Quick collage - Collage rapide

This month, I haven't done much in my journal. Mostly some writing and a bit of doodling. Putting ideas and lists down all in one place. But last night, I decided to make a quick collage. I think I'll do a few more in there. It's such fun!

Ce mois-ci, je n'ai pas fait grand chose dans mon journal. Surtout de l'écriture et un peu de gribouillage. Des idées et des listes en un seul endroit. Mais hier soir, j'ai décidé de faire un collage rapide. Je pense que je vais en faire plus dans ce journal. C'est tellement amusant!

 

January Journal - Journal de Janvier

A few pages from my January journal. I still a few pages at the end to fill in once I print photos.

Quelques pages de mon journal de janvier. Il me reste quelques pages à remplir à la fin, lorsque j'aurai imprimé des photos.

An envelop on the inside of the cover, to hold some ideas.

Une enveloppe à l'intérieur de la couverture pour garder quelques idées.

 

I'm always making TO-DO lists so I added one to my journal on a layer of leftover paint.

Je fais toujours des listes À FAIRE alors j'en ai ajoutée une dans mon journal sur une couche reste de peinture.

 

I used printed pages that were meant to be recycled to make some of my pages. Here, a mandala I had coloured and the other page, which is hidden by an added flap (private journaling), was something from a Wiccan website. I also used my latest carved stamps and stitched a piece of cardstock.

J'ai pris des pages imprimées dues pour le recyclage pour faire certaines pages. Ici, un mandala que j'avais colorié et l'autre page, cachée par un panneau rajouté (écriture privée), était quelque chose d'un site sur la Wicca. J'ai aussi utilisé mes dernières étampes gravées et cousu un morceau de papier décoratif.

 

My mother gave me some new paper to play with so I tested a few mediums on it. Here are my test samples.

Ma mère ma donné du nouveau papier que j'ai testé avec plusieurs médium. Voici mes échantillons.

 

Here, a simple collage. I hadn't done one of these in some time so it was fun to just glue papers down with no real idea in mind.

Ici, un collage simple. Je n'en avais pas fait depuis longtemps alors c'était amusant de juste coller des papiers sans idée précise en tête.

I still have a few more pages to show you in another post. Don't forget to enter my OWOH giveaway in the previous post if you haven't done so already.

J'ai encore quelques pages à vous montrer dans un prochain article. N'oubliez pas de participer à mon tirage OWOH dans l'article précédent si ce n'est déjà fait.

  

WIP Painting - PEC Peinture

It had been so long since I'd done an actual painting that I was a bit intimidated by the blank canvas. So I started by collaging pieces of paper. I applied some Light Modeling Paste (gel medium) and let it dry for a few hours. Then, a coat of clear gesso, a coat of Glazing Medium with orange acrylic paint and, finally, I sprayed some pink shimmer mist that I let drip down the canvas. I don't know where this is going from here but I did have fun playing this way.

Il y avait un bout de temps que je n'avais peint alors j'étais un peu intimidée par le canvas nu. Alors j'ai commencé par collager des morceaux de papier. J'ai appliqué un peu de Mortier de Structure Souple (médium gel) que j'ai laissé sécher quelques heures. Puis, une couche de gesso transparent, une couche de  Médium pour Glacis avec de l'acrylique orange et, finalement, j'ai vaporiser du shimmer mist rose que j'ai laissé dégouliner le long du canvas. Je ne sais pas quelle direction je prendrais avec ceci mais j'ai eu du plaisir à jouer de cette façon.

 

To hold - Tenir

Yesterday, I had no idea what I was going to create for today's post. I only knew I wanted to do mixed media. So I picked up a 5" x 7" canvas board and started playing around. Pages from a city map book, a dictionary (the word "tenir" is circled but partially hidden by the lace) and an old book were used. Also, clear gesso, acrylic paint, stencils, homemade glimmer mist, watercolour and twine. And now that I'm looking at it, it's a good thing those blue splashes at the top weren't done with white paint, considering the pigeons in the image...

