Have you ever mentally written a blog post or two(dozen), then forgot to actually sit down and type it(them) up? Yeah, that’s me. 😛 I have been terrible about posting the last few months, but let’s just jump right back in shall we?
First: The Documented Life Project. (check out Art to the 5th’s blog for more info) I’m sure many of you have heard about it, and are possibly participating. Instead of buying a planner I decided to make one, and I posted a few pics on instagram and flickr when I was done. I got some questions about how I made it, so I thought I would explain a bit.
I used 80lb. sketch paper for the signatures, I sewed the signatures to two layers of unbleached muslin, then glued that onto some heavy chipboard. I covered the inside and the outside of the covers with some scrapbook paper, and used black duct tape to cover the spine. If that’s confusing, I hope the pictures help explain it a bit. I didn’t think to take any pictures during construction, but hopefully you can see what I mean.
I used gelli prints for my tabs and stamped the months on with StayzOn ink.
The spine is duct tape, and if I need to expand the book as it fills, I can easily cut the tape down the middle and add more. I left room between the signatures when I sewed them to the muslin so they are able to expand as well, just in case.
The picture above shows the muslin the signatures are sewn to, glued to the inside of the back cover and then covered with patterned scrapbook paper.
A bit of a break during the picture taking for the supervisor to do her thing, quality testing and what not 🙂
I haven’t kept up on all of the challenges, but I taped in inserts for them that I can come back to later. A smart idea would be to write down what the challenges are that I missed on post it notes and stick it on the back of the inserts…I should probably do that, lol.
I have completed a handful of the prompts:
Second: A drawing I did in my art journal that I’m pretty happy with. Haven’t decided yet if I want to add color with colored pencils or water color. Maybe both.
And third : I got some cans of spray paint the other day and had a field day playing with them! I had a few krylon already, but had never used them, and Michael’s had some of the liquitex spray paints on clearance so I grabbed a couple. I can’t believe I haven’t played with these before!
I also spray painted some glass bottles to use as vases on our mantel. The paint doesn’t stick real well to the bottles without a clear coat, but I love how they turned out. A couple of colorful fake flowers, and now our mantel is looking pretty 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Kitty is Not Amused... 
As you may know I only just started art journaling – the issue I have always had is sticking to it. Pages tend to take a while, what with the drying time and the layering 🙂 so it’s something I tend to put off until I have a block of time. I’ve heard of this project but never actually researched it. Your informative post (and great planner BTW) has rather prompted me to look at it more closely. It’s the sort of thing I could do in small bits of spare time. Like anything else, once you make time for it in your day it becomes a habit and habits, we all know, are hard to break LOL! So thanks for your long post. I’ve just completed an AJ that is rather large in format, with just 3 signatures sewn in but room for plenty more – I’m now thinking rather than use it as another basic AJ it’s possible this could morph into a planner style one, with some of your ideas (ie the day blocks) added to it. Sewing the lines would reinforce the pages (which began life as envelopes stuck together inside on half, but open on the other side to form a pocket) although it would have been easier had I done the sewing BEFORE sewing them into the spine LOL! I can see that your lines are drawn on, but at first they looked like sewing, so I’m saying thanks for the inspiration anyway 🙂 It may be worth snipping the threads and removing them then adding the lines and re-sewing them back in!
So then, off to have a look – a few months late to the party, but still time, I reckon, the give it a go…
I can forgive intermittent posting when a gap is followed by such a great and inspiring post. And now I really HAVE babbled on for far to long so I’ll shut up, Google a bit, and you may see something from me soon. I’m feeling the fire lit under me, at least in this exact moment – will it fade as the day progresses? Perhaps, but I like to think not….
🙂
Mary Anne
Hi Mary Anne, I’m so happy to hear my post inspired you!! You really made my morning today 🙂 I never would have guessed you were just starting out with art journaling, your pages have all been wonderful! I am in love with the way you get the layers on your pages 🙂
As you may have guessed, I too have a problem sticking with things,(hence the months between blog posts:D ) I try to stay focused, but I have the attention span of a squirrel on caffeine when it comes to most things, lol!
The great thing about the documented life project is that you can do the prompts any way you want, there are no “planner police” 😛 In the introduction on the Art to the 5th blog, they say it doesn’t matter if you want to paint, or draw, or use photography, or whatever, to interpret the prompts, or even skip ones that don’t inspire you, it’s perfectly fine. You can be as creative as you want. I don’t know if you have a facebook account, but the DLP has a facebook page where members share their work, ask questions, and share tips and ideas. It’s really great to see how varied all the different styles are, from simple to layers and layers, and everything in between. I hope your journal revamp goes well! If you have any questions feel free to ask! And thank you so much for your kind words!!
~Sena (AKA Kitty)
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And I totally forgot to mention I think some stamp company should get in touch about those drawings 🙂 At least they have MOUTHS – those no-mouth stamps totally creep me out. I’d use those ones you drew, no problem. Glad I made your day and now you made mine with your kind comments on my so-called art.
cheers
MA
These are GORGEOUS! I love the use of paint charts with a die cut, such a good idea.
Thanks so much Zoe!