chunky little book for holiday lists

This fat little book was so much fun to make, using Eileen Hull's 

versatile XL Square Box Scoreboard die for Sizzix,  

as another sample for our class on Saturday afternoon, December 7th, 

at Angela's Happy Stamper in Reston.

Within its small frame, there are plenty of pages to make lots of holiday lists, 

like a gift list, a wish list, and that naughty and nice list.

It can hold tags and pockets, too!

In class, Eileen and I are teaming up show you how to create the box and then

how to use the same die to create a chunky book and a shaker ornament.

Although I forgot to photograph the inside liner of this book, 

it's a series of holiday words doodled in outline and then colored in.  

This book liner to color will be part of the class kit, along with instruction sheets

and handwritten tags for embellishing your projects

for the holidays.

Come join Eileen and me for a crafty afternoon Saturday, December 7th, 

at Angela's Happy Stamper!

time to start making your holiday wish box

Ho, ho, ho!  Once again the fabulous Eileen Hull and I are teaming up to teach a class using Eileen's awesome dies for Sizzix.  This time we'll be using her XL Square Box Scoreboard die to create a trio of holiday projects.   Starting with the box shape, we'll make a glittery hanging ornament, a photo box for any season, and a fun chunky book for all your holiday lists.

By the way, check out Eileen's blog to see her stop-animation video showing her 3-D Artist Trading Blocks, the new trend being introduced at CHA this January, using her new block dies!!

And then, come join Eileen and me at Angela's Happy Stamper in Reston on Saturday, December 7th, from 1-4 pm!  We'll be busy little elves all afternoon!

autumn doodle days

.
I'm so grateful for another beautiful autumn day!

Between a house full of family visiting here for several months  

(including my sweet youngest granddaughter who is a bundle of energy) 

and my studio construction plans running into delay after delay at the county level 

(where there is a reputation for unenergetic mire ... to be nice about it), 

I need to be coddled by the weather for as long as possible! :)

Not much time for doodling lately, 

although I bought a new Strathmore toned journal 

and briefly tried lettering something every couple days ... yay me!  

Here are some modest results of that short-lived endeavor, some still in progress.  

And since I've been been asked frequently, some info on pens I've used
(pretty simple, as doodling can be).

"Afternoon sun" handmade journal page:

Fabriano hot-press w/c paper with acrylic wash background

(leftover paint from previous project added quickly to the blank page 

during clean-up), with

black Pitt pen doodles (india ink dries quickly, is then permanent), 

Copic markers (because of the acrylic wash, the Copics don't bleed into the paper)

Emily Dickinson poem in lettering journal:

Strathmore toned sketch journal, 

Faber-Castell Pitt pens black #199 (S),  opaque white #101 (big marker),

gold #250 (1.5), plus red pencil

Flourish doodles in lettering journal:

 Strathmore toned sketch journal, 

Pitt pens black #199 (S),  opaque white #101 (big marker),  gold #250 (1.5), 

plus neon red and rose gel pens on special at Target

Project Life cards:

PL-sized cards cut from Strathmore Bristol smooth tablet, Pitt pen black (S), Copics

"Art is the magic and hope of an awesome life" in lettering journal:

Strathmore toned sketch journal, 

Faber-Castell Pitt pens black #199 (S),  opaque white #101 (large marker),

Faber-Castell pencil and magazine words

the interrupted practice of art journaling

I so wish I could make the practice of art journaling a daily or even weekly routine. It's such an enjoyable, relaxing, and imaginative outlet.  But the truth is I seldom have that kind of time.  So my pages remain an exploration seldom finished.

Even so, I'm finding out what I like as I try out different approaches and different tools. Since I like to paint and draw and doodle and letter, that's what usually appears on my pages.  Collage can be lots of fun, but I don't much like being held hostage to a pile of paper.  It's just easier for me to draw whatever happens to come along in my bits of time.  And although I love to write, I'm not much of a self-confessional journaler, so for me the pages are all about opportunities for line and color.  I might start with the line and add color, or the reverse.

