Art Journal Page - Love is magic! ...and troubles of art journaling!

Hi! Welcome to my blog!

Today I have a new art journal page to share with you. This style of art journal page is inspired by the amazing Vicky Papaioannou which is one of my very favorite artists! I LOVE her art journal pages and her cards, and I even learned about art journaling and started it because of her! If you don't know her already, you can find her beautiful art work here. 

One of my main trouble when I want to make an art journal page is that I can't find a focal point, or if I find a focal point I can't seem to find coordinating details to beautifully fill the page. I really struggled a lot with this issue in the past (and up to now!) so I have decided to think of a procedure that could help me, follow it and see where this gets me. The procedure I came up with is this: pick a beautiful thing from my stash that inspires me with an idea, then try to coordinate it with something that I like and I can make (also search in my stash if something combines with my idea), find a quote that I like for my page and put everything down. 

So this art journal page started following this procedure. I had these beautiful bottles' dies in my stash waiting and I really wanted to use them. The idea that I had in my mind for them was liquid flowing from one of them, so I started with it and this is what I came up with. 

(click on the photos to zoom in)

Here is a closer view of the book & papyrus shelf. I really loved making these small items!

For the bottles I used distress inks to color them and then I covered them with glossy accents to make them look like their are made from glass. Then I drew the liquid lake with TOMBOW markers and covered it with the Wink of Stella clear glitter pen to make it sparkle! Unfortunately, the sparkle doesn't really show in the photos but it is quite shinny in real life! 

Well that was my project for today. I would love to get your comments or your thoughts, troubles and ideas regarding art journal page making. I'm still experimenting with it, trying to find all the different parts and details that I love in art journal pages and combine them into my own style. I'm also trying to find a way to handle things that look like obstacles for me, like combining things around a focal point that I choose, and I would be really interested and happy to read your opinions or troubles or ideas on it!

Thank you for visiting my blog, wish you all many happy creative moments! 

SUPPLIES:

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Mixed Media - The story of my Quirky Birds!

Hellooo! Welcome to my blog!

Today I'm sharing with you my very first lesson on drawing and mixed media, which is Quirky Birds, by Tamara Laport! I love Tam's lessons, as she communicates her art lesson in a so relaxing, peaceful, understandable and joyful way, that she always makes me feel so well!

The plan for this lesson was to make (in mixed media) on an accordion paper, some quirky birds(!), which will pass a message to yourself on happiness and joy, through one of your favorite songs or poems, some quotes etc. 

I chose the song: "Dream a little dream of me" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (click here for the song's youtube video!). And these my version of her quirky birds!

(click on the photos to zoom)

The first one is a bit scary king owl, isn't it?! lol! But then again he reminds us of the shinning stars and the night breezes!

I think the second one is a cutie! And she could be singing in the sycamore trees!

The third one, is a wise, beauty owl that suggests to leave all worries behind! She is wise so I will listen to her!

And the fourth one is a sweet bird-princess that's gotta keep dreaming, and so will I!

Well, I really love these quirky birds' story! 

For the lesson, we could either draw our quirky birds on the back side of the paper or do something different, and so I thought about it and I felt I really needed to write the lyrics of my song! Thus, I painted the background with acrylics, I embellished it with stars and flowers, made my "quotes" as titles and I've written all the lyrics of my birds song!

(click on the photos to zoom)

You always have to remember, "STARS ARE SHINING BRIGHT"....

So you have to "KEEP DREAMING"!!!

And creating!

Thank you for visiting my blog! I'll be happy to get your comments! 

Art Journal Page - Childish Dreams!

Hi! Welcome to my blog!

Today I have a new art journal page to show you. This page was inspired by Tamara Laport and her new awesome art work which can be found here! 