Hier, je n'avais aucune idée de ce que j'allais créer pour mon article d'aujourd'hui. Je savais seulement que je voulais faire du multimédia. Alors j'ai choisi une planche canvas de 12,75cm x 17,75cm et j'ai commencé à m'amuser. Des pages d'un livre de cartes routières urbaines, d'un dictionnaire (le mot "tenir" est encerclé mais partiellement caché par la dentelle) et d'un vieux livre ont été utilisées. Aussi' du gesso transparent, de la peinture acrylique, des pochoirs, du glimmer mist fait maison, de l'aquarelle et de la ficelle. Et maintenant que je regarde vraiment, c'est une bonne chose que les éclaboussures bleues dans le haut n'ont pas été faites en blanc, considérant les pigeons dans l'image...

 

Crusade 43 - Text Messaging

For this month's crusade, Michelle asks us to cut text from magazine pages and to make a collage out of it. I don't have a lot of magazines so I also used text from junk mail. There isn't much else to say about this project. I did enjoy looking for interesting fonts though.

Pour la croisade de ce mois-ci, Michelle nous demande de couper le texte dans des pages de revues et de faire un collage avec. Je n'ai pas beaucoup de revues alors j'ai aussi utilisé le texte du courrier indésirable. Je n'ai pas grand chose à dire sur ce projet. J'ai bien aimé chercher des polices d'écritures intéressantes.

Collage swap update - Mise à jour de l'échange de collages

Since I don't have a completed paper project to show you today, I thought I'd show you one of the collages I received from my partner in the collage swap. Laura was very generous in her art, in my opinion. This piece is on a deep canvas and is covered with wax. It is absolutely gorgeous. My photo doesn't do it justice. The other piece is just as spectacular and you can see it over here. I feel very lucky to own these beautiful works of art. I'll be back tomorrow with something new.

***

Comme je n'ai pas de projet de papier complété à vous présenter aujourd'hui, j'ai pensé vous montrer une des collages que j'ai reçus de ma partenaire pendant l'échange. Laura a été très généreuse dans son art selon moi. Cette oeuvre est sur une toile profonde et recouverte de cire. Elle est absolument magnifique. Ma photo ne lui rend pas justice. L'autre oeuvre est tout aussi spectaculaire et vous pouvez la voir par ici. Je me sens très chanceuse de posséder ces magnifiques oeuvres d'art. Je vous reviens demain avec quelque chose de nouveau.

New collages for the swap - Nouveaux collages pour l'échange

 I decided to make two new collages for Janet and Lee's swap after all. I went with blues and purples because those are my partner Laura's favourite colours.

J'ai décidé de faire deux nouveaux collages pour l'échange de Janet et Lee après tout. J'ai choisi des bleus et pourpres parce que ce sont les couleurs favorites de ma partenaire Laura.

A collage swap - Un échange de collage

On Monday, Janet and Lee announced on their respective blogs that they are organizing a mail art swap for 6"x6" collages. After last week's big collage, I thought it would be a great idea to try this smaller size. These are two collages I've made over the course of the evening on Tuesday. I'm not sure that they will be the ones for the swap but I sure had fun making them. For more information about the swap and to sign up, be sure to visit Janet or Lee's blog.

Lundi, Janet et Lee ont annoncé sur leur blogue respectif qu'elles organisent un échange d'art postal pour des collages de 15,25cm x 15,25cm. Après mon gros collage de la semaine passée, j'ai pensé que ce serait une bonne idée d'essayer ce format plus petit. Voici deux collages que j'ai fait au cours de la soirée de Mardi. Je ne suis pas certaine que ce soit ceux pour l'échange mais j'ai vraiment eu du plaisir à les faire. Pour plus d'information sur l'échange (en anglais seulement) et pour vous y inscrire, allez visiter le blogue de Janet ou de Lee.

Big collage - Gros collage

This collage is about 12" x 12". I intend to cut it up and punch out shapes for other projects.

***

Ce collage mesure environ 30cm x 30cm. J'ai l'intention de le couper et le poinçonner pour d'autres projets.

Of collages, paintings and a prize in the mail

As promised, here are my latest paper spool collages. I made these last Friday while spending an evening of fun and crafts with two of my favourite people in the world: my mom and Catherine. I also worked on another little project which I won't show until it has arrived to its final destination.

