What have I been up to?

With so much going on in my life, sometimes I find it difficult to post my creations everyday, but that doesn't mean I'm not working on my art.  Fortunately with the Book of Days, it's forgiving enough that if you miss a day, you can always do it later.  Thank God, because sometimes real life doesn't cooperate with our need to create.  I've been working like a mad woman finishing up a monstrously huge kit for you all (let me just say, you're gonna love it), and this past weekend was a bust, as I was in bed all weekend with another flu virus.  I can't catch a break this year!  But it's Monday, and I'm feeling better!  Yippee!

So because of all of this craziness, I've got TONS to share with you today, so this will be a long, but very artistic post.  Where to start....hmmmm....Book of Days!

So I'm in love with this concept of keeping a Book of Days, by the way.  It's freakin' awesome!  Just so you know.  So, I haven't shared with you since last week!  I have an entire week (including both weekends) of pages to share with you.  So, here it goes.

{February} Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th

{February} Monday 13th

{February} Tuesday 14th, Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th, Friday 17th

{February} Saturday 18th (My son's birthday!) & Sunday 19th

If you have any questions on supplies or how I did something, just comment below!

Moving on to my Art Journal Caravan work.  First up, I'm in a new book!  I'm especially happy with this because I altered one of my own books to make this.  It was my first attempt at binding (with lace) a book with signatures of watercolor paper.  I wish I had found a good video to share with you on how to do this, but honestly?  I just analyzed the book I had from Tangie Baxter (her Etsy shop) and figured out how to do it myself.  I used a Charlaine Harris book that I had just finished because I absolutely adored the color of the book!  I haven't yet decorated the cover, but I wanted to share with you the bare bones of the book.

I used a tape by 7 Gypsies to reinforce the binding and basting lace to tie in the signatures.  I decided to keep the ends tied and hanging out because they were pretty!  (That's my pretty kitty Callie poking in and sniffing it.)

Okay, so my first page in the book was so bulky, I couldn't scan the image, so I had to try and photograph it.  But it's so soft and romantic looking.  LOVE Prima!  The inspiration for this page was a prompt from A Year in the Life of an Art Journal.  I was to journal about my favorite things (Valentine theme like a person) and add ephemera of that person, and add a pocket for more.  I interpreted this to my favorite art journal things, like lace, my fave colors and paints, masks, etc.

Okay, so first off, I made my own spray paints with some Golden fluid acrylics (they work waaaay better for this than crappy craft acrylics).  Quinacridone Magenta, Phthalo Green, and Yellow Oxide.  Of course I had to play with them all since I made them.  I used lots of layers of masks (doilies, lace, canvas, etc.).  

Now, this is weird.  You see the layered lace going down the right page?  I was inspired by Donna Downey to do this on an old Inspiration Wednesday, when she took strips of muslin and layered them for texture.  I had no idea that on her most recent Inspiration Wednesday video, she does the same thing with flowery lace ribbon.  What are the odds?  

I wanted to distress the the lace, so I added some of my new Ditto glimmer spray (purple) to it and used a brayer to kind of smear it around a bit.  I added my favorite cherry red Dr. Martin Bombay ink and stamp by Heidi Swapp (Imagine).  I added some trim, some Prima flowers, a pocket, a red heart doily, and some alpha love.  Then I distressed the entire thing with Burlap distress ink by Ranger.  All in all, I think this is a very happy place to start for this book.

(yes, that's my toe in the pic.  I was trying to hold the book open.  LOL!)

Okay, so last off we have some ATC cards for the last few weeks itineraries for the Art Journal Caravan.  (Every week there is a new fantastic word for inspiration and I'm making an ATC card for each new word.)

Okay, real quick here's the basics of what I did.  This first one, was a rubber stamp that I colored in parts of and doodled other parts.  A dried flower, the word definition, some india ink, and some punchinella pink love.

Enigma {Week 5}

This one is also a rubber stamp colored in with Inksential color pencils and water-colored with my brush water marker.  I added some glitter and the word definition and then some extra marks with a Sharpie.

Quixotic {Week 6}

This last one is collage work.  Lots of pieces of papers collaged together, the word definition and some orange Ink It!  ink.  I added some final details with an orange Mark It Sharpie marker and distressed it with Burlap by Ranger.

Dulcet {Week 7}