Overview of Glue Art Journal

I was cleaning up some stuff and came across this little art journal that I made over a year ago. It is only one single signature and sewn it together with a pamphlet stitch.
The cover was sewn in together with the pages, and I used a heavy watercolour paper for this.

This journal is a bit different than the others that I made. Except for one page, I stuck to just scraps of paper and some journaling. In Holland we have this magazine Flow which has lots of eyecandy, and I just tore of part of pages to glue into the journal. I also used images from Happinez as 'focal' images.
All I had to do then, was to add my journaling. I prefer to use the old Pantone Tria Markers for that.

So I only used paper, glue and markers. Not my normal way of working. It felt restricted in some way because I could only use the scraps of paper and stayed away from my favorite gesso and acrylic paints! OK, I cheated by painting the covers with watered down acrylics - it is hard to kick a habit. :-)
I am not sure if I like to make another book like this. Though I might do it again, just to challenge myself a bit!

Instead of putting the pictures on the blog, I decided that I needed a video. I used my photographs and compiled these in the video. I am still working out how to work with the software. Especially setting the size and exporting it to the right file format is something I have not found out yet. Trying to convert it to a YouTube video made the software crash. Vimeo made it all easier though!

Little Guide Book: Thoughts

The mind is so powerful and creative. Thoughts will come and go. Too bad that often the most negative thoughts hang around much longer than the positive and uplifting kind of thoughts. And the longer they wander around in our mind, the more real they become.
And the question is: how real are these thoughts? Are they really true? Or are they made up?

It has been several months ago that I made this spread, I think it was back in February or so . This piece of advice was inspired by a YouTube video that I watched from Tolle Eckhart. It is funny since there is something about this man, how wise he is though, which annoys me immensly! But this is one lesson I would like to be reminded of.

Watered down acrylics were used for the background, which give it allmost a water colour look.  I added a row of cut out circles at the bottom of the spread. Used an ink pad to define the borders of the pages. With chip board letters I laid out my main title and used Tria Markers to trace and colour them.
I stamped the other text on a strip of painted scrappaper. Gesso was rubbed along the edges of the picture from a magazine and my own journaling on the page was written with the fine point of a Tria Marker.

Appreciate the Little Things in Life

I have no idea where this flower came from. I discovered it a few years ago back in the darker part of the garden. Since then it seeded itself along the shed to the doors of the shed. And despite me opening that door to get my bicycleout almost every day, it still keeps on flowering and seeding more little plants.

Mother Nature blessing me with little yellow poppies. Strong poppies. The one that comes back again and again each year despite the bad spot where it has to live.
A small miracle in my back yard.

Little Guide Book: Forward

Looking back in the past is a good way to learn from your mistakes. The problem is that if you keep looking back, chances are that you are tripping over your feet while walking away from that past.
I guess the solution is to stand still, glance backwards, take the time to evaluate what you have done and where is has brought you, and turn back to the future. The past is history and you can't change a bit about it anymore.

This spread is made in my Little Guide Book. An art journal with gentle and kind reminders of advice that I wrote for myself.
I still got 6 spreads that are empty. Only when I have filled these pages, I will finish the covers.

What piece of advice would you give to yourself? Or what kind of advice have you been given that you carry around with you?

Little Guide Book: Dream

More from the pages of the Little Guide Book. This spread is about dreams. The dreams you make up while you are awake.
In the past so many dreams have been shattered into pieces. To be honest: to many. I guess it is time to start making up dreams again. Fun, colourful and happy dreams.

The background is painted with watered down acrylics. Decorations are handdrawn with Tria Markers from Letraset and the word Dream has been filled with these markers as well.
Some of the text has been stamped on strips and glued in. Gesso was used to blend the pictures from magazines with the backgrounds.

Bold and Loud

This clementis is flowering out loud in the garden. Not one ounce of modesty, absolutely not. The colours are bright, the flower is large and the stripes are so bold.
Everytime I see them, I need to smile!

Little Guide Book: Remember Your Strength

Something to remember: all the things - great, small and even smaller - that I have achieved in my life. Just by not giving up, using my strength an determination to keep on going. Although I can see my weaknesses, I can also see the strength that I have developed during the past years. I think it is good to stand still so now and then, and remember my own power.

