Joy is.......Working to Finish Journal # 3

Hey folks, hope everyone had a great Gobble Day. We went to the Casino and I came home with more than I took, so I was happy.

I have been having trouble with my ankle. Started on Monday, like a sprain, but I didn't sprain it, and now I am wearing a brace and gimping around!! Grrr!

I dedicated a journal page to it here:


It will get better soon, I know.

I have been working like a mad women in my 3rd Journal, so it will be completed by years' end. Here are a few peeks:


On these pages is where I have been practicing some doodling. I love to doodle and make marks.


Here is what I have been doing with nanojoumo this year. Just writing the date, the phrase and something about it. Good enough for me this time around.


I spent a Saturday afternoon recently with my art friend Eva and we played with Black Gesso, Color Wash and stencils learning how to do Ghosting. It was so fun to watch the color wash come up through the gesso through the stencils. I really love this technique that I learned from Paula Phillips http://www.journalartistaart.com/.


This one is with Copic Markers, Stencils, one packing tape transfer, etc. Cool spread.


This is another cool spread with multiple layers of paint, ink and paper. I scratched paint and ink with a scratcher tool to make some cool effects.


For this spread, I found 2 images from a Free People Clothing catalog. I love their paper catalogs for the model images. I took the title from my Sticker Nation 2 book.


This spread was the first time I had tried using Light Molding Paste for texture. I really like the way it feels, and you can really see it, but this is not finished yet.

A few of you know that I follow the LOA, Law of Attraction. I do as best as I can with all of the negativity that I have to deal with in my day job. My current car is a 2005 Nissan Sentra. I drive it for my job. Today it has 154,000 miles on it and even though I expect another 75,000 miles from it, I worry that it will quit and I will be in trouble. So with that said, I need a new car and because I like Nissan's Sentra's (we have owned 3 with great results), I have decided that my next car will be a Nissan Cube, because it has the same engine as a Sentra, but it is much cuter. And it is like a hatch back which means no trunk, which means Hubs will be happy that I won't be able to junk up the trunk with all of my work stuff. I have put this photo on my desktop so I can see it all of the time and know it will be in my driveway very soon, paid off completely by the way. I have no room for car payments in my life at this time.



So another week goes by, creeping closer to the end of 2011. Psst, 5 weeks left!! Have a great rest of your weekend and hope next week is kind to you.

Joy Is......Happy Mail

I was gone every day last week conducting a class in Vallejo, which was exhausting. So I dragged myself home yesterday afternoon and I had a great surprise when I walked in and saw a box on the diningroom table. So after I emptied my suitcase and put everything away and started laundry, I checked out the box and almost fell over when I saw who it was from! Paula Phillips! I was so excited I ripped it open all wonky but that was okay. I took these pics after I got my breath back!


This book is so cool to me. Both Paula and I are in Safety. Paula in a Box Factory and me of course in Public Transportation, so she sent me this cool log book for work related accidents. Wow!


This is an assortment of papers and some cool napkins! Love the one with the bird but the coffee cup one is the best! I love to glue napkins in my journal for backgrounds. And the white cardstock on the right is some punch out small file folders and tabs and she sent two bottles from Lindy Stamp Gang. One is a Moon Shadow Mist called Mystic Malachite and the other is a Starburst Stains called Black Orchid Silver! One is a spray and the other is in a dauber bottle. These you add hot water to and make them, since they come dry! They really shimmer!!


More cool papers.


And Stencils!!! Although I guess I only took this picture of 2 of them, she actually sent me 3 Crafter's Workshop stencils. Woot!


This rubber stamp Paula said is to be cut apart to make textured back ground stamps. But I don't think I could lay a pair of scissors to it. And I may have misunderstood her also, but I don't care. Isn't it great?


This is a old fan fold out ink guide for inking the text on the boxes they are making? (I am guessing). I can see me using these for pages in Junk Journals with someone looking through the holes!


This stamp I am sure could only be found in Canada, eh? LOL!