I have to admit that before meeting Tamara's art and watching some of her videos, my girl-painting skills were reeeeeaaaalllyyy poor! That made me sad as I loved seeing other peoples girl-painting but I couldn't make one myself (at least not one that I would like!). After studying Tam's videos and techniques on sketching, painting and shadowing a girl's face, I started feeling more confident about it and this journal page is my second try on it! And I have to say that, although I still find points that are not "correct" and that need more "work", I really like the outcome! Also, I can see the progress between my previous projects (see here and here) and this one, and this fact makes me hope for even better results in the future! I hope you will like it too!

(click on the photos to enlarge)

Here is a closer look on the girl...

 

and to the right page! I so LOVE this quote!

                

To make this journal page, I initially drew the girl's face with graphite pencil. Then, I colored the background using some stencils to give some pattern to it. I cutted some scap papers with different colors and patterns into small pieces and adhered them to different areas of the page. Then, I used some watered gesso and a brayer to tone down the background. After that, I painted the girl, I sketched and colored the flowers and I wrote the quote with black pen. Finally, I embellished my page using a stars stencil and the butterfly stamp, which I doodled with a black and a white pen.

In this photo you can see the different patterned papers and the small flower drawn on the girl's neck. 

And here is the cute butterfly stamp! You can see all the texture from the paper pieces and the gesso layer, and the background coloring through the stencil.

Well, that was my page for today, I hope you like it! I would be happy to get your comments!

With this art journal page I participate into two great challenges! The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge "Anything Goes" and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes"! I love them both and I'm so happy that this week I have two chances to win their great gift! Keep fingers crossed!

PRODUCTS LIST:

• Prima Finnabair Stencil "Stars"
• Tim Holtz Stencil "Clockwork"
• Inkadinkado clear stamps "Fancy That"
• Lefranc & Bourgeois Gesso
• Dylusions Ink Spray "London Blue"
• Neocolor II watersoluble crayons
• Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylics (Permanent Magenta, Pale Olive, Cerulean Blue Hue, Pale Terracotta)
• Faber-Castell Broadpen 1554 black pen
• Sharpie white pen
• Brayer

Art Journal Page - Let Go !

Welcome to my blog & happy Valentine's day!

I know that some of you might not feel like celebrating and, for that reason, I wish my art journal page will make you think of what is that takes joy and happiness away from you and just let it go! 

(click on the image to enlarge)

For the background I used white fluid acrylics. Then I stenciled the pink flowers with ink spay and I stamped using a text stamp with black archival ink . I doodled with a black pen and added some washi tape. Then, I made the black border and the drips with watered acrylics.

I made a collage with the woman figure (the image is part from a Heye gothic puzzle picture which I love) and shade it using black indian ink pen and my finger to smudge the lines.

 I printed my quote, cut it in pieces and distressed the borders with distress ink. I also stamped the words "let go".  

Then, I used modeling paste coloured with black and white acrylics and the flower stencil to make the textured flowers that give dimension to the page. Finally, I used a pearlescent fluid acrylic to make some polka dots floating on my page!

Well, that was my art journal page for today, I hope you like it! Thank you for visiting my blog, I'll be happy to get your comments.

With this art journal page I'll participate in the challenge "Red + Pink" of the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog! 

PRODUCTS LIST:

• Ranger Distress Paint - picket fence
• Ranger Dylusions ink spray - bubblegum pink
• Ranger Dylusions Stencil - Flower Medley Small
• Bo Bunny stampset - It is written
• Stampers Anonymous stampset - Worn Text
• Kaiser Craft printed tape 
• Galeria Acrylic - Mars Black
• Galeria Modelling Paste
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink - weathered wood
• Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black
• Heidi Swapp Stencil - polka dots
• Darwi Metal Acrylic - pearlescent 

Art Journal Page - My Angel

Welcome to my blog & happy holidays to all!
I wish you are having a really great time as a totaly new year is about to come!

