{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!)

{points of two week #26: fabric!}

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 topic was delayed because of me setting up email on my new computer and not realizing the outgoing server was having issues. Woe! So my message, intended to go out on Tuesday, didn’t reach Roben-Marie until Wednesday. And I was pretty hyper when I wrote the email, and the reply. In fact, I’m pretty damn hyper right now. Must be all the new creative mojo running through my veins!

What was the topic? Oh, I forgot to say? FABRIC!

Fabric’s great to use in a journal. It adds texture and you can usually find pretty awesome patterns that you won’t find in a scrapbooking aisle. And if you’re afraid it won’t attach to the page well, don’t fear: you can glue it, use double-sided tape, or even sew it on! As I was working on this while watching The Artistic Biker’s webcast last night, I couldn’t pull out the sewing machine. So mine is glued on.

The background for this was done with watercolors over collaged paper, and then I put down the fabric as I would any patterned paper. But I love how the edges are rough, and there are strings coming off the sides — I let the glue hold them down wherever they want, but there are still a few stragglers here and there. When I brush my hand over the page, I can feel the difference between the paper and the fabric.

The cool ledger tape is also fabric (which you can purchase through Stampington here), so score on two fronts!

I’m also playing with fonts, I guess, if you could say that when referring to handwritten things, but I’m sure you get my drfit. And you may notice one of the cute clouds from last week’s page on there — I have last week’s page hanging above my desk and the cloud fell off. I put it back. It fell off again. So there it goes, and since it’s in a book, now, I don’t expect any more backtalk from it.

I journaled about a few things because my mind’s all over the place. And I did this when I woke up. Grabbed a glass of iced tea, my two dogs, and some pens, and sat outside in the early morning summer sun to journal my heart out. Doodled. Wrote. I feel this is the rawest time to work, because your brain is awake but your internal censor isn’t...you can just write and write and it’s so peaceful…

(ps, under the flap, it says, "I keep sleeping in so late!" in big blue cursive. i love the idea of secrets in the journal you can only see if you're holding it in your hands...)

And here's Roben-Marie's page. Isn't it awesome!? I just love it! Check out her blog for her story!