Journalling

I painted a title on the cover of my journal yesterday. It's an inside joke from Christmas :) I'll try to explain but it's probably only funny to me. Keith and I were looking at a Manitoba History book with my Grandpa Lemonlaw... and on a Winnipeg City Landscape photo, there was a building with a sign painted on the brick. I asked "Grandpa, what's Macaroni Radio?" He giggled at me and said, it's Marconi Radio :] How: I used acrylic paint to do the creamy-white scalloped base, let dry. Then penciled the letters, painted them in, let dry. Outlined with a permanent black marker, then added an aqua marker outline to the scalloped edge. *

This is a guestpost I did at Lacylike Designs Blog before Christmas :)

When I was younger, journaling used to mean: "Dear Diary: This is what happened today...i like this boy... i hate my curly hair...me and Jennifer played Peach Pit again...Goodnight."

During an online class I recently took, Elsie gave us prompts (and insights into her journal) and it really helped start me off . Before that, I wouldn't have known what to do with a blank white page and markers. I don't consider myself that kind of creative person. I'd rather take that white page, fold it, glue stuff to it, add some rubons and make a mini album out of it. So this was really new for me. I've been journaling for a few months, and I pretty much wanna climb to the top of a mountain and declare my love to it. I give myself no obligation to share what I make and I have no rules for myself. I do it whenever I feel like it and about whatever I want :] My journal is more text oriented because I love fonts and words but I try to draw too :] If i wanna rip a page out: i do. If i wanna write an angry ransom note: I do. If I wanna write down every quote that makes me laugh: I do. It's whatever I want. Here's some pages I've made (you can see my whole set here). I'll explain whats behind some of them and some of my techniques. Enjoy :] PS. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them :] * Journal current trends and addictions in your life: I did this love one all at once. I just wrote everything I could think of that I love. It changes all the time...so it's kinda fun to write it down once in a while. How: First, I wrote "i love" and re-outlined it a bit messy. Then used the same pink marker (and a period after each point) to list and separate all the things I love :] * * Write Random lists: I'm such a list person. I asked for this book for Christmas (my sister definitely got it for me...i know because i went and picked it up for her...and then she wrapped it and I'll act surprised). Anyways... i love random lists of things. **I didn't exactly stick to this Christmas list...but it helped inspire me and sort my ideas out :] * Assist your list with pictures: ** My favorite! Overheard Quotes: My boyfriend (Keith) paints my glasses for me and while they were unassembled he sincerely said this :) I colored the page with Orange and Yellow to remind me of the glasses :] HOW: Draw your words as an outline with a thin-tip marker. I really like how the letters look without the empty holes on o,b,p,e,a, etc. Then color the letters in. *Keithcake always has funny comments & comparisons about things. HOW: Draw a few lines. With the same felt marker, write your words with each letter touching the top and bottom line. Then go over each letter and thicken them up. Don't hesitate to mix upper and lowercase together :] * Almost everyone says Lola is a crazy dog. And sometimes it hurts my feelings b/c they just don't get her. When my friend Darren said this, it made me smile :] * * During an episode of Curb your Enthusiasm, I said this to Keith [re: how coffin people look alive still]. Then I thought...man that sounds silly! * This was a funny little conversation while out for lunch one day. HOW: Use 2 colors and invert them. (For Keiths Part) With a finetip marker, quickly draw the outline of the letters. Imperfection is my favorite; don't think too much :) Then color them in with a wider marker or brush tip marker. (For my part) Use a wider tip marker and just write the phrase once. Then go back over it and widen the letters. Then use a fine tip marker (opposite color) and outline it. * Keith trimmed his beard and left a ridiculous mustache... and tried to kiss me! * Express raw frustration, stress, sadness, etc: This is a great place to let it out! Go to your journal when you don't know who to talk to or how to say it. Just start writing. * In 2007, I went thru a divorce. I've fallen in love again. I still feel sadness about the things that went on and the pain ...but my heart has been mended. HOW: Draw a shape and draw horizontal lines inside it. Write your story (using the same technique as the green 'burt', above). Then doodle some