Art {Marks} Using Pastels

I love using pastels and India ink for backgrounds. My two favorite products are my set of Faber-Castell soft pastels and the Dr. Ph. Martin Bombay India Inks. They are two totally different products. The pastels get messy and they are not waterproof but they are so beautiful. I purchased the set of 72 minis.

The India inks are a liquid, and they are waterproof.

I love to put down color and use both of these as a background. The pastels are also great for making marks, coloring, etc. To set the pastels, I just cover lightly with Golden Fluid Matte Medium then continue to work over the pastels. Works amazing and doesn't get messy on my pages that way. So today, let's look at how I use the pastels on my pages.

Here I used the pastels to make the cross marks on the Aug. 3 page on the left.

Here I used the pastels to color the yellow behind the flower. It really made the flower pop. I colored it after all of the other paint was there so it was super easy to get in between the petals with the mini pastel.

Here the complete background was done using three different colors of pastels. I scribbled them down, blended with a baby wipe, and then set with Golden Fluid Matte Medium. Also the fabric you see on this page was a find after I created this page. It was just sitting on my desk, and it matched so beautifully that I couldn't not use it. :)

And this background uses two different purple pastels and a navy color. They were all blended to create the background along with some spilled paint I shared about the other day in this post here.

Next time I will share how I use the Dr. Ph. Martin Bombay India Inks to make backgrounds. Stay tuned, and hope you enjoyed today's creations! Blessings,

Product List (click product tags for more information)

View blog post for supplies

A {Card} and a Layout for Blue Fern Studios

Well, it's the 21st which means it's my turn to share some Blue Fern Studios inspiration. For my creations this month, I created a card and a layout for you. Let's look at each of them.

Sweet

When our identical triplets daughters turned 20 this past September, two of them were away at college. Celebrating a milestone with them away from home was hard. So, I enlisted the help of one of their friends at school to have some special surprises waiting for them on their special day. In order to thank her for her help, I created this card and included a gift card. 

I started with the new Blue Fern Studios Montage papers (Now and Then and Fairyland). Then I added a sentiment from the Arrow Words chipboard set. 

To color the chipboard, I lightly tapped on some black gesso. You can still see some bits of the natural chipboard showing through. I wanted it to have a more textured look instead of painted just black so I was able to achieve that by painting it in this way.

Papers: Blue Fern Studios Montage Now and Then and Fairyland, Paper Trey Ink cs 
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Arrow Words (dabbed with black gesso) 
Embellishments: Wild Orchid Crafts flowers, Petaloo New Camelia Tangerine flower, Prima Color Bloom gilded mist, misc. lace, drywall joint tape, misc. enamel dots, black thread, sewing machine

Cherish

For this 8 1/2 x 11 layout, I started with the new Blue Fern Studios Mercantile paper. I toned down the background just a bit by putting down a thin layer of gesso. Once dry, I added some stenciling and Gelatos for color.

I used two chipboard pieces from Blue Fern Studios—Adore, Love, and Cherish that I used for the title, and the Wild Flourish Frame. To cover the title chipboard, I just covered in black gesso. To cover the flourish chipboard, I first coated it in gesso. While the gesso was wet, I sprinkled on two different colors of embossing powder.

Papers: Blue Fern Studios Montage Mercantile, Fairyland, Bouquet, and Now and Then
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Wild Flourish Frame (painted with gesso and embossed with Lindy's golden angel wings and hibiscus rose orange ep); Adore, Love, and Cherish (painted with black gesso)
Stamp Ink: Archival jet black
Stamps: Unity Give it all Meaning, Unity Retro Bubble Borders, Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge
Embellishments: Prima Corine flowers, Petaloo blue/green mini pearl daisies and New Camelia mantis green, The Crafter's Workshop cosmic bubbles stencil, Gelato cotton candy, Wild Orchid Crafts leaves, Tim Holtz mini paper clip and tiny attacher, flair from Glorie, sewing machine

Thanks for stopping by, and remember there is still time to join in the Blue Fern Studios October Sketch Challenge. Click here for details. Blessings,

