Mixed Media

Mini Art Journal Makings

~ Patty Radish ~ 7 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I was planning a trip to visit my daughter and was looking for an easier way to bring art making supplies. Without bringing my whole studio! I decided to go micro-mini. Luckily for all concerned, not with my wardrobe…if you know what I mean!

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I searched for anything I could find that was tiny to see how much I could ft into this travel case. Success was mine…I could barely lift it!

I’ve kept it packed so that all I have to do is grab it and go. Sometimes I just want to sit in front of the T.V. and play…and that’s exactly what I do!

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I’ve continued to work on them since arriving back home and had some fun embellishing them with every wayward, or unwanted, paperclip in my stash…so much fun!

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This is a page spread I worked on while visiting my daughter. We stayed super busy, so I only got a couple done.

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Limiting the bits and pieces I can use really helps me think outside the box, or travel case if you will. I love the challenge of making the randomness come together cohesively!

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Those page tabs are from the recent Planner Society Kit Club offerings. I love all that fuss at the top of my pages!

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I’m trying to get used to stamping in my journals. I have a boat load of stamps and ink pads, but I get extremely frustrated at how lame I am at stamping! Practice, practice, practice…grrr!

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This is my favorite part of art journaling, using something that has been bouncing around my studio for years! I have refused to get rid of that tiny paper clip, hoping that someday I would find the the perfect home for it…Bingo!

So, there you have it. Much ado about some mini-ness!

Thank you so much for stopping in,

Have a wonderful week,

~Patty

Some #listersgottalist Organization

~ Patty Radish ~ 9 Comments

I have been enjoying this month’s ListersGottaList challenge more than usual, and I think it’s because I have been much more organized. Having a container to work from has made quite a bit of difference. No more searching around my studio for inspiration for that day’s decor, it’s all right there!

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Last week, I took a couple of hours to go through this journal and lay down all the scrap pieces and journal cards. One of those mindless activities to do in front of a movie or favorite T.V. show.

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  Having the basic layouts set and ready to go gave me so much more time to have fun and be creative. I even splurged a little on some new Halloween paper just to update my stash a little.

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It’s funny how working on a project and making small changes here and there can turn into a process. I’m not sure how this technique will work on months with out a theme, but its worth a try

I think we all struggle with finding enough time to be creative, it always seems to go on the back burner! So having a plan, even with creativity, can really be a life saver!

I am actually going to start working on November’s list journal this week. I think it would be fun to do a  blog post to show the step-by-step process I use to build my pages. Hope that sounds like fun!

Until next time,

Thank you for the visit,

Have a great week,

~Patty

The Challenge of a Painted Page

~ Patty Radish ~ 5 Comments

The painted pages in my journals have always been a bit of a challenge. Working with all the color, the empty space, but not wanting to cover up the good bits, then there’s the sheer size of the pages in this journal..

IMG_9660But, as I said in a previous post, these big pages are a great way to use some my larger ephemera pieces. I ‘ll be journaling on the painted surface, I love the way that looks, the ink pulls some black out into the rest of the page.

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I thought these daisy postage stamps echoed the background quite well and pulled some color into the circle. She looks like she’s balancing a huge ball on her shouldes, she’s certainly dressed for it!

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This is a riot of color, but I have been waiting for the perfect place to use that ’60’s desert image for a long time, it almost blends into the background. I echoed the houndstooth of her jacket with houndstooth paper punch outs. I pulled all the main colors into the bottom righthand corner by using that scrapbook piece like a mini journal page, a nice way to use smaller pieces with out cluttering up the rest of the page.

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As you can tell, I have relied heavily on black and white. I played around with tans and browns, but they muted the colors too much, the black and white seems to anchor the colors. The idea behind the placement of that flower was to pull those two images together and repeat the flowers in the background.

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I have been looking for the perfect home for this postage stamp for months! I pick it up to use every time I work on a project, I love it here! This black and white paper from an issue of Flow magazine is amazing! It has a mid century vibe to it, I use it a lot!

My large journal is coming along quite nicely, it has definitely been an awesome place to use larger ephemera pieces in, yet still leaving room for journaling.

I’m hoping to have some large ephemera packs in my shoppe by the end of the week, so look out for those.

Until then,

Thank for stopping by,

Have a great day,

~Patty

Blondie and Dagwood Art Journal

~ Patty Radish ~ 4 Comments

I have been having such a good time working in this journal lately. Absolutely a labor of love! There is something about adding your own personal touches and words that bring a journal to life.

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This is the same journal I shared about in my last blog post. Isn’t it a great color! I’m not sure what the title has to do with the pack of cute dogs running through the book, but…

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Some great paper ready and waiting for some journaling to happen. I love having lined paper to work on, instant journaling space, and again with the awesome green! Is that vintage playing card a hoot or what? I love the big red guy, but those skirts are to die for!

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I usually try to have some sort of message or quote on pages with no journaling. I decided to just have fun with my ephemera on this one!

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It’s funny, that rabbit is like so many other pieces I shuffle around every week. “Nope, not quite right” until they become like friends finding a home. There seems to be some sort of emergency!

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The black and white ephemera is a great way to calm down an extremely loud back ground! And I personally feel that if I was strapped into one of those girdle contraptions, I would want to kill more than bugs!

I am definitely not one of those people that pine for the “Good olde days”! Girdles, high heels, “Putting your face on” just to go to the market, no thanks! Although, I do miss decent manners, that could make a come back in my book!

Well, that’s about it for now. As usual…

Thank you for stopping by,

Have a fantastic Sunday,

~Patty

Coloring In My Scrap Journal

~ Patty Radish ~ Leave a comment

Coloring books have been around for a long time. And, over the last couple of years, they have become super popular with “grown-ups” as well.

Well yesterday, I was watching a Periscope “haul share” by one of my favorite people Jannette Lane. One of the things she shared was her new coloring book. She spoke about how relaxing it is to take time out just to color once in a while. That made me think about all those hours I put in coloring  “Doodle Art” posters when I was a teen. I loved doing them, but they were not my style of decor, so they collected in my closet until I finally just got rid of them.

IMG_9411Enter my new found passion for coloring. I have written about coloring in the pages of my scrap journals in the past, but I looked at it more as a way of filling in the pages, not really with a sense of pleasure of bringing the pages to life.  Jannette helped me look at coloring the pages in a different way. I felt guilty for spending time in what I thought was a bit of a childish lark.

IMG_9412This is a page I had decorated up for journaling, then decided to go back and color it in. You might be able to tell that I colored in the background, but it looked awful, so I erased it as best I could. The effect is a dingy wall, I like it!

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Another redo. I rearranged and colored a bit more on this one. I’m still working on my page compositions. I like layering paper, embellishments and inspirational quotes over the the text.

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The original pages in this scrap journal were pretty fragile , so I put tabs on the corners to help protect them.

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I’m happy to say that I left quite a few “coloring” pages in this scrap journal to play with! I hope this inspires you to try your hand at some coloring!

Until next time,

Thanks for stopping by,

Have a wonderful day,

~Patty