scallops around the shape and reoutline parts of it. REOUTLINING is one of my best tips. It's a way to cover little errors and create something with depth. Do your reoutlining a bit messy (don't try and trace over the first line) and it will look best! *This ones a letter I wrote when I was feeling really hurt. It's too private...but this is the ending. Note: I actually wrote it in light grey on white paper, but i "Inverted Colors" when i scanned it. * * Draw fun pictures, icons, images: * My friend Jill and I were talking about style... and i was telling her about how I'm gonna stitch this on my red mitts and pretend I'm on The Maury Show (click that link, it'll make you laugh). *I did this one overtime... It was just fun to draw out some pictures. And to tie the page together, I used 5 different marker colors (plus the black fine tip). A pattern page is a good thing to do for fun-practice; it will help inspire you with patterns to use in your pages :] * Repeat a Pattern: mmmm. this page is my favorite. It was so relaxing to draw these circles(i worked on it randomly over a few days). And I LOVE the depth in it. Plus, the quote I added is something Keith said to me at a special moment. Goosebumps. HOW: This is really easy to do. Just start in a corner and keep drawing ripple circles on top of each other. I started in the top left corner. * ORLA! This is such a simple drawing but has such strong visual impact. It would look so great covering a whole page. Or on a wall in my house. HOW: Draw a vertical line. Draw horizontal tear drops all the way up on both sides. You can do a flat bottom to the teardrops if you want :] Color the petals in. * My friend said this to us during a video chat. I love when people say this :) We giggle and blush :] * Write a letter to someone ...but you don't need to send it: I wrote this letter to my future children. And someday they'll find it while they're reading my journals. I hope it will help them learn from some of the things I wish I coulda/woulda changed. Plus, to me it seems like it will have more impact; the fact that their momma wrote it to them in 2008, the olden days. * Write down funny things that happen/get said: Keith and I decided to pray together about a model car competition Keith was entering. (I used to pray, and haven't for a long time. And Keith never has. So we did it together.) As I was praying outloud, Keith added in something about one of his competitors in the competition dropping their model car... and afterwards i said, "Hunny. I don't think God would do that. Sorry." And we laughed. * My friend Michele had a moment during a game of Guesstures. The four of us couldn't stop laughing at "MIMI". HOW: Draw the words, but only color in the key word/punchline :) I also drew the playing card instead of explaining what we were doing. * Write it as it happens/Bring your journal with you: Me and my arty friend Jill giggled so much as we caught ourselves saying funny things over coffee. So we kept throwing them down on this page thru the night. And we ripped out a page from my journal and drew together at the restaurant :) Here's Jill's page :] (I taped it back into my journal when I got home). * I made this one while waiting for my friend trying on clothes. And in the top right corner, I recorded a funny conversation with the sales girl (wrote it down right after she walked away). Lol. * PLUS: Best story ever! I have a horrible memory... so I always write quotes down when they happen. Put them in my back pocket and then blog it or add them to a book or journal somewhere when I get home. Yes my family laughs at me sometimes but I don't care; I want to save the moment. This is the most special time I ever did it. My grandpa's since passed, and when I read this, it's like watching it happen all over again :] PLUS! If you're a scrapbooker, these make great stories, titles and phrases for your pages :] * That's my journal :) I hope you're inspired to start one!! You don't have to be good at anything. Just keep doing it and you get better and better. I'm super intimidated about drawing people... but that's my next goal. Drawing faces :) If you start a journal (or have any questions) I'd LOVE to see some of it :) Feel free to email me at FreckledNest@gmail.com :] *

Oh ya, these are my supplies:

An $8 blank journal from The Walmart and some markers. I have a lot more colours than this, but these are the kinds I use :] To keep it cheap if you're starting off, just get the Walmart sketchbook & a few black fine tip marker(art supply store). These Micron (5th & 6th ones in) ones are my fave. I like the '01' and '08' the most. * Some of these prompts/ideas were from the ElsieClass: Words I like, Define Magical, These are Pretty to Me, Personal Saddness, Journal a Fear * Love, Leigh-Ann PS.