TOP2000 blogparty

Last week I was inspired by Marit's blogparty, based on the event of the year here in Holland, the Top 2000. (From the first day of Christmas till the end of 2011 the best two thousand hits ever...NON STOP!)
You can read all about in on her blog.
She invited everyone to join the party and send in their artwork based on the hits from this Top 2000.
I felt like I needed to journal about my all time favorite song, not even for this blogparty but also to capture the memory. So I started with this page:

Bon Jovi-Bed of Roses

And than I got the Top 2000 virus...I was browsing the list with all those hits and I immediately knew which favorite hit would be next.

Golden Earring-Radar Love

I cut out a radar and embossed it with gold embossing powder. (I would have used green if I had it...)

The heart and the zipper are magazine cut outs, glued on a background which I painted black.

I love this page! Probably it turned out so well because I had the song playing on my computer at that time. My daughter wanted to know which song I meant...and I think my neighbors heard it too...(lol).

So...my brained screamed for more pages based on hits! Of course, I had to journal about the number one of the Top 2000...one of my favorites too:

Queen-Bohemian Rhapsody

The eye is from a big add in a magazine. I added a little picture of Queen in the pupil. The background comes from a magazine too. No paint involved this time! Just a black marker...

And to compensate for the missing paint...for the fourth page I took a magazine cut out, glued it on a painted background and painted over the picture of the woman.

Van Dik Hout-Stil in mij

I love, love, love this page!!!! It started as an experiment, trying to paint in all those different skin tones. But I love how it turned out!! Even the highlights in the hair are so much more than I had expected. I will definitely try this again!

And this is the last page...number five of this week.

Adele-Make you feel my love

I had to make a page with a song of Adele. I didn't have much time left to art journal so it is quite a simple page...but to be honest...that is much harder for me!

Today is the last day of the Top 2000..which means the best 272 hits ever till 24.00h tonight. My husband and I will be busy making 'oliebollen en appelflappen' this morning. Because of the smell that comes with the frying of these 'oil balls and apple flaps' (lol) we have the door and the windows wide open and the music of the Top 2000 playing loud...so cold but so much fun! I hope the neighborhood is a fan of the Top 2000 too...

This will be my last post for 2011. Looking back on all the art I made this year I think I can be very satisfied. I switched from scrapbooking to art journaling completely, which is a good thing. I managed to develop an own recognizable style of art journaling, something I couldn't do with scrapbooking.

I don't have any big New Year's resolutions. I just hope to be able to create as much as I want. I have plans to do a project 52 and create a digital layout each week about our family life. I have plans to create my own set of collage sheets, make some art to sell and maybe more. I will take it one step at a time and see how things go!

I wish all my blogreaders a good, healthy and inspirational 2012 !

See you next year...

TFL!

Sandra

Merry Christmas!

Here is the card I made for Christmas. I had it printed as an official card at an online printservice.
Just for fun...I numbered each card and added the text 'limited edition'! (lol)

For those of you who haven't received a card (yet)...I hope you enjoy the digital version!

TFL!

Sandra

Cover of my journal

Here is the front page...which I call the cover...of my Inspired by Nature journal:

(Size 20x25cm)

No, the journal isn't completed yet! Still five pages and four 'flaps' to go...to be continued!

TFL!

Sandra

Another page!

Yep, I'm really 'suffering' from a very creative flow...and I love it! Although it is hard sometimes to put down my markers, cutouts and glue and make sure my kids and my household get some attention...(lol)
Here is another page in my Inspired by Nature journal:

(Size 20x25cm)

The journaling says something like: you don't have to see the whole road ahead. Just put the first step!

As you can probably see, the background picture with lava streaming down a vulcano made it hard to create some peace this page. Now it is overloaded with color, letters and images.

Still, I love the result...and I have learned something for next time, when I create my backgrounds with magazine cutouts. What do you think?

TFL!

Sandra

The things you dream of...

...can't keep you awake.
I hope this is the right translation of the dutch journaling on my newest page in my Inspired by Nature art journal. Anyway, here it is:

(Size: 20x25cm)

I also got a lot of very nice comments on my lettering, which make me very happy of course. But often the comment is followed by the remark that 'she wishes she could make those letters too'...

So, to make clear that the lettering is much easier than it looks, I made a quick video about how I make my letters:

TFL!

Sandra

Happiness consists of three things...

...something to love, something to do and something to hope for.
A new page in my Inspired by Nature journal.
This time I made a picture of Before-The-Big-Paintmarkers-Attack, just the plain collage:

And..of course...the finished page:

(Size: 30x25cm)

TFL!

Sandra

You only know...

..how hard life can be if you put your teeth in it.
A new page in my Inspired by Nature journal:

(Size 20x25cm)

TFL!

Sandra

True silence...

isn't without sounds, but without thoughts.
A new page in my Inspired by Nature journal:

(Size 20x25 cm)

TFL!

Sandra

Circle journals..update

While I was busy preparing for the Mixed Media Circus and actually making art in Hamburg, the deadlines for our Circle Journals at the dutch forum for art journaling were also there...
Here are the pages I received since my last blogpost about the circle journals.
My theme is grids.
This is the page I got from Ilse:

Talking about art, huh?! And she told me she had a hard time with my theme! Well Ilse, 'I love this piece of art' is an understatement!!
But...I got more pieces of art. Always so good to receive this sort of Happy Mail.
Here is the page I got from Ellie:

So beautiful! And the text made me smile! (Translation: I couldn't see the grid any more because of all the blocks...)

I made some pages for others too.
This is the one I made for Ilse:

Her theme is wings. I collaged the parrot with pieces of magazines. I used a drawing I found on the internet as a base.