Sometimes it's a long while before I get back to a journal page in progress.  Often, I don't remember where I meant to go with the page.  No matter.  I just enjoy adding another layer in the time I have, leaving it to finish when I can.  The painted page above eventually became the doodled page below.  It may change again when I have ten minutes.  It's all good.

more doodle lettering

Sometimes it's a good day, and sometimes it's not.

Either way, some doodle lettering can add a bit of fun.

Or maybe just slow time down a little.

doodled song lyrics

Spent an afternoon warming up for a lettering project 

by listening to some favorite songs and doodling the lyrics.

recent journal pages

It's been a while since I've photographed and shared any of my art journaling pages. Life keeps happening, trips keep popping up, and I think I do more suitcase-packing than anything else.  But today, while sweet little Eliää is having a sick day with a tummy upset, our out-and-about-Oxford plans are on hold.  So I've looked back through my camera roll to find a few photos I'd posted somewhere but not here on my blog. Here's a little recap of pages, some still in progress, with the spring-like colors I'm craving right now:

heartfelt box with eileen hull

Although I ran out of time to post this before Valentine's Day, I wanted to share a version of a project I'm currently working on.  Just arriving in stores now is the new line of "From My Heart" dies by my creative designer friend Eileen Hull with Sizzix.  

Eileen and I are super excited to be teaching another class together in April, 

using this really cool heart box she designed.

Eileen's Scoreboard Dies are innovative designs for cutting thicker materials like matboard.  For my sweetly simple Valentine version, first I painted 

a sheet of 140-pound Fabriano watercolor paper with a soft wash of 

Golden's Light Magenta acrylic paint.  Then I used Eileen's heart-box die to cut two heart shapes for the top and bottom of the box, running the top heart through a texture plate.  Using another die from her new line, I also cut several sizes of flowers with heart-shaped petals from the same painted paper.

For a little glitz, I doodled on the flowers and outlined the heart-box top with Ranger's Liquid Pearls in Platinum.  After the Liquid Pearls dried, I stacked my flower layers, cutting into some of the flowers to fluff the petals. 

Next I die-cut a second set of two hearts and box sides from heavy Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper and assembled the box.  To make the white paper blend better with my painted paper, I dabbed the edges with Tim Holtz's Distress Stain in Spun Sugar.  Then I adhered the textured heart to the top of the box and added the layered flower.

Thinking it would be fun to add a Valentine sentiment to the box, I die-cut a banner from Bristol paper using an old Sizzix banner die (which I couldn't find online anymore).  With a Pitt black ink pen, I doodled the word "heartfelt" and filled it in with a Prismacolor watercolor pencil, also shading the tag ends.  Using adhesive only on the tag ends, I shaped the banner into a slight curve.

This heart box will be so easy to tailor to many occasions, including Mother's Day.  

I'll definitely be making more boxes as Eileen and I prepare to teach our class together.

(Our Sentiment Box class will be held at Angela's Happy Stamper in Reston

on April 9th (6 pm) and April 13th (1 pm).  Come join us. :)

Doodle Amour class at French General

In a couple weeks, on Saturday, February 9th, in the afternoon,

this lucky girl will be teaching a doodle lettering class

in the fabulous atmosphere that is French General in L.A.

My generous friend Kaari Meng, warmly supported by her sister, mother, and daughter, concocted this idea with me one lovely evening last summer in France.

To honor French General, I added a few French ribbon swirls to my doodle lettering and outlined a ribbon heart for Valentine's Day and put them together for the February class which we've called "Doodle Amour".

Photo by Debby Schuh at French General's Sunday Soirée

The class will focus on how to turn your handwriting into doodle lettering similar to mine, with examples and demos and hands-on practice.  My class sample, including more doodled pages sewn together as a small booklet, is on view at the store.

If you're in the L.A. area, it would be my pleasure

to share with you my new-found love of doodle lettering.

Because learning is beautiful, n'est-ce pas?  And since I'm still learning, too, I expect to learn so much from all those in class with me, for I believe the best artistic expression is always a two-way street.

Late-night doodling in my bedside notebook :)

According to Molly, there are still a few openings in the class, with details listed under Workshops on the French General site.

merry christmas & happy new year

Wishing you a wonderful holiday and peace and joy in the new year!