Sunday Sentiment ~ "The Best Way to Know God is to Love Many Things" ~ Vincent Van Gogh

A detail from my art journal

Today I'm linking up with Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith, artist and blogger at Inky Dinky Doodle. She hosts a link party called Sunday Sentiments, which is now open monthly rather than weekly.

Full Layout - "To Love Many Things"

These days most of my creative energy is geared towards my art journals. I continue collaging my stash of scraps, which include many sentiments. I love quotes and sometimes saccharine sweet vintage poetry as well. When working on this eclectic layout. I found this quote by Vincent Van Gogh:

The best way to know God is to love many things. 

I knew this familiar quote, but it took on new meaning as I glued down the odd assortment of treasures...at least treasures to me. Packaging from Burt's Bee's Pomegranate Lip Balm framed by paper beads I tightly rolled from recycled magazines...tattered vintage stamps from an old stamp album found in the corner of a flea market...tags from clothing and even my tea bag reminding me to "be yourself." :)

Cute drawing by illustrator of Suzy's Zoo - part of old bulletin board border when I taught daycare.

Recycled Paper Beads smashed flat add raised texture.

I love all these things not only because they inspire me creatively, but they remind me of happy memories or old friends. A writing theme emerged as I put items together in this jigsaw puzzle. I would sometimes blindly grab something from the two or three scrap boxes beside me, and it would end up perfectly fitting this theme.

Part of clothing tag suggests handwriting. A paper bead cut to a point makes a colorful pen. 

The elements began to remind me of two friends I know, both named Abigail. One is a fun-loving mother who writes adventures about cicadas, and one is a teenager with fresh hopes and stars in her eyes. Both are dedicated to their writing craft. Both have potential to change the world and each of them have boundless, God-given creativity. They have each deposited joy in my life, just as their name suggests. 

Take a breath and write.....

For dreamers and poets

In my last chat with the starry-eyed Abigail, she ended with: "I'm thankful for you." Of course this got me misty-eyed. I don't get to see either Abigail very often, but I am thankful for each of them. I told Abby:

When I count my blessings, I count you twice.

Everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please check back later today for news about a charity art auction I'm holding this week to raise money for orphans and widows in Uganda. They are in need of emergency food and cooking fuel this holiday season.

You can learn more about the Fundraiser here. I will be cross-posting information about the auction on both blogs, or you can "Like" the charity on Facebook at Truth of Wings.

Bye for now!

Sock Monkey says Hi and Goodbye

Sandra Lee

Linking Up:
Sunday Sentiments ~ November @ Inky Dinky Doodle

Grid Love Art Journal Spreads ~ Inspired by Daisy Yellow

Back in August, I watched some inspiring tutorials by Tammy over at Daisy Yellow to jumpstart my art journal. She showed how to make a journal layout very quickly using a grid format. While I tucked away this idea for a while, now that I'm finally doing my own grid experiments, I'm finding it to be a game changer in how I approach my art journal spreads.

I've always clipped images from magazines, but the idea of using a few tiny squares caused me to rethink the value of certain images. For instance, I might throw away a clothing catalog if I don't care for the styles. But a pattern or color might catch my eye. The same goes for home decor catalogs as well. Now I can cut a swatch of fabric or clip a little object that might not be significant on its own, but in a layout can add just the right touch of texture or interest.

It's also a good way to use up those little bits of ephemera I receive from day to day....a stamp, a word or image from junk mail, or just using those leftover bits on my art table.

Here are a few closeups of my latest grid experiment I completed during an all night art party. ;) I began with some paper weaving using trimmings of leftover scrap paper.

This is similar to what it looked like before (I made a couple paper weavings):

Paper Weaving ~ Don't throw those scraps away! 

This was the first element I glued down, providing a jumping off point for the rest of the grid collage. I loved the eclectic mix of patterns and colors.

Paper Weaving after ~ Covered in Gelly Roll Doodles

Midways through, I started adding paper X's to go with the red O shape. Repetition always helps tie a piece together.

XOXO

One of my favorite squares is the Sakura Cray-Pas wrapper. This wrapper is from a very old set of oil pastels...probably one of my first sets I received as a teenager. It already had this lovely red color saturated into the yellow wrapper, created by oil pastels that rolled around in the box and "melted" over the years.

Detailed Closeup

I find that the grid experiments help to loosen me up and not take my art journaling so seriously. I realize every page doesn't have to be a laborious process. It can be quick and fun, like a little sketch of ideas. I can feel free to play with design and color without overthinking it. I find a side benefit to the grid collages is my eye is improving for capturing photos as well. This exercise forces you to isolate tiny little details and understand what is the most essential part of a picture. 

I don't drink Starbucks that often, but I thought I'd give a nod to Tammy with this little Starbucks ad. Thank you, Tammy, for helping me rekindle my love for art journaling. May God continue to give you a "green thumb" for creativity and teaching others to flourish in their own art.

