Playing with Paper and Silver

For some time now I've been thinking of making some bezels for mounting very small paintings and collage images.  I think this would be a nice marriage of my new love of art journaling and the silver work I started doing a few years ago.

So today I pulled out my slightly neglected silversmith tools.  In my perfect life I have a separate area (heck...since I'm dreaming, why not make it an entire room?)  for each of my creative loves, but the reality is that when I switch gears I have to rearrange things a bit, pull out different equipment, etc.  This is one reason my studio generally looks like someone picked it up, turned it over and gave it a good shake.

Below is a bezel in the rough stage.  I actually love the way these pieces look before they're cleaned up.  The pink discoloration you see is called firescale.  It's formed from copper that "cooks" out of sterling silver when it is heated.  This has to be removed with chemicals or with abrasives.  (I use a little of both.)

Here a a few pendants ready for resin.  At this stage you can see the brush marks in the gloss gel medium that covers them.  I apply several coats (front and back) so the paper elements don't soak up the resin and become transparent.

You can definitely see the look of my my journal pages creeping into my jewelry designs these days.  I'm still just playing...seeing what works, what doesn't, what I'd like to develop further.   

The pendents will look a little different once the resin is in place and cured.  The brush marks from the gel medium will disappear and the design will look sharper.  I'll post more pictures when they're done.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to.  I'm linking up again with Creative Everyday's Art Every Day Month.  Be sure to take a few moments and check out some of the amazing artwork that's being shared there.  It's so inspiring!

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Lil Journal Project Part 3

I am excited to tell you I am still keeping up with the Lil Journal Project!  Following the prompts from Ashley at LilBluBoo has really helped me stay stay faithful to my journal.  The change of seasons also inspires me greatly (as I'm sure it does you) so I've been journaling en plein air (in the open air) as much as possible.   

Here's a recap of this week's prompts:

On Monday we drew a map of a neighborhood (other than our own) that we remember from childhood.  I drew the neighborhood where both of my grandmothers and several aunts and uncles lived.  It was a magical place to me.

We made a list of our favorite childhood reads on Tuesday.  I revisited some of the books I still have and practiced drawing characters just as I did when I was a little girl.  It was a fun exercise.  The world would be a better place if we all read children's books instead of newspapers once in a while.

Wednesday was a day to collect little scraps of interesting paper to use as embellishments here and there in our journals.  I also used this day to finally decorate the cover of my journal.  My inspiration came from this:

which I turned into this!

I added a sari silk ribbon to keep my growing journal closed.  It is getting pretty hefty already!

I'm going to spend this weekend with my family back home and my journal is going with me.  I hope my mom will help me work on Thursday's prompt to make a family tree. 

This weekend's exercise is to draw something with our non-dominant hand...always a fun exercise.  Why don't you try it, too?  Let me know how it goes!  You don't have to post pictures ;-)

Have you checked out the site that sponsors the Lil Journal Project,  LittleBlueBoo.com?  This amazing blog is worth a look...lots of tutorials and inspiration.  Be sure to read Ashley Hackshaw's story....she is one talented, amazing, beautiful girl.  

Enjoy your weekend! 

Adventures in Handwriting

Following the journal prompt offered on Lil Blue Boo this weekend was great fun!  (Click the button below to learn more about the project.)  Being challenged to work specifically on handwriting helped me stretch a bit and it is great to know that others are thinking/creating along the same lines.

My inspiration for my latest journal entry was this piece I created a few years ago.

Lots of words on that background...why not try out some different handwriting styles on them?  While doodling and sketching I revised  my original wording and explored some different font styles I found at KevinandAmanda.com. The creators of this site turn handwriting samples into fonts and make them available to you and me for free! They call it Fonts for Peas and you can check them out here. Download a few fonts or just enjoy studying the different handwriting styles...the slant of this one, the loops in that one...just looking opens our minds to creative possibilities.

Now for my favorite part (I never seem to be able to leave things simple)...

I created a background by drybrushing brown and then orange acrylic onto the prepared journal pages. I also added some brown "spatters" with a paintbrush.  I love the texture of the underlying words showing through the paint.  I chose orange because a.) it's one of my favorite colors and b.) it contrasts nicely with the aqua blue used in the lettering.

I added a title by outlining letters in permanent marker and filling them in with acrylic paint.

  

Unfortunately I had to actually rewrite my text on a new page as I was unhappy with the starkness of the white looseleaf paper against the warm values of the background. The loose leaf paper was also a little thin.  To help keep my writing somewhat consistent I photocopied a lined sheet of paper onto a sheet of tea-stained card stock. The lines came out very light...just right.

After trimming the calligraphy pages down I rounded the corners and used a brown inkpad to "antique" the edges. (I use this technique a lot. It gets rid of that white edge and anchors the object to the background.)

My first few entries in this journal have been heavy on the cutting and pasting, so tomorrow I'm challenging myself to actually write in the book!  There's something about writing in a bound book that intimidates me a bit...always has.  Hmmm...I really need to let go of that.

I hope this is the beginning of a great week for you! 



Holiday "Snow"

What a very busy day this was. 

First of all,  I spent the morning loading up the jewelry cases at the MT SYLVAN COFFEE HOUSE & MERCANTILE.  They are now fully stocked and ready for holiday shoppers!  While there I just had to take a few photos to share of a really ingenious and quick way to create a winter wonderland.

In need of some quick decorations for a special event a few evenings ago, proprietor, Denise Warren, piled shredded documents on cabinets and displays to create a wintery environment.  It is amazing how much the piles of white paper strips resemble piles of snow.  What fun!

I love simple ideas that work!

Birth of a Greeting Card

While making some funky little "notes to self" for my wall this morning, I made a happy discovery. A scrap piece of paper was folded like a greeting card. This gave me an idea...

Just for fun I stamped some simple messages and images on card stock, antiquing the edges to add some “umph”. The rustic quality and the yummy color combination are so serene...just the feeling I wanted to evoke.
I hope you find something that inspires your creativity today. Drop me a note and let me know what it is!