Pudgie Budgie Mandala Monday

This might be my most unusual Mandala ever... it's at least in the Top Ten, don't you think? I found this majestic (or possibly just annoyed, lol) bird-in-a-circle illustration in a fanciful coloring book I discovered at a garage sale. Pretty sure I must've ignored this guy before when leafing through the book, but for some reason when I saw him this time I thought, "Mandala Centerpiece"! So I trimmed the circle in half (there was a lot of white space) and glued him at the edge of a page in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal. I glued on some of the abstract swirls and leafy designs from the back of the page; then went to town with my Letter It Fineliners.

I was inspired by both the pointy feathers of the bird, and also by the very swirly, detailed leaves that were outside the circle. I guess I was inspired by the whole vibe of the book, which is actually really cool and quite funky. I used my watercolor journal because I had imagined adding lots of color with either inks or paints; but the longer I worked, the more I realized that I wanted to stay with just black and white.

If you ever go to book sales or garage sales, I highly recommend checking for a box or shelf that says, "FREE". If you take the time to look, there might be something weird and wonderful that will inspire a piece of art you wouldn't have thought of any other way.

Small(ish) Collage

About a decade ago I started making what I call Cleanup Collages which is basically what it sounds like: instead of cleaning up all the random leftover scraps, offcuts, stickers and embellishments I had gotten out over the course of a day or two, I glue as many as possible to a page in my journal or sketchbook, instead. This one isn't 100% a Cleanup Collage, because when I saw where it was going, I did get out a couple of things from the same color family, such as the pre-cut-out knitting illustration and some additional blue postage to go with the blue travel stickers.

It's also possible that I'll see this again in two weeks and decide to add stamping or stenciling to the kraft background, but at this particular moment, I believe it to be finished, lol. And thus my work here is through. 

More Holiday Whimsy

As we mentioned at Jingle Belles last week, "Whimsical" describes something, "Playfully quaint, fanciful, imaginative and slightly odd; often suggesting a lighthearted, unpredictable or charmingly unusual quality not based on strict logic." So this fortnight we're asking you to use that definition and make a Whimsical holiday card… it might be mice decorating the holiday tree, a space-age midcentury modern wreath, some fun little holiday gnomes, or maybe even adorable tiny reindeer driving a red plaid car* loaded with festively wrapped holiday gifts!

I probably only use my Lawn Fawn Car Critters + Holiday Add-On stamp sets a couple of times a year. I nearly always paper-piece the little guys and use the curvy road template I made when I first got the sets; so it's a pretty similar version each time, but it always makes me smile, so I see no reason to stop now. Most of the paper used here was scrap pieces I stamped on or punched. The trees background was a freebie from Flow Magazine; the red is Carta Bella. I stamped a Lawn Fawn sentiment on graph paper and colored the gifts with Tombows.

JB2607: Walking in a Whimsical Wonderland will run until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, April 8th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's amazing card and link up your own.

*In case there are any auto manufacturers reading this: I would absolutely buy a red plaid car. Just sayin'...

Hip Hop Bunnies

These adorable Eyelet Outlet Rabbit Brads are helping the Easter Bunny hide Colored Eggs in preparation for the big day. White Daisy Brads are in the mix; and while Macaron Washi Tape isn't technically holiday-related, it does have sweet treats of exactly the right colors!

Hippity Hoppity Shopping List:

Rabbit Brads

Colored Egg Brads

White Daisy Brads

Macaron Washi Tape

The Eyelet Outlet Online Store has all the cutest cardmaking embellishments you could possibly need!

It's a Big BIG Mandala Monday

I have to confess this started out as an ordinary-sized Mandala; it grew to cover about half of my two-page Dina Ledger Journal spread; and finally I thought, "Just fill both pages!" So I did. All of which happened on three or four evenings over the course of maybe two weeks.  For the record, most of my mandalas are not completed in a single sitting; I typically have 20-30 minutes at the end of the evening for "freestyle" art and usually I start a mandala or a collage... or a collaged mandala if I can't decide which, lol.

I used a Mini Ink Blending Tool and Domed Foams to apply rainbow shades of Archival Inks in concentric circles; then added black Letter It Fineliner details; then some messy stenciling with Dina's Coaster Stencils. At the end, I got out some Posca Pens and used a detail blender or marker to tidy up some of the rounds if the colors split in a weird way.

The biggest impulse to keep going came NOT from something I did well; au contraire. Actually, it was a Big Mistake! When I was about halfway across both pages... (around where the ring of purple tabs with white hearts are... though they didn't have much detail yet) ...I added those 1-inch blue and green circles with Letter It's Polka Dotting Stencil. And I haaaaaaaaaaaaated them. I added more colors, tried to blend them out, tried to disguise with white, etc... nothing really worked. I closed the book and mentally added this one to the "unfinished" pile. 

But the next time I saw the unfinished spread, I remembered that when you can't manage to cover up something you hate, the answer might be (rather counter-intuitively!) to ADD MORE OF IT. Yep, I know it sounds nuts but... sometimes the "ugly" thing just needs more context. And in this case, I do believe it worked! Which is not to say that I love those dots but... I like them more and was able to finish the page. And thus another Mandala Monday is complete. 

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Sunny Days Ahead

I had a bunch of printed images leftover from the hybrid layouts and cards I made this week using the fabulous digital/printable papercrafting kit my friend, Carol Porter, designed. In case you missed it, this kit is called Tiny Tales Collection: Rainy Night; it’s going to be a multi-part adventure (hooray!) but Chapter One is called “The Walk Home” and is now available in Carol's NaysWorld Etsy Shop; btw, you can get there via the link in her @naysworld8 profile. I recommend hopping over to her account, because both she and her granddaughter have made some FAB creations with this kit that you don't want to miss!

This time I haven't done any digital wizardry, except to print several of the images (the lotuses and the newspapers) at several different sizes. Which, to me, is one of the beauty parts about using a digital kit to do traditional/ physical papercrafting: you can literally make every item as big or as small as your printer (and your 61 year old eyeballs, lol!) will allow. I used a mix of ordinary cardstock and glossy photo paper, which (serendipitously) makes it look like the main character is walking out of the rainy night-time scene and into a bright sunny day.

I, too, will be walking out into a bright sunny day; though in my case it will mostly be to clean our deck and do some yardwork. But hey, I'm not complaining, after a snow-bedecked winter, it's lovely to be outdoors doing ANYTHING that doesn't involve a snow shovel! 

Hope your Sunday is off to a good start! ♥

JB2607: Whimsical Winter Wonderland

"Whimsical" describes something, "Playfully quaint, fanciful, imaginative and slightly odd; often suggesting a lighthearted, unpredictable or charmingly unusual quality not based on strict logic." This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're asking you to use that definition and make a Whimsical holiday card… it might be mice decorating the holiday tree, a space-age midcentury modern wreath, some fun little holiday gnomes, or whatever says whimsical to you. Here's my card:

My friend Gina wrapped my holiday gifts in suuuuper-cute Hello Kitty holiday giftwrap; which of course I saved carefully and backed with cardstock. Then I cut out alllllll of those presents, trees and Kitties. (Yes, I am indeed nuts; thank you for asking.) I wanted my whole background to be that pale green snowflake paper, but alas there wasn't enough. As it turns out, I think that was a good thing, because it completely changed how I used the tiny cut out houses and trees ...for the better! The pine tree background is ancient Pebbles; the scrap of plaid is, I believe, Echo Park; and also quite elderly.

JB2607: Walking in a Whimsical Wonderland will run until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, April 8th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's amazing card and link up your own.