Jump In... Guest Post...Welcome Lisa!

                                

Hi, I'm Lisa Hayes and I run an Australia store called Lulu Art. Since I started my business in 2013 I've barely had a spare minute to work on my own art so this year I promised myself I would take time every week to do something creative and the Documented Life Project seemed like the perfect platform to work from!

The DLP prompt for Week 2 of DLP (Documented Life Project) had me excited right away. It was all about beginnings and I immediately saw this sunrise in my head and wanted to have a female figure jumping up in the air so I sat down right away and figured out how to get the image in my head on to my page!  We also had the challenge set to use gesso on the page as well.

I started with covering my entire page with white gesso which I do before every single journal page spread so it strengthens the page and less likely to have different products seeping through to the other side of the paper.  Then I put a couple of coats of black gesso in a strip at the bottom of the page.  I followed this with a background using Dina Wakley paints for the sunrise. I used Lemon, Tangerine, Ruby & Lapis to create the coloured background just painting them on in layers with a fairly dry brush. I used the lemon mixed with a little white gesso to create the sun coming up and brushed lines out gently around it to create the rays.  

Next I created the clouds by putting the brush into both the white gesso and lapis and dabbing up and down to get the fluffy effect. You can keep dabbing away adding a bit more white here and there for highlights until you are happy with the effect.

The grass is very easy and done simply with a rubber stamp.  You could use any stamp you have of grass or flowers and stamp it all along the horizon. I used the same stamp but just used it lower then higher, some close together, some further apart, so it wouldn't all look the same.

The writing was created using a very large white Molotow marker which has a chisel tip.  You could just as easily draw the lettering with a pencil then fill in with white gesso or white paint.  I then took a finer tip white pen, a Uni-ball Signo, and gently put some dotted lines around the wording.

                                           

The silhouetted lady was created by finding an online image I liked (got to love Google!) and printing it out. I cut around it then covered it completely with black gesso.  This gives it a great solid black coverage. When it was completely dry I stuck it onto the page with matte medium.  Then she was finished!

This was one of the quickest pages I have done. Quite simple and fast but still very striking. It's definitely my favourite so far out of the three I have completed.

Good luck with your journal adventures!

Lisa xx

Who's gonna come get you? The Journal Police?

One of my biggest disappointments(?) on the FB groups that I belong to is that people don't think they their work is "good enough" or that they aren't "doing it right".  It upsets me that people are so negative about their own work.  My theory is that if it makes you happy to do it then it is good and it is right!  I like people that don't march to the same drummer.  They make life interesting.

I know this group is just getting off the ground but if you will notice, the people I pick here to guest blog all do things a little differently.  I choose them because something about their work makes me want to stretch my wings and try something different too.  Usually that means I set off to Pinterest or You Tube and find videos that can help me learn those new techniques. Now of course, I invite them to guest blog and I can pick their brains personally!  LOL  To date everyone that I have asked has said yes.  I am learning and I hope you are too.

In that vein, in one of my groups someone posted pictures of bright colored backgrounds that are brilliant without being gaudy,,, I hope that makes sense.  They then stated they would love to make things with those colors but they always end up looking like a muddy mess.  Since I too would love to work with those colors,  I set off on a search and found Terri Kahrs' videos and her blog, Pringle Hill Studio.  I have only read a couple of posts so far but I have watched 2 videos and I am hooked. Just the music she starts with is enough to put you in a good mood!  She is so relaxed and genuine and free with her work that you learn without even knowing it.  I was laughing out loud as I watched.


So here is the first video I watched and it will lead to part 2 and more. Enjoy it.  As for me, I am heading to my art place and taking out my gelatoes and inktense blocks!

Oh and if you are so inclined, feel free to join my new Facebook group,  Spreading your artist wings.  I'd love to meet you!

Another Guest Blogger... our first for week two!

Welcome Sandra Hamlett!

This is my first year doing the document life project 2015. I am really enjoying the process of building pages and using different mediums, so much different from other crafts of my choice. The documented life project has really taken me to a different place in my life, basically showing my true self and talent.  When I saw the first challenges I was a bit intimidated but as the process went on I started to feel my way through it. It was not as bad as I thought it would be, me coming from being a dedicated scrapbook and elegant card maker this was totally different. As I got a hold of the first one the second one didn't seem as bad. With this challenge I took on a different approach, I am more of colorful girl using a lot if different colors with flowers lace and bows lol!!  Not for this challenge!! lol!!

For week 2: Art challenge: Gesso
Journal Prompt: "The beginning is always today" by Mary Shelley
I am using the Dylusions art journal by Dyan Reaveley, this is my first year with DLP and I am really enjoying it.  My page is titled "New Beginning" and is written as:
 This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, In its place is something that you have left behind.....let it be something good!

When I found this quote it just seemed to fit the life of myself and this week challenge as well. Here I was a bit over whelmed because this was a different approach as far as color, I never use black when creating a project, so here I gessoed my pages, painted it using black paint then while waiting for it to dry I got a bit concerned by all that black space and was wondering what was I going to do with it, really wanting to start over...... I decided to add doodling around the page, doodle in the corner which is something I never did before either, Lol!! Added my butterflies which I adhered down using my Golden matte medium!  I love this stuff!! 

