Coffee Tea Junk Journal

I made a new junk journal specifically for coffee and/or tea experiences and this is the first spread! I used treasures I picked up from my recent trip to Portland OR. 

This was so fun. I didn't do any artsy stuff (ok, maybe just a little) because I wanted the 'junk' to be the showcase and I think I did a great job.

Super fun, right?

I love the coffee sleeve tuck pocket the most. I also tried the packing tape method to remove the art from the plastic iced coffee cup. It worked well for my first try, but I definitely need to practice!

Words to live by from Bea, a seven year old kid...You Are Not in the Way!

Jump 4 Joy Junk Journal Spread

What a fun junk journal spread that didn't start that way. A little background on this piece...in July, I led a painting event with our local CSEA Chapter that was for both adults and kids. Of course, my DIL and two older granddaughters attended. After that, my 6-year-old granddaughter was so excited about watching me lead the class that she wanted to paint another frog when we were home.

I've been recycling our brown paper grocery bags and packing materials as paint canvases when we paint at home so that's where they started. Once my pink frog was complete, I thought what am I going to do with this now?

Easy answer...my junk journal! So this video shows how I added it to the journal and how I added more marks and a title to it. I talk about how to paint the frog so watch to the end for that quick tutorial. I love how it covers two pages that have to be opened to reveal the entire frog. It just JUMPS out at you!

I hope you enjoy it! As always, thanks for watching. 

Oh, and a question??? What do you do with your clogged ink sprays? I'm thinking I can soak the nozzle in hot water. What do you think? Have you tried this before?

Travel Treasures Haul; Junk Journal Goodies

I just got back from a trip to Portland and gathered so many goodies for my junk journal. 

My latest YouTube video goes through my haul and a little bit of Portland trip details. Sure, I'm rambling but that’s what I do! Hahaha 😆 

Be sure to watch because there are lots of goodies and I have some tips when gathering your trip junk journal treasures!

Paper Dolls with Julie Nutting; JS

I used to love playing with paper dolls when I was a little girl and I'm not sure if I ever outgrew it. These Julie Nutting stamps are so fun to play with and this time I decided to use them for paper dolls.

After stamping the doll and a couple of outfits, I decided to use clear packing tape to "laminate" each of them. I did this by placing each figure on the sticky side of the tape and then sandwiched it with another piece of tape. 

I burnished and trimmed each piece before adding a piece of magnet to it.

Be sure to watch the YouTube process video. 

And if you're looking for budget friendly craft supplies (aren't we all??), check out the Jenlee Schoolcraft website. You'll find new and gently used items. Use my first name, Dorlene for 10% off your order. 

50th Anniversary Flip Card

One of the nicest things about Cricut Design Space is that there are so many great projects that are on there. I searched for a 50th anniversary card and found one I wanted to make.  The card was created by Theresa Donnelly originally but I made some changes.

Perfect. I cut all the elements and then couldn't for the life of me figure out how to fold it. It took quite some time to figure it out but eventually I did.

This is why I decided to film it. If you decide to make one, see below for the DS file and watch the YouTube process video to help you!

DS Link

Splatter D Canvas

Last month I took my niece and nephew to a splatter room and we made really cool canvases with our initial.

We'll, I decided to dress mine up a little. Honestly, I'm not sure if it was an improvement but it was fun doing some doodles and I enjoyed the process. 

I filmed a little different video today. Just a peek into my set up prior to actually filming. I hope you enjoy it and remember...if you don't like it, change it!

Because this is how it ended up!

Watermelon Canvas Painting

I don't know if you know but I host painting events at my home and for other people/organizations. I try to play around with new ideas so I have projects ready to show before the events happen. With that in mind, I tried to paint a watermelon with a bird but if you watch my newest YT video you can see all the changes that happened before it was all done.

What do you think? Do you like the final painting?

I think it's fun and whimsical and love it!

Fruit Bowl Junk Journal Spread

When removing a label on an apple, I really looked at it and thought I'd like to keep it for my junk journal. Well pretty soon I started looking (and saving) more and more until I started adding them to a page. 

Once that was full, I cut and adhered fruit from a grocery store ad on the opposite page.

And that led to me to ask, what now?  Well you can probably guess that I decided to play with acrylic paints to create my fruit bowl.

I've seen paintings where the artist creates their backgrounds this way...a little muddy because of the layers of colors and I decided to try it. I like how it turned out but in the future I think this is something I'd like to do with my fingers and not a paintbrush. I didn’t like the hard edges that the brush made. And the white covered too much of the teal so I used a wet wipe to remove some of it. I'll need to practice more with this technique!

