WIWO Wednesday - It's What I'm Working On.

Today I want to show you what I've been doing with my new Crayola Twistable Crayons.

I love using crayons in my journalling, and these ones are great since they have plastic covers. My hands never get that sticky,waxy feeling and I don't have to worry about peeling the paper off when I want to expose new wax.

Here are a couple of pages from my art journal.

A collage to embrace Winter.
I coloured around a lot of my magazine clippings with different crayon colours.



A Crayon mandala - I love how you can vary the brightness with crayons by pressing hard or lightly.

 Remember, crayons are CHEAP and they can be found pretty much everywhere from dollar stores to gas stations. They're a great tool to have in your art journalling toolbox. I bought mine at Toys R Us when we were in Oregon.

I'm Famous! (Well, sort of...)

One of my Art Journal Idols mentioned me in a post last week! Thanks, Samantha Kira!

View my mention here!

http://www.journalgirl.com/blog/2011/11/22/all-packed-up-ready-to-journal.html#disqus_thread

And honestly, how can I NOT be inspired by this amazing woman. Here are a couple of my favourite pieces that she has done.



I can feel her strength oozing from this page...



*love* the blues and greens in the background on this one.

Getting down to business!

While I'm hard at work this weekend at A Real Gem, I wanted to give you some pretty things to look at.

Have you visited any of my favourite sites yet?

Here are some things that inspire me.



