A life made by hand journal page 3

I will never look at the Sunday supplements as 'rubbish','junk' a 'waste of paper' again.

I have been looking through them with 'different' eyes for supplies and inspiration

for art journalling.   Gluing and sticking is probably a better term for what I am 

doing at the moment.  The 'art' perhaps will come later!

 The background and wording and the backing paper

are all from the Sunday supplement magazines.

The  blue backing paper is in fact a shuttering on a window which I managed to cut enough little strips, and turned them on the side and shaded!

I have inked around the lettering to make it show up - I think that was from a food advert which I cut and took out the words I wanted to turn into a prompt!

This is the journalled page.

I am not being 'picky' about my writing as Kelly Kilmer said not too.

I think that it will improve if I could find a pen that will write better on shiny paper

and also if I practice writing more.  I have been typing for so long on a computer

my writing has suffered as a consequence!

If any of you know of a pen that will definitely work on shiny surfaces I would very much appreciate the name and a link too if possible.

Thank you for looking

Exciting News - BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

I have such exciting news that I am fit to burst.........

The amazing Kelly Kilmer - Artist and Instructor - and fantastic journal tutor is having a SALE

I have bought a couple of her art journaling courses and they are absolutely amazing.  I am a total beginner without a scrap of imagination - but Kelly manages to inspire and excite even an old lady such as me - enabling me to create journals that I just adore.

Living in the country and not having any arty crafty shops for miles and miles and miles and then not ones specific to art and craft - means that supplies for anything that I attempt to make have to be bought on line.  Which is a pain and the postage expensive.

That was until I found the famous Kelly.  Her courses are downloadable, and truly you can make the journals with things you have around your home.  Honestly - I have done it!  You don't need lots of fancy paints or glues or moleskin journals or special anything .  If  you visit her blog and read the links to her courses you will see for yourself.

I have bought the Memories and Reflections course a number of years ago - and its something you can revisit and make over and over again.  I made one of the two journals in the course work - but sadly I didn't make any others as I became rather ill.  I forgot all about my journal and course work until I came across it whilst sorting out some drawers - and sat in awe reading all the pages and pages of inspiring instructions, the pictures, the prompts - wow - unbelievable - and the layout designs - awesome!

Just going back and reading all coursework was so inspiring, that I decided to buy a different course for my birthday present to myself - so have now got The Journey of You.

I didn't have to buy a single thing to create it either.  I had all the bits and bobs to hand - resurrecting papers and things I had forgotten about.  If you look at her list of supplies for this - well - you will have them all - and more!

I knocked on a couple of my neighbours doors asking if they had any old magazines - and if so could they keep them for me so that I could cut things out and then recycle them (which is what we do anyway).  They looked at me as though I was mad - and one lady let me rummage around in her Green bin before the dustmen came.  I had magazines from cruise companies, gifts, Womens Institutes, gardening, etc - and at first you might think Hmmmph - but when you see things through Kelly's eyes - you see pages of inspiration, and colours and ephemera - even the Sunday Supplements have taken on a whole new excitement today - instead of binning them I actually looked through them and have cut out lots of things.  I am going knocking on a few more doors next week - there are some ladies that I think actually buy magazines!

Can you tell that I am a tad bit excited.  I am snapping up Kelly's buy one get one free for my Christmas presents.    Art Journal 365 and Little Paper Books.

A friend of mine in France is going to get Art Journal 365 - and now that I have emailed her about the sale, I am sure that she will add a free one to her wish list.  We are going to do the 365 at the same time.  It'll be great to have a journal buddy to bounce ideas off, and to keep my momentum up over the winter months in case I 'flag'

Why don't you buy one for yourself and give the free one to a friend - FREE  Christmas presents - you can't beat that can you!

If  you choose any of the ones I have - I'd be happy to share my journal journeys with you and we can encourage each other.

Go on - spoil yourself - where can you get this much fun for this bargain price!

Journal - update

The story so far is here

Lucinda has been pretty busy since she last looked at her scrap book.  It's summer time and she has been busy from dawn to dusk, growing fruit, and vegetables in her cottage garden - and of course she manages to fit in some flowers here and there.

There's not been much time for idleness, but when she has worked herself to a standstill, nothing makes her happier than to sit in her little room, pull out her old scrap book, and re-read, and re-live those long ago days of youth.

She turns over the next page to reveal ..................................

Claude

Kate's wealthy beau. Did she really find him handsome - or was she swept away by his charm.  Oh yes he was charming, there is no denying that.

Lucinda allowed herself a chuckle, which turned into a giggle, which exploded into such a long loud laugh that her cat woke up and walked off with a disgusted look on his face and his tail high in the air!

"Well", she said, as she dried her eyes with her dainty lace hankie," if you can't laugh out loud in your own house, then where can  you?"

She kept looking at Claude wondering why he looked so stern, and what Kate could have possibly seen in him - that she herself could not!

She lifted her book right up to her nose to read the scrap of paper she had glued on the page.   It was something Kate had written in one of her letters to her.

'Oh Lucinda - Claude is so utterly romantic and charming, he sent me a little note from his Chateau near the Seine whilst I was in Paris visiting the dressmakers, and Monet's garden'

Lucinda started chuckling again as she re-read the passage that she almost knew by heart.

"Oh Kate, the hours I spend with you, I look upon as a sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it.  You and you alone make me feel that I am alive"

Then she quickly turned the page for something more attractive to look at.

The pretty little pouch that Kate had sent her - beautifully embroidered and  hand stitched.  There was a gorgeous brooch, made from some of the trimmings of her first ball gown.   She unpinned it and wistfully brought it to her nose - and yes - there was still the faint smell of lavender - despite its age and condition.

On the reverse of the pouch was another brooch, of Kate when she got engaged, she looked so young and beautiful - but the memories were too painful to dwell on, so she swiftly turned to the next page.

Oh how Lucinda loved this page in the scrapbook.  Over the years she had saved a lot of the samples of materials that Kate had sent showing her the colours of her ball gowns.

She had layers and layers of them.

Each with the original handwritten tags of the designs and dressmakers

She closed her eyes, and ran her fingers over strips of velvet, silk, laces, and allowed herself to be swept away in a daydream of what it must have been like all those years ago to be clothed in such finery.

Sincere thanks to Ati  I have photographed the labels, printed them out and attached them to scraps of materials I had.   The originals are saved for a special project - hopefully to be worked on over the winter.