Art {Journaling} A New Page & A "Do-over"

Is there such a word as "do-over"? Hmm, maybe I should say "recreated." If you remember seeing the page I made for my best friend in the front of her journal, I loved that page so much that I had to have it in my own journal. So, I guess that's why I am calling it a "do-over" since I recreated that page again for my own art journal. You can see the original page I made for her in this post here. And here is how my page turned out:

Paints: Liquitex gesso, super heavy gesso, matte medium; Angora watercolors; Faber-Castel gelatos; Lumiere pearl turquoise; Claudine Hellmuth sky blue acrylic paint 
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink jet black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink black soot and picked raspberry 
Stamps: Provo Craft 18 pt roller stamp, SU rollagraph alphabet B, Unity reversed punchinella
Embellishments: The Crafters Workshop mini deco doily, Luxe Designs black letter stickers, My Mind's Eye Antique alpha stickers, old hymnal page "My Hope is Built" 
Journal: Moleskine sketch book

Yes, slightly different but still very similar. I even had some of the hymnal page left over to use on my page too. I thought it was the perfect hymn for the quote.

Next, I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and concern regarding my mammogram. Because of Winter Storm Pax, I had to have it rescheduled. So, now I go on Tuesday of this coming week with a doctor's visit on Wednesday. I don't know when I will get results but I will certainly update you. I thank you ALL for your prayers and concern. Here is the page I created on the day I found out that I have to go back in. It was a bad day with our epileptic dog too so I kind of just put my journaling out there. It's how I felt that day.

Papers: Basic Grey RSVP, Graphic 45 Couture Collection, Manor House Creations Believe 
Paints: Liquitex light modeling paste mixed with Dr. Martin's green india ink; Liquitex matte medium; Golden black gesso; Faber-Castel gelatos; Claudine Hellmuth landscape green acrylic paint 
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink jet black 
Stamps: Becky Higgins date stamp, SU rollagraph nursery letters 
Embellishments: Donna Downey lattice template, Quickutz Diesel alpha, Luxe Designs black letter stickers, Faber-Castell PITT big brush pen carmine and cobalt green 
Journal: Moleskine sketch book

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope this inspires you to create a page this weekend. Blessings,

Art Journal Page {My Guide}

Paints: Liquitex gesso, super heavy gesso, matte medium; Angora watercolors; Faber-Castel gelatos; Lumiere pearl turquoise 

Stamp Ink: Archival Ink jet black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink black soot and picked raspberry 

Stamps: Provo Craft 18 pt roller stamp, SU rollagraph alphabet B, Unity reversed punchinella

Embellishments: Christy Tomlinson Stencil Vintage Lace, Luxe Designs black letter stickers, My Mind's Eye Antique alpha stickers, old hymnal page "My Hope is Built"

Goodness, I have not sat down to do an art journal page in so long. This was so fun. I used a quote from Dr. Henrietta C. Mears. I have used her quotes before, and I will certainly use a lot more. :) And did you notice the hymn I chose to use in the heart? It was perfect for the quote I thought.

The color inspiration came from a catalog cover I got in the mail the other day. I am so glad I saved the cover because I really love this color combo. I will need to use these colors again.

The notebook I used is a Moleskine plain notebook. The pages are really thin so I had to glue 4 pages together to get extra thickness. The reason I used this is because I am giving this to a friend, and she can use the book as a journal. There will only be this one painted two-page spread inside. The rest of the pages are hers to use as she desires. I hope she likes it. :)

Well, I hope you enjoy today's bit of inspiration. Have a blessed Sunday!

