Prayer Flags send our wishes, intentions, and joy to the world.

Traditionally, prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom. The flags do not carry prayers to gods, which is a common misconception; rather, the Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread the good will and compassion into all pervading space. Therefore, prayer flags are thought to bring benefit to all. ~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_flag

I recently participated in a prayer flag swap and received so many lovely flags. Too pretty, I kept thinking, to ever hang outside and let the wind and rain take them slowly out into the world. And yet, why must I keep them inside, pretty and inspiring to look at, but gathering dust. I want hold on to these flags, yet the spirit of them is with me no matter what I do with them. And do I really need more stuff?

Of course I created flags to send back with words of love and creation. It was a very restful and fun swap, I fell into quiet introspection as I worked on these flags. Enjoy this series of flags and note the unifying little green beads that scattered their way across the flags. I used cottons, silks, vintage fabrics and anything else I could in the process.

Create

Freedom

Renew v2

Perseverance

Renew v1

Silence

Jump

Small journal for small, quick thoughts

I wanted a small fun journal for our upcoming trip. Something that would fit in a backpack, be light, and be ready to jot down thoughts and small sketches. I love to start with some kind of background and used paperbag drop cloths are wonderfully painted on, stained and make perfect starting points.

I take a small set of colored pencils and a fine point black marker pen. I like the R@ Rollerball .07mm pens by INC? Hard to find. Might be a Pentel brand as well. I also made pages with pockets for stashing ephemera. It is about 5 1/4 x 3 3/4. Spine has bead, paper bead and floss embellishments. See the foil off of a wine bottle on the back?

Fabric Art Journal...a different medium

Fabric Art Journal pages are pages with a definite fabric origin. Starting with a fabric base, you can stitch, glue, embroider, decorate in any imaginable medium. Just like a paper page. I have seen prayer flag type pages, quilts, beaded creations, embroidery, added paper, ephemera, charms, natural objects, buttons and more.
It changes the creation process. Rather than starting with a doodle, a word, a stain and adding outlines, colored pencils, markers, paint and ephemera, I need more time to gather fabrics, plan, stitch, actually design the page. The final product changes and grows as the page develops, but it is not as fluid and spontaneous. On the other hand, I can rip out stitches and change easier than ink on paper.
Process decisions are more complicated, how to add words, machine stitch, hand written on fabric, embroidered? How do I attach something that has no loops like sticks and feathers? Will glue hold or ruin the piece?
But the result is amazing. A piece with a tactile presence that paper doesn't have. Give it a try.

• Start with a favorite piece of fabric or muslin. Don't forget old favorite shirts or dresses for backings.
• Gather buttons, ribbon, beads, ephemeral, lace, embellishments from old clothes, old jewelry, fabric scraps.
• Layout items, rearrange, add, subtract. When you are happy with the arrangement. Take a picture.
• Now remove the top layers. Hand or machine stitch the back objects. 
• Using the photo, add another layer and stitch or glue the items. Add another layer. By this stage, you are probably hand stitching. Tuck in ribbons, feathers, add beads to dangling items.
• Stand back. Add something else. Think about it, add more.
• Don't forget pockets (stitch 3 sides of a patch or scrap, leave the fourth open) to tuck in tickets or memorabilia. Buttons off those old clothes add depth. Pressed flowers can be secured under netting or a piece from an old sheer curtain. 
• Write a word with Sharpie on a scrap of fabric and secure. Or stitch a phrase with embroidery floss. 

And then again. Use the same techniques with paper. What have you got to lose? Let yourself go.

Round Robin Journaling

What a fun idea. Start a page, pass it to the left. Take the page passed to you and add some fun. Then pass it on.
We may try this in a future class. Try it with a friend, try it with yourself. We all have an alter ego.

Check out this blog.

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2014/01/art-journal-every-day-art-journal-round-robin.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=handmadeart

Journaling When Traveling

Spring is here and so are spring vacations, day trips, summer vacations and family cookouts. How can you keep a journal with so much happening?

• Take a small journal or notebook everywhere. Have at least one pen or pencil attached to your journal for quick notes and sketches. Add impressions, note colors, jot down ideas.
• Assemble a small bag, zip lock, makeup bag, or gift bag full of several pens, colored pencils, a marker or two, an eraser. Look into a small set of watercolor pencils, Crayola has a set for very little. Add a paintbrush, and you can add water at anytime to create washes and add color. Or just use the pencils as pencils and add water later. Don't forget glue dots or glue sticks. Maybe a roll of patterned tape/washi tape to liven things up.
• Tuck a small envelope in the journal to hold ephemera. Tickets, pressed flowers, flyers, candy wrappers. Whatever will remind you of the day or location.
• Take snapshots of things you want to sketch later. You can either use them as reference or add prints to your pages to draw around or incorporate into a collage.
• If you are too busy when traveling, jot down at least the place, a word or two about your feelings, an impression or color that struck you. This will help enhance your journey and help bring back the moment.

So have fun journeying and art journaling this season.

Week Four and Five - Lettering and Style Journals

Lettering

Last week's class was small but fun. We explored using lettering in our journals as a design or focus point in an art page. Write big, trace over your letters. Use magazine letters to spell out your message. Print using wide letters, stretch out your cursive. Mix upper case and lowercase. Mix thick and thin. Practice different styles until you have developed your own style. Have fun!

