You Suck Monday - Watercolor Pages

This Monday SUCKED. I mean, it just all-around was yuck-o-rama. Just like You Suck Monday is supposed to be, so I blogged this over there, too. 

Here is what I worked on, art-wise. I saw this great magazine article about this journal this chick keeps (I have no idea what her name is, if I find out, I'll let you know) and with a little prodding from Suzi, I decided to try it. Got a new journal - Strathmore Mixed Media XL. Not good for watercolors, as I learned on Monday.

Not only did the pages warp and buckle, the paints don't act like they're supposed to on NON watercolor paper. They just don't. Sure, you can watercolor in your journal if you really want to, but the paints just sort of soak into the paper and don't mix and blend like they're supposed to. Still, I pressed on - we're just talking background, first layer, type of stuff. It might still be just fine.

I tried a different type of paper. My beloved Stonehenge. But I didn't like how wide the (special, $8 artist low-tack) tape was that I was using. So I tried some thinner tape that I have for quilting. And I like the size of the lines a LOT better. However, it didn't quite pull away from the paper like I'd hoped.

This was the best side of the day. However, it is the reverse of the one above and ended up in the trash. Sigh.

Here was my setup - all the watercolors I could find (OK, I actually have another set or two...).

I'm not giving up on this, I'm totally determined to figure it out! Maybe I'll go back and figure out who the artist is and she can help me!! Stay tuned...

Hubby's Birthday!

We made him a card. Believe it or not, Liam did most of the work. He drew the cake and painted the whole front. (I outlined the cake in purple marker.) He even stamped most of the letters for "happy birthday". I added the little owl stamp because Tim totally has a thing for owls. He's obsessed with Hedwig.

He wrote this - see the serifs on the "Y"s?? It's because I showed him the Y stamp and it had serifs! 

I added this stamp to the back, it's a stamp I carved of Liam. I need to gouge out the face a little more, huh? 

Birthday Watercolors

I guess I like them. Sort of. I like the transparency of them, anyway. This is just some pen doodles and silliness. You can zoom in - those are song lyrics, not my heart pouring out onto the page. Well, it's a song that totally touches my heart, so maybe I'm wrong!  So, some people say there's no difference between the super cheap watercolors and the expensive ones. I have to say that the expensive ones are a LOT more vibrant.

But my little set didn't come with face colors so I went back to the cheapies for that. And yes, I know her mouth is funny-looking, but it was pen so there was no saving it. I decided not to stress over it. 

Finished. Love it. Oh, see how the yellow leaked over into the blue? Don't care!

A Boy and His Journal

We're doing loose sheets here, but they'll be made into journals eventually! We are using stonehenge printmaking paper and watercolors - Artist's Loft and Winsor & Newton.

Genius!

No, you're probably not going to think this is genius, but you know those moments you have where you're like "Whoa! I'm TOTALLY smarter than a fifth grader!!"? This was one of those for me.

Since no one bought me this for my birthday, I got it for myself at Michael's with a 50% off coupon:

Now, it comes with all those little pans wrapped in plastic, then paper with the name of the color (and the brand and blah, blah, blah) on them. But what about when you throw that wrapper away? How the heck would you remember what color you ran out of to buy a new one? I turned the pans over to see the bottom - NO color indications at all.

This was my solution:

This is my newest Cheap Thoughts Journal. I've ALWAYS carried some kind of book around with me. Not a planner, not just a notebook, yes, I sketch in it, but it's not really my sketchbook, either. I take it to school and write class notes in it and doodle and take it everywhere. It's thick and new and will be better than putting them in my planner because that's just for August and I'm not likely to remember. I'm SO EXCITED that I thought of this, I just had to share with you. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones. I could have just stuck them on a piece of paper that would end up in "the safe place" (you know what that is - the place where you're never going to forget you put something, and then you forget). Instead, there it is. All safe and sound in my CTJ. Love it!

Journey into watercolor

So, I was trying to channel my inner Ajae for this drawing. She makes the pretties noses (and eyes and lips and hair) so I was trying to be more like her and less like a kindergartener with an iron grip on my pencil.

The drawing itself came out pretty good. Sort of. Not horrible, anyway.

But I just can't seem to get the hang of watercolors. I'm not subtle enough for them, maybe. 

So, I ditched the idea of subtle and went the way I always go, BRIGHT.

She's finished, I think. I sprayed some fixative on her and she's outside drying. I might play with her a little more, but for the most part she's done. Now I have to decide what to DO with her. I'm thinking of taking her to school tonight and scanning her so I have a nice digital copy. I'm in love with digitally manipulating stuff, and being able to print stuff over and over and over. What can I say, I'm easily amused!