My hands are feeling a lot better. I don't know if it's arthritis or carpal tunnel and as long as it doesn't bother me too much, I don't want to know. Now, no lectures please.

Anyway, yesterday, I finally decided to take some Tylenols and it helped relieve the pain so I was able to create. Of course I did my Daily Art Card which is the following picture, but I also finished an art journal page and two paintings. I'll show them later this week.

I've always considered myself an artist. There was a time when I thought I was only a painter but now I know I'm much more than that. I guess that if I have to label myself it would be Multimedia Artist and Recycle Crafter. Ye like? I like! But I had forgotten how much I love to just paint. So I've prepared a few backgrounds to work on when the mood strikes. It was fun to work on something other than a canvas. My plan is to do enough of these types of paintings to eventually sell them.

And finally, I received my first OWOH prize today! What joy to find a parcel addressed to me coming from Hawaii! And when I opened it, I was presented with this beautiful doll made by Lilla... look at her. Isn't she pretty? She shimmers in the light.


Right now, she's hanging on my fake wreath which is still on my bedroom door (and might stay there all year long to display various hanging goodies I receive and/or make.)

Now, I'll go paint some more me thinks. No blogging tomorrow as I'm having dinner with my parents and watching LOST with mom. Have a good Thursday!

For your viewing pleasure

It's been a strange day...

It started quietly enough as I took my sweet time getting out of bed, stretching, being lazy and warm under the blankets. Lately, I'm making a habit of drinking a tall glass of water first thing in the morning before eating breakfast. I do so while writing my morning pages. So that's what I was doing when I saw some movement outside my window on the electrical cable that runs right next to my window. I looked up and there was a Red-Tailed Hawk! Not even 6 feet from where I was sitting! I was in awe. I looked at it the whole time that it stayed there (not even a minute.) It was beautiful. Judging by the colour, I think it was a young one though.

At work, kids were acting weird. I don't know if there's a snowstorm coming or what but they were wild.

After the lunch period, I came back home for my lunch. I made myself a yummy sandwich with the Vegetarian spread I made Sunday and added Tuna to it. So tasty! Diesel, of course, hearing me open the can of tuna (same kind of can as her food) came running and wouldn't leave me alone so I dropped a little bit of tuna in her bowl. Believe it or not, she didn't want to eat it because there was lemon juice in it! She's so finicky! And even tonight when I mixed her regular food in it, she still wouldn't eat it! So I threw it away (I hate doing that but if she's not going to eat it at her regular meal time, I'm sure she'll never eat it) and gave put her regular food in a new clean bowl.

After dinner, I had an appointment to give blood. I'm O negative so I try to give whenever I feel well enough to do so. The last two times I wanted to give I couldn't: one time my iron level was so low the nurse kept asking me if I was feeling okay and the second time my heartbeat was way too fast. So before going, I made sure I wasn't stressed, I had eaten plenty to iron-filled foods this week and I kept telling myself "my blood pressure is perfect, my heartbeat is perfect, my iron level is perfect..." until I got there. Guess what? My temperature was slightly too elevated! Good thing they give you a second chance for that so I sat down and tried to "cool down" for fifteen minutes, removing my vest and then went back in. It was right on the limit so I was able to donate! Yay!


Now this may sound weird to some people but here goes anyway. I love to donate blood. Yes, it is a bit painful, mostly when the needle goes in, but I feel so good doing this, knowing that I will be able to save lives and at the same time, I see it as a way to cleanse myself... When you give blood, your body then has to make new blood which is clean and pure. I don't know how else to explain it.

The nurses who took care of me were all smiling, making jokes and making the experience even more enjoyable. The volunteers (this was in a private school so students were there to help) were all very polite and one girl kept coming back to chat with me, clearly enjoying meeting all the people and admiring that so many were donating. She was sweet and made me laugh quite a bit.

I spent the rest of the evening in front of the computer, relaxing, visiting blogs, etc. The images you're seeing in this post are my Daily Art Cards for the 15th, 16th and today. The last image is a page from my journal. I particularly like the second image, the "clean slate" one. It came out exactly how I had envisioned it. Inspired by Keri Smith's collages. I like the messiness of it. For more info and details on these pieces, go to my Flickr page here.

