Summer Vibes

I feel like I’m back in the swing of things again and the journaling vibes are flowing nicely. I decided to add another page in my Mixed Media journal and use a new product to me. In the recent package sent by Clare at Paper Pen and Plan, was a little jar of Texture Powder by Prima. I say ‘little’ it is in fact quite substantial and if I’m careful will last me a fair while. When added to another medium it creates a texture paste.

I started with a base of acrylic paint and texture added with the texture tools. It didn’t worry me that it was the backside of the page with stitching as I could just cover it with something else.

I mixed up the Texture powder with Unicorn Acrylic paint. It was just a matter of finding the right consistency myself, the Unicorn paint is already creamy so it didn’t take much powder to turn it into a useable paste.

It went through a stencil perfectly and I can also say that the colour wasn’t diluted at all by the powder.

Once it was dry I added a few scribbles and a few collage bits then had a flash of inspiration and went out to cut a couple of pieces of lavendar from the garden.

The texture is just great and again the pages of the journal stood up to it all with no trouble at all.

For Prima products and more go to Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy and get 10% off with the code JAINE10 too!

Jaine x

Art Journaling Again

It’s been a long while since I did any proper art journaling and to be honest I think I may have been in a bit of a mixed media fog for a while now! I just needed a little nudge which came in the form of a parcel from Clare at Paper Pen and Plan containing a few Prima goodies. A Mixed Media Album, paints, brushes and texture tools waiting to be opened.

I spent twentyfour hours with it all on my desk while I had other things to get on with, all the while itching to make a start.

Eventually I cleared some space and started to lay some paints on a page to overcome that first page anxiety. The pages are thick enough to stand up to my Impasto paints and that’s no mean feat either! Using the Prima texture brushes I could spread paint where I wanted and create some cool textures with the combed ends.

I decided on adding a collage over the painted base and using the Prima butterfly stamps to complement the large moth image from my collage stash.

The feather was one I’d picked up somewhere and had been longing to use on a project for ages. Stuck on with some gel medium, I tacked it down further with some machine stitching then added a bit more here and there – just because I could!

I finished off with a smear of sparkly Unicorn paint and black Raven paint also from Prima to contrast with the paleness of the page.

I love it. I’m delighted at how the journal pages stand up to all the different materials without any warping or buckling, and the spiral binding makes it easy to lay flat or push a page under the sewing maching needle.

I think this has been the kick start I needed to get me creating journal pages again.

Jaine x

Happy December And Hello Daily Journal 2017

The madness has really started with shops heaving and roads full of traffic. I think this is why I prefer to do alot of my shopping on line to be honest. If I’m off to the shopping centre it’s to look at the pretty lights and get ideas not shop like a headless chicken for something I’ve no idea what.

Anyway that said, the best bits of the season have kicked off and that includes the first page in my daily journal for December which I’m doing in colaboration with Paper Pen and Plan. Day 1 is “One Happy Moment” which was most definitely going out with Cooper in the morning in the first real snow fall of the season. He loves it.

So far I’m not sure how it’s going to pan out using a junk journal for my daily with some of the pages being made out of thinner paper. This might restrict me from using too many wet media like paints and sprays. I’ll have to play it by ear and just see how it goes. If I have to use gesso or glue in extra pages then so be it. That’s just how it goes.

Have a good first weekend of advent everyone and I’ll speak soon.

Jaine x

Why I’ve decided to ditch the planners – shock horror!!

Actually that’s not fair to my planners, I’ve not totally ditched them, just sort of amalgamated them……sort of.

The problem has been this, my stack of planners and notebooks. I love each and every one of them for different reasons. From the bottom up an A4 desk planner for every day note taking, planning blog posts, workshops, articles and with weekly planning pages. Next comes my Simple Stories Carpe Diem which I love for it’s size, I can decorate its insert pages and I use for the shop, Etsy, again workshops and articles and general worky stuff. The pretty one with pink flowers is my Prima Jet setter which if I’m honest I had to buy because I just love the colour and pattern. It’s a travelers notebook style which is my all time favourite planner style to use and I decided to use it for my personal gains. Health tracker, money tracker etc. I think I kept about two pages but it’s still sitting hopeful on my desk.  Next up is my Websters pages Travelers notebook which I adore. I holds my sketchbook, journal and bullet journal planner in one. I love it and on top of that is my felt A6 version which is always in my bag with pretty much the same inserts, agenda, journal and sketchbook.

While I love each and everyone of these planners for different reasons and I use them regularly….well…semi regularly, I’m just getting a bit dizzy and confused. I forget which book holds what and it seems when I need to check what’s going on I have to look in three different places and that’s not ideal.

I came to the conclusion I could try blending everything into one planner and the one I like to use most often is my Websters.

Since using my Travelers notebook for everything I’ve become alot more productive and focused. I get to plan, journal and sketch all in the same place. One side is my weekly planner and the other I use as a journal for the week making notes of things I’ve done and collaging in anything note worthy.

I get to use my watercolours and it’s great.  Note the little Planner Penelope badge there too from Paper Pen and Plan

I think I’ve shown you my smaller version before. It’s always in my bag and I keep my notes and agenda in it along with an on the go sketchbook/journal.

I’m so pleased with my small version I’ve made lots of others and offered them for sale in my Etsy shop here .

I’m busy making the pen holders to match them and some dangly charms.

Have a good weekend everyone

Jaine xx