Book Binding

I've been working on some samples for different types of bookbinding. It is really addictive. I made this first one using a bunch of left-over scrapbooking paper. The style is called "stab" (which my hubby just loves. The entire time I was working on it he kept saying "I stab you!" and laughing...) but it's also known as Japanese style binding.
This one is a tapes style binding. It's one of the oldest styles of binding out there. If you ever take a look at a really old book--where the spine has those little ridges--that's tapes binding. You bind onto the tapes or thongs and then cover them using leather or book cloth. I opted not to cover the spine on this one, because it fit the feel of the book better. The covers are old bingo cards.
I have a couple more I'll try to get up in the next day or so.

My New Love

I am in love.
Sigh.
I got a new set of 30 Caran D'Ache II crayons from an artist friend of mine who had bought them and never used them. I'd never tried them myself, but had heard other artists just rave about them so last night I broke them out and gave them a try.
Now I see what all the fuss is about. Amazing colors, perfect blendability and they're water soluble. I think my favorite thing to do with them is to dip the tip into water and draw with them while they're wet. They just pop right off the page. And I am so in love! Of course now I want one of the bigger sets. Isn't that just the way?
Take a look at this page that I did:

Calender

I have been on a quest for the perfect calender. I was standing in Target the other night looking at day planners and feeling that familiar funk: I need something to write down monthly appointments, write out lists, keep track of swaps and take notes in. I don't need something for every day work stuff since I keep a palm-pilot for that. As I stood there bemoaning in my head a thought struck me--why don't I just make my own???
So that's what I did.
Take a look: I took it to Kinkos to have it bound. I really wanted a hard mat-board cover but they wouldn't bind that and since I don't have my own spiral binder I had no choice but to go with what they offered me. I covered the offending plastic cover with some decorated card stock and an image of me.


This is what the inner cover looks like. I printed out a blank template for the months on heavy card stock and then filled in the date and decorated the top. They fold out.

These mail art records are courtesy of a girl and her journal. I printed a bunch of these off and put them in. No more searching for my art swaps info now!

This last picture is of some scrapbook paper I included in to take notes on and my to-do list, which I printed a bunch of these off and put in them in as well.

Succumbing to temptation

It's finally happened: I've succumbed to temptation. I blame the 10 day journal project (which I wrote about here.) Before I received that nice big journal in the mail I was perfectly happy with the size of my current art journal.
Well, that's a lie.
I wasn't happy, but I was making do. I was sticking it out. I was going to finish it and get to work in a larger one.
Sigh.
But after the ten day journal project I found that I simply could not bear to go back to my small journal. And there were all these lovely, large, books that I'd purchased at a library sale just sitting on my shelf calling to me. Tempting me.
And I could not resist.
I hate the fact that I abandoned my old book, which was almost 75% done. But I am LOVING the larger size.
Here is a page that I did the other day.

More Pages

My hubby and I are getting ready to go out of town for my family's Reunion this weekend and I am busy running around like a chicken with my head cut off. It seems like anytime we go out of town it's like this: I make lists, I pack, I make more lists, I cross off lists and my husband plays video games or watches a soccer match and then throws some random stuff in the suitcase as we're walking out the door. I envy his nonchalance.
I promised myself before we left today that I would have the fairy book totally done. It doesn't look like I'm going to make it, but here are some more pages.


This last one is actually the back cover of the book, which is why I didn't put any dimensional objects on it.

Chocolate

So I've had a busy couple of days--we had a dinner party this weekend and it was a lot of work. But now that things have calmed down I'm trying to get caught up on my art.
Our monthly ATC meeting is coming up and I've been working on my cards. Our theme this month is chocolate. So naturally, I've been sampling as much chocolate as I can in preparation!
Here are two of my cards:



I also did one of my journal prompts from the very brilliant Randi which was repetition of images. I'm not much for taking photographs (gasp!) but I used images from a magazine. I like eyes so that's what I used. This spread was made using acrylics and stamps as well as markers. I am just in love with the PITT markers, they will draw on anything!

Tag-You're it

I got tagged reading Nance's blog, and I am supposed to list 7 unusual things about me so here they are:
1. I cannot sleep if my feet are touching the blankets. I have to have a sheet and it has to be tucked in.
2. I am a huge fan of the Golden Girls. Don't ask me why, because I don't really know.
3. I have a really rare form of synesthesia (the mixing of the senses) where everything has a gender and a personality. Things like months, days of the week, numbers & letters. I'll give you an example: that No.4 is a really catty bitch. She talks about all the other numbers behind their backs.
4. I suffer from terrible insomnia and spend several nights a month not sleeping normally right around the full moon.
5. I can play 4 different musical instruments-piano, violin, viola, flute.
6. I find myself watching the home shopping network without realising it. My remote just seems to stop on the channel. It's oddly hypnotic. But I've never ordered anything.
7. I refuse to watch the final episode of Star Trek Enterprise, because they kill off Tripp, and as long as I don't actually see it, he's not really dead to me.
So if you've read this, then you've been tagged. Go make your list.
Now for some art. Here is a page from my journal--as promised. I've had a lot on my mind as you can probably tell...

