I sense a theme... and some recent weather.

Not really a purposeful theme, but I do have some similar colors, designs, and images that I find myself using in my journals. These pages aren't right next to each other, but in flipping thru my 9x12 journal, these all jumped out at me since they all have similar imagery. 

During my recuperation from the second surgery, I started taking an online journaling class by Kelly Kilmer: Memories and Reflections. It includes collage templates, journaling prompts, printable collage elements, and instructions for making two different handmade books. I haven't made the books yet, but have used some of the templates and collage images. 

everything will work out

This page started with one of Kelly's layout templates, and includes vintage sheet music, painted newsprint, handmade paper, watercolor crayons, and gel pens. The image was out of an antiques magazine. (again, I don't like how my writing turned out, here-- but the page is done, and I like the finished page more than I dislike my handwriting, so it's all good.)

graffiti Buddha

This page didn't start out with any sort of a template; instead, it used one of Michelle Ward's 'Street Team Crusades', which were weekly challenges that could be used as a jumping-off point for a journal page or piece of artwork. This particular challenge was 'Strip Ease' (using strips of paper or fabric and attach to your page). The entire background is strips of all sorts of paper, along with decorative tape. The image is one of Kelly's collage images, a graffiti art Buddha. 

graffiti Buddha close up- penwork detailing

all those strips gave me plenty of room for drawing patterns, doodling, and coloring in the various patterns on the paper and tape.

now, to the weather: yesterday afternoon I got stuck in my car for a while in the WalMart parking lot, waiting for the rain to let up long enough so I could run inside the store. Once I got in, it poured hard for most of the time I was inside (I could hear it on the roof of the store!) Monsoon season is interesting in that it can be pouring rain one place and be perfectly clear somewhere else just a mile or two away. And when it does rain, it can pour so hard that the rain just can't soak in, leading to flooding. This was the scene on the highway on my way home from WalMart:

Four out of the 6 lanes on the highway were flooded right at an underpass, leading to a bit of a traffic jam, as we worked our way past the water. So far, this monsoon season is shaping up to be a good one! (except for the mosquitoes- they're horrible!)

any place worth going

another journal page, except this one is unfinished: the overall page layout is loosely the same as the first page in this post, but once I finish it, that probably won't be so easily seen since the style / colors of the papers are so different. 

and now, I'm off to try out some new supplies I got yesterday while I was out doing errands!! 

pattern and color; details

I was messing around with cropping and color saturation in Picasa. I'm still not sure what I think about street art overall in terms of its legality (I believe the artwork in all these photos was sanctioned by the property owner), but the amount of work that went into all of this is just phenomenal.

And when you looke at it closely, the colors and patterns are amazing! (be sure to click on the photos to see them larger.)

street art SB page(s)

I knew when I took the graffiti photos a few weeks ago that I wanted to scrapbook them, and very quickly, I found the exactly perfect paper for it- yay! love when that happens!! (the skyline paper below). I knew that somehow I wanted to get the urban, paint-y feel to my pages, too. And I also knew I had a lot of pictures I wanted to use but didn't want to crop them at all, so wasn't sure how to do it. Enter the 2 peas in a bucket website, and their monthly class (with Shimelle Laine!), 4x6 photo love. This layout is the result- sort of a "page-and-a-half" layout, with a sneaky trick to it: it looks like just one page, doesn't it?? But look closer-- it's not!

It's really a 2-page layout (almost), as seen above. (the page protectors are supposed to be sewn together on the edge, too- I just haven't gotten my sewing machine out yet.) The link to the class is here: August 4x6 photo love: how to get (8) 4x6 pages onto a layout. (besides being useful, the classes are fun to watch; there's always a couple layouts along with a video for every month, which I love-- it's always fun to see someone else's process for making a scrapbooking layout.)

Close-up of the skyline with title. I cut the skyline out of the patterned paper and applied it to my base paper. After trying the title stickers out, I decided it was too dark for the red stickers on by themselves, so I lightened it up with a bit of gesso as a "background" for title.

I also tried out my spray inks on these pages, to give them sort of a "messy, gritty" kind of look. Not sure how successful I was at it; I think I may have overdone it a little, but it looks okay. (I really need to remember to stop right before I add that last thing, to let the layout percolate a little before I keep going with it.)

I do love the papers I chose for this layout; gray cardstock, and patterned paper from the Basic Grey Wander line; usually I think their patterns are somewhat overwhelming, but I think it totally works here. The staples work, too... and the fact that I had problems with the stapler just adds to the "urban" feel, right? lol!) I quite like the way this came out; the fact that the "title" area" is above all the photos and tricks the eye is a lot of fun... even though I did ruin a couple page protectors (okay, three, actually) trying to trim them down to the right height, I think I'll definitely use this layout idea again.

I do have quite a few more graffiti photos I want to scrap, so you'll be seeing more of them soon. (not sure about the spray ink, though- that might take some practicing before I break it out again!)

street art- a day out

I braved the heat today and went into downtown Phoenix with my camera. (and a large bottle of water)

This is a few pics of what I found, all of it within an area of just a few square blocks in the Roosevelt Row arts district.

Some is political, some is "tagging" (the artist's name, initials, etc), and some is pure art. (because I was in the arts district, I'm pretty a good bit of it is sanctioned by the property owners.)

Mary? modeled after a Da Vinci? not sure. found in an alley- I love the details on her!

"Police Navidad" spray paint on the sidewalk this building reminds me of stained glass.

"Bird is the Werd"

building along Roosevelt.

"Build Up Not Out" (on a large dumpster)

I love how the plates on its back are skyscrapers! (and the tiny saguaro cacti at the bottom)

...more to come!