Stretching My Creative Wings

I am really trying to work on art journaling. Trying to spend at least a few minutes every day working in it. In fact, I just joined a Flickr group started by Julie Feifan-Balzer. Not necessarily finishing a page each day but working in it...stretching my creative wings...growing. 


This is yesterday's result. I stretched and it felt good. Nothing hard or complicated here. 

I think this will turn into a scrapbook/art journal that celebrates the life of my brother. I have never combined the two before...again stretching my creative wings. 

It will be a place to record things about him that I don't want to forget. I am excited to see how it turns out...where it ends up. Cancer claimed him at the age of 42. This will be a celebration of a live that ended too soon but was lived to the fullest.

I have no idea what gift this note is talking about or if I even wrapped it for him. I hope I did. I don't know how old he was...young, it appears from the handwriting. What a wonderful thing to find tucked into an old book.

What a wonderful thing life is.

Scrapbook on the Road

A couple of weeks ago I purchased Ali Edwards' Scrapbook on the Road class determined to get something ready to take with me to capture life as it happened on my cruise. Before that I had bought "Remains of the Day - a shabby journal of scraps", a self-paced class taught by Mary Ann Moss. After looking at the video, I decided it would be much more time-intensive to get it ready by May 1 (sail date...WooHoo!!) so I turned to Ali. You can always count on Ali for quick but cool things and this little class was no exception. Yesterday I finished my travel journal and thought I would post it for y'all to see. I didn't buy a single thing while putting this together! Every bit of it came out of my paper scrapping stash (which, by the way, is huge!).

The base for the album is a sheer five-ring tab book by Maya Road. 

I love this paper...the swirls and ledger lines and the words "laugh" and "savor". Great words for a life motto.

I have no idea where I got this "for you information" block but isn't it great?

Can't wait to see what will end up in this envelope.

The delight arrow started out as a little house tag.  I cut off the chimney and, voila!, an arrow. The blue page behind it is leftover packaging from some stickers I had.

 

 

Love this idea of Ali's...painting over stickers. It's a great way to use up old stickers of any color. These were hot pink and lime green. It makes a great embossed tag.

I am so looking forward to filling this with journaling on the spot and with bits and pieces of the places I visit. Have to make sure I buy a little stapler before I leave and pack my glue sticks, pens and extra paper clips.

I think the best thing about this scrapbook is that it will basically be finished by the time I get back. All I will have to do is print off some 4x6 pictures. I have been on several cruises and don't have a single finished scrapbook of any of them...just random pages here and there. So, So, SO excited about this travel journal!!!