A smashin' good time.

After sifting through my recent haul of ephemera, there were one or two pieces which I had absolutely no idea where I was going to use them but little more than a year ago I wouldn't have hesitated in putting them in my smash book. 

At the risk of being 'so last year' I've turned once again to my smash book pages and had a jolly good time cutting and sticking.  

I sprayed some Mr Hueys Estate Green on the background firstly before adding my papers.

I used what I have left of the absolutely gorgeous Jenni Bowlin 'Boy meets Girl' paper from the Red and Black collection and used it to add colour and frames.

 

and I do love to make the most of my alpha's by using the negatives too. (Just call me tight).

The little blue advert is cut from another Jenni Bowlin paper called Modern Mercantile 'Hodge Podge'.

Isn't this tape gorgeous? More Jenni Bowlin called Lace along with the Smash date stamp from K and Co.

Have a good week.

Jaine x

Using up the left overs - art journal play.

This summer hasn't been the best of my life and without going into detail, at times it's been pretty depressing. I can't remember the last time I got out my art journal and just 'played' it seems so far away now but last weekend I had the urge to do just that and record a happy time. 

I didn't want to put much thought into it, I simply wanted to go with the flow and do what made me happy and this is what I did.

I keep all my left overs and scraps and these are what I grabbed first. Bits of paper from older projects and even the pieces with die cut shapes out of them (well, you never know when you'll want them right?), a few left over numbers (random) and some sticky backed canvas butterflies from the embossing workshop a while back. It all went down on the page.

I gave it all a coat of white acrylic, not too thick but thick enough to neutralize it all. 

Then came the fun bit. Sub conciously I reached for a paint colour which happened to be Claudine Hellmuth Studio acrylic in Classic Teal, watered it down and painted it on, spraying as I went. I held the book up to let it drip between the texture. It was having the desired effect and I felt content. My daughter even pointed out that I'd used bulldog clips to keep the page flat, in the same colours. It's funny what the sub concious mind can do. 

Once dry I added the chevron stamp with my Glitz roller doodle and Adirondack Stream ink, a couple of old postage stamps and a photo of me doing what I love. I used a K and Co Smash date stamp to show when it was and added a few ink spots with some Dylusions ink sprays.

The quote is from a Chinese proverb which I wrote using a Sakura Micron pen. I love how this pen flows nicely. 

Anyway, there we are, a journal page to cheer myself up, using left overs and what comes naturally.

Jaine x

Mini Day Book

I've put together another mini for you today which is essentially made from one and a half sheets of patterned paper and decorated with scraps. 

This particular mini will become a day book but as yet it's looking pretty on my shelf waiting for pictures and journaling to be added. 

The basic construction is very simple and is as follows;

Cut one 12 x 12 sheet of patterned paper into two then with each piece fold in half.  Fold in the two side pieces so they're just about 1/4 inch from the centre fold and snip off the corner. Simple use this piece to measure and cut the opposite side.

I stitched the bottoms closed to form pockets in the pages. I used a sheet of Glitz Uncharted Waters for my book as I love the contrast of patterns. 

My cover is a 12 x 6 piece of Glitz Yours Truly wood grain paper which I folded around the book pages and folded in the extra side pieces. I stitched the bottom of this page closed too then with each page lying on top of each other I stitched up the centre.

I used scraps of paper to decorate the pages along with a Jenni Bowlin Alphabet sticker sheet called  Black Tiny Dots and a K and Co Smash roller Stamp to add some extra interest to the pages. 

It might only be made from one and a half sheets of cardstock but you certainly get a lot of room to put a small photo, some journaling and pocket for tags, extra pages or tickets collected along the way. Make one to take on holiday or give as a gift to a friend. 

Have fun and see you next time,

Jaine x

Smashin' style.

A week ago I let you into my art journal and today I'm going to "show and tell" my smash style.

I became fascinated by Smashbooking only a few short months ago but once I'd got my teeth into it I absolutely loved it.  At last I had somewhere to stick all those little bits and pieces I had stashed away and combining my ephemera with scrapbooking supplies gave me so much pleasure.

I experimented with several different styles but eventually settled on the style you see below.

I make my own books from watercolour paper so I'm still able to paint, spray or glue as I would with my journal.  I usually start with a quick spray or wash of paint to add a colour to the page, then I lay out my ephemera and pull out papers and journaling spots from my scrapbooking stash which co-ordinates with the images. (I'm not into the just stick it in, random look.  I need order and design).

I collect a lot of magazine words and phrases in a small box which I use frequently in my smash pages.

Here I've also used magazine images which is another favourite of mine.

On these pages I've used:

Studio Calico Mr Huey's sprays in Sherbet Orange and Taxi Yellow

Glitz Design Yours Truly papers

Jenni Bowlin Vintage Printed Tags

K and Co Smash date stamp 

See soon

Jaine x