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Messy monday

Messy Monday was originally an excuse for my friend Clare from Paper Pen and Plan and I to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and create journal pages, usually with a heavy helping of paint and ink involved. Already a lover of messy journal pages, I encouraged Clare to embrace her messy side which resulted in some amazing backgrounds. We had lots of fun with it and I think we both miss those days.

Clare mentioned it again a few weeks ago among the members of the Paper Pen and Plan Facebook group so I thought I’d try and bring it back in some form or another. Now to be absolutely truthful here I did start this at the weekend. I left it open on my worktable and added a bit to it every time I went past, which was often!

I started with the first layer of charcoal scribbles then added some acrylic paints in smears before taking a watersoluable crayon and smearing some blue/grey here and there. That was yesterday, this morning after a walk in the forest it reminded me of the low Autumn sunlight through the trees and so that was where the theme came from. With a small collage and a title it was finished.

Happy Messy Monday

Jaine xx

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Micro Journaling and why it’s so satisfying

Last week I showed you my little micro sized gel print journal and thought it would be cute in the leather cover I’ve had for a while now.

Already bursting at the seams and even with half the contents emptied out, it was still far too small for my little journal. So the only thing to do was to make a brand new one.

The extra pink bit came about simply because the piece of leather I wanted to use was too short to wrap around the front when all of my journals were inside. I added the fancy edge to it to stop it looking a bit like an after thought!

This little journal which is no bigger than a fat cheese sandwich (or doorstop), with its pre-printed backgrounds, is the perfect place for a quick art fix or to try out a new purchase. Its size makes it far less intimidating to work with as the pages are the same size as an ATC. More to the point the whole journal and cover is just too darn cute on my shelf and takes a great photo.

Creating a journal from pre-printed pages or mop up papers gives me an instant place to start from. This page just grew as I was trying out these Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks from Paper Pen and Plan.

This little page was completed in a few short minutes as the background was already there.

This little journal will grow and grow I think and before long I’ll need to make a few new inserts.

Have a good weekend

Jaine xx

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Outdoor Inspiration

It’s a real treat to be able to create outside, I relocate to a shady spot at the bottom of the garden as often as possible. Inspiration is all around me and when it’s too hot to stay indoors, the shade of a tree is the perfect place to be.

On this occasion I put a few bits and pieces in a tray along with some pre-cut gel printed papers so I could put together this little gel print micro journal.

I say little, it actually turned out to be quite chunky by the time I’d added all my pages. Once I’d sewn it all together I thought it was so cute I didn’t want to cover the binding or bright print up, so left it as it was simply adding a little collaged embellishment on the front. The quote on an old book page jumped out at me and begged to be added to the front. After all it did sum up the afternoon quite nicely!

On another occasion I took out my sketching supplies and sat under the tree. I used the flowers in front of me as inspiration for this page in my watercolour journal adding doodles and paint.

I hope you have a little outside space to sit and reflect or use as an inspiration spot. It’s great for recharging the batteries.

Have a good weekend

Jaine x

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Moving On

This week has been difficult to work through but I’m forced to accept the changes which will now inevitably happen!

I’ve been a reader of Craft Stamper magazine almost since its beginning. It was unique, full of wonderous mixed media inspiration, unafraid to be different. Imagine my absolute delight at having one of my pieces of art published on its pages as a reader. Discovering that my work was thought of in the same way as some of my crafting heroes gave me the boost to send in more work which paid off when I was taken on as one of the full time contributors. My first article was published in 2012 and from there I went on to write articles for Scrap 365, Sewing World, Beads and Beyond as well as a couple of overseas magazines.

When Trish asked me to join her as Assistant Editor of Craft Stamper it was a dream come true. To be on the team responsible for putting my favourite magazine together was an absolute honour and seeing my name on the inside cover each month made me fill with pride.

So it’s with huge sadness that this week we’ve officially had to put it all to bed with the closing of Craft Stamper. Another victim of the times and no doubt not the last. I’ve made some wonderful friends over the years through the magazine not least Trish who has been an amazing mentor and inspiration to me.

I have to move forward, keep up the momentum and see what comes next.

Jaine x

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