Little Guide Book: Nourish

Sometimes you need to take the time to nourish your soul. To fill it up with light, ideas, inspiration, peace and space.

Little Guide Book: Reconnect

Reconnect: the word says it all. Reconnect with oneself, with nature, with people, with the world.

Little Guide Book: Express

A great reminder: go ahead girl, express yourself freely. Something I have to get used to after all these years of carefully weighing my words and considering them before saying something.

Little Guide Book: Shine

Another spread in The Little Guide Book, a reminder to stand still and see what - despite all the rough years - I did accomplish in my life despite everything. There are no medals, no awards and no papers to remember these achievements. And I am way too modest to talk about it. I have to learn to let it all shine instead of hiding it all away.

This artjournal has good drawing paper, the pages were coloured with watery acrylic paint washes in soft colours. Gesso has been lightly brushed over the picture and page - smeared with fingers as well.
The big letter text has been traced from chipboard letters, small text has been stamped. Journaling text written with a thin marker (the old Tria Markers). The edges of the spread has been inked with a brown stamppad.

Question: Where Do Cats Come From?

So I finally understand where cats come from: they just grow in pots. And here is a snapshot from Pico (the dark, moody and black cat) proving this theory of mine. :-)

Have a nice day!

Art Journal Becomes a Personal Guidebook for 2011

My little art journal is starting to become a little personal guide book with kind reminders for myself. This spread was all about Compassion.

To me, it is so much easier to feel compassion towards others, even people I have never met, then to allow myself some compassion.

I expect from myself that I have to bounce back immediately after each adversity, I am very critical about the things that I have done and often blame myself when things are not going the way they should be.
Strange, because that is not the way I feel about other people. I experience patience, compassion, understanding and - as long as I am not driving :-) - I am not that crital at all about others.

So this spread is a reminder for me to allow myself more compassion to myself, the same way I feel towards my family, friends and even strangers.

Interrupted by Spring

Personally, I think Spring is the most positive season. After the long, grey and dark winter comes Spring and offers us hope and let nature become alive again.
The sun intensifies and the light gets brighter, nature start showing off her power and everywhere you feel the sense of rebirth.

I love to watch the tiny buds that start to grow and then burst open to unfold new leaves. It feels like Spring is opening up and showing the good and beautiful things in life.
So I really love Spring.

And with all the magic and wonder around me, I tend to go outside, away from the computer and watch all the miracles unfolding in my own backyard. Seems that Spring is getting all my attention and I forget to post the dozens of pictures that I took to post here on my blog.
So I apoligise for my absence, Springtime is my excuse, that is, if you need an excuse.

Here are more pages of the little art journal that I used to choose my One Little Word for 2011. The word Soul had then already been chosen, but I just loved the way of making a page about an inspirational word.
In a way, this art journal is becoming a kind of personal Little Guide Book.

Learn to Focus

My art journal had brought me the word of 2011 for me: Soul. But I did not want to stop here. It was so relaxing to work these pages in this simple style that developed throughout the book. The use of those gentle words and my own thoughts in journaling kept me coming back to this journal and adding more words and ideas to guide me through this year of transition.

So for this spread I had chosen the word Focus...

Life can be so interesting, if you open your eyes, there is so much going on right now. The internet is an enormous source of inspiration - and it brings forth so many new ideas to develop and experiment with - that sometimes it can make me restless. I want to try this, I want to try that, of and if I do this...
All these ideas that trail off from one to another, it just keeps on going and can cause some turmoil inside of me.

I try to deal with this (fun) turmoil by scribbling ideas on pieces of paper and making lists of things that I want to do. Thinking that by writing them down, it will ease my mind and calm me down. But I am so open for new and inspiring ideas, so quickly diverted, that it really needs quite some effort to streamline my thoughts.

This page was made to remind me that it is about time that I learn to focus. That I need to set my priorities, focus and a few good things and start working from there.
It would help me to give more attention to the things that really matter - life wise and art wise.

But I think that I need to practise it first. Little baby steps, tiny steps...