Today, I have a special art journal page to share with you, "my angel"! "My angel" is the result of an exiting free course that a have taken, called "Art, Heart & Healing" which is offered by the amazing Tamara Laporte! Tam is one of the most talented and kind people I've ever met through the internet and I'm so glad that I have found her. Art, Heart & Healing is a GREAT course that really helped me to open my mind and heart to art and its healing part and, as I'm quite new to it, to develop my skils a little bit more. You can find Tamara's art here and all the information about the Art, Heart & Healing free course right here.

"My angel" expresses a healing & helpful power that reminds me of what I really need to be happy and, most importantly, to be open to receive it!

Here is a closer look on my angel's face...At last, I've managed to draw and paint a face that I really like! I know it is not perfect but I like it...!!!

The wings feathers were initially sketched with a pencil and then they were covered with modeling paste (using a size 5 rounded brush) which gave them a great texture.

The texts were written with a white Sharpie pen and for the angel's halo and the shimmering dress (which really doesn't show in the photos but is in real view) I've used a metal pearlescent acrylic paint.

I hope you like it! I'll be happy to get your comments. 

Wish you all a 

HAPPY AND CREATIVE NEW YEAR!!!  

Art Journal Page - This summer in Naxos!

Welcome to my blog!

Today I have a new art journal page to share with you, and it is about my summer vacation in...Naxos! Naxos is a gorgeous Greek island in the Aegean Sea and it belongs in the island group of Cyclades. The island has great history and amazing nature scenery, with long beaches of golden sand and blue calm waters and many beautiful places to see! It also has absolutely delicious food! 

I had a really great time in Naxos this summer and I thought I could keep some of my memories in my art journal book, so...here they are! 

First, I made the background of the page using a map of the citi of Naxos and a soft layer of gesso over it.  Then, I made a collage using our ship tickets, photos from our favorite beach and some photos of our favorite places and foods! 

After that I used some stencils and stamps on the page, I glued and painted some wooden stars all over and I have written the quote of the page, using indian ink markers and a stencil with colored modelling paste for the name of the island! I also made a border of the page using distress stain.

Here are some closer photos:

My most favorite time of the vacations is when I'm relaxing on the beach just by staring the sea or reading a book! I wish I could do this more often....!

And my favorite beach...and food and drink! This summer I totally left my heart in Naxos!

Thank you for visiting my blog!

If you have any comments, questions on materials used for the page or if you need more details about Naxos, don't hesitate to leave me a comment! I'll be happy to answer to you.

Art Journal Page - Girl's face - Purpose of art

Καλώς ήλθατε στο blog μου!

Σήμερα έχω να σας δείξω άλλη μια art journal page, με κάτι καινούργιο για μένα (και αυτή τη φορά!), την πρώτη μου (περίπου) προσπάθεια να σχεδιάσω και να χρωματίσω ένα κοριτσίστικο πρόσωπο! Η αλήθεια είναι ότι έχω προσπαθήσει και άλλες φορές να ζωγραφίσω κοριτσίστικο πρόσωπο αλλά το αποτέλεσμα δεν ήταν αρκετά ικανοποιητικό για μένα. Αυτή τη φορά όμως, και με την βοήθεια του quote (!), αποφάσισα να το δοκιμάσω και ό,τι γίνει και το αποτέλεσμα ήταν αυτό!

Welcome to my blog!

Today I have one more art journal page to show you, with something new to me (yes, this time too!), my (almost) first try to sketch and draw a girl's face! The truth is that I have tried to draw a girl's face before, but the result wasn't very satisfying for me. But, this time with the help of the quote (!), I decided to give it a shot to my art journal book and this is what I came up with! 

Τα χρώματα που χρησιμοποίησα για να ζωγραφίσω το πρόσωπο ήταν κυρίως ακρυλικά, μαρκαδόροι σινικής μελάνης, μαρκαδόροι νερού (κυρίως για τις σκιές) και μαρκαδόρος λευκού pigment μελανιού. Αν και δεν το περίμενα, όλα τα χρώματα ήταν αρκετά "ανεκτικά" στα λάθη και στις διορθώσεις, και έτσι με μερικές προσπάθειες κατάφερα να πάρω αυτό το αποτέλεσμα.