{HSCRC13} Hymn #20, I Need Thee Every Hour

Hymn Challenge #20: I Need Thee Every Hour
Words by: Annie S. Hawks
b. May 28, 1835; d. Jan­u­a­ry 3, 1918

Music by: Rev. Robert Lowry
b. March 12, 1826; d. November 25, 1899

Annie S. Hawks was born in Hoo­sick, New York. She began writing poems when she was very young, and her poems began appearing in newspapers when she was 14 years old. She mar­ried Charles H. Hawks in 1857. They attended Hanson Baptist Church in Brooklyn, where Rev. Robert Lowry (a great hymn writer) was pastor. He saw her talent and gave her a challenge and told her “If you write the words, I’ll write the music.” We studied Rev. Robert Lowry in last year's Hymn #8, Christ Arose. Click here to read more about Rev. Lowry. Her husband, Charles, died in 1888 so she moved to Ben­ning­ton, Ver­mont, to live with her daugh­ter and son-in-law. She died at the age of 82 in Benn­ing­ton, Ver­mont. She wrote over 400 hymns during her lifetime.

Friday morning my mom called. She said told me to praise the Lord that my father was still alive Friday morning. He was fishing with his best friend on Thursday, and a guy ran into them throwing my dad overboard. Dad went down 50 feet. He had on 2 sweatsuits because it was cold along with his life jacket. He doesn't always wear his life jacket but he put it on because he was so cold. His best friend couldn't pull him back in the boat. My dad was a fighter pilot and is a great swimmer but was being pulled down by all of his heavy clothing. He said he would have drowned had the guy that hit them not helped rescue him. He lost a lot of "things" but that doesn't matter as he is still with us. I still can't believe this happened, and I am SO thankful he is okay!!! God's mighty hand of protection has seen to it that he is still with us for a reason! God must still have big plans for my precious daddy! God was there with my daddy in that moment he needed Him most.

Psalm 31:2 "Turn Your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me."

Psalm 40:17 "But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; You are my God, do not delay."

Psalm 86:1-2 "Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to You; save your servant who trusts in You. You are my God."

Do you feel like God is there when you need Him most? We have to walk near to Him to experience Him. Are you walking near to Him in everything—good times and bad? One of the many blessings of knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is that He is with you always. He is there in good times and in bad but if we don't learn to acknowledge Him in the good times, how will we find Him when things are rough? We truly need Him every hour!

Psalm 73:28 "But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds."

Annie S. Hanks wrote the following about today's hymn (quoted from Kenneth W. Osbeck's Book "Amazing Grace") :

"One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became filled with the sense of nearness to the Master, and I began to wonder how anyone could ever live without Him, either in joy or pain. Then the words were ushered into my mind and these thoughts took full possession of me."

We must stay fixed on Him at all times. I know when I am not fixed on Him, things don't go right, I am usually miserable in some way, or displeased with myself. When I am fixed on Him, I can see a huge difference in how I act and feel and how I get through certain situations. If we see how amazing our lives are when we are fixed on Him, then why do we continue to go it alone? I need Him every hour. How about you?

Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Psalm 73:28 "But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."

Below is the sheet music to this hymn, and click here to listen to an acapella arrangement of this hymn.

For my 6x6 page today, I used the Psalm 73:28 verse noted above because I felt like it said it all—I desire to be near to God, He is my refuge, and I love giving Him the glory. I also used one of my art journaling cards. If you missed that post, click here to see how I made my card. And lastly, I put quite a few things on this page that represent my relationship with Christ:

• I crumpled up the sheet music and then spread it out again. It represents me being broken and sinful yet His blood "smooths me out" and makes me clean.
• The Blue Fern Studios Country Picket Fence shows that I can't come before Christ without accepting Him as my Lord and Savior. He is a Holy God, and I cannot approach Him unless I have been cleansed by the blood of Christ which takes down that fence (barrier) between the Father and myself.
• The Blue Fern Studios Blue Fern Bits (hearts) represent my heart attitude.
• The colors—black represent when I am without Him, things are dark and seem hopeless. With Him, my life is filled with joy and bright colors.
• The clock—that I need Him every hour of every day!