What do you think?

The YouTube video doesn't show when I added the labels, but I did add Mod Podge to seal them to the pages.

*Don't ask me why I put two avocados. I had green out and my mind just went there!

Mixed Media Junk Journal

I love playing in my junk journal because it has many functions and styles that fit my mood. This time I really dug into my art supplies to make this spread.

Sometimes it looks like a hot mess but I always trust the process!

I pulled out a bunch of mark makers and supplies to create a colorful background. And then added a simple statement using black acrylic paint.

Questions on what or how? Be sure to watch the process video!

Another Fiesta Prize Ribbon

We have an annual event in our town called the Apricot Fiesta. It's a ton of fun and the whole town gets together for a lot of local entertainment, food, games, parade, fireworks, booths, rides, drinking, an arts and crafts show and so much more!

I've entered the show multiple times and have been fortunate to win a ribbon on all my entries. Well this year didn't disappoint.

Second Place:

Honorable Mention:

I love this picture I took while in Morro Bay. I was a little disappointed that I didn't place but when I saw the ones that did, I was ok with it. LOL

If you live in CA, have you been to Morro Bay? It's crazy, you drive into town and all of a sudden this huge rock is in your face. We're a ways away from the rock, but you can see how it's sorta magical. Wow, it's worth it if you can get there.

New York City Junk Journal

I just got back from a quick trip to New York and of course had some great "junk" for a spread in my junk journal.

I wish more places had things I could gather but the map was a great find! 

I added some old, old New York stickers that I'm not even sure why I had them but definitely came in handy!

The glue that I used is from The Paper Source which is a Hobby Lobby brand. It was a great gift to receive a container of glue assortments from my friend.

This video is a little less talking and more cutting, tearing and glueing sounds. It's actually kinda soothing! Watch it here:

Let me know what you think about it! Do you like the audio this way or do you prefer more talking?

Whimsical Portrait

Last year I purchased a class by Yvette St. Amant. I sorta forgot about it after going through two courses. The other day I was flipping through the Junk Journal and saw one of the portraits and it reminded me of the courses. 

It's a great way to get your creative juices flowing. And these portrait sessions are a great way to start. At the end there are clearly different outcomes but getting started is the hard part! I like to experiment in my Junk Journal and she fits right in!

I love how she turned out. What do you think?

I did post a video but really talked more about my process versus what I learned in the session. It's a paid class so I'm sure there are rules about sharing too much.

If you're interested, these classes are through Let's Get Artsy.

LTCCB March; JJ Tag

Hi there. It's the first of March and time for another six week challenge at the Love To Craft Challenge Blog. This fun blog is for all kinds of crafters. You can submit any project as long as its a crafty one!

For this month's project, I decided to share the watercolored flower I created on a store receipt for my Junk Journal.

I love making something out of nothing or in this case, something out of something that would have been trashed.

Here's the piece:

And here's the video showing how it was done:

Isn't it fun! I even made use of the painters tape that was used to adhere it on the page. The majority of this tag was created by using watercolor paints. I also used a black ball point pen, some white acrylic paint to create splatter and white, purple and green paint pens for outlines and the words.

Now it's your turn. Create something...anything and link it to LTCCB. But before you do that, take a peek at the DT creations for some inspiration!

Link your project by April 15th!

Making a Junk Journal with Aiyana

Have you ever wanted to make a junk journal? Well, I just made one with my niece and remembered to film it. There are some portions that didn't get filmed, but I still think this is a good one to follow along with if you're interested in making your own.

She piled 10 pieces of paper on top of each other and then folded them to create our signatures.  At that point, I used a sewing machine to keep them attached. Basically sewed right down the fold.

Luckily we found some upholstery thread to use to bind them into the cover. The cover was a box that held a frame. It was the perfect size thickness. 

I used a piece of scrap cardboard to create a template to drill the holes. You can see this on the video.

You can always ask questions too!

Check out the journal that Aiyana and I created with limited supplies. (I was at my sisters' and used items from her sewing room!)

Canvas Painting; Graffiti Hearts

Watch as I create a fun, bright and hopefully a little grungy canvas that is full of hearts. These hearts are different colors and sizes and really great!

I created this for my oldest granddaughter and because she loves purple, I really tried to add as much as possible.

What do you think? Do you like it?