The inks that I've used to draw the girl's face were mainly acrylics, indian ink pens, water-soluble pens and a white pigment ink pen. Although I didn't expect it, all inks were quite "forgiving" to errors and corrections, and thus after some tries I got this result.

Για την διακόσμηση της σελίδας χρησιμοποίησα modelling paste, ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου πλέον υλικά, καθώς δίνει βάθος και υφή στη σελίδα! Κάποια σημεία τα χρωμάτισα από πάνω ώστε να ταιριάζουν με το background, είτε με ακρυλικό χρώμα (σε αυτή την φωτογραφία)...

To embellish my page I used modelling paste which is one of my favorite materials as it gives depth and texture to the page! Then, I coloured some points of the paste with acrylics (shown in this photo)...

είτε με τα gelatos, με τα οποία επίσης χρωμάτισα το πλαίσιο της σελίδας.

or with gelatos, which were also used to make the border of the page.

Το quote της σελίδας, η συγκεκριμένη φράση του Πικάσο, μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ και ένιωσα ότι είχε πολλά να μου δώσει οπότε την διάλεξα για την σελίδα μου!

I love this quote of Picasso, I feel that it has so many things to say to me, so I've chosen it for my page.

Ελπίζω να έχει κάτι να πει και σε σας! Ευχαριστώ που επισκεφτήκατε το blog μου!

I hope you liked this quote and my page! Thank you for visiting my blog! I'll be happy to get your comments!

Art Journal Inner Cover - Wherever you go...!

Καλώς ήλθατε στο blog μου!Η νέα art journal σελίδα που έχω να σας δείξω σήμερα διαφέρει αρκετά από τις προηγούμενες, καθώς αποτελεί ουσιαστικά το εσωτερικό του εξώφυλλου ενός χειροποίητου art journal που έχω βαλθεί να κατασκευάσω! Την ιδέα για το χειροποίητο art journal την πρωτοείδα στο blog της υπέροχης Jennibellie και πραγματικά ενθουσιάστηκα, καθώς τα υλικά για την κατασκευή μπορούν να βρεθούν σε κάθε σπίτι (είναι από κουτιά δημητριακών! - οπότε κάνουμε και επαναχρησιμοποίηση υλικών), η κατασκευή είναι αρκετά εύκολη και επίσης δίνει την ελευθερία χώρου που χρειάζεται για δημιουργίες που έχουν όγκο (σε αντίθεση με τα βιβλία - journals που μετά από λίγο δεν κλείνουν!). Περισσότερες λεπτομέρειες για το δικό μου art journal θα σας δείξω στις επόμενες αναρτήσεις, καθώς θα ολοκληρώνεται και η κατασκευή του, μπορείτε όμως να δείτε την αρχική ιδέα εδώ και εδώ!
Hello & welcome to my blog!My new art journal page that I have to show you today differs a little bit from the previous ones, as it actually is the inner part of the cover of a new handmade art journal that I'm trying to make! I first saw the idea for the handmade art journal at the blog of the amazing Jennibellie and I was thrilled, as the materials for its construction can be found in almost every house (it is from cereal boxes! - thus we reuse our materials), the construction is quite simple and (most important) it gives the space needed for pages that require some volume (in contrust to book - journals that after a little time can't stand closed!). I'll give you more details of my art journal in later spots while the construction will be completed, but you can find the original idea here and here!