And here is some mail art that came today from my friend Diana. She is so clever using a cd like this. It came just like a regular postcard!

How to Cure a bad day.

So yesterday was one of those days. You know those days when even the smallest thing feels completely overwhelming. Where you want to change the channel on the tv, but the remote is on the other side of the room and getting up to get it seems like too much work so you wind up watching strange women selling hair on the home shopping network.
Well, after feeling that way for the majority of the day I roused myself and instituted my 8 step plan to feeling better. I promise you, this works like nothing else.
So here it is:
1. Cry
2. Clean something. (Now let me say, I hate to clean. I really do. But there is something therapeutic about scrubbing away.)
3. Cry again. (let's be honest here, the cleaning thing can only take you so far.)
4. Have a glass of wine.
5. Watch a really bad movie on lifetime and reflect how much better your life is because you are not: suffering from amnesia or being haunted or married to a man who likes to push people down the stairs or trying to make it to the olympics or being stalked by some menacing looking man with a limp and a lisp.
6. Put on some good music and paint.
7. Write in your journal.
8. Have another glass of wine and call it a day.

Here is the page that I created as part of step 6 and 7.

My Version of a Red-Hand

My journal prompt from Randi Feuerhelm-Walts this week was about the red hand caves. The idea was to use your own hands in your artwork. I used this background that was kindly supplied by Nance. I dabbed a little yellow paint on top of it. Then I stamped onto it, and added my hands. You can't really tell from the photo but I have writing on my hands--the first reads "Art is a commitment, a daily promise I make to myself." The other reads, "This is my measure of success." I think my favorite part of this page is the beads on the side, which I made.

The crazy rules.

Here is a page from my altered art journal. I did the background using acrylic paint as well as some lumiere and metallic calligraphy ink sponged on top. Don't you just love my new letter stamps on the lower left hand corner? I bought them recently and want to use them on everything! The little swirl stamps are Zettiology stamps and the ballet dancer is from a collage stamp by stampington & co.
You can't really see it on this scan, but I wrote out my rules for dealing with people when they suddenly and inexplicably begin acting crazy. Here they are, my crazy rules:
1. Say to them, "You know you are acting crazy? Stop that!"
2. When they attempt to excuse the behavior (i.e. it's been a stresful day, week, month, year, lifetime...) tell them that you "Don't care!" And repeat No. 1
3. Recommend that they go in for a therapy "Tune-up" And repeat No. 1
4. If 1-3 fail, suddenly remember that you have "A pie in the oven" and hang-up the phone, or walk away ending the conversation. Do not be afraid to use the pie excuse even when you are out in public and obviously not near an oven. They are crazy anyway, what do they know??
Now, I have to sign off, I have a pie in the oven.

A little art and some cookies....

Take a look at these adorable cookies that my brother bought for me at Dean&Deluca. They are just too cute to eat. Of course as I am typing this two of the cookies have magically disappeared. Oops, make that three.

So my journal prompt for this week was about blobs of paint. The idea was to squirt paint onto the page and then close it. And then you were to write on the page with your paint. Now, I really hate writing in paint, so I punked out a little bit--I'll admit it--and only wrote in paint for part of it. The rest was done with Sharpies and gel-pens. I titled this, my spring manifesto, even though it's less of a manifesto and more of a "things to do" list.

Another Journal Page

So I'm pretty much going to let this one stand on it's own without too much explination. I will say, that someone I know did say this to me, and they were serrious.
Oh, and the mister-yuck stencil, is one I made myself.

A dog and some fibers

I made this page using some spray paint and stencils. I finished it off with some fibers and that cute little dog. If you look closely, you'll see the Pegasus that was from the original page, that I masked off, as well as the chapter title. The text is a stamp, but I don't remember who by....sorry. I am gearing up for a trip to Chicago to buy some supplies. In the meantime, I've been making a bunch of ATCs, hopefully I'll have time to do some scanning and posting tomorrow.

Pony Up

A quick post with a little art. I made this page this week in my art journal. I used a couple different colors of spray paint and some stencils. I wanted something to go with this lovely shot of a cowgirl I had...I took this scan because I thought I was done with the page, but then I started messing with it some more, but I didn't have the time tonight to scan it in. I am on spring break beginning this week and going into next, so it's going to be lots of art and a trip to Chicago. After last week, I so need a break.

Cork and Stencils

So, Mary Ann, who is an amazing artist, was doing this thing on her blog about people's bulletin boards and I kept meaning to take a picture of mine, but our camera's batteries were dead. And I kept doing that thing where I wander through target looking at stuff thinking "Now Bianca, what is it I keep forgetting to buy? Hmm..." Then I would promptly get home with my bag full of Resses peanut butter eggs, and other equally bad for me things and see my camera sitting on my desk and smack myself in the head and promise that the next time I wouldn't forget. Except I would. Anyway, I finally remembered the batteries and took this picture. I tend to stick random stuff on my board, first runs at new techniques or stamps. Stuff that I have no use for, as of yet. There are also a couple of pictures, one of me and my Nonna, and one of me and my Grandfather. I think my favorite thing I did up here is the dancing skeleton in the tulle dress. If you click on it, you should be able to see her. I also keep images that inspire me, of course.

