I Am Baaack......Take 2

OK let's try this again. Stencils photo's please:

Ah, there they are:




This last photo in line is the new Dyan Reaveley stencils. Very small at 5.5 X 8.5, but with great borders. They also come in 9 X 11 I believe. They are very thin so you can wipe your Tim Holtz Paint Dabbers across them and get great results. I had a whole box full that had never been opened. Fun new technique. The wooden star's and heart's and such in the middle pic is little wooden pieces I picked up at Mike's so I could shoot ink spray's at them for great stencil effects like in this next pic. Fun!


See? How cool is that? Now I will show you rest of the pages I have not shown you in a while.



This auction number (I guess) was found in the parking lot at Hobby Lobby and of course I picked it up for my journal, 1st photo. Well, when I turned it over, I found that someone had left their DNA on it when they blotted their lipstick on both sides. First, Gross, second they littered. Not cool, so I unlittered and it lives in my journal! Cool! These remaining photos are just random journal pages in my journal. Enjoy:







So again, blogger is trying to tell me that something is kooky and I need to get off of here and hope that this post, posts!

Have a great week and don't forget to read the post under this one.

Joy Is.....I'm Baaack

Yep I am back in wet and drooling California. Good meetings, good flights, claims a very exhausted traveler.

I did NO art journaling or took no photos while gone, cause there was no time. Up early in meetings at 8:00am SHARP! Completed at 5:30, taken to dinner by 6:00pm, back to the Hotel(fancy) by 9:00 to 9:30ish. To bed to get back up early and start again. The company owned my week. But I did have a 2.5 inch steak! Wowsers! Yep, I ate every bite! Yikes!

So now I have to digest all I was told last week and put it to use in my world. Great! Oh well.

Look at what greeted me when I got home Friday night:


This is all 3 issues of Less Herger's Zine, "Art Journaling, It's All Good", The Zine. This began in early 2011 and you could buy it for $5.00 as a digital download. I ended up buying all 3 issues of course. (It's called support, folks.) Well, everybody screamed, wanting them to be in print form without burning numerous carts of ink from their own printer's. So now Less has figured out a way for you to have the printed copy of each issue in one package. There are numerous art journalers featured in each issue, and ton's of great art journal pages. Go here and read the article and grab one, soon. It is 100 pages of greatness. I just hope she will be writing more someday, (hint).

I still have more pics to show you that I didn't include in last weeks post. I will begin with the stencils.

Ut Oh, Blogger has glitched and won't let me add photo's all of a sudden. So will post this and continue on a new one.

Joy Is.......Fun New Products

This past week, I have just been working the day job hard. But I have been working in my art journal some and making plans with friends for arty adventures in the future.

So first, I have to show you a new must have item I scored at the local flea market a while ago.


Never had seen one like this until I met my art friend Beth, and she had a side by side one. I love it. I immediately filled 3 drawers with rubber stamps that I never use since I couldn't get to them. Drum roll...I paid $20.00 bux!! Yes, I rock!

I have a new hero and have been crazzeee about Dyan Reaveley since I found out about her during CHA. I bought some of her new ink sprays. OMG!! I am in love. Not that I don't love Color Wash sprays still, but these are like brighter and more fun. I have been playing with them, with my stencils and having an inky blast. Here are a few pics of my recent bright colored pages. The second pic has been gessoed, the rest have not. Gesso mutes the ink colors to a pastel.





Beautiful!! I am loving the layers. I have also decided that my fave supplies for art journaling are stencils, pens/markers, tape and spray inks!! Woot! Please go to Dyan's blog and scroll waaay down until you can get a look at her pages!! Then Google her and check out her videos of demo's she did at CHA. You will love her too.

Here is another journal page I made a while back. First look at the entire page, then look at the close up of the writing I put on it in the left bottom corner. Click on it to enlarge it.



Hee Hee!! Yep, I'm a nut!


Well, ya know what this image means, if you have been following my blog for a while. Yep, I have to fly to Dallas next week for meetings for the day job that span from Wednesday morning to Friday afternoon. UGH! I am trying to stay positive, but another long term co worker was termed this past week, for a total of 2 now in my department. Yikes!!

Anyway, I will be glued to my laptop most of next week working, and will not be doing much art except maybe some doodling during the meetings to keep me awake!!

Have a great week!

Joy Is.........New Creative Supplies

Good Sunday Morning!

Yesterday at 7:11am I received an email that told me that the 7:00am Dreaded Monday Call was canceled!! WOO HOO! What a great lift that was for me. Damn, I hate, that I get sooo stressed over something like that, not knowing if you are going to be put on the spot or not. ARG!

So when I saw that, I flipped out, ran around the house yelling and dancing happily!! You have no idea how much stress was lifted in that moment.

So to celebrate, I went SHOPPING at Joann's and the LSS in Elk Grove! And this is what I got:


This first one shows a couple of new washi tapes. And these cool Tim Holtz word stickers. There are 6 pages, 3 in white and 3 in kraft paper for a total of 1088 words. Yep!


There are 2 sets of rubber stamps that I got at Joann's for 97 cents a piece!! I don't love all of the stamps, but for 97 cents, could not pass them up.


Aren't these little cards cute?? Tim Holtz little number cards. Each letter and number has 2 cards each for about 50 something cards. Very thin and great for sticking in your journal, and they fit in my Safety Orange Xyron Sticker Maker. Kool!


I had to have this wide tip water brush. I have never seen one with a fat tip before and I simply love water brushes for traveling. It is also from Tim and Ranger, so pricey to the tune of $10.80 with my store discount. YIKES! But I love it.


