Tag : challenge

106 posts

201611/14

A Tale of Two Pages

This tale is about the “right way” and the “wrong way” to be creative…at least this is how it went for me this weekend.

Saturday in an attempt to kill some time while waiting for some laundry to finish, I decided to challenge myself again to create for the Art Journal Journey theme of Collage~no wings, no leaves, no faces. To begin, I tore a page from a vintage basic electric manual figuring it had some good background to it already. In addition I snagged a couple of random scraps from my worktable and took the works to the sewing machine.

I then did a bit of journalling along the edge of one of the scraps. Ok…still feeling it…the creative spark was there but dim.

I added some color…still good. Then I sprayed some black mist through my circle stencil. It was as if the mist put out the spark. Instead doing the smart thing and walking away at that point to regroup…I was still waiting for the stupid laundry cycle to complete so I just kept throwing more crap at the page.

I’m still not excited about this one but that’s ok. Challenges are just that…a challenge. Otherwise it would be called super happy fun time.

On Sunday while cleaning up my workspace I felt that creative spark again. This time I made a deal with myself not to push through if I wasn’t feeling it. I noticed a freebie art paper I had pulled from an old issue of Somerset Studio. So I had a great starting point…maybe an easy way to redeem myself.

Given the fact that this page has an eye on it it wouldn’t count for the challenge away.

I didn’t do a tom to the background…I used gelatos to intensify the colors in certain places, some outlining in white gel pen, lots of stamping, gesso through a stencil and heat embossing…but all in a very subtle way. After deciding on some layers of goodies including ink stained babywipes I adding stitching over my layers and around the page in a random fashion.

Some black paint splatters and added “eyeliner” were my final touch before looking for words. see possibility everywhere was just perfect.

So my lesson to myself was to know enough when to walk away. You can’t force it. I suppose it’s something like writers block…you can stare at a page but you can’t will the words or art to flow.

Art | Blog | Creativity

art journal, Art Journal Journey, challenge, ephemera, paint, scrapbook journal, stickers

7 Comments

halleday

201611/12

Escape from memory

This art journal page truly was a journal page…although after I spilled words all over the page in random thoughts I covered it up or at least obscured the writing enough as not to be read. The words were just for me and once written they could be forgotten. A mind dump, if you will.

The page has so many layers…I went in with a thought and then took it too far…way to busy of background. I just kept at it until it felt right. I used a Pitt pen and white gesso to create the striped lines.

Washi tape has been a go-to supply lately. I like to tear it before applying to the page so it appears more random…spreading a bit of paint over the washi helps to push it into the background and make a more cohesive look.

My love affair with circles shines through on this page. I have saved caps from bottles and jars in a variety of sizes that I dip into paint for mark making. The imperfection of these marks is the beauty to me.

Linking up with Art Journal Journey.

Art | Blog | Creativity

art journal, Art Journal Journey, challenge, paint, scrapbook journal, washi tape

5 Comments

halleday

201610/02

Sounds like Autumn

I haven’t worked in any of my art journals in quite some time. I’ve been kind of obsessed with sewing lately. But today I was inspired when I saw the new theme of Autumn over at Art Journal Journey.

When I think of Autumn, the rustle and crunch of leaves comes to mind. Memories of shuffling my feet through the leaves alongside the road and jumping into piles of raked leaves abound.

Warm colors and abundant texture dominate the landscape.

I love this kind of page… I used to be afraid of white spaces. Now I embrace them on my pages. Negative space can be quite powerful.

Art | Blog | Creativity

art journal, Art Journal Journey, buttons, challenge, ephemera, Gypsy journal, stickers

8 Comments

halleday

201609/23

2016 Summertime Photo Scavenger hunt wrap-up

The summer has ended and so has the hunt for photos. I like to wrap things up with a recap of the old and any newly snapped photos. This year I only missed one on the list but got an alternative to takes it’s place. In the past I’ve gotten every single one including the alternates.

1. A “wild heart” – a naturally occurring heart (like the rock above, but it doesn’t have to be a rock)Hostas in my backyard

2. A footprint or pawprint

Husky paw print

3. A skeleton, bone or x-ray

At the orthopedist

4. A book or magazine read during 2016

Lots of books…can’t stop reading…

5. A porch or deck

Trex Deck at the MN landscape Arboretum

6. A camper (caravan)

Camper trailer

7. A family gathering

Independence day gathering

8. A drawing, art project, artistic photograph, scrapbook page, greeting card, or art journal page created by you.Obviously this isn’t my only creation of the summer…if you’d like to see more just browse around the blog. :)

9. Someone playing with, in, or around water.4th of July waterfight….a tradition

10. A bicycleAt a parking lot next to a state bike trail.

11. Fresh produceBeans from my garden and CSA box

12. A windowThe broken remains of my drivers side window…you can read about it here.

13. The moonLucky low light shot of the moon over the house.

14. A buffet of food4th of July gather again…

15. A team logoSome of our beloved local teams…current and former.

16. A map showing a trip taken during the time period

Mini-me and I traveled to Alexandria over the summer for a girls weekend.