As long as I had my camera out, I took this shot as well. I cut my very own stencils today. You can see them at the top of the photo black and white from the paint I used. These were the first I'd done by hand--I've made some using punches but that's not really very complicated. I actually cut several today, but I only used these two. I am really happy about how they turned out. I'm not certain if this page is done yet or not. I went out on our porch to look at it tonight and just couldn't decide. So we'll have to see.

Somedays, it's just not worth it.

So I had a bad teaching morning today. Let me just say, up front, that while I thinking that teaching is a very noble profession, some days, it's just not worth it. And while I'm unloading, I'll just say that I've taught every age imaginable from little children, to college classes, to adults, and adults are by far the WORST. I'd rather teach a six year old, with a propensity towards biting, and a sulky teenager who rolls their eyes and says "whatever" every other syllable simultaneously, while dangling above a snake and scorpion pit with the treat of my eminent death, than to work with adults.
Anyway after the nasty altercation of my morning class where an adult student called me a very not-nice name, (who says age brings maturity?) I came home, had a good cry and created this.
I can't really take credit for the photo of me flipping off the world, because I stole that idea from my friend Bev Crawford, who put a shot of just a hand flipping off in one of her journals, and I found it so funny I tucked it away in my head for future use. Anyway, that is me in the photo. The quote on the side is actually from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I used some brand new letter stencils for this one, and messed up all over the place. Of course, that might have been my mood as well. But I think I've finally figured out that they need to be taped down and allowed to dry a little before lifting off. You can see all the places I gunked. But it kind of fits my mood. Deconstructed and messy.

Some Modest Mouse

I have been really bad about posting this week. Sigh. But in my defense the weather here warmed up and the last of the snow finally melted. So all I wanted to do was be outside. Anyway, here is one of my creations from this week. I used a promotional sticker I picked up at Luna Music (Indianapolis' best independent record store) for the new Modest Mouse album. It fit perfectly, because when I turned the page in my art journal the subject was condolence letters. I masked off that title and layered some spray painting. (I tried to mask it to form an arrow, but it turned out a little wonky. oh well.) The dots are another Heidi Swapp mask. Then I stamped my little skeletons. It's actually one huge stamp from stamp camp. I am in love with that stamp because I collect things with skeletons on it. It's a bizarre obsession I know. Anyway, after I assembled the page I mounted some clear transparencies using jump rings to the top. You can just see the holes at the top of the picture. They flip down to allow for journaling, but you can still see the page through it. I think I'm finally getting the hang of working in a smaller journal. :)

The Great Experiment

So I've been playing around with spray paint the last couple of weeks or so and I finally took the plunge. The messy, no plan, wild plunge. I find that I, like many artists have a comfort zone, and sometimes it's hard for me to step out of it. But I did it this weekend and I have to say, I'm very happy with the results. I titled this the great experiment because to me, that's what it was. I used several different types of spray paint and some stencils to get the effect. I have to admit that I'm so bad about letting things dry! I'm always trying to rush the paint into being ready. I think my favorite discovery in this spray paint experiment has to be Krylon's sprayable webbing. I used it to get those silver splatters and am just in love with effect and texture if it. I made a matching envelope to go along with this spread with matching card-stock cards inside for my journaling. I attached the envelope with some jump-rings. The photo I attached with some string that I sprayed to match the blue and red theme of the page.

Wednesday Stamper

The theme for this week's Wednesday Stamper is "white." So I created this page in my art journal using a peeled paint stamping technique. First I layered on some true white paint, when that was dry I stamped alpha collage stamp by Hampton Arts and some embossing ink. I embossed it using UTEE and then layered parchment white paint on top of it. Once it was dry, I heated up my craft iron and using a piece of scrap paper ironed over the surface. When I lifted the scrap paper the under coating of true white showed through in a peeled texture. I then stamped the image of Queen Elizabeth and constructed her dress. It's actually been layered with a piece of tulle and attached the little stars. I added the flowers, and the text and was finished.

Days of the ostrich

I was in a bit of a mood last night and when I turned the page in my art journal to start a new spread I found this quote by Robert Lewis Stevenson, "The world is full of such beautiful things..." and I just thought "not today, it's not!" So, using the quote as my jumping off point I created this little spread. I cut out the shape of me sticking my head in the sand from a stamp that I'd rolled onto a piece of green cardstock. The stamp is by stampland and I believe is called "lotus flowers." Then I masked the page off so that the quote would show and went to town with the spray paint. Even though I was feeling grouchy, I wanted a softer feel to the page, to emulate the sand, and to make my statement feel mater of fact instead of a whine. Once the paint was dry, I drew and colored in some shoes, cut the holes with an exacto, attached the figure, and stamped the text.