{points of two week #34: number play!}

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

This week, we decided to play with numbers.

I was reminded a few weeks ago that I do, in fact, own several sets of beautiful brass stencils, each set an inch or so apart, with letters and numbers that duplicate just enough to make signs. So when this prompt came up, I grabbed my box of 2” stencils, grabbed a bunch of random numbers, and started stenciling with my Copic airbrush.

Which is tons of fun. One of my favorite effects (and there are several) is being able to make graffiti with it. “Graffiti?” you ask. “You can do that with spray paint!”

And yes, you can! But the spray size on spray paint is perfect for doing so on buildings or other large surfaces, while our journal pages and canvases are much smaller. Airbrushing lets me get those awesome spray painted words at a smaller scale, meaning it looks awesome in a way I’ve never before been able to achieve.

This translates to the stencils, which I purposely sprayed off the edges of. I love that look — it’s almost like using a mask instead of a stencil.

Most of the numbers are going off the page. I like using letters and numbers as images, bits of added visuals that are captured for their shape, not meaning. By going off the edge, you not only add the illusion that something exists outside the boundaries of the page, but you purposely remove part of the recognized shape — yes, the brain can fill in the blanks, but you’re only guessing at that point. They’re no longer numbers, but bits of interrupted imagery.

Of course, I couldn’t pass up the jumbled set in the corner. Overlaying them in the same color has the same effect as running off the page. And why use numbers only when the # is also read as ‘number?’ I’ve been learning about making patterns through repetition with stamps, so I just went crazy with a discovered set of number stamps.

And do you notice the date is on here twice?

Overall, I love this page. The numbers add a certain degree of chaos, which is exactly how my brain feels today.

Materials: acrylics, scrapbook paper, copics, airbrush, pencil, pen, & stamps 

And Roben-Marie's page! Be sure to check out her blog for her story!

{points of two week #33: tags & hidden spots}

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

This week's going to be a bit image heavy, as our pages have an open and closed view. :)

Inspired by my on-the-fly creation two weeks or so ago on my vlog, we decided to make our own secret tab thingies as part of this week's theme.

Just today I got my Copic Airbrush to work properly with my little compressor, so there's a lot of airbrushed fun on this page, as well as tinting on the flap with my Distress Inks. But I brought back some painting as I found some new strokes I like using, and even posted a pic of the tag in progress over on Twitter. There's something about playing with something new that just reinvigorates, and these two new things have cost me very little to play with (I have lots of coupons!).

I'm now off to help the amazing Dawn down at the CREATE Vendor's Fair. Should be a fun, doodl-y evening!

And here are Roben-Marie's images!

{points of two week #32: inky is as inky does!}

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

For this week, Roben-Marie and I played around with something we’ve both been experimenting with — ink!

Ever since I learned some of the techniques that can be done with dye ink pads and distress inks, I’ve been playing around, trying to create new looks, seeing just what this medium can do. And Roben-Marie was introduced to some new kinds of inks by a friend, which she used to create some great inky papers. So when it came to this week’s theme, we both wanted to keep playing!

Sure, my page doesn’t have much writing on it, but who says journal pages have to be full of witing? Sometimes, the play and the look you achieve is worth those thousand words!

materials: distress inks, memento inks, Dr. Martin's inks, papers, & a big, thick Sharpie!

Check out Roben-Marie's blog for her story!

{points of two week #31: dear me, thank you...}

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

Okay, first, my scanner isn't connecting to my computer. This might have to do with the fact that, in order to plug in my netbook AND the secondary lamp for my vlog last Tuesday, I unplugged the printer. Things always get weird when you unplug things...and my printer/scanner is wireless, which is awesome and reduces the need for cords, but ultimately causes issues when you go to scan. I don't really have the patience to sit there and argue with it, so a photograph is what you get this week. I'll get it scanned properly later. 

For this week, Roben-Marie suggested writing a thank you note to ourselves. Which was hard, and partly why this week's post is so late in the afternoon. I was only awake for 6 or 7 hours yesterday; I didn't sleep Wednesday night, and all day yesterday, I was so achy it hurt to move. Plus, I had mad muscle twitches playing an instrument along my upper right arm, and another health thing a bit too embarrassing to talk about. 

So, to be blunt, I was pissed at myself. How could I even begin to write a thank you note to someone I was angry at? 

Today, I'm feeling much better, but still tired and a bit unsteady on my feet. I have my journal, some Copics, and a pencil case next to me, and have been doodling and zentangle-ing while in a comfy chair. Do I wish I were up and able to paint? You betcha! Connie's been posting about BIG a lot lately, and inspired me to grab some big paper and paint. I only wish I could afford her class! 

Yesterday, I was able to create this page AND play with my new Copic airbrush system. It is SO COOL. I'm in love. I may become an airbrusher yet! And my dad revealed an old oilless compressor that used to be used at his office by the graphic designers with THEIR marker airbrush systems, and so now I'm itching to get the adapter so I can spray to my heart's desire. Since I'm all about conserving my can of air. *sigh* So much I want to do! 

But I was finally able to write my thank you note, thanking me for being patient, for putting on my brave face even when I'm crumbling inside, for going along with me, for being honest with myself, even when those honest thoughts can be mean. We're not all perfect, and as my art and approach changes, I must be patient with myself even when frustrated.