Η νέα art journal σελίδα έχει αρκετά μεγάλη διάσταση (44,5 x 27,5 cm), γιατί αποτελεί ολόκληρο το εξώφυλλο (εσωτερικό εμπροσθόφυλλο, ράχη και οπισθόφυλλο) και όταν ολοκληρωθεί η κατασκευή του art journal δεν θα φαίνεται ποτέ πια ολόκληρη καθώς θα παρεμβάλλονται οι εσωτερικές σελίδες! Το τελικό art journal μου θα έχει εξωτερικά διαστάσεις 19 x 27,5 cm (όσο ένα μεσαίο κουτί δημητριακών!), αλλά μπορεί κανείς να το κάνει μικρότερο επιλέγοντας ένα μικρότερο κουτί ή κόβοντάς το! This art journal page is quite large (44,5 x 27,5 cm), as it actually is the whole journal cover (inner frontpage, spine and backpage) but when the journal will be completed, this page will never show as a whole anymore as the inner pages will be inserted! My final art journal will be approximately 19 x 27,5 cm (just as a medium size cereal box!), but one can make it smaller by choosing a smaller cereal box or by cutting it to a smaller size.

Εδώ φαίνεται καλύτερα το αριστερό τμήμα που είναι και το εσωτερικό εμπροσθόφυλλο...

In this photo the left side is shown, which will be the inner frontpage...

και μια πιο κοντινή άποψη. Tα λουλούδια ήδη δίνουν κάποιο όγκο στη σελίδα, κάτι που θα 

δυσκόλευε το κλείσιμο σε ένα book - journal.

and here is a closer view. The flowers already add volume to the page, which would be a problem

to a book - journal.

Εδώ φαίνεται το δεξί τμήμα που θα είναι το εσωτερικό οπισθόφυλλο...

Here is the right part, which will be the inner backpage...

 και μια πιο κοντινή άποψη.

and a closer view.

Σε αυτή την φωτογραφία φαίνεται καλύτερα η τελική μορφή του εσωτερικού εξώφυλλου, καθώς διακρίνεται περισσότερο το τμήμα της ράχης.

In this photo the final form of the inner cover is shown better, as the part of the spine is distinguished. 

Ελπίζω να σας άρεσε η νέα μου art journal σελίδα και να σας έβαλε ιδέες!!!...Θα χαρώ να 

λάβω τα σχόλιά σας.

Με αυτή τη σελίδα θα λάβω μέρος στην μεγάλη κλήρωση του clips-n-cuts! Χάρη στην εξαιρετική εφαρμογή "Inlinkz Project Manager" που έχουν δημιουργήσει οι ιδιοκτήτες του blog clips-n-cuts, σας δίνω παρακάτω τη λίστα των προϊόντων που χρησιμοποίησα για την κατασκευή της σελίδας μου!

I would be happy to get your comments on my new art journal page and I hope to get you in the mood of making your own handmade art journal!!!

With this art journal page I'll participate in the challenge for the HUGE GIVEAWAY of 

clips-n-cuts! Thanks to the excellent application "Inlinkz Project Manager" that is created by the 

owners of the blog clips-n-cuts, I can give you below the list of supplies that I used to make my 

art journal page!

SUPPLIES:

Claudine Hellmuth Studio - Multi Medium - Matte 4 oz	*Claudine Hellmuth GESSO Studio Primer Paint Ranger	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS Ink STAIN PEACOCK FEATHERS Ranger TDW36166	*PRE-ORDER Tim Holtz Distress Paint PICKED RASPBERRY Ranger TDD36418	*PRE-ORDER Tim Holtz Distress Paint PICKET FENCE Ranger TDD36425
Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber - Snow Cap	*PREORDER Tim Holtz Idea-ology MELANGE Tissue Wrap Paper TH93042	Archival #0 Pad - Jet Black	*Prima Flowers Essentials 11 NORTH COUNTRY Winter 552541	Fancy Pants - Beach Babe - Paper Flowers
*Uni-ball Pen Signo Gel Pen WHITE Smooth Broad	*ZIG Wink of Stella GLITTER CLEAR Brush Tip Marker 025320	*American Crafts ROXIE Clear Stamps Shoreline	*Bo Bunny IT IS WRITTEN Clear Stamps 10105759	Quiet Morning Ink Cubes Pack
*Heidi Swapp POLKA DOT 6 x 6 Stencil HS00869	*IndigoBlu Cling Stamp ANENOME CORNER Rubber UM ACI

InLinkz.com