Papers: Basic Grey RSVP, Paper Trey Ink, Art Journaling Card by Patter Cross 

Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Blue Fern Bits (w/Gelatos metallic mint, melon, and blueberry), Country Picket Fence (w/Gelatos chocolate and Tim Holtz embossing powder walnut stain) 
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink black soot 
Embellishments: Petaloo Wild Blossoms fuschia and aqua; Prima leaves and clock face; Tim Holtz mini gears; Dew Drops; sewing machine

Remember to use Keyword HSCRC13 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of the information regarding this challenge and the previous studies, please see this post here. Have a blessed week ahead!

A Spool and a Layout with Blue Fern Studios

I am excited to share two creations with you today showing off lots of fun Blue Fern Studios chipboard and the wonderful 7 Dots Studio products.

An Altered Spool
My parents are big antique shoppers/collectors. I love that they are able to pick up little pieces for me as they see them. This spool is one of the pieces they brought to me. I couldn't wait to alter it for my new studio. The 7 Dots Studio Domestic Goddess line was perfect as it matches the colors in my studio. I also used the chipboard dressform, scissors, and sewing machine from the Blue Fern Studios Miss Tailor Set.

Papers: 7 Dots Studio Domestic Goddess 
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Miss Tailor Set (painted with gesso, Inka Gold old silver and distress inks) 
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz gathered twigs and walnut stain 
Embellishments: Prima Valentine Vine white flowers, resin clock, and Lucido flower; Divine Twine Memory Box pearls; Maya Road tiny ruler; Wild Orchid Crafts pink roses; Making Memories silver brad; Hobby Lobby wood alpha; misc. tulle and string; sewing machine

I used Inka Gold old silver on the chipboard scissors and sewing machine to make them look like metal. I also added a silver brad to the scissors. I think it makes them look pretty real. :) I love this piece in my room.

An 8 1/2 x 11 Layout
For this layout, I used the 7 Dots Studio Messy Head collection. There are so many beautiful pieces in this collection that I had a hard time choosing what papers to use. On this page, I also used the Blue Fern Bits, Organic Vine, and Quatrefoil Panel chipboard pieces.

Papers: 7 Dots Studio Messy Head; Bazzill cs 
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Blue Fern Bits, Quatrefoil Panel, Organic Vine 
Stamp Ink: Prima blossom tree chalk ink 
Embellishments: Manor House Creations pink sugar and spice flower; 7 Dots Studio Messy Head elements and big words; Prima Soubrette B flowers, wood veneer title, and checkered stencil; Maya Road wood bird cage; Wild Orchid Crafts leaves; May Arts twine; Faber-Castell gelatos; sewing machine

Thanks for stopping by, and remember there are a few days left to join in on the Blue Fern Studios September Sketch Challenge. Click here to join in the fun! Blessings,

Art {Journaling} My Favorite Supplies & a Page

**Please note: To see today's {Faith Journaling} post, please click here.

Since I am new to art journaling (since May 2011), I am finding products I love along with products that are "okay." I thought it would be great to list some of my favs here today. I will keep this list updated also so you may want to check back. These are things as an art journaler that I find I use on all/most pages, and I love them. But before I share the "Favorite's List," I wanted to show you this week's page.

My Page
My page for today was another one that started without a purpose, and I actually did not like it. The kids were laughing as I tried something else, and then the page got "messed up" further. We all ended up having a great laugh as I started this page. Here is where I stopped and put it away:

Yuck! Now what was I going to do with that? Well, the next morning I woke up, and I began adding pieces here and there. The page started taking shape, and by the end of the day it turned out to be one of my favorite pages! And while I didn't think there was a purpose for this page--oh there was! I will share that in a minute. Here is the finished page:

Stamps: Rollagraph Designer 10, Prima Large Flower Stem
Stamp Ink: Archival jet black
Pens: Faber-Castel PITT big brush pens, Pentel EnerGel
Stencils: The Crafter's Workshop basic hearts and eternity
Paints: Liquitex Inks, SEI Orange, Adirondack Paint Dabber sail boat blue, Tim Holtz Distress Stain antique linen
Ephemera: scriptures from vintage Bible encyclopedia, title from The Old Schoolhouse magazine

And remember I said there ended up being a purpose for this page? Look at the 3rd and 4th photo. Do you see where I wrote the word "clouds"? Oh my! When I created the blue splatters, first I had NO idea I would be using this page to share my love for God's creation. But then for that word to show up there on the page where it looks like a cloud. Wow! God is amazing! He is in the details! I just love that!