Last weekend for Veteran's Day, Interweave http://www.interweavestore.com/Mixed-Media/DVDs-Videos/Layered-and-Textured-Backgrounds-DVD.html?SessionThemeID=21 was selling all of their DVD's for $11.11 for 12 hours. That is when I said, OK now is the time to get a copy of Paula's Video. And that was also here when I got home.

Go over to Paula's Ustream channel, http://www.ustream.tv/channel/journalartista and watch the recording of what she created tonight. Wow!! This girl is a genius and I am so proud to call her one of my bestest friends.
And go here to see Paula's latest article in the newest Art Journaling Magazine, Pages
http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/blogs/pages/archive/2011/11/18/pages-premiere-issue.aspx

So that wraps up another week.

Next week is Thanksgiving, so the next time you hear from me I will be too full of all of the trimmings plus a little Turkey!

Have a safe Holiday!

Joy is.......Art Journaling a Bunch

I found a definition on someone's blog for Art Jounaling. I cannot claim it as my own. I am in the process of changing it around to make it my own, but here it is the way I found it:


Almost perfect, but again, it is not mine, so I am borrowing it for now.

I have been busy busy the last week creating art journal spreads. For some reason, I always kick it into high gear at this time of the year. Here they are in no particular order:




I have a bestest friend named Dale Anne Potter here http://daleannepotter.com/blog/ who is an avid EVERYTHING Creator. This lady is an amazing artist and quilter. She is a profound follower of the LOA, Law of Attraction, and she is a great inspiration. She sent me this quilted postcard:

Please check out Dale's Blog for everyday inspiration. And pssst, she is selling these fabulous quilted postcards right now.

I have been trying to keep up with Nanojoumo http://www.dblogala.com/nanojoumo over at Dawn's site:


I have only been making a few notes, everyday. But at least it is something. I do like the way Dawn is doing small phrases instead of just one word this year. Cool.

I did actually get to do a small amount of shopping yesterday. Ya know those 50% off coupons burn holes in my pocket! Hee! So I went to Aaron Brother's Art and Frame joint and almost had a heart attack when I found these:


I have been looking for these Inktense Blocks since I saw Paula use them on her DVD. Woot! And since I had that 50% off coupon I was justified into buying these. *wink*

And then I walked around the end of the aisle and saw this, and again almost had heart failure:


And this was already marked down 50%!! Woot! Been wanting one to work on, and now I had one cheap. Woo Hoo!

I know this is a long post but I have one more picture to share:


This is my new snack. OMG! There should be a law on how good something this small can taste and I can have a couple a day. Yay!!

My friend Eva came over yesterday afternoon for a while and taught me how to make a paper box that folds down into a card. Cool. It will come in handy to hold small Xmas gifts this year.

So that is all of the news and food going on with me. I am leaving today to spend the week in Vallejo to teach a Government Bus Trainer Instructor Course to 20 folks who on Monday will be a feared to speak in Public but on Friday, they will be trying to beat each other to be the first to speak in front of us. Hee! It is so fulfilling to watch folks come out of their shell and come alive right in front of your eyes. Wow! It is an amazing experience.

Have a great week and remember there are only 7 weeks left of 2011, if you are interested.

Joy is.......A Nap

I flew away to LA again this past week.


And then I flew back.


I went there to attend a PAT, Passenger Assistance Training Class. Good class, but it put me behind in my regular work by 3 days. Yikes! Not good. So I have spent most of the weekend trying to catch up and get even. I can breathe again now.

I went to Elk Grove yesterday though to pick up my Tim Holtz Winter Limited Edition Distress Ink Pads. Cool colors, but again they will not be kept in the main line and will not have reinkers.

The Hubs hurt his back about 3 weeks ago trimming the Fruitless Mulberry Trees in front of the house, and it is getting worse and worse, so he called in sick for tomorrow and I have to take him to Acute Care in the morning, which has to be early and which means that I will have to work from there on my laptop and phone. OK!

Tim Holtz is selling kits in his Etsy Shop beginning at 9:00am tomorrow. Hopefully I can check them out at the Dr Office, cause I might want one of something. It will be a mad dash to beat all of the other thousands of folks tha want something.

I am exhausted and want a nap, but it is late and I have to go see my folks in a little while. So I will keep this short and say have a great week.