Pieces of me

A few images tonight... First, Daily Art Cards number 13 and 14.

The first one is really simple. I started by picking the flower image from my "junk mail" pile. It's from a Home Outfitters ad I believe... The next piece of paper I picked was the Romeo + Juliette phrase. Following the romance theme, I looked for something else to fill the side and the tea lights were perfect (from an article on Enya that I had kept from years ago.) Everything just came together. The only thing I added that isn't collage is the "romance" written with a gel pen.



Second of these cards is just as simple. I sifted through my stash of paper scraps (you know those tiny little pieces you just can't bring yourself to throw away...) and just glued and stapled pieces on an ATC sized piece of recycled cardboard (I think this was from a box of tissues.) The ribbon is something I've been holding onto for over 10 years. My best friend had given it to me, knowing that I loved butterflies. I finally decided to cut a piece of it and use it (finally accepting the fact that she no longer wants me in her life.) And, last but not least, I stamped with StazOn.




Finally, the last two pictures are of the journal page I made for Kira's Swap. The prompt for this week was Words and Pictures. We were to take a picture (or find one) and describe it, how it makes us feel, etc.

The picture I chose is one I took last week of my foggy street. I played a lot with this page. Background is watercolour crayons to which I applied just a bit of water with a brush. That was done after the photo had been glued down and the journaling had been done (with Micron pens.) I doodled with the Micron pens some more and a bit of white (grid next to the picture) with a white-out pen. Added a piece of 7Gypsies paper then rubbed some oil pastels on it and around the picture a bit (I smudged it with my fingers.) Stapled a vellum quote at the bottom and attached another piece of vellum over the journaling with eyelets (my favourite tool to use eyelets is the Crop-o-dile.) And last but not least, I used my "office" date stamp just below the picture with StazOn ink.

On this last image, you can see the journaling that is otherwise hiding under the vellum.

We had a beautiful sunny day today. A bit cold but then that's what I asked for, isn't it?

Oh, and Artbrat asked about the crown in my latest shrine. I made it from pieces of German Foil Paper Borders and Gold Decorative Harware from ArtChixStudio.

Creativity abounds

Okay, where to start. I guess with the images...

This first one is my first page in a new art journal (6.75" x 8.5") done for Emily's challenge. The theme was Commit. This year, I commit to being healthy and happy and to get closer to my perfect weight of 135 lbs (which I was at 17 on this picture.)




Image number two is my second card for Emily's Deck of Me Challenge. The theme for the second week was :What is powerful to you? Positive thinking is my answer. I've noticed in the past months that positive thinking really is powerful. So far mostly small things have happened but a lot of small things leads to bigger things.







Finally, the last two images are my Daily Art Cards for Friday and Saturday. They are quite simple. All drawing is done with permanent marker. Backgrounds with watercolours. Wax crayons and Glossy Accents on the "FUN" card. Oil pastels, Signo pen and PosterPaint Marker on the girl + bird card.

Friday night, mom and I went to CeeCee's for a night of crafting and chatting. We always have a lot of fun together and time flies by!

Yesterday, mom and I went shopping. We were unsuccessful in our attempts to find a Wii (which was supposed to be my dad's Christmas present.)


Today, for the second week in a row, I cooked! There was a vegetarian spread I wanted to try so I bought all the ingredients I needed this morning and made the recipe tonight. It's yummy! Kind of halfway between a vegetarian spread and a vegepate. I also prepared a cabbage soup which should last quite a few days. Tomorrow morning, I'll make a new batch of Maple Syrup Muffins but this time, I want to add dried cranberries to the mix. I only wish I had a bigger kitchen to work in, with a bigger freezer. (I have a small fridge with one of those metal ice box that needs to be thawed at least 3-4 times a year...) In due time...

Paper spool collages

As promised in my previous post, here is some art. These are my latest paper spool collages. As always I used ArtChixStudio products to do them. All buttons are from my personal stash. I need to get more buttons, preferably vintage ones. Maybe I'll raid my mom's stash!

Some of these beauties will be going in the mail soon with ATCs (but I'm not seeing when or where!)