The flower pot started looking like a coffee cup in the wee hours..so I drew in some coffee over the dirt. ;) 

You can check out Tammy's grid collage tutorial here.

Happy Creating~
Sandra Lee

Gardening Life File Folder Journal

On Tuesday, I spent a glorious October afternoon filming a few of my latest projects. I can't believe October is almost gone. It is by far my favorite time of the year to photograph. Everything is bathed in a rich, golden light.

Inspired by the golden colors of those fading October afternoons, I created a handmade journal from an old green hanging file folder. 

Gardening File Folder Journal

I cut the metal bars from the top and set them aside. With a couple folds, I created a flap for my journal and a tuck spot. I lay the metal bar against the flap and tore the edge to give it a distressed look. I don't have any distress inks right now, but I plan to ink it up in the future.

To decorate, I turned to the huge collection of images I cut out the night before. As part of fall cleaning in my garage studio, I went through years of collected information on flowers, garden plans, and outdoor decorating. Since most of this information can be found on the Internet, I only kept articles that were memorable, or vintage garden plans that I would be hard pressed to find on the Web. The rest I cut up to use for art. Out of these scraps and clippings from seed catalogs, this little file folder journal was born. 

On the front cover, I decoupaged magazine clippings and a crackle paint chip. I found a cute phrase from an article that said "Come see the garden!" I glued a pretty yellow butterfly above it. The flap holds a set of keys which lay over this peek-a-boo message. 

Peek-a-boo!

I wanted the file folder journal to serve several purposes. It had to be a place to journal about gardening, whether planning a dream garden in the winter or remembering past gardening experiences. I also wanted some graph paper where I could draw garden plans or add photos. I also added a signature of mixed media paper so I could do some sketching or maybe watercolors.

So for the second signature, I cut to size some graph paper and ledger paper. Since these were single sheets stacked rather than folded sheets, I had to figure out how to hold them together. I didn't want to use the gluing method to bind them, so instead I simply used a scrap of the mixed media paper and folded it in half to create a spine. This was sewn along with the papers right into the folder. 

I hot glued a kraft envelope to the back and added a small handmade notebook. I sewed it straight down the middle. It is also decorated with gardening images from magazines and seed catalogs. The cover was a beautiful calendar page that originally came from Lowe's when I was part of their gardening club a few years back. 

I am very pleased with how it turned out. I am also happy to share the video with you, in case you missed it. 

If you have any questions, let me know. 

Enjoy these golden afternoons while they last. :)

Junk Journal #1 ~ Common Threads

I'm pretty excited about my new junk journal. I've been carrying it around for days showing anyone who I think might be remotely interested...OK, well, everyone!

Will you look at my Junk Journal? ;) 

And of course, I made a video to share on my YouTube channel, which was a little more intimidating. Not to mention frustrating. I ran into technical problems with the audio and then a fire truck and ambulance in the background. So I added some music and sped up the video. Besides a few captions, I just let the journal speak for itself as I did with my face-to-face shares. Problem solved. Here's the video in case you missed it:




I wanted to share a few more details on how the junk journal was put together. I mentioned already in the video that I used Easy Twine Binding and reinforced the spine with gold duct tape. I used a combination of machine sewing and hot glue to create tuck spots, pockets, and just add a little visual interest. The sewing element is a big part of the inspiration behind title of my junk journal, "Common Threads."

One of my favorite things about this junk journal was finally finding a home for some vintage photos I had tucked away in a drawer. As a collage artist, I collect ephemera and have also started a collection of "found relatives." The photos in this junk journal range from the 40's through the 60's. When I created the layouts, I began to do a bit of storytelling in my mind. Isn't that what journaling and scrapbooking is all about?

Time Flies JJ layout with "Found Relatives" 

The spread above is one of my favorites in the book. There are a couple of faded photos of families and couples, but I really like the soldier and baby picture. Part of my story for those two is Daddy is off to war, but he always keeps his precious little baby girl close to his heart. She looks like she's gazing up at him in this layout.

The idea of "found relatives" also ties into the "Common Threads" theme in my junk journal. While I've never met any of these people personally, I am honoring their lives and existence in a creative way. We all share so many things in common: birth, marriage, family, war and peace. This journal, which eventually will contain some of my thoughts, stories and photos, is part of that common thread we share. Though I don't have children, hopefully someone will find this journal long after I'm gone and connect to the stories and photos within. At least that's my hope.

Here are a few more pictures from the junk journal. If you have any questions about techniques or materials used, please leave them in the comments section.

Another favorite page with Happy Mail treats. Thanks Kym Murphy for the purple butterfly tag. 

Plain yellow envelope decorated with cover of paper pack. The roses are very glittery. 

Victorian ladies and trim from Lynn L.

Thanks for looking!!!