Using a lot of rubons on a chipboard album.

I really love creating my own album covers, and

each time I do it, I think that I won't be able to think of anything.

Well I did have to ponder for a bit and its the

reason I do the inside first - figuring it wouldn't be

to glaring if a cover up is required.

Experience. 🤣

I didn't use as much paint on the inside as I do the outside and

the colors are happier.

I used stencils, stamps and masks.

I did screw up on the moon page because I used

ink that was staz-on like so when

I modge podged it sort of smeared and I had redo it.

The cover was a lot of overthinking on my part.

Once I painted it took a couple days of ignoring it

because rifling through my stash wasn't

cutting it.

So. On a night as I was rifling I did a better job

where all my things I look for on every page is stashed there.

And lo and behold RUB ONS jumped

right in my hand.

The big numbers are Creative studio - they sell at the Dollar stores

and let me tell you they rubbed on like a pro

and 2 packages of Tim Holtz.

Well, it was really fun and I used the all the big numbers

rubons and one package of TH.

Then of course white splatters that I got carried away

mostly because I'm blaming it on bad lighting.

🤣

 

Some pages I did for my Memories in the Making album (TN actually) (MITMA) LOL.

I happened to be browsing through the wayback box and

stumbled across my graduation photo.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed I have the same hair.

It took a lot of hair cuts to get back there.

However I thought it would be cool to do a side by side

not realizing until I did the math how big a gap it was.

Anyhoo, I used wilted violet distress ink and

a stencil, sissix flower dies and

QK spicy chicken alpha.

Love how it turned out. I tucked a tag in a glassine

envelope behind my photo and have

journaling on the back.

A photo of my best friend for like 51 years as well 

when she graciously allowed us to

stay in her home while our

rig was getting repaired.

Naturally a good time was had by all.

So butterfly stencil with either barn door

or candied apple distress ink

and some TH sissix dies except for

the doily looking thing in the background.

I love doing this little album and I had made a decision to not use

pop dots in it. 

So far so good!

 

6x6 chipboard Album covers

I love how this turned out and it was going to be

outside covers, however,

after gessoing the chipboard (I really want

to find heavier chipboard but no luck so far) I

used the oxides. I actually handpainted the background

and then stamped the rest.

I love it.

I love oxides.

However, because they are water based, I have not

found a product such as modge podge and a 

matte gel smudge everything up

that whole beautiful scene would be blended.

I need to have some protection because my s/b desk

is in the "kitchen" and there's issues

because where the album will sit.

So....

the outside became the inside and I created a new outside

using the distress inks. I also handpainted that

background too and then used a bunch of

of stencils and stamps.

I'm trying to decide if it needs a "title" or saying 

on the front.

Whatcha think?

Oh I'm making 6x6 album because I want to

put non travelogue photos in a special album and

I found that albums don't store well when

they're not in page protectors and I had some 6x6 on hand,

so............😊

 

Created a new 6x8 chipboard Album cover.

This is the front and I kinda went crazy with the enamel paint.

I really wanted something different and boy did I get it.

There are stencils and stamps in there.

Not much else I can add LOL.

The inside covers that I did first and they

at least have some sort of theme going on and

you can sort of figure things out. 

Stencils and acrylic paints and a handdrawn

spaceship.

Sort of spooky.

And below is the paper with too much paint and

not enough stencil leftovers when

I remembered to actually do it.

That turned out way better than the album cover but

I'm gonna stick with it because it always 

could turn out worse. 

🤣

 

Here Comes the Sun...

A baby boy album for the grandson and I had so 

much fun doing it and it was way

out of my comfort zone.

(I did crochet a blanket too)

I wanted to make a 6x6 album because most

people print their photos 4x6.

I used fun enamel paint colors that I tried to match

with the papers 

on a 6x6 chipboard album I got 

from scrapbooking.com

I really dithered about between wanting and album

with page protectors and a boring

baby paper pad I had

OR

Using this fun bright paper that I can't remember

the name of and I thought I wrote down yet

here we are. 

Using all kinds of dies and stamps.

Had a lot of fun using the critters

and that's when I found that the giraffe-

Gertrude - I some how lost the itty bitty dies

for his face.

So I winged it.

I can't begin to express how annoyed I am

about losing that die.

I am careful.

I put it in a dish.

I count them twice. 

Tore everything apart looking.

Hoping they show up.

Tucked in tags and made envelops

because there were not a lot 

of journaling spots on the pages

I sort of got carried away.

I did a lot of hand drawing which I

normally don't do - because I don't do it well.

I wanted it to bright, fun, happy

and cute.

Love how it turned out 

and if you know the mfg of the paper I used

I'd love it if you'd let me know.

 

A stamped, inked, crayoned, stenciled Album Cover

Yesss, another one.

I can't resist.

This was stamped with no rhyme no reason

except I liked them.

Similar to the last one, I glued 2 thin chipboard

together 5.5x9.5.

