DLP Weeks 12 and 13

I combined Weeks 12 and 13, which are weeks from March!  The theme for March was 'Making Your Mark'.  One of my favorite things is mark-making, so it was surprising that I left any pages unfinished in March.  But I did.  I was going to use some papers from a mark-making session using sumi ink and different marking tools.

I wanted to keep the page simple and let the marks be the star of the show.  So I left the base pages blank.  No gesso, no paint.  I toyed with the idea of extending some of the black marks on the brown paper onto the cream paper of the journal.  I glued down the three brown papers.  And there they sat all this time.  I was afraid that whatever I did would mess up these beautiful marks.  That whatever I added to the page would not add anything. 

But, as with some of my other unfinished pages, I got tired of being reminded it was incomplete every time I looked at that page.  Plus, part of the reason I was prompted to finish it was that in sorting and cleaning, I came across some other papers I had played with, also with sumi ink, but with color added.  I cut some pieces from that paper and glued them down.  I lightly drew a box with Inktense watercolor pencil, brushed the lines with water, and drew pencil lines for writing.  Added the information about the two weeks, added a moo card (with a photo from another mark making session), and called it done.   I did try to extend one of the marks, and wasn't happy with it.  Decided to let it go.

Slowly catching up... but still behind! 

DLP Week 21

Meanwhile, also back in May... yes, I am jumping all over the place catching up lately!  Monthly theme still Texture.  The challenge was Cheesecloth.  The journal prompt was "Say Cheese."

I was kind of at a loss.  I decided to use a vintage photo that I've had for a few years.  It is very wide.  It covered both right and left side pages, plus I cut off quite a bit on each side.  I originally wanted to fold the ends in and make flaps, but it was stiff and brittle from age, and I just cut off the excess.  It had also been stored rolled for probably several decades before I got it, and it was very stubborn to try to flatten and glue down.

The ironic thing about this photo and the journal prompt is that most of the people in the photo are not smiling.  Some are, but the majority are not.  They are not Saying Cheese at all.

I took a young lad from part of the photo that was cut off, enlarged him and made him smile, even though he was not smiling in the original.  I added other vintage papers and postage, and glued down cheesecloth.  I think I'm done!

DLP Week 19

In my DLP 2015 journal, one page in particular has been bugging me, because it was left unfinished for so long.  In May, the monthly theme was Texture.  I completed the first week for May, with the challenge for Week 18 of Fabric.  The challenge for Week 19 was Stitching.  I had tied the two together by wrapping fabric around the edge of the page and stitching it.  To add texture to the page for Week 19, I glued down braille paper.  I also painted it with blues and greens.  Then it sat there for months.  I had lots of ideas for the journal prompt:  "All I'm after is a life full of laughter."  But the ideas would come and go.  Things I tried on the page didn't seem to be right.  I would abandon it time and again.

 I have been on such a roll catching up, I decided to go back to that page and finish it once and for all.  I used a vintage picture of ladies on some kind of ride.  I have posted it here before in the past, I believe.  I'm not sure where it came from.  But it makes me laugh.  And seeing the sad women in the third row compared to the laughing women in the first row reminds me to not take life too seriously (not sure I could if I tried anyway!)

I have mentioned before that I have the new Dylusions paints.  Having those sitting on my work table inspire me just being bright and colorful!  I had painted some tags and scraps with lime green, and added stenciling with a darker color.  Added some stamping and writing to everything and called it done.

DLP Week 28

I have been going full speed catching up July pages in Documented Life Project journal.  The theme for Week 28 is "Time Keeps On Ticking".   Once again, I have accomplished one of my January goals of using things I have on hand.  I taught a time-themed book several years ago and recently came across a leftover collage packet I made for students in the class.   Perfect! 

I also used an actual time card (remember those?), which I painted with transparent acrylic ink.  Since it's a time card, I used some of my punches to actually punch the time card, although that didn't really add anything other than make me laugh.

We all know that to use napkins in collage, you need to separate the layers and use the main design.  With the big clock napkin, I liked the second layer too, as it had the faint images still visible, great to glue down as a background. 

When I was done, it was pretty much so-so.  I liked it, but didn't love it.  Then I picked up the acrylic ink bottle again, which has a dropper top, and squeezed ink down the pages.  Liked it a whole lot better then.  The ink (especially on the right side page) reacted a lot differently on the napkin than just the gesso'd page.

Onward! 

It's Still July, Right?

Yes, I know it's not July.  But that is my focus right now.  The DLP Journal theme for July is Ephemera.  I made my July calendar by stamping numbers on various pieces of paper (i.e., ephemera)

There are borders around the pages with washi tape and torn pieces of painted deli paper from other projects.  I also added some tags that came on birthday gifts from times past (history), and in keeping with what I use on hand, added words to one of the tags.  That was from some art I printed on label sheets, and it's funny that the words were appropriate for how I feel I am standing still right now, even though the original art had more words with a different meaning.  And equally odd is how, if I had done this page back in July instead of now, I would have been in a different place entirely.

 

For the journal prompt, Life...with a history, I used a Prismacolor gray pencil to write rambling thoughts at the bottom of the page.  When I write like that, I don't make it legible.  In fact, by next week, I'll forget what I wrote and certainly won't be able to read it!  But history is a fleeting thing, as we all know!

You can see the writing better in person than in the picture, but still I felt it needed more, so I stenciled a typewriter over it.  Seems like most of my jobs over the past decades involve typing, so it is appropriate, as a part of my history. 

 

I may do some doodling and outlining, but overall, I'm happy with the page.  Love the color (Dylusions paints).  Onward!  There is history to be made!