staple goodness & paper doily

Hello friends,

By now I think you already knew that I LOVE LOVE LOVE texture. Always have some kind of texture, even on the simplest art journal page. Constantly thinking on how to 'roughen up' my background, so to speak :). 

On a good day, I would play with molding paste (which need extra drying time) but on lazy days, a simple trick would suffice. Here, I used paper doily and staples for my background.

Cut a paper doily into half and glued it on the blank page. AND randomly stapled the edges on opposite page. Just went crazy with it. Then, gave a white wash with watered-down gesso (all over) so that they'd become a textured white background.

Do you see the texture from the paper doily?. Just add thicker paint to enhance certain patterns.

I stapled the opposite page's corner. Called this staple goodness. Can't stop running my fingers over them :). Once dry, sprayed some Dyan Revley's dylusion inks over stencils, finger painting with acrylic and more doodling, of course. Added some manila tags & red burlap for more texture.

That staple texture made my day!. Let me know if you too have quick tricks to share, maybe I could play along?. 
Hugs. 

At Fifteen

Hello friends,

I was amazed at how very talented teenagers are these days, especially in art!. I've met many great artists while participating Summer of Colors 2012 recently. One whom really special is a 15 year old mixed media artist, Jordan Hill who is featured at Balzer Design yesterday!. Check her out as not only that she shares great pictorial step-by-step tutorial, but gives crispy clear explanation on her methods. Inspired.

I love how she just randomly scribbled her pages with just black sharpie before starting to paint them. I love this so much, I decided to try :). 

My finished pages;

I started by writing a 'diary' about what I did when I was 15. Random notes of funny things and high school memories. First I scribbled with a black sharpie. Then I made circles with soft pastels on the top and bottom page. Spritzed with water to wet and allowed some to drip. Repeated this until I have covered most of the pages with colors. 

When that dried, I drew hearts and dotted stems with correction pen. Added metal chains, some gauze, wooden embellishments and words from Collection Elements for additional texture.

Added metal chains for chunkiness. Old earring, lock & gauze for texture. And my effortless, gauzy heart. LOVE.

That's all I have, just a quick post. I'm going off for some mixed-media play at Scrappingville now :). Have a fun Saturday!.

Hugs,

Shahrul

Pattern Crazy, Pinterest Crazy!

Sweet friends,

I spent more than two hours on Pinterest for the last three nights!. LOL. Is that healthy?. Help, I'm totally an addict!. I can't stop pinning, one thing led to another. From shoes, bags, jewelry, decorative DIY, yoga and socks!. And I made journal pages base on the socks I saw, just so I won't feel so guilty :).

Here's my journal pages;

I took inspiration from the orange & black socks @ SocksKnee.com

I finger-smudged orange acrylic paint and stamped black gesso between horizontal masking tapes!. But, first adhered masking tapes horizontally and left some gaps for the paint :). When dried, continued with stamping bold patterns, stenciled 'BEAUTY MATTERS' with black gesso and scribbled some motivating words with black Sharpie & fine black Artline pen. I also dripped & flicked some black india ink. Then stamped a black linen with leftover orange paint. 

That's all I have. Hope you enjoy the striking colors. And just maybe, try make some Pinterest-inspired journal pages for a change. See you soon :).

Hugs,

Shahrul

Hope For Colorado

Dear friends,

I like to start my third art journal today with a hopeful note. A prayer for all that was affected by the Denver Theater 16 horror. Colorado has a special place in my heart. I lived in Golden for nearly 3 years and one of the best times in my life. I still remembered THAT morning in 1999, we were just coming out from lecture looking for a quick bite at the student center.  On the big screen there was a live news report of the Columbine High school shooting. We were all shaken, being so close to Columbine!. 

Then another horror happened, this time in Denver! My heart breaks. I have to make these pages right away. 

These prayers are also for those who affected by the recent wild fire in Colorado Springs. Be healed, beautiful state. If you have 30 seconds to spare, do send your love and prayers for them too. Thank you :).

Hugs & Love,

Shahrul