Then with some rustic wilderness oxide and stain, 

and kitch flamingo and picked raspberry oxides

using the slide and scoop method

I managed to get it all over the gesso.

Because I didn't want to be lame 

and do the same thing inside 

I decided that stamping a glass jar

and filling it with flowers would work.

Using Tim Holtz crayons I sort of watercolored

the flowers and jar

and then swished some vintage photo

all over - to antique it.

The second page was a new stencil for the winged

creatures and TH dots. 

Using the spray and splat method.

Faded jeans and picked raspberry.

The guts are comprised of scraps and leftovers from

other albums.

I love to use paper bags in my albums.

They just fun to tuck a bunch of really cool stuff in.

I want to have a couple of different albums going on.

You know I have the "travel" album that chronicles are

exciting life on the road, but I also

other photos: like mostly the grandkids, or any photo

that I feel like scrapping using

 a different approach.

Keeps things interesting.....

 

Traveler's Notebook - Tags and Pages

Love the filler card - that is a stamp

on vellum using TH crayons.

I love coloring.

The next page Brooke and I met up at the s/b

shop before I left and bonus- sale!

The cup and spill the beans is a new stamp

I bought that I have been eyeing forEVER.

It's all about coffee.

You'll be seeing it a lot.

An eagle landed in our lake.

Like out our backyard.

It was soooo cool.

And you can't have an eagle page w/o flag,

red white and blue and star stencil background.

Holli and I had one last play date before I left,

and behind us is a sneak peek of PART of her stamp collection.

It's so much fun playing.

The coffee pot stamp belongs to Holli and before

I hit the road I stamp a few of them to

have on hand because 

A. they're so much fun to color

B. love it

C. see above 

LOL.

It's actually the journaling for the next page

which as you know if you've been following my blog 

(which I hope you do)

is the challenge page from my pal Brooke.

You can read about it here.

I love the page and it was so much fun to do.

Dear Lizzy

Tim Holtz

Quikutz

Hero Arts

Stencil

This album is getting kind of thick so I need to

be pondering on creating another one.

 

Traveler's Notebook - Adding tags and cards

I have been making tags like a maniac and

found I LOVE making tags.

Seriously, love building a "scene". 

Then, what to do with them is the $64 question of the day

,so I have been doing filler pages,

 because why not.

It's my book.

Also, I have been totally slacking in the picture taking

department.

I created a "page" on the backside of the card because

who really needs to read it's from Hallmark.

I went into great depth about being 67.

Not.

We have also been going to a local grove

where they make the best homemae

creamsycles or dreamsycles.

Sooooo good.

It's a great special treat.

We did take a ride through Babcock - Webb a great

wildlife management area that can

always toss out a critter or two.

They were quite friendly on this ride.

There is a blog post all about it here.

I made that window at my pal Holli's on one 

of our playdates.

And love those birds.

Swoon.

Again, we were at the fishery with my

favorite sister-in-law and her hubby.

The food and ambiance was excellent as always.

Sissix die cuts.

Dina Whakely stamps

Tim Holtz

Quickutz dies,

Stencils

Studio Calico

 

Travelers Notebook as in the "pre-made" booklets.

I found a traveler's notebook - with faux leather cover 

and blank inserts and since I had nothing going on at the moment 

I decided to play around and decorate the covers. 

Front and Back - mostly the same. 

Using a stencil and stamps

 I also wanted the challenge of using this more or less 

as a diary and to not use dimension 

- or just a tiny bit.

  LOL! 

As if, however, I'm gonna roll with that - 

so the first page I decided to make a "filler" page to get things rolling, 

using a roller stamp 

I hadn't used it like forever, and that library card..... 

Swoon. 

Remember when they were really popular? I was all over them.

Except for the buttons, there is noooooo dimension going on.

However, there are still a bunch of pages that are

waiting to be made. 

I want to try and do better on the journaling instead of the

fluffy stuff I add now. 

I used to have a bit of "color" in my journaling and somehow

I got away from it soooo...maybe if I practice

where no one is looking......

 

Mixed Media - "no beauty shines brighter than that of a good heart"

Love how this turned out.

You may remember I did this page ahead of time 

in a "just because I could" frame of mind.

Using inks and watercolors with stencils I had

trying to make a "scene."

The sun that I drew and the clouds I made were from

thread. 

And it looked stupid.

So I pulled them all off the page which then required

some covering up.

The sun I tried to fix it with just wasn't quite right

but I had this doily thingy for cake decorating more or less

The clouds were stamped on cardstock and I

had the creative moment in swishing white paint across the clouds.

Love the photo of Annie and Owen but the background

had a lot going on AND I screwed up the 

photo after it was printed and no covering that up.

SO...I fussy cut it out.

I'm liking that look.

Having them framed on top of a bird looked fun.

I had to cover up the original TH sentiment because it didn't

go with the photo.

I also decided a title wasn't required.