To make these, I prefer paper spools to plastic ones. I sand them a bit to get the sheen off and then I dirty them up with my trusty Van Dyke Brown ink.

After that is done, I tear a piece of text (these are from pages of an Italian encyclopedia) which I also dirty up with the ink. I wrap the paper around the middle of the spool and glue it in place (the ends are on the back.) Next step is to wrap a bit of embroidery floss or waxed tread (whatever I have on hand really) and secure the ends on the back with either a glue dot or a bit of clear liquid glue such as Glossy Accents. When that is done (and the glue is dry) it's time to look through the images I have. I use mostly images from the Mini Chix Collage or Mini Mix Collage. This, to me, is the hardest part: deciding which images to use and then which embellishments to add.

All for of these have German Paper Borders but I don't always use them. Sometimes I add a flower or a little piece of glitter. I always add a button and I try to find the one that best suits the collage. I like to thread a bit of embroidery floss through the buttons for that used/reused/vintage look. The final touch is adding a lengths of twine that has been inked a bit so it matches the whole collage. And of course, I sign on the back.



I really enjoy making these little works of art and I hope that my step by step explanation helps some (or all) of you to create your own. It's not always easy working on such a small canvas but the result is oh so worth it. Don't you think? If you have any questions about these or anything else I make, feel free to ask in the comment section or email me.


My new glasses have been ordered and should arrive next week. They are similar to the ones I had but then again, it was the first pair I really really loved!

Snow day is over. I shoveled my car out of the close-to-two-feet snow dump. And while shoveling and sweating and looking as awful as anyone can in these conditions, the landlord from across the street from me was flirting with me and actually asked me for my phone number. It was just too weird. And he's not my type so I said, "Sorry, I don't think so" in the most polite tone I could muster. Hopefully that's the end of that! And on that note, I bid you Goodnight!

ATCs

One week left before the holidays. I still have some shopping to do but will definitely manage to finish before next weekend.

Friday night was the Christmas Crop with CeeCee. It was just the two of us and we had a great time. We never see the hours go by and always seem to have something to talk about. I had decided to bring all my ArtChixStudio supplies and to get some mini paper spools collages done and other stuff. These are 3 ATCs that I did and decided to use a Christmas theme. Looking through all my supplies and showing what I had to CeeCee, I felt renewed interest and decided to keep working with those things for the holidays. I did do a few spool collages which still need the finishing touch and then they'll be in the mail for some friends.

Last night I made some Christmas cards for my mother using some stamps we had bought a couple of months ago. I made two cards using new techniques I had seen and wanted to try. They turned out very well and I'll post pictures another time (if I remember to scan or photograph them!)

I decided to do some cleaning and sorting today. It's snowing and very windy outside so it's a good day to stay in. For the first time in maybe a year, I can actually see the top of my computer desk! I had some frames laying around with nothing in them (gifts from kids at school last year) so I decided to print some photos (they turned out better on cardstock than on photo paper... odd...) and now I have pretty pictures of my beautiful cat in pretty frames on my desk!

Well, I'm off to do more cleaning. If you haven't done so yet, please click on the Free Donations - Make a difference link in my link's list. It costs nothing other than a few minutes of your time and you can make a difference in the world. Or visit The Hunger Site and sites affiliated with it to help others.

Open Yourself to New Possibilities

This is a page from my spiral bound journal that I had sketched a few weeks ago. I did do anything to it until tonight. I just didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I'm not quite satisfied with the final result and might end up working on it some more. But even if I don't continue it, it's good enough as it is.

Used pieces of newspaper collaged all around the "frame". The rest is all paints and markers: acrylic, watercolour crayons, white out pen, permanent markers and Sharpie Poster Paint marker.

Oops, didn't sign it so I better do that now!

I hope everyone is having a good beginning to December. I'm trying to get into the spirit of the season. Even put up a (fake) wreath on my bedroom door with all my Christmas decorations. Will post a picture of it tomorrow. Goodnight!

A card and Nanowrimo update

So this is the card that I made for my mom's birthday last week. I used my new favourite techniques: painting, collage, drawing and oil pastels. Since this was a card and not something in a journal or to be framed, I attached a piece of vellum on top of it. I only had printed vellum so I found a piece that was not too obstructive. I really like how everything turned out. Mom loved the card. Now she has a one-of-a-kind collage card signed SoFy (that is how I sign my name on my art, be it visual art or literary works.




