New Journals Sneak Peek

Sent out the newsletter this morning, so maybe you already know, but can you guess what is a little  different about the new journals? 



I was picking up journal papers at the store and noticed that they had some of the same papers in different kinds of off-whites and greys, and I really couldn't resist this time! The new journals will be made with these different papers and I'm sooo excited to see how they turn out!

I'm also testing out some masonite board that we had in storage... it could make good journal covers as it might be more cost effective and less wasteful than taking bookboard from broken binders.

But it's heavier. So far, it shouldn't make a difference in regard to shipping cost, but if it does, I won't be using it.

Quick Update

It's nearing February which means the monthly newsletter has to go out this week.

What is the monthly newsletter?

Well, if you don't want to keep checking back for new art and shop items (and the occasional coupon), a pretty link list will be sent to you via email at the end of each month in the form of a bonus blogpost!

Go ahead and sign up here, I'll wait.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get a headstart on this year's cross-stitch valentine, and boy is my hand sore! :( It hurts to type this.

But oh, I am experimenting with a new art journal idea... mysterious mysteries :3

Journal Page 1/25/13

Music: "Airport Lounge" Kevin MacLeod @ Incompetech.com

Inspiration Deck Finished

Wow it's finished! I guess it only took me a week. I don't often like doing small repetitive things, but once you put a movie on it's really not that bad at all!



A few of the "quotes" I was using. The ink around the edges give the cards an "aged" look.



On the back I used some older scrapbook papers I've had for a while (and a few newer ones I really wanted to use). The template for my sticky labels didn't work (whhhyyyyyyyyyy?) so I had to print them on regular paper and paste them on by hand. That was a step I would have loved to omit from this project!

(Though it was better than having to write them all by hand... yeesh)

I will definitely miss this deck of cards... but then I have to consider that I'm going to get 52 mysterious cards back from all over the place! Yay!

There's still quite a wait left until that happens, so if you want to sign up for this project, you can do so here!

Sneak Peek - Inspiration Deck

Here's a quick sneak peek into the cards I'm sending for the Inspiration Deck Swap! 

It's going ok so far. I wanted to use the Gelli plate for the backgrounds though I'm not particularly enjoying them. I'm using pieces of book pages for the quotes (which I'm mostly just making up as I go along, mostly) and cutting out charming little orange slices from some scrapbook paper I've been saving.

It's a process which will probably look more refined by the end of the deck.



These days it is increasingly difficult to be inspirational! How does someone inspire another when she really just wants to crawl under a rock and stay there? 

From the Post - Studio Calico

Lovely little package in the mail! Every once in a while, Studio Calico has a clearance sale, and I simply couldn't resist. 



Replenishing my dwindling supply of tapes with this low-key floral...



I'm so excited to use this awesome tiny stencil! Hexagons again... hmm



And I don't even know what these are for. They're wooden stickers that look like buttons! Can't wait to try these out :3

Video: Journal Page 12/18/13 & Inspirational Card Deck Swap

Music: "Cipher 2" Kevin MacLeod @ incompetech.com

I've recently decided to take more consideration in the fun group projects I find on the internet; usually I am enthusiastic for the first few days until I skip a step and start tripping up all over the place, never to speak of it again.

But Shannon convinced me to join her in the Inspirational Card Deck Swap and I reluctantly accepted.
It's totally familiar in the sense that it's really a group ATC trade of 52 CARDS!! WOW. You send a artsy deck of cards and you receive a full deck back, each card from a different player.

Wow.

It's totally unfamiliar in the sense that it involves inspirational quotations... something I never really cared much about. It's awfully tempting to push the limits and snark it up a bit, heh. WE WILL SEE.

The first challenge is getting anything to stick to coated playing cards. 

*whips out the sandpaper*

Mini Paintings - Gelli Butterfly Trio

This morning's creative play: using the Gelli prints to make some new mini paintings!




Cute little 3x3 inch mini paintings are a fun, inexpensive way to collect art. They don't take up much space on the wall and they look pretty adorable together.





 #1 is already available here.

Video: Using Household items with the Gelli

This video was going to have sound but I forgot to turn the camera's microphone back on. Derp!

It's just as well, considering I'm not a particularly big talker and my neighbour was doing some pretty loud karaoke at the time :P

Art Journal Video - Feather Flight

Music: "Airport Lounge" Kevin MacLeod

So today the sun came out and light washed into the room. Such a difference it makes to a video!

This means that when late spring and summer roll around, everything is going to look just lovely.

Artist Talk - Rain Longson

This year I resolved to attend more local gallery events and the first one was the monthly artist talk at the Surrey Art Gallery.

Last night, Rain Longson gave a presentation on digitizing artwork! I'm pretty comfortable with this topic already, but it's a good idea to take lessons even in topics you already know about, especially if they're free!

And it's true, I never really gave much thought into calibrating my monitor and I'm pretty terrible when it comes to file names (especially for blog photos).

There was lots of information and there was talk of a downloadable pdf which I was going to link to, but I can't seem to find it.

But if you hear of a free event in your local galleries, attend them! The attendence was surprisingly few - so many people missed out on some free education that many many many young people are paying hundreds of dollars to learn right now! 

Watercolour Painting - Twitch

 I may currently be obsessed with hexagonal patterns.

Since this year began, my muscles have been quite angry in different ways. Mostly, I am concerned about my hands. I'm worried that the pain will just get worse until I will no longer be able to use them! And then I will have to be a foot painter. Or something.

So for the past week, my eye has been dealing with this by twitching. Continously at first, but now it just comes and goes like tinnitus. Painting the hexagons was the perfect distraction and perfect rest. It was looking a bit flat to me, so I stenciled on some gel medium mixed with the champagne gold paint for texture.



Available here.

Gelli Playdate

Today I had a Gelli playdate with Nolwenn. Her studio is filled with lots of wonderful stencils, stamps and tools to use with the printing plate!



My journal page is full of inks and sprays!





I got a little messy around the dragonfly... and added a couple of paper embellishments when I got home. Now I am slleeeeeppppy! 

Journal Page 01/05/13

I had a dream about my grandpa. It was before dawn and he was sitting on the porch with a pudding and a songbird he'd found and raised. Said, "I saved you some pudding, it's on the counter."

I went to the kitchen and sure enough, there were bowls of pudding. Taking the pudding out to the porch, I could hardly contain my emotions; after 20 years I finally had my grandpa back!

We ate the puddings together and he encouraged the songbird to perch on my arm instead of his. This bird he'd hand raised and loved for so long was now mine.

It's so amazing how our brains can take a fleeting thought I had yesterday about my grandpa's death (and the gift he left for me), and turn it into such a pretty, little dream.

Music: "Cipher" by Kevin MacLeod @ incompetech.com

Overstimulated

An ode to those late nights when inspiration hits: to every Pinterest image that catches our eye, to every wacky detail in our favourite video games, to saturated colours and world wonders, to soul crushing notes in mournful songs and to that stubborn resistance that keeps us from closing our browser windows and drifting off to sleep as we should.



I was originally going to paint a human eye (as that would make sense in this context) but I was a little creeped out by it and kept procrastinating. So I painted a lovely cat's eye instead.

I usually also try to resist the urge to stray from standard sizes to make framing nice and easy, but I just can't resist a long rectangle. The standard 8x10 is weird and uncomfortable so I thought I'd treat myself this time. :3



Available here.

Happy New Year From Maggie & Her Box

Better tread carefully, 2013. I'm watching you. *squint*