Letters U & V

In the Living Your Word of the Year group we have spent this past year working through the alphabet using the letters to pick words that support our word of the year. Four more letters left and we close the year and the decade. 

For U, I chose the word unfailing. To live a sacred life, I believe, means we need to have a strong connection with God's unfailing love. On this page I enjoyed clipping painted papers for a little collage.

For the letter V, I chose the word voice. For quite some time I have felt a strong connection with the call found in Proverbs 31:8-9, to be a voice for those whose voices tend to get drowned out by society - the poor, single moms, children -  the list could go on and on.

Wherever you live, I hope you are enjoying the change in season. I spent some time walking at the park yesterday. The sun was not out but everything glowed from the yellow and gold leaves on the trees. This is absolutely my favorite time of year. Despite the weather turning cold, there is just so much beauty to see as the leaves change color.

I am pulling together the word list for  Advent Words 2019. I will publish more details about the Advent Words project in the weeks ahead. 

May you take time to slow down and enjoy the beauty around you this week!

S & T for Living Your Word of the Year

As I contemplated what to do for my art journal pages for the letters S and T, I decided to just play with some of my favorite art techniques. I am still being plagued with this on-again, off-again creative slump I have been battling since March. So play seems to be the best remedy right now!

My word for S is Sabbath. No matter how busy life gets I try hard to protect Friday as my Sabbath day. It gets hard at times, especially when I am busy. This Sabbath discipline has been a much needed lifeline to rest, to re-energizing, and to staying connected to God over the years.

For my page I cut letters out of painted papers. It's such a relaxing activity!

For the letter T I chose the word thankful. And for my page I did some collage with squares of painted papers in a grid pattern. Another very relaxing activity!

There are only 6 more letters and then our A-Z challenge and 2019 will be over. I am currently one letter behind and hope to get caught up by the time the next letter appears on the calendar. This has been a fun way to keep my focus on my word of the year and my goals for it.

Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group: Living Your Word of the Year

Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I facilitate a Facebook group about Living your Word of the Year. In it we share insights through blog posts and connect with other like-hearted and like-minded people who want to live out a word focus throughout the year. We offer participants a bi-weekly A-Z Inspiration to help prompt reflection and creativity. as well as other inspirational ways to connect with your word of the year. If you would like to connect with others in creative ways about living your word throughout the year, explore new ideas, record thoughts, prayers, and events, you are invited to join our Facebook group.

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/203309083575277/

Please use #livingyourword2019 on social media.

Check out the other blogs:
Bernice: www.newlycreative.com
Valerie: www.valeriesjodin.com/blog

Everyday Journal Update & Repair

The photo below shows different page sections from my current Traveler's Notebook insert. This is a sketch notebook insert with heavy weight paper, similar to mixed media paper. Soon after I reached the halfway point some sections of pages started coming out. I repaired them with a long stapler designed for creating booklets, but soon more pages began coming loose. So this weekend I decide to resolve the issue more permanently.

I prepared each of the sections that had come loose and the main portion of the journal with holes and then sewed it all together like a book signature. Nothing fancy or pretty, but it's now nice and tight and I should be able to finish filling it just fine. The Midori Traveler's Notebook inserts I've ordered are assembled with staples, so I ordered some from a different maker who sews her notebook bindings. They should stand up better to the many layers I place on my pages. :)

We are almost a week into Lent and most of my posts have been about the Lent Words creative challenge, which I am doing in my Everyday Journal as well. I am also trying to keep up with my weekly page spreads. Here are the past two weeks:

Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group

Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I are using one journal to record events, experiences and relationships and  to explore our word’s meaning in visual and fun ways. We are each blogging about our experiences and our art. If you would like to connect with others about creatively organizing your word, your ideas, thoughts, prayers, events, or your projects all in one journal, you are invited to join our Facebook group: Everyday Journals – Living Your Word of the Year.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/203309083575277/

Hashtags on Instagram: #everydayjournals2018, #livingyourword2018

Check out the other blogs:

Bernice: http://www.newlycreative.com/

Valerie: https://valeriesjodin.com/blog/

Also, join us for Lent Words 2018 -  A Creative Challenge Through the Season of Lent. More about it in this post. There is also a private Facebook group for the Lent challenge:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LentWords/

September Tag Book

In Roben-Marie Smith's Claim Your Happy group she has a tag art challenge this week. Tag art uses shipping tags as the base for your art pages. Last year while shopping with my sister I found a great mini album with tags in it.

When I started thinking about what I wanted to do for Roben-Marie's challenge I decided to use this little book. Since it had 15 tags and I love the month of September I decided to combine the seven day tag challenge and do a mini book about the things I like about this month.

I took the first few days of the month and prepped all of my tags on both sides, giving me a page for each day of the month.

Here in northwest Ohio we are already experiencing fall temperatures and it's wonderful! The school year is almost in full swing now. Next week we start the walking school bus and in a few week's our after school program, so life is busy again. There's always a bit of adjustment time between the pace of work during the summer and the busyness of the school year schedule. But before it gets really into full swing the hubby and I will take a week of vacation the week after next and spend a few quiet days on the lake in a cottage. Plus take in a ballgame in Cleveland where our Indians are hot and ready for post-season! I hope you enjoy your weekend and take time to be creative, :)

Let Us Make Class

Because I love nature and combining that love with art and photography I decided to participate in a class on the Jeanne Oliver Creative Network called Let Us Make. The instructor, Sheila Atchley, is using the account of creation's first six days in the book of Genesis as the outline for the class. I'm enjoying listening to her read the Scripture and then talk about God's creativity.