I applied some Ranger glossy accent to some of the butterflies to give it just a little gloss to the page and there you have it.  Overall I think this page can out as a hit, and now I can honestly tell myself there's more colors out there in the world besides rainbow colors!!  I'm not afraid anymore!! Lol!

Beginnings

This week's prompt on DLP is about beginnings.  Then I saw this little Bob Ross video and thought you might appreciate the sentiment!  I haven't even started my page yet but the ideas are simmering!

Being your own goalkeeper

That is the theme for week 1 of the Documented Life Project.  They also showed us how to conquer the blank page using book pages as the  background fill.

I have trouble pulling apart books.  I know millions are thrown away each day but for me, books have always been a treasure. I certainly cannot pull apart one that is on my bookshelf!  So I went to plan B.  I went to the library and picked up magazines off their "help yourself" table.  Then I went through them and picked out words, and blocks of text etc that I liked and tore it all out and pasted it on the page.  I hated it.  Even though I knew I would be covering it in paint, I hated it.  So now we are onto plan C.

I went through some old boxes in the basement and found an old paperback that belonged to my FIL.  I started ripping out pages and laying them down.  I didn't like the sharp edges so I ripped around all 4 sides of the page.  Then I put them down with medium.  I laid them out in all different directions too.  I knew that the center piece of my page was going to be round so I didn't want the text going in  one direction.

 My "lady" was cut out of a magazine and covered with packing tape to make a mask.  I put her down on the gessoed page and drew around her lightly and then used a gold metallic paint to lightly fill in the outline.  I wasn't too worried about staying in the lines because I put the mask back down and lightly gessoed the entire page.  When I lifted the mask back up, there she was!

Then I got to play with my gelatos.  Oh I love them!  So much fun and so easy.   I put the background down and then lifted up some color to make clouds.    I put that lovely sun/moon stamp in the middle and then torn strips of paper to make sun rays.  Again, they were colored with Gelatos, just lightly. I them stamped the moon/sun again and embossed it, cut it out nicely and put it back in the center of the rays.  After everything dried overnight I put a coat of matte medium over everything and then let it sit again until the next day when I did my "journaling".  There are more rays there if I want to add more affirmations later.

Another Guest post all the way from Australia this time!

Hello everyone! Please welcome Morgan Faie from Morganised Chaos.  I found her Beacon of Light on the DLP FB page and asked her to share with us.

It is my favourite time of the year!   Life Book 2015 has just begun and I still have eight weeks before semester starts so I get to relax and enjoy creating.  This is my third year joining Tamara Laporte for her year long art journalling course.  It is by far the best value art course available, 52 lessons throughout the year at less than $3.00 a week.
This year I am using a Dylusions journal as I am incorporating the art journalling prompts from The Documented Life Project 2015.  I really enjoyed their original idea of combining an art journal with a planner/smash book.  This year marks my 45th birthday and I wanted to do something significant, something I could look back on and treasure.

The first lesson from LB2015 is to create a 'beacon of light', an artistic/spiritual guide for the year. The first artistic challenge from DLP2015 was to use book paper and the suggested theme was 'goal keeper'.  What a happy marriage these two themes have made!  I used dictionary paper to create the dress on my girl and my intention for the year is to let go of the need to be perfect.  This is embodied by the heart on the dress which is featured on the cover of the Brene Brown book "The Gifts Of Imperfection".After creating the pencil sketch the page was primed with clear gesso and then painted using a combination of Neocolor II watercolour crayons, acrylic paints and Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Markers.  A little sprinkle of pixie dust (aka glitter) and she really came to life!

Giving New Meaning to Use Your Words! -Guest Blog!

My name is Jennifer Marie. I felt honored to be asked to Guest Post on Paint Under My Nail's blog and to share my story.

Last year I started completing the Documented Life Project 2014, but life got in the way. My fiance and I got married, moved into a house, my brother graduated high school, my sister-in-law had a baby, and more. I just kept putting it to the side. My goal this year is to complete every week on time. 
I am 24 years old, and don't truly consider myself an artist, I always gave that label to my sister who is also doing this project. I considered myself a reader and a scrapbooker. I have re-considered what the word "artist" means and anyone can really be an artist if you have the courage to play around and experiment! During the day I am an educator which is extremely rewarding, but it comes with the price of stress. Crafting is something I like to do because it is fun and a stress-reliever. 
When I got the challenge of being your own goal keeper, and to involve book paper my brain went blank. Book paper? Goal keeper? I had no idea where I would go with this. Then I thought... I love books, and writing! Then my brain thought, TREE! I had two copies of one of my favorite books from middle school (The Hound of Baskervilles) and started ripping pages out. When I thought of what I wanted to do I drew on a piece of scrap paper my idea. Shown below.

Then I knew since I am my own goal keeper. I needed to be sitting under the tree, and with what better than a book!
Then I wanted to use both, so I made a shadow version of me and then tinted the paper around the tree and me with antique spray. 

The page looked empty and I knew I didn't want to add paper on top to take away from the antique look so I started cutting pieces of the book out and arranging them on the page. Then I added a fence and filled in the fence with parts of the book as well.

After the first picture was completed I sat there, texted it to my mom, and thought "Eh.. something is missing." So then I added leaves, and white squiggles. I wanted to add to it, without overpowering. In keeping with my cover theme, I added a "G" and a "&" and then I thought, YES!

Jennifer Marie (Fairfield, Ohio)