Speaking of literary works. In the past week, I had a hard time working on my novel for Nanowrimo. I know I wasn't the only one but still I felt a little sorry for myself AND for my characters. After all, I created them out of thin air. Their lives depend on me! I was getting behind even when I was writing. I wasn't adding enough to my daily word count. Well, this afternoon, I sat down to write. I think I hit a wall even before I could start. I had gone grocery shopping in the morning so that meant I had food. Okay, I had a little something to eat. But then, still nothing. I read the forums on Nano, looking for inspiration. I listened to different kinds of music. Nothing. I washed some dishes to clear my mind. I don't particularly love washing dishes but I find that once I'm doing it, my mind often wanders off and I stop thinking about the little annoying things. I guess it is a way to meditate for me. So after having cleaned some of those dishes (I kept some for tomorrow, just in case!) I sat down again to write. I put on the same music I've been listening to for the past week (a mix of songs that soothe my soul) and I started writing. I told myself that I would not look at anyone's blog until I reached at least 28000 words. And it worked. After that, my goal was today's word count of 30000. And I made it! Yes! I'm back on track! So in the past 24 hours, I wrote a total of 5500 words! Woot! I'm impressed with myself!

Now it's late but I'm not tired. By body has gotten used to the late nights of writing so I think that for now, I will reward myself with some art. The colours are calling my name!

Preview

A sneak peek at a card I made with my collage/mixed media techniques. I attached a piece of printed vellum on top of it so as not to get the oil pastels from the card on the envelop and on the hands of the recipient.

Yesterday, I didn't write. Again. Today, I managed to write 2000 words so far. I still need about 1200 to be at today's goal. I'm finding it increasingly hard to continue with my story. I still don't know where it's going. It's a little bit frustrating. And so far, I haven't found the perfect music to write to. I'm not ready to give up though. I'll keep writing even if my story doesn't make sense and sucks. I keep telling myself that it's not the story that matters but the fact that I am writing it. Yeah, try telling THAT to my characters! :-P

Of Mermaids and Halloween

Finally, I can show the mermaids I made for the swap on Violette's message board. These were sent to Sioux. The first one is an altered playing card doll. The picture didn't come out well but I can tell you there's glitter on her tail!








The second one is a paper spool collage. Of course, I used an image from ArtChixStudio on it.

The third one is a little watercolour painting with glitter added on the tail.





I've been wanting to do little banners like these and last night (seeing as I couldn't fall asleep even though I had to wake up earlier than usual this morning) seemed as good a time as any to start. I've been very inspired by all the Halloween art I've seen out there in blogland and in magazines so that's the theme I used. So the black and white one was done last night with finishing touches added this morning. The purple one I started this morning and finished this afternoon. The beauty of working small shifts in the day (lunchtime and after-school) is that it gives me time to create stuff and then walk away for a few hours before going back to it and seeing it in a different light (literally!)

A happier post...

Finally, my electronic woes are over. Everything is fixed or should be momentarily. I've been busy accompanying mom to appointments and going to feed my aunt's cats and bird. In fact, we're going to care for the poor little creatures again tomorrow. My aunt comes back Saturday night. She's been away all week. Unfortunately, it's not an easy task for us to go feed her cats since she's at the other end completely of Montreal and we usually get traffic in between. Fun.

Anyway, I created these little treasures this week. The inspiration came from something by Lisa Guerin in the Somerset Studio Nov/Dec 2006 issue. I have so many of these little paper spools and love working in such a small size.

The first one was my first attempt. The image and text are from a used book I had. You can see I put a piece of twine through the hole so I can use it as decoration or a tag.








All others have images from ArtChix, the text is from an old french dictionnary and everything else is from my goodie drawers. I have tons of stuff and am trying to use as much of it before buying even more!









These might eventually be used as brooches or decorations to hang on a tree (and not necessarily a christmas one at that!)









These are really fun to make. If anyone wants to try this and can't find the paper spools, contact me and I can send a few via mail.

Enjoy!