Creating in the Gratitude Journal

This week while you have been walking with Gladys on her life-journey, I have been filling up some blank pages in my gratitude journal. I have filled some up with clippings from old magazines featuring art work I like. And then I thought, get off your lazy butt and create some new pages. Pages that you might not be comfortable creating. Reach out beyond your comfort zone. For those who followed my 30 days of writing something in this journal, you have seen some pages..... OK, I'll try.

OK.

I'll try.

Earlier I placed an order with Stampington and Company and got The Unruly Girls Club (Angela Cartwright) FINALLY.... I love these gals and have seen great art work using these but I thought I would not use them that much. And then last winter I got "Piper" the necklace -- is she not adorable....

So with stamps in hand - I did have a page that I had glued down a graphic from a coffee bag and was waiting to be inspired on what else to do. I pulled out Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints (they are luscious) and painted the sides of each of the pages trying to pick up the colors in a ribbon I wanted to use. I then started stamping, adding images, 7 Gypsies Gaffer Tape, ribbon, chipboard swirl, left over "greenery" from the murder arch book, and here it is:

But -- It still didn't feel finished.... so out came the orange sharpie pen.... (sometimes I scare myself....)

Have sharpie will scribble.... The only thing bad about a sharpie and this journal is..... give up? Yup, it bleeds through the page and so.... I had to work on the next page. On this one I pulled out one of the Tim Holtz masks to experiment with. Now, at the crop last May, my table mate, Louise, told me I had to "prepare" the mask which she had learned the hard way. I only learn the hard way, Louise, and I forgot until I tried it. and then had to take another sheet of decorative paper and try it and smack down on the original mess:

I also used a new stamp I had bought at the convention a month ago -- Clear Art Stamps, "Believe." Took a couple of times before I got a good image. New stamps, you know! I ended up picking up (yes from the floor) some pieces of discarded "old" book pages and sewed the image (old paper is hard to glue) and stamped "believe."

Here is the finished spread which I like:

See ya tomorrow! - I need to go and create more havoc in a closet because I need some space to store some stuff. If I am lucky will finish tonight and show you tomorrow.