Learning about pencil lines

I have been watching Susanne Rose on u-tube - she

rocks the art journals. Check her out.

In the meantime,

I purchased a stencil that was of a sun and rays.

Well...

I decided this album needed to have a cover other than the original

so I used some watercolors and painted over the gesso

and dabbed on the stencil.

Well, juicy dabbing results in lots of colors running amok.

Together.

Messy.

Therefore, drastic action was required and I decided to add more

watercolors because I blending would help.

But it came out as one big blob.

Enter the pencil.

And in scribbling lines that I think a flower should look like

and shazam.

It looks pretty cool.

Now I need a 'saying', a sentiment, a title.

Any suggestions?

Nothing has spoken to me.

Yet.

Using other mediums in my "watercolor" album

Because of limited space in my area I ditched

a lot of other mediums I had but

thankfully I didn't ditch the gelatoes.

Mind you, I didn't use them much before but they

are small enough to tuck them in somewhere and in

binge watching Missy Whidden (who's u-tube as hacked

and finally restored) uses gelatoes quite liberally

so therefore I had to be a copy cat.

Love the results.

Bold and fun, though if I need them softer, gesso to the rescue.

 Back to watercolors here, but I did purchase a new

stencial prior to all the stores closing down and

I love the "fireworks".

 AND then I had also kept a small stash of mists.

Mostly Studio Calico Mr. Huey

and THAT was to spray and let run.

AND THEN, I remember stickles from Studio G.

They were really popular back in the day and sort of

went out of vogue but I had some silver and

doesn't it look really cool.

 And picked up this cute butterfly stamp in the same

shopping spree and love how they're

watercolored randomly around the page.

They'll be easy if fussy cutting is on the agenda.

 This is kind of a stencil fail. 

It was too watery and leaked about but I learned

about "pencil" lines and one does not need to be

an artist to slap some pencil marks around.

AND there's always gesso to cover up and get a do-over.

Or just plop a photo there.

 AND then, I decided that the cover needed to be jazzed up.

Enter dylusions.

It's loud and psychedelic.

And then the title - I embraced my inner Lisa Fonseca

(check her out on u-tube) she handcuts everything.

From scratch.

Sigh.

She can handcut perfect alphas like nobody's business

without drawing them out first.

I drew out my letters first - and I love how they

work with the wildness.

I do not remember the mfg for the other dodads on there

except for the bird - that is a fussy cut stamp.

I'm likin' the bigger size because the TN is kinda restrictive

so we'll see how this one rolls.

Watercolor - album complete - Photo Heavy!!!

I really didn't have a plan when I started.

Shocking I know.

I just wanted to do something fun without an agenda.

So this is the FIRST page (after this NONE are in order

except for the LAST page)

Why it loaded out of order I have no clue.

Anyhoo.......👀

When I did the pages I did all the right side pages first

and then came back and did all the left side.

 Some are complementary pages and some are

what the heck was I thinking LOL.

If you recall It started out as sunflowers and quickly

evolved into "scenes" because I don't do sunflowers

freestyle well.

 I incorporated stamping and stencils.

Some worked out well, and some as you can see above

right - cover up was required.

 This one really had to be side-by-side because what else

can you do with a spider web.

 It was a lot of fun to do.

Very freeing.

And extremely relaxing.

 Not sure what I want to do but I did go out

and by another mixed media album like

this only BIGGER. Because honestly, I'm tired of small.

Actually, I LOVED doing ALL SIZES 

and I miss that.

 Some I included stickers on because why not.

And don't these rock?

 I finally used the "because" stamp I had forever written

in Ali Edwards handwriting.

They have been in an out of the give away piles for years.

Glad I kept them.

 Aren't you glad I didn't bore with doing the LEFT side

and THEN doing BOTH sides in posts. 😂

 You're welcome.

 Tried something different here.

No guts no glory eh?

 Had to get in TH coffee stains because what book

would be complete without it.

 And the TH critters.

As you can see there were some stamping issues

but I can work with that.

And I think I removed that annoying butterfly too.

 I must have been having quite the day for this one.

Very dark and "dramatic" LOL.

and yes I fussy cut those hearts out. I think I

ripped the page out because I didn't like the direction.

It's okay to think this is bizarre because I do.

 No matchy matchy going on here.

 I actually did the mushrooms twice.

Forgetting I already did it but one is ink

and one is modeling paste.

 So it's different and allowed LOL.

No rules.

 I had a leftover photo and it worked perfect

with this page. If you'll remember that I had that

"Our adventure together" already stamped on there.

I may or may not journal because this picture is in my TN.

Did the rainbow effect here because why not.

This is the last page and aren't you thrilled LOL.

Anyway, the TH critters are on the back cover and I wasn't paying

attention that it wasn't paper - because I screwed up 

the stamping part - like twice (see above).

And that cover is slick so I had to wait forever so it wouldn't smear.

All in all I'm thrilled with this and can't wait to do another.

A bigger another.

😍