Style Journal

Teag, a fellow Craftser member created a journaling techniques journal, a place to keep ideas so she remembers them and can refer to them when inspiration hits. Her pages are art in their own right and she has lots of great ideas to share. Take some time to scroll around the site as there are even more ideas to get your going in earlier and later messages on this Craftster message board. 

Art Journaling Techniques by Teag 1  (scroll down the page to find teag's post)

Art Journaling Techniques by Teag 2  (scroll down the page to find teag's post)

I have mentioned Craftster.org before and I encourage you to visit. It is an amazing place to wander around in and if you want to join in, membership is free.

Week Three - Have a song in your heart?

Or your head. I always have fragments of songs running through my mind. The direct result of choir, women's singing circle, radio, TV and even that constant music overhead when shopping.

Those fragments of songs make excellent starts for a journal page. Hand letter the words, decorate around them with drawings or collage, add some color over the top. Or write out all the lyrics (if you know them, if not, try Google) across the page and paint or collage over them, leaving your favorite bit free.

Tips for lettering:

1. Cut out words and letters from magazines to spell out your message.
2. Write lightly and big in pencil. Draw an outline around the letters with pen and color in.
3. Start with a highlighter. Write or draw your letters, outline and add embellishments.
4. Write big with a pen then go back and make some strokes darker and thicker.
5. Print out your words and tear or cut them out to paste down. Break them up in to individual words and place down one side of your page or flow across the page.

So as you listen to that song in your heart, pick up a pen and put it to the paper. Visit the gallery for some examples of lettering. Or visit these links for more ideas.

Jennibellie: turorials on making books, lettering and recycling into crafts: http://www.youtube.com/user/jennibellie?feature=watch

Easy lettering techniques: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th_2HvOnoO4


More lettering techniques: http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/blogs/clothpaperscissorstoday/archive/2012/06/25/how-to-make-art-journal-lettering-look-like-art.aspx


More: http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/blogs/clothpaperscissorstoday/archive/2014/01/17/handmade-cards-an-easy-creating-lettering-technique.aspx

Week Two - In Love with UpCyling

I recycle all I can and probably could do more. But my favorite is turning trash into art. Making those cardboard cereal boxes into books. Transforming magazines into pages of our lives. You get the idea. Check out this link for other ideas.
http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/blogs/clothpaperscissorstoday/archive/2014/02/03/5-upcycling-ideas-for-your-trash-amp-stash.aspx

Journaling through the snow

 We are looking at lot of snow time this week. Snow always seems special to me, snow transforms a gray/brown landscape into something astounding. And there is always that feeling of specialness....breaking the routine. Brew a cup of hot chocolate with little marshmallows and try some visualizing exercises.

• Take time to look at the patterns trees and snow make. Can you mimic this in some way in your journal with strips of paper or streaks of paint or pencil?
• Look at the shadows, what color are they? Look at the neutrals in the trees and ground. Use a monochromatic (shades and tones of one basic color) palette in a page.
• Use an old artist trick and look at the landscape through a small empty picture frame or a camera viewfinder. Frame your world. Look at the balance of light and dark. Use the shapes of light and dark in your page.
• How does a snow fall make you feel. Like a special day? Closed in?
• Focus in on something small. A bird print in the snow, a twig poking up. And have you noticed the buds on the trees starting to swell? They know spring is coming.
• And oh yes, use some of your stash to add to the fun. Corrugated cardboard makes a great forest background. 

And check out the gallery!

Week One Thoughts and Assignments

What a fun class last night. It was so great to see you all dive in and play. I think we all needed a chance to access that pesky inner child in a creative way.

Keep on Journaling

Your assignment for the next class is to have at least 4 pages completed (or mostly completed) by Feb. 18th. If you are comfortable, you can share with the group.

Things to think about and do:

• Experiment,experiment, experiment! Dig through your drawers and desks and see what you have on hand. Try every pen, pencil, marker and look for fun paper finds.
• Create several back drops. Cover pages with collage, paint, scribbles. Add another layer. Paste down something from your ephemera stash. 
• Start gathering that ephemera. You know you want to keep those pieces of paper, envelopes, labels, tickets, etc.
• Use a prompt or key word and write over one of your (completely dry) back drops. 
• Fill a page with stream of consciousness writing. There is a reason why therapists have you do this kind of exercise, it loosens up the thought process. Then collage over the top, or tear up and use in a collage.
• Go to the links page at the top of the blog and click on a few links. Treat yourself to a few a day.
• Go to YouTube and search for Art Journal Pages or book binding. Get a cup of coffee or tea first, there is a lot to see.
  

Gathering the Bits and Pieces of Your Life

Collecting the ephemera of your daily existence consists of holding on to those interesting bits and pieces that come your way. Interesting labels, bottle caps, bags from a favorite store, receipts from a book purchase, tickets, fun post-it notes, box tops, brochures, pages torn from a magazine, fortunes from fortune cookies. This material is called ephemera.

“Ephemera (singular: ephemeron) is any transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters, pamphlets, postcards, posters, prospectuses, defunct stock certificates or tickets, and zines.” Wikipedia

Keep an envelope with you to corral these interesting bits of life. Admit it, you usually keep these items in the bottom of your purse or pocket, or the floor of your car! Check that stack of papers on the kitchen counter or coffee table...you know what I am talking about.

Incorporate them into a collaged journal page, tuck them into a small pocket on a page or attach with a small brad. Browsing through your journal these bits will bring back memories, make you smile, add texture to the page of life.

So, give yourself permission to keep the flotsam and jetsam of daily living and re-purpose it into art.