I have decided to try some of her art techniques which are new to me, while at the same time simply using the Scripture and discussion as my inspiration for creating. One technique was to use acrylic inks and rubbing alcohol to create the separation of water and sky in Genesis 1:9-10. I was not happy with my results. On the first one done in an altered book journal, I apparently picked up the wrong roll of masking tape because it tore the watercolor paper as I took it off. The second attempt I did on a loose piece of watercolor paper, but still not thrilled with it. I'll have to keep playing around with the acrylic inks until I find a way to use them that fits my style.  So, instead,  I reverted to my favorite tools and technique to make my page- painted papers and collage.

acrylic inks

Once I did that, I decided to make a section in my commonplace journal dedicated to the art pages that result from this class.

My as yet untitled comonplace journal

I may try mixing in some of my photos from nature walks. Happy weekend to you!

Circles and Walls

In my last post I mentioned that I was taking a class by Tammy Garcia at Daisy Yellow Art that was introducing me to new products and techniques. I have loved painting with my fingers ever since I started painting circles (see post here and tutorial here). So when Tammy introduced her technique called The Wall, and she did it with her fingers, I was hooked! I thought I would share a few insights and tips on the pages I made from this technique. I didn't plan on doing this post so I didn't take pictures along the way. I also will not share many details of the actual Wall technique in order to not infringe on Tammy's class material.

This was my first attempt at The Wall technique:

I loved the grungy look that resulted from the technique, but I don't think I used enough paint on this one. In figuring out the differences between the heavy body acrylic paint I was introduced to in this class, and the craft acrylic paints I usually use, the opacity of the heavy body acrylic requires using it a bit more and in layers to achieve the look I want. I tend to like the text of my background paper to peak through the paint. I usually get this effect by painting the paper with gesso before I paint it with color. However, it was recommended in the class that for these techniques that we NOT use gesso. At some point, though, I will experiment with gesso and the heavy body acrylic paints.

The next session added circles on top of The Wall technique. Now, if you have followed me for a while then you know how much I like circles. They pop up often on  my art journal pages, often without any forethought or planning. So, I was all about this project!

As I played I decided to put my own twist on the project - also no big surprise for me! But I think that is the beauty of taking classes or using tutorials - we learn new techniques and then add our own unique styles to them, rather then making cookie cutter copies of the artist's original. In the class we are using an altered book art journal for our class projects. I decided to do this piece on a loose piece of paper. One of my favorite types of paper to use to make background pages for my art journals is index pages from older atlases.

There a few reasons why I like this particular paper:

• It's large - anywhere from 9x12" up to 12x16".
• It's heavyweight, especially those from the older books. The weight of the paper holds multiple layers of paint well. And I enjoy building on layers of paint to achieve the types of backgrounds I enjoy.
• The text is tiny, like in a dictionary, but dictionary paper is usually fairly thin. Tiny text makes for a wonderful subtle background. 
• The older books generally used a cream paper, which ages to a nice tan-ish patina, while newer atlases use a brighter white paper. I'm sure it doesn't really matter too much what color the background paper is since I cover most of it with paint, but in my mind I think that the whiter paper affects the paint color. I'll have to test that theory at some point. Besides, I just like the patina of aged things!

I played for a long time, layering the paint, until I achieved the look I wanted. Then I tore the finished Wall page into strips and glued them slightly out-of-line onto a page in my class art journal. Although it's subtle, I like the effect of the torn, out-of-line strips on the background. I then added my circles using my favorite types of vintage ephemera, and used both a black Stabilo-All pencil and a black Neo-Colors II watercolor crayon to get the shading around the circles. The finishing touch was spattering paint in black and white.

I was quite happy with the results, and for a change, I didn't add any words to this page. I think words would actually take away from it rather than enhance it.

I had enough of the Wall paper leftover to make a background page in my Traveler's Notebook.

As always, you can find packs of ephemera papers in my Etsy shop. I may even create packs of vintage index pages since I have SO many atlases! Give me your thoughts on that in the comments below.

Thank you to my friend, Diane Kundrat, for encouraging me to write about some of my techniques and tips on my blog. Diane lives in Arizona and we have been online friends for 5-6 years as a result of my blog. A few weeks ago we finally got to meet in person in Cleveland where we spent an afternoon art supply shopping together!

Tips for Using Old Books and Papers in Art Journaling

From time to time I receive questions from blog readers, Pinterest followers, Etsy customers, and members from groups I belong to. So I want to take some time throughout this month to answer some of them in a series of blog posts. I'll start with old books since so much of this started here for me.

The first time I made an altered book art journal I was hooked. I started going to book sales and buying books, making journals, using the book pages on my art journal pages, and stacking up books in my studio/office. I started my Etsy Shop, {found on brighton}, as a way to use up the books and leftover insides that were accumulating in my house.

So, what do I do with the book pages? It is quite rare that I make an art journal page where book text isn't peaking out of it somewhere, in some way. I love the look of book text in my backgrounds peaking out through subtle layers of gesso or paint.

I like to cut shapes and letters out of painted book paper.

Or make mosaics.

So these are some of the ways I use old books and book paper in my art journaling. Altered book journals and themed paper packs are available in my Etsy shop.

Are there ways you use books or book paper in your art journaling different than the ways I listed?

30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 7. I missed posting yesterday, so now they are not consecutive. But I press on with the challenge!