Favorite Products List
Okay, now for my favorites. I will update this list as I learn new techniques and about new products that I love so be sure to check back. :) Also, I included links to the products where I buy them or where I have spoken about them before. Be sure to click on the links for more information.

Journal
*Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal--9x12. My FAVORITE journal. Nice weight pages that are perfect for mixed media! After trying MANY others, this one is the winner!

Ephemera
Note: I get a lot of my old books for free from paperbackswap.com. See my post here.

*old Bible encyclopedia--to use scriptures.
*old hymnal--used in the page above behind the yellow hearts.
*old magazines--favorites include The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and Today's Christian Woman.
*old 7Gypsies tags and cards from my stash.
*Postage stamps
*Security envelopes
*Tickets
*Etc., etc., etc.--think out of the box and look at everything as potential!

Miscellaneous
*Invisible Care--This stuff doesn't stop the paint from getting on your hands but makes the paint wash off VERY easily. I wouldn't create without it!  Here is my post about it. :)

*Muslin fabric--learned about this in Roben-Marie's class. She suggests using it to blot up color from a page. It makes gorgeous painted fabric. She calls it "inky fabric." Here is a piece of mine thus far. Ooh, I can't wait to use this on something!

*Liquitex White Acrylic Gesso--works great to prime pages, chipboard, or use as white paint!

*Blick Newsprint Paper--perfect for keeping your work surface clean. The kids love using it too!

*Holbein Atomizer Bottle--I purchased some regular travel spray bottles from Target only to find they kept clogging. These bottles by Holbein do not clog when I create my sprays. I should have started with these in the first place. :) (newly added 7/22)

*Krylon Matte Finish--I spray each finished page with this. Works great! (newly added 7/22)

*Pentel EnerGel Pen--0.7mm tip with acid free ink. Writes very smooth. You may hear that the Permaball Pen is everyone's favorite. It is a GREAT pen; however, is not longer being manufactured. The Pentel EnerGel Pen is a GREAT replacement.

*Plate Rack--for drying pages, storing journal and newsprint, etc. Will show in a separate post soon. (newly added 7/22)

Paints and Inks
*Acrylic paints--I use my old stash of Making Memories paints and the Adirondack Dabbers.

*Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Inks--I use direct from the bottle for painting, and I also mix with water and make into sprays! Love them. These are translucent and permanent.

*Liquitex Acrylic Ink--I use these exactly as the inks above; however, these have opaque and translucent colors and are permanent.

*Ranger Archival Inks--I much prefer these over Stazon. I am not friends with Stazon. LOL! Anyway, the Archival Ink is waterproof, smear-proof, fade resistant, and acid free. They come in many colors but I use the black and brown the most in my journal.

Stamps
*a few versatile wheel stamps

*background stamps--anything you like but I love using sheet music, hearts, circles, etc.

*bubble wrap--Paint with gesso or paints and "stamp" onto page. Love it!

*Flip flop--use the sole. I got a pair at the $1 bin at Target and cut it apart. Love the image it creates.

*Prima Foam stamps--Love the heart and flowers the most. Works great with acrylic ink!

Stencils
*Alphabet stencils--I found some in the drafting department at Hobby Lobby.

*The Crafter's Workshop 6x6 templates--I have many but use the hearts and circles the most. At CHA, they just came out with a Chickenwire template and a Punchinella template. I've got to get those! :)

*Delta Daisy Stencil

*Delta Flower Trio Stencil

*Doillies (paper)--use as stencils. Works great. As they get old, toss, and get a new one. :)

*Punchinella

I hope this list is helpful. If you want specific stamp names or products, feel free to e-mail me. I also try to include the names in my product list below each page I share so be sure to look there too. :) Thanks for stopping by today!