February 18, 2009

cut and paste therapy

I was in an icky sort of nervous mood this afternoon when I got home from work, so I headed into my art studio for some cut and paste therapy... it's a sure-fire way for me to relax and de-stress! (I do have projects to work on, but de-stressing was more important.) Making journaling backgrounds is a good way to relax, and then when I feel like writing on the pages, they'll be ready. This is a two-page spread in my large spiral-bound journal that will eventually be about Charles Darwin's 200th birthday (I think). I didn't like the paint on these pages originally, but I dry-brushed on some gesso, and voila! a softer, more muted background. A few stencils and foam craft stamps, and the pages were ready for a random border of paper. (they were painted already when I started working on them today- today was all about pasting and doodling.)
Right-hand page... for the border, I used vintage book paper and wallpaper, magazine clippings, scrapbook paper, and "scraps" left after punching images out of cardstock.
Left-hand page. After gluing on the scraps, I started doodling on the border, to add more detail... my doodling is sort of an OCD obsessive sort of thing that also helps me to relax.
An "extreme close-up" of the OCD doodling on the border- gold pen, Sharpie marker, and souffle pens work magic on my mood, and on my journal pages.
A glued page in my composition book... scraps left over from the journal spread above, with some added details of red. (to be totally truthful, the largest red circle was added to cover up a wrinkle in the green paper, then I decided I liked how it looked so I added more.)
another glued page in the compositon book... the border on this page started out as a baby wipe that I used to wipe paint off my brush. Random bits and images added from various piles of stuff on my desk.
large journal page... the background was painted ages ago, and was waiting to be finished. (I do that a lot; I hardly ever make a page from start to finish in one sitting.) I found the phrenology head somewhere on the internet (I don't remember exactly where, sorry!), then added journaling with white Signo pen and Sharpie poster paint marker. So- a couple hours of cutting, pasting, and writing, and I'm good to go thru the rest of my work week! (now if I could just get that swap project finished...)

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