This close-up map has both lakes that we stayed on…if you look closely you can see my reflection.

17. TwinsI took a bit of liberty with this one just because it made me laugh.

18. A supermarket cart, basket or trolley full of groceries

Back to school stock up at Target

19. A seasonal cocktail or beverageMoscow Mule…favorite summer drink!!

20. Someone laughing

This is the one I didn’t get mostly because I don’t show faces on my blog if at all possible.

21. A photograph of you with a newspaper or calendar page from the time period covered in the Hunt. Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

I believe this one is self explanatory

Alternatives – if you’re having trouble finding any of the above, you may substitute from this list (but you may not substitute for item #21):
alternative 1: a lighthouse

No lighthouse either

alternative 2: a baby (human or animal)

Can you see the baby? Cute little “O”.

That about wraps it up. I’m not sure what happened to Rinda’s blog as it hasn’t been updated since June but I do know that the Facebook group has been active so I’ll be posting there. I do hope to continue with photo scavenger hunts…they are really fun and a real challenge at times to get creative and think outside the box.

Blog | Creativity | Photography

2016 photo hunt, challenge, photography

2 Comments

halleday

201609/17

Memory course

I had to take a break from sewing to work on and an art journal page. I definitely have to have more than one project at a time. My attention span demands it. A short browse on my workspace was all that it took to get the ideas flowing.

I grabbed a piece of cardboard, scrapbook paper and distress paints to get started. The scrapbook paper had an off-road motorcycle theme…I liked the colors but not the theme. That’s where the paint comes in. Just covered up what I didn’t want. I always have a small bin of words and phrases close at hand so I picked out a few that seemed to speak to me while the paint dried.

The page from an old math book seemed very fitting. It made me think of all those formulas that are so important that you have to memorize. I still have a few of those banging around in my brain that surface when I need them. I’m always the first to point out to my kids when I’m actually using some of that knowledge from school that I swore “I’d never use again”. I certainly don’t use it every day but I do use it.

I had a very unexpected result when I was heating the embossing powder around the edges of my page. The old, dry math book page started to burn…not flames but turned brown and smelled like it was burning. I’ve never had that happen. Now I’d like to try it on purpose. I think it could be a really cool effect for say an old letter or map. I need to do it next to the sink though, just in case. :)

Yes now that I look at my date stamp I realize that I read the 9 as a 6 when looking at it backward on the stamp. No, I did not make this page in the future and travel back to post it. If I had the ability to time travel I’d do something much more interesting than that!!!

I’m linking up today with Art Journal Journey with the Back to School theme.

Art | Creativity

art journal, Art Journal Journey, challenge, polka dot journal

9 Comments

halleday

201609/04

Looks familiar

There is a new theme over at Art Journal Journey…Back to School. Well that certainly is a timely theme since mine have been back for a week now. On typical years the kids don’t go back until after Labor Day but ours went back early to make up for the week they’ll have off at the end of September.

Of course school as we knew it is gone. No black boards…they have been replaced by first white boards then smart boards.

And remember these…you’d look up the book you wanted in a card catalog then check it out by writing your name on the library card which would be stamped with the due date. That system has been dead a very long time. Bar codes and scanners with emails to remind you of due dates is the way of today.

This page is a tribute to school the way we knew it.

Art | Blog | Creativity

art journal, Art Journal Journey, challenge, Gypsy journal, stickers

8 Comments

halleday

201608/06

It’s a wonderful world

Spending time out doors since the weather has finally started to cooperate is definitely inspiring me to create. Seems odd but there it is. Fresh air and sunshine can do a lot for ones perspective…especially after days of sticky, hot disgusting weather. The kind that has you wanting to take a shower…again…after walking out to the mailbox. Those days just make me crabby.

For this nature themed page I used cardboard from the end of a notepad as my substrate. I covered it with random book pages then used gelatos for the background. I was originally thinking I’d have a whole forest of trees with a small break of blue sky in the middle. Then I decided that just one large tree would be a better visual statement.

I once again was able to use some recently gifted collage fodder on this page. These daisies from Krisha were the perfect edition to the edge of the vellum word block. The wooden bird in the tree was another recent gift…this time from Patty. These two elements came together quite nicely to add the right finishing touches to the page.

After I punch the properly spaced holes, this page will end up in my polka dot journal.

I’m linking up with AJJ today to meet the current months theme of Nature’s Wonders.

Art | Blog | Creativity

art journal, Art Journal Journey, challenge, gelatos, polka dot journal

8 Comments

halleday

Halle's Hobbies

A peek into my eclectic life

Tag : challenge

A Tale of Two Pages

Escape from memory

Sounds like Autumn

2016 Summertime Photo Scavenger hunt wrap-up

Memory course

Looks familiar

It’s a wonderful world