Phew! Long post for a little thing, huh? Can you see why I've been huddled in the pages of my journal? There's so much in there I need to work out...

And Roben-Marie's page!

{points of two week #30: stamping!!}

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

Can you believe we're at 30 weeks?! How the time has just flown! We're more than halfway through the year and still faithfully creating our journal pages for Friday...which is exactly one of the reasons we started a joint-challenge! Knowing there's someone outside yourself depending on you to finish is one of the greatest motivators. It's one of the reasons I put my things up for pre-order -- it gives me a solid, get-it-up-NOW deadline!

Since encountering the lovely stamps of Papertrey Ink at CHA last week (OH, it's been a week already? *sad* Why can't we have a CHA every weekend?!), I've been exploring this new world. I've never really used any stamp pads but the black that came with my Cavallini alphabet set, and rarely stamped. But I've learned some great new tricks from my girl (and post-it note!) Ky aka Scrapacat, and spent three hours playing with stamp pads and stamps yesterday.

And, since Roben-Marie runs a stamp company, we decided stamps would be the perfect theme for this week.

And Roben-Marie's page! She used her NEW stamps coming out soon on this one! I've seen 'em, and they're REALLY COOL! She's such a talented woman (and a sweetheart, too!)

PS. You still have until tonight to enter the giveaway! So leave a comment if you haven't already!

{points of two week #29: bubble wrap!}

note: i set this to auto-post while i was at cha, but apparently, blogs can have snaffus, even when programed!

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

Eeep! I'm about to run for CHA (actually, when this is posted, I'll be on the road), so this week it's short and sweet.

I'm in love with using bubble wrap on my pages. I just love how it looks, and how you can layer colors and the great texture it brings to the page. So, this week, we used that as our theme. Mmmm bubble wrap. And I'm sure you have some hanging around your house somewhere, so it's a free (cheap?) & fun supply to use!

Be sure to check out Roben-Marie's blog for her story!

(Roben's page features some bits from Art Bits #3, made with some of my own artwork, that's soon-to-be released!)

{points of two week #28: story spinner!}

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

For this week's theme, we used the Story Spinner.

Roben-Marie said that she's not very comfortable with writing, but that this sounded like a cool idea to play with in our journals. Me, who loves writing, instantly jumped on it. The concept is simple -- "spin" the spinner and follow the instructions!

For this page, I kept it simple, layering "found" papers and writing on one as well (I say "found" because they're actually from the new Basic Grey Basics line, which you can grab at Stampington). Of course, I can't resist my new trick, drawing in the gesso and then rubbing watercolors into the words. So much fun! It says 'write your story' under there -- can't get better encouragement than that!

You should be able to see the full-size image if you click over to Flickr by clicking the image, so you can read the story! And make sure to see Roben-Marie's blog for more on her page!

{points of two week #27: puffy-heart journal "page"}

Points of Two is an experiment in journaling with myself and Roben Marie! Check out our archives to see the previous weeks' pages.

When I suggested this week’s theme — make a puffy-heart journal page — I had no idea what I was in for!

I’m used to sewing clothing (okay, cosplay outfits for conventions!) and bags, and freestyle stitching, as I was introduced to in Traci Bautista’s book Collage Unleashed, has been really, really hard for me. I like straight-ish lines and cheat when I have to do corners (put the needle through the fabric, lift the foot, shift everything...though I’m sure this is a REAL trick, I feel like I’m cheating!). So this presented a challenge to me.

When I sew, I don’t use patterns. Trust me — you learn how to do this FAST when you’re creating a costume from Card Captor Sakura and just can’t find her first movie outfit in Jo-Ann’s collection of patterns. But for this, I created the heart pattern on some paper and used that as a template for the two sides of the heart, as well as the canvas I used to write on.

But then I just kinda made it up as I went along. I placed the lace and fabric on there as I would when approaching a collage — just slap it down and make sure it stays in place. And it IS liberating to just stitch around and not worry about mistakes. I had to go over one area three times because the stitches just wouldn’t go where I wanted them to! 


One thing I did that I do want to talk about is this: I got Roben-Marie’s “page” before I started mine, and used it as a guide for making my own. Why? Because this was my first time, and she’s used to making puffy hearts! So I used her wisdom, gained through making several before this, by imitating her style. See how different ours look, though? Yes — you can imitate, and take notes, and use others’ work as a guide, but always put your own soul and style and gift into it. There’s no doubt you could look at these and tell who’s is who’s...and yet, they started with the same idea.

And see? A journal page doesn't need to be in a journal, or even on a paper or fabric page -- it can be ANYTHING!

Now, if only my sewing machine would co-operate with me a little more, I could see myself making a few more of these!

And Roben-Marie's marvelous heart. I love the Psalm on the bottom -- I think I'll write it down and hang it above my desk.

Also, please go let me know what time is best for you to see my live vlog on Tuesdays, if you haven’t already. According to what I’ve collected thus far, it looks like we’re moving to 7pm CST.

And check out my NEW journaling vid. I just sat down, turned on the camera, and had fun playing. It was more about making pretty and experimenting with layers and colors and materials than a conscious collage-making session. And I LOVE each part of it (and am happy I documented it, because there’s some stuff in there I’d like to remember how to do!).

Never be afraid to completely cover up a layer or element! Just go for it — your journal will love you for your bravery! (see my heart? I completely covered some lace...and just went with it!)