New Art Journal

I posted over a month ago about completing my very first art journal (see it here). 
Since then the only art journaling I've done has been in the journal I'm doing on JOY.

Its taken me until this week to start my new art journal.  I think I was suffering from Shiny White Page in Brand New Art Journal Paralysis, a strange condition where every time  I eagerly picked up my new journal I was seized by ..... hesitation, lack of inspiration, uncertainty, even fear of messing up the first page!!!!!!  This was so weird because I'd been really looking forward to starting my new journal and Shiny White Page in Brand New Art Journal Paralysis is the last thing I expected.

Anyway,  all this got me thinking... and to see if it got me going I scribbled down a few thoughts about what I wanted to do in my new journal.  Those thoughts finally turned into the first pages in my journal:

What a relief to get started! I did a simple backround, sponged yellow with distress inkpads and stencilled and stamped.  I doodled the title:

 

 

I wrote the journaling out on paper, tore it out, sponged colour and stamped.  Then I had fun with ink splats and splatters:

 

Now of course I'm wondering how on earth I ever succumbed to  Shiny White Page in Brand New Art Journal Paralysis.  Have you ever suffered from this and if you did what did you do about it?  I'm wondering if one way to prevent it is to start lots of different journals all at once :)

I'm  linking up at:
Art Journal Every Day
Friendship Friday at Create with Joy
Creative Every Day

Joy Can Be Snatched Away

At Art Journal Every Day Julie Fei-Fan Balzer set the challenge of creating pages using only 10 supplies.  I love a challenge like this and here is the result, a page in my Joy journal (joy being my one word for 2014):

 

I used gesso, black acrylic paint, Derwent Inktense Blocks and paintbrush, black and white pens, a paper edger and scrap paper, total 8, or 9 if you count the art journal.  But do I really have to count the scrap paper as a supply?! :) 

I had to paint direct from the blocks onto the black.  It just didn't work by putting the colour on the black and then activating with water.  I painted on the shapes and then doodled, journaled on to scrap paper and cut out with paper edgers.  Super simple but really fun to do.

 The joy we get from Jesus does last forever but it can be snatched away by the these things and plenty of others too.  For example, comparison.  When we compare ourselves to others, eg I wish I could do art like Julie :)  and so many of the really talented people out there, then I can easily get dissatisfied and disgruntled.  We can take joy in others' talents without bemoaning that we don't have that same talent.  We are all different and can take joy in our individuality and our own creativity.

May you find joy in your life, the joy that comes from Jesus and lasts forever.

I'm linking up at Art Journal Every Day
Friendship Friday at Create With Joy
Creative Every Day

My Rock

I love to think of Jesus as the Rock - my solid Rock.  A rock speaks to me of strength, unshakeableness, permanence.  I picture a mighty rock in the ocean being battered by huge waves but standing strong and unshakeable.  So when I think of Jesus as my Rock this is how I think of Him.  He is my refuge, strong, unshakeable, holding me in the midst of any trouble or storm I may be in.  He is faithful and loves us and wants nothing more than for us to put all our hope and trust in Him.    Thinking of Jesus like this just makes me want to praise Him. 

So I loved this week's scripture wordart at  Word Art Wednesday and the lovely accompanying post.
Here is my card using the wordart:

and the scripture close up.  

The backround was embossed with the Cuttlebug swirly embossing folder in white card and sponged with blue. Embossed backrounds give such a wonderful effect.

 

I hope you too find Jesus to be your Rock.

No Joy without Love

It feels like ages since I last posted - all of three weeks!  We've just come back from a really lovely holiday flyfishing for trout in the Scottish Highlands.  We stay in a remote cottage with only the river and deer and hares and birds for company, the only sound from the river and a real symphony of birdsong - truly wonderful.

Of course it wasn't all flyfishing.  I took the art journal I'm doing on joy and a small box of supplies - Derwent Inktense bars, black and white acrylic, a couple of inkpads and a few stencils and stamps. 

The chronic fatigue had flared up badly before the hols so I wasn't up to that much fishing at the beginning of the holiday.  Yes, this meant there was more time for art journaling.  There's always good to be found in bad situations!

Here's my page for today:

Its impossible to have joy without love.  If you love, you're going to have joy.

Jesus said: "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full."  Jn 15:11.   Jesus made this statement in the middle of talking about love: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love." v 9 and  "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." v 12

So we need love to have joy.

I think being beside the river influenced this page so it came out all flowy in springlike colours.

 

Highland air is definitely very therapeutic because I felt so much better after a few days of resting up together with some gentle walking and fishing.  I really do fish, here's a picture of me in all the gear, ok its not a fashion parade :)

The river Deveron and the scenery:

Dominic fishing:

 Dominic very happy with a good trout, full of joy!!!

 

 And of course we just had to do a selfie:

It was a great hols and a good time to be doing my journal on joy!

I'm linking up at Art Journal Every Day
and Creative Every Day

First Art Journal Completed!

I have completed my very first art journal!!!  I only started art journaling last year and my shiny new art journal seemed full of countless big white pages so its amazing that I have actually filled all these pages up.

I feel I've learned so much - about art journaling, the creative process and even about me!  and I can't wait to see where my art journaling 'goes'.  I am not an artist and before starting this journal I had hardly ever used paint.  Now I love it although I'm still pretty clueless about how to use it - but hey, its all about experimentation and fun.  One of the best things that has happened is that it has made me stop being a perfectionist - that's been really freeing and I'm still amazed that I can fling paint and ink about with abandon and not be concerned when the page doesn't come out exactly how I wanted :)

The last page in my journal had to be about this:

This page started with a piece of scrap paper where I had scraped a stencil clean of texture paste.  It looked so lovely I stuck it on the page.  Then I sponged distress inks, stenciled and stamped.  Here's what it looked like before I stamped the title and added the journaling strips:

 

The great thing about art journaling is using whatever you want, like the scrap paper with the texture paste residue:

 I love this big corner flourish stamp by IndigoBlu which I got free with a magazine subscription.

The girl with the swirly hair is another free stamp which came with the same subscription.

I used another piece of scrap card where I had punched daisies for the journaling - I need to work on my handwriting!!!

I had to add more daisies:

And then a butterfly which I'd had lying around for ages from another project:

There are so many amazing and talented art journalers out there who inspired me to start art journaling and continue to inspire me to try new things - thank you all.   I want to give a special thank you to Julie Fei-Fan Balzer who hosts Art Journal Every Day where we can all share our creations every week and who is such an amazing artist and inspiration, and thank you to Tracy who gave me my first comment which encouraged me to go on with my blog.

I'm linking up at Art Journal Every Day , Friendship Friday at Create with Joy,
and Creative Every Day