Doodlicious Daybook #2-21 Secrets

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I did! I haven't been blogging much, but I have been doing arty things everyday. I will have some stuff to share. It's just that I've been working on multiple projects at the same time and none of it is finished yet.

I have re-worked one large mixed-media canvas so many times I've lost count. I'm still not happy with it, but I can live with it, so I'm calling it done...I think.

Most of the other art I've worked on has been tearing, cutting, pasting, and adding texture and other elements to the pages of my first Doodlicious Daybook, and I've also started writing in it. There are also lots of new background pages made with leftover paint, etc., some of them loose pages and some in my Moleskine sketchbook journals. I will show you as soon as I have time, and I will try to have some finished pages.

In the meantime, I scanned some background pages from my 2nd daybook, which I made yesterday from some very cheap watercolor paper and some gloss acrylics that I found in my stash. I had a blast painting the three large sheets of paper (15 x 22") on one side, letting them dry, then turning them over and painting the other side. The paper is kind of thick, so I won't need to fasten two sheets together for strength or to hide the backs. I've been using fluid acrylics, so I don't know how the gloss acrylics are going to work. That's what's fun about experimenting! You get surprises, sometimes good, sometimes not, but you always learn something useful.

When the sheets were dry, I measured off 5" x 7 1/2" pages, and, using the ruler to hold the paper, I tore the pages apart and stacked them. Each sheet yielded 8 pages, front and back, equaling 16 pages to add ephemera to and journal on. So my book has 48 wonderful pages, which I am going to add the ephemera, stamping, sewing, etc. to BEFORE I put them into book form. Or maybe I'll put them on binder rings so that they can be taken in and out to work on. Much easier that way! Something else I learned the hard way. :)

Here are some scans of the pages after they were torn. Sorry, I didn't make a picture before of the whole painted sheets. I'm not sure I'll leave them in this order, but it's how I have them for now. The colored pages are gloss acrylics (I prefer the more transparent fluid acrylics though) and the black and white pages are India ink with a brush. Tearing the paper gave it some deckled edges, which I love.

I will show you when I get the pages finished. I'm just now having an idea of painting a sheet of the watercolor paper in watercolors to mix in for variety. Book 2 may turn into book 2 and book 3!

Anyway, these books are a lot of fun to make, plus it's a great way to use up any old or leftover paints and papers, and it leaves you with a pretty journal for writing down your thoughts. I learned it from Tracie Hanson in the 21 Secrets Playground that Connie Hozvicka of Dirty Footprints Studios hosted. This playground is now closed, but she's planning another one in April with different workshops. I, for one, can't wait!

Christmas brought me some new and different art supplies. Now all I have to do is clean up my workspace so that I have room to play with them. Happy creating!