And these are the bestest. Dyan Reaveley is my new fave artist. And her spray inks are so bright and georgous! There are 12 of them right now. They are NOT replacing the Color Wash Sprays. Please go Google her name and watch the magic. Dyan is a designer for Ranger, too like Tim. I love her style!! Simply creative colorful fun. The other little bottles of spray, I found at Joann's. They are called Fireworks and they sparkle. But I was not impressed.


This is what I did with the new spray inks and stencils. Love them. Oh yea, Dyan has great stamps and stencils that I am hot breathing over, but I have a cell phone bill to pay, so....

Although, since my friend Eva, didn't get to go with me yesterday, hmmmmm.

Joy Is........Knowing a Real Life Author

This is a very short post, since, even though it is the weekend, I must work on creating my next big report for work, which I need complete for my call at 7:00am on Monday morning.

Anyway, I became aquainted with Shannan Sinclair through her blog when I found out she is an art journaler AND she lives in Modesto. Woot! I contacted her and we were going to meet at a very cool Coffee joint called the Queen Bean to art journal. Well as always the day jobs got in the way and now here it is at least 3 years and we have never met to art journal.

BUT we did meet last Saturday, when I went to meet her for a book signing of her first book!!



This is the first of a trilogy, and she self published this one. This lady is amazing and she has a daughter that sings like a bird. Shannan is a 911 Dispatcher in San Fransisco when she is not writing her novels!!


Please check out her blog and grab a copy of this great book and support a new writer.

Joy Is.......Trying to Keep My Head Up

This is a vent post, so if you are not interested, you may click the X and go on your way to other pursuits.

OK, The last week and a half have been HELL in my Day Job World. I work in the people transportation industry and have for 27 years. It is a very difficult industry since in my world, people can get seriously injured or killed when other people do not know how to drive a vehicle.

Think about how your driving experiences are each day you go out behind the wheel. Do you find yourself riding your brakes at all times and getting frustrated at the guy you are following because he makes you ride your brakes so much?? Do you??

Most people say, "I have never got a ticket or been in a wreck." I say, "Ya know why? Because everybody else has been dodging you, your whole life." They say, "I know how to drive." I say, "Yes, you know how to maneuver the car from point A to point B, but you don't know how to drive." And then, I add, "Correctly." "And you want to know why? Because you were never taught, that's why!" Usually after this conversation, folks shut up and at least respect me enough to listen for a minute.

You know the old adage, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people?" Well the same goes here. Cars don't kill people, the people behind the wheel, kill people!

Since everyone everywhere have heard and know about the recent cell phone and texting laws that have been put in place in the last few years, you also are beginning to understand that people do stupid S#%t behind the wheel of a killing machine.

I have been working hand in hand with the DMV for 27 years and I know that the DMV is a JOKE when it comes to teaching folks how to drive.....correctly. All they are interested in, is MONEY and Give me more MONEY!

Think about it: You go into The DMV to get a license. You give them MONEY, they give you a little handbook (HA) to read, you take a joke of a written test, (I will get to THAT in a minute), you make an appt to take a joke of a drive test. Now you come in on that day, drive around, use your "blinkers", make a couple of turns, change a couple of lanes, drive a straight stretch of freeway. Stop and go at a couple of stop lights and stop signs and you if you stop completely at the signs and don't run the red light, that you are sweating about, you are good and they either hand you a plastic card with your mug on it or you get a piece of paper that is a temporary license and away you go.

Now let's get back to that written test for a minute. In California, the DMV gives you back your written test. So think about how you actually studied for your written test. Did you actually read the handbook, OR did you, like most folks, ask your relatives and friends if they kept their old tests for you to study by? That is what usually happens so people only memorize which boxes to fill in to what questions and never really learn and understand the laws of driving.

Now that little book has a lot of good information in it but most folks don't read it cause the DMV does not make them.

This is where I am going for this post and then I am done. The DMV doesn't teach you how to drive, they only want your MONEY. Because think about it now. When do you actually get some kind of driving instruction, even though that is now a JOKE? When you make a mistake, folks! When you get a speeding ticket, for example. THEN you get some kind of instruction with Traffic School, if you don't want it on your driving record, AFTER you make the mistake!!! Not before!

And that is when you give the DMV MORE MONEY!

With the Internet, you don't even have to go to a Real in Classroom Traffic School class any more. You can sit at a computer and take your class. ARRRGGGGH!

OK, I feel better, but my point is this. Learn how to drive correctly! Pay attention to what is going on around you at ALL times. Do not talk or text while moving a car. You must not be distracted while behind the wheel, EVER!

I have been teaching people to drive, correctly for the past 27 years. If you want help, let me know. I will try to give you some pointers to keep you safe.

This is winding down, but the reason of the title of this post is that when our bus drivers hit other cars, fences, mailboxes, trees, pedestrians, etc it costs the company money in insurance claims. So my superiors are on top of me to get on top of the others below me to make sure they are teaching our drivers to drive correctly! There are about 1,000 drivers in my area alone. I am under the gun every Monday at 7:00am to tell the executives why my area had accidents this last week and what is being done about it. They expect me to know about the collisions BEFORE they happen. WOW! It may sound ridiculous, but in my world it is reality. And one of my co workers in my same position got fired this week because of not knowing.

And my 15 year old Grandson just got his permit this week so now I am stressed about that. AND one of my divisions are probably going to have a strike to deal with next week, so I will be driving a bus again. UGH!

Guess I had better know how to drive ....correctly, and try to keep my head up!