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Peek over my shoulder as I finish up playing & sewing up covers for my new journal. All you need is your art supplies, sticky-back canvas, and a cereal box.
The Experiments Book is my Tuesday vlog series where you are invited into my studio to take a seat and play along as I create, stitch, paint, bind, & generally have fun!
(I finished editing this last night, and fell asleep as the program was exporting the video. Sometimes, this happens, especially to me! )
I love that I'm using these videos as a visual documentation of many of my experiments. I get an idea, thinking it out, and then film me trying it out. These are not perfect, polished bits -- they're the real deal, the raw creativity that happens almost every day.
*Disclaimer: My actual sewing for journals, etc, is much, much neater!
I added the blue fabric patch after the video was over. Here's a few lovely glamor shots.
I also sipped a glass of wine while admiring my finished painting! It's the largest I've ever done, and am already thinking about my next one!
The colors are much richer/diverse than in the photo. I'm still working out how PS5 works on a PC (oh, how I miss my Mac!).
And I love this detail shot, how the writing is coming through the layers! Oh, I just love what I've managed to create! This, too, is available.
Tomorrow is a full day full of friendship, as is Thursday! I'm a lucky woman to be meeting with such fun and creative ladies over the next 2 weeks!
I am really cutting it close, here, aren't I!? I don't like doing two posts in one day, so I want to get this one up before midnight so I can post my little essay on my experience working on the quilt today for tomorrow. And then Friday is Points of Two and then it's the weekend. Woohoo! We're in full-on packing mode here in the Casa de Kira (or de la? I don't know!), so my creative time is in-between purging closets, cabinets, and dressers.
[watch me create this page: 9/28/10 live vlog recording ]
Here's the finished journal page from yesterday's vlog. I only got a chance to work on it while watching the Daily Show as I spent my free time sewing!
I am really, REALLY in love with the look & feel of this page. And the fact that I didn't use ANY PAINT really gets me -- and shows me how much beauty you can create even with the most limited of materials.
And what the page says is true: I've never been a big fan of fall! It always meant the beginning of the school year and end of warm temperatures to me, the foreshadowing of snow to come. And so, whenever I saw decorations for fall/Halloween pop up in stores, I was like -- UGH!
While getting ready this morning, I realized the REAL reason I never was comfortable with fall. At the beginning of the summer, there's just so much possibility on the horizon -- so many plans you can make, places to go, experiences to be had. Commercials and ads show us beautiful people laughing while enjoying the outdoors and the company of friends. There simply are no limits to what can be accomplished during the summer.
And then, fall comes sweeping in on a cool breeze and we're back to our stable, normal lives. As if we can ONLY be spontaneous and fun while the sun is the hottest. While many people take vacations and go to exciting spots, I haven't been able to do so in a few years. Sure, I have picnics and see friends, but am always left feeling depressed as summer ends because I feel I never lived up to the season's potential.
As I'm packing up to move, though, I've finally become comfortable with fall. Maybe it's because where I'm moving to won't have the chilly fun snow time characteristic of Chicago winters -- you have to admit I'm fleeing to a place where summer may live most of the year, and maybe, just maybe, that means there's more room to have those adventures seen on the glossy pages of a magazine...
I do find myself loving the color palette, though!
Tonight, I showed you some info on the Copic Airbrush System and my own (slightly dangerous!) way of freestyle sewing. Don't worry -- I'm headed out tomorrow to get the darning foot for my sewing machine, so my fingers should be safe!
[studio vlog tuesday, 8/31/10: airbrush & sewing fun!]
Also, goodbye August! I always feel like this is the end of summer, and cold weather is on its way. But I have to remember that A. I don't go outside much in August because it's too hot, and B. I will never see another Chicago winter (as a resident, that is!). So it's bittersweet yet exciting at the same time.
Then again, I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't love fall!
I realized this week that I've been doing these vlogs for over 7 months, now, which is pretty awesome. There's a wealth of information over on the channel page (or if you click the vlog tuesday tag to this post), stuff I haven't edited down for YouTube. There's always something new, and as I dive into this new creative river, I just can't wait to show you all, each week, just what I've been up to.
[ Studio Vlog Tuesday, 8/17/10: secrets can be fun! ]
This week, I show you how to make the page below, and even pulled out my sewing machine. Yes, there were technical difficulties, but I think the stuff I've been able to figure out (most notably the chat now displaying on the recording, for all those who can't make it live) really made it all worth it.
PS -- if you're one of those who said I! for a journal, please leave me a comment! I'm ready to go snuggle in bed with a good book and a good puppy, so details will be up tomorrow, but I'd just like to get a final number. Also, if you watch the recording and want one, comment here too! Shall order supplies tomorrow!
PPS -- Dawn, I totally know you're getting one. And to hand off a journal in person during our wild Chicago Art Fun Time (with Ky) is going to be EPIC.
This week, we went over funky handwriting styles, how to experiment with them, and the best pens for drawing/journaling. I tried to copy the chat, but only got a little bit of it -- I know I can include the chat with the video, but it looks silly and cuts into the video....so, for now, I'll try better at including what people have said in the chat on camera so you're not completely lost.
Today is the first day of the time change. Half of you reported that 7pm would be the best time for you, and the other half was divided between the other times. From now on, I'll be going live at 7pm CST.
I've bought some new materials and supplies, and would love to experiment with them along with you. So grab your journal, put on some tunes, and let's have some fun!
Just me playing in the journal and gabbing about bad pages, inspiration, and all that.