Not My Usual Colors

I treated myself to few new goodies . . . Dylusions Stencils and Mr. Huey's Opaque White spray.  (Both are available here.)

I have to say, that I love the white spray! (Another page using it coming soon). It really stays white. . .although, I did apply a light coat of Matte Clear spray just to be on the safe side since I hadn't used it before.

For this page, I wanted to do something a little bit different than I usually do . . .and even though the colors are dark and not what I would normally do, I'm quite happy with it . . .especially the "brick wall" stamp . . . it just kinda worked.

What about you?  Have you treated yourself to any new goodies lately? Have you tried them out yet?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Monday Musings - We Shut Off the Cable

Two years ago, our cable bill went up $5.00 a month. Eh, no big deal. Last year, it went up $10.00 a month. Grrrrr . . . fine, I'll deal with it.  I noticed on this month's bill, it went up another $10.00 a month. Nope. I'm done.

There are only about eight (of the 62) channels we actually watch . . .so by my math, we're paying almost $8.00 per channel.  So, we decided to shut it off.

I've never really been much of a TV watcher, anyway.  There are a few shows that I particularly enjoy, but I'm not one to set my clock by what day/time a show is on.

I know . . .the journal page has nothing to do with this post, but I love this page and wanted to share it.

I actually remember wwwwaaaayyyy back when, the girls at work would always come in the day after Seinfeld was on and talk about how funny the episode was.  I had no idea what they were talking about . . I'd never seen the show. When I told them that, they all looked at me like I was from another planet.  To this day, I've seen maybe three episodes.

Anyway, since we have shut off the cable, I've noticed a few things around here.

1. My husband and I got into the really bad habit of watching TV while eating dinner in the studio.  Now, we actually sit at the dining room table again and have a conversation.

2. I read the news now. I think it's better for me because I get all the important information without being bombarded with graphic images.

3. Finally, I've noticed a much lower bill. . . . $62.00 lower.  (Hey . . .that's at least one new pair of shoes!)

How about you? Have you made any changes lately that have had a positive impact on you?

Thanks for visiting today!

Warm Ups

Oh my . . . I have been working in my art journal so much lately!  My muse has a tendency to take off and go on vacation without telling me. . . .but not lately.  And it's because I've been doing Warm Ups!  I'm convinced of it.

I found out about these warm-ups from a dear friend of mine who literally said, "Stop what you're doing and go watch this video."

And I did . . .right after an episode of Criminal Minds ended. . . .

It's done by Dina Wakley and it's a great video. . .stop what you're doing and go watch it.

Thank you, dear Friend for telling me about it and thank you Ms. Wakley for sharing!

Thanks for visiting today!

Blue Hearts

A friend of mine asked why there weren't any words on any of my journal pages.  After all, one is supposed to write in a journal, right?

Oh . . .I'm not so sure about that. . . sometimes, just the colors I use are enough to convey what's been on my mind, in my heart, or my overall mood.  But sometimes, they have nothing to do with anything at all.

And, I admit that I have some reservations about writing in plain word form.  It is something that I'm working on . . .finding the guts to write, not only on my journal pages, but more freely here on my blog.

I guess I kinda found myself in a rut with my "other" blog because it was so focused on my store.  All that was ever on there were class schedules, what new goodies had arrived, and project samples.  After doing that for six years, it almost seems like that's all I know how to do.

But, like I said, I'm working on that and trying really hard to step out of my comfort zone. . . in so many more ways than just journaling. . . thank you for joining me on this journey . . . and thanks for stopping by today!

What I used:
Gesso
Tumble Tye Die Spray Ink
Oil Pastels
Golden Fluid Acrylic Paint
Sharpie Paint Pen
Punchinella
Tile Texture and Mini Cursive Alphabet stencils
Heart stencil by Maya Road

Three Pink Circles

Happy Saturday! Just a quick little post today. . .

What I used:

Tumble Tie Dye Ink
Oil Pastels
Punchinella
Mini Fence Stencil
Stamps by Stamper's Anonymous
Old Sheet Music
Tuxedo Black Memento ink

Thanks for visiting today!

Progression of a Purple Heart

Sometimes I'm so surprised with how one of my journal pages progresses through the whole process.  This page in particular!  I'm so glad that I took pictures while creating it . . . the end result is so far off from how it started.

Here's how it began:

I kept adding more and more layers and soon found that it was dark.  Way too dark.  So then I added some gesso to lighten it up and it turned into this:

More and more layers added, but it still needed something . . .the "punch" just wasn't there yet.  And finally, while digging through my box o' paint, I decided to add magenta and purple.  And that was all she wrote.  My page was complete.

And here it is:

Thanks for visiting today!