I tried some lettering in the shape of a bird on the back:

This is a page I made for Ellie:

Her theme is human/animal combinations.

And this is the page I made for Elvy:

Her theme is quotes.

That's all I have to show you for now.

I'm working on the last two pages for the circle journals at the moment. I also made a christmascard this week. I scanned it and used it to create a digital card, which I ordered at a photoprint service. But I can't show you now of course...You will have to wait untill Christmas!

TFL!

Sandra

My projects from the Mixed Media Circus...part one

Five workshops during the Mixed Media Circus means also five projects to show!
I didn't finish all the projects during the workshops. Sometimes because of a lack of time, sometimes because I wasn't sure about what to do next. I decided to think about next steps later when I got home.

The first workshop was about image transfers to a pillowcase. A new technique for me...my fingertips are still suffering from rubbing of the paper.

 Step one:

Transferring the image of a Graphic 45 paper onto the pillowcase with gel medium.

Step two:

Add layers of stamps, paint and glimmermist.

Step three:

Stamping with glimmermist as an adhesive for the UTEE powder.

Step four:

Add a piece of cord. I decided to make the word 'Grow' with it.

The second workshop of day one was all about layers.

We got a big piece of paper (forgot the name..sorry..), gesso-ed it on both sides and added several layers of paint with stencils, handdrawn details and finished with a black and white layer.

I painted both sides only I didn't finish the other side with black and white details...and I forgot to take a picture...

Julie showed us how to fold the paper into a booklet. I decided to leave it this way. My first intention was to use the paper to create a cover for my altered A4-sized journal. But I did something else with it...so keep reading and you will find out at the end of this post!

Day two started with the so-called 'Entrance of the gladiators': two workshops, two teachers with in each workshop the same materials! We got a canvas, bookpaper, scrapbookpaper, grungeboard and metal embellishments.

In both workshops we created a layer of bookpaper first and than added a layer of acrylic paint. In Nat's workshop we created this layer with a stencil. In Julie's workshop we had to paint our own designs.

This is my canvas after Nat's workshop:

I was a little bit pigheaded here. I collage a piece of the paperbag of the metal embellishments too..In the meantime I was eating one of those unforgetable magnificent cupcakes and decided to collage a piece of the papernapkin with the beautiful flowerdesign too...Talking about mixed media, huh?!

I didn't add the grungeboard die cuts, nor a picture and the metal embellishments. No time.

This is my canvas, halfway Julie's class:

And the result at the end of the class:

I learned some more about NOT painting in between the lines...which was way out of my comfort zone! But I loved how it turned out!

No embellishments here either...wanted to think some more about a next step.

In the afternoon we had the grand final: a workshop by both teachers, all about techniques to create backgrounds. We painted, gesso-ed, put layers of gel medium and tin foil on scrapbookpaper. We added glimmermist, chalkboard, pan pastels, more paint etc. We were challenged to use all the techniques we learned during the workshops before. We glued pieces of these backgrounds in a manila folder book, handmade by Julie, to create a great reference book for future projects.

One of the techniques was to paint your own embellishments on a piece of paper. I put some of these on the cover of my book and added some doodled letters:

Julie and Nat left a personal message on each book too: 

And than I got home, looked at all my projects and wondered what to do with them...I wanted to create a memory of this great weekend and combine all the pieces together.

This is what I did:

The pillowcase became a cover, just by folding it in half.

I used the opening on the other side (now inside) of the pillowcase as pockets for my reference book and the journal I created with the other projects:

I cut the canvases from their wooden frames and folded these in half too, to create a pocket.

The big painted piece of paper from Julie's first workshop was cut into pieces in the same size as the canvases and folded too.

So I got four pockets! I binded these with my Bind It All.

I created some big tags of leftover scrapbookpapers from the workshop to put inside the pockets. I added little tabs with the scraps of the big painted paper. 

I kept all my receipts, boarding passes, traintickets, cards and more of this trip to Hamburg to fill the album, together with a lot of pictures!

I'm waiting now for my printed pictures to arrive and hopefully I can finish the album soon.

Of course I will show you these results in part two!

TFL!

Sandra

Back from Hamburg!

I'm feeling completely exhausted but so extremely happy! I just had one of the best weekends ever! The Mixed Media Circus with Julie and Nathalie was awesome!!!!!! I could never have imagined that it would be this great. I met such wonderful people. People which I only knew from blogging or Facebook and new people. We had such an amazing group and so much fun.
Of course, I learned a lot too!
For now, I will leave you with some pictures to give you an impression. Later this week I will come back to you in more detail.

The start of the first day with a workshop by Nathalie...image transfers.

The second workshop with Julie...all about layers.

The results...

We had cupcakes and candy!
Do you want to know the similarity between these cupcakes and Cuchy? Both so sweet and unforgetable!!! Cuchy gave me a beautiful handmade necklace. (I will show you later, have to make a picture by daylight first...) Cuchy, you're the best! And I loved meeting you IRL!

But also our lunches were worth remembering:



Salad buffet on Sunday

Pumpkin soup for Marlies on Saturday...It looked much better in real life...

We met Sara, another amazing artist, coming from the USA and living in Amsterdam. Sara, I loved meeting you and hope to see you again in Utrecht in March next year!!!

At the end of day two: the 'official' photoshoots with both teachers! 

Julie and Nat, you were amazing!!!!!

And day three....time to go home...but first: breakfast at Starbucks!

With Caramel Macchiato and carrotcake!!!!!

Yes, the rest of the year I will be on a low calorie diet....

I will be showing you more of all my projects the next days. I didn't finish all of them and I don't like to show unfinished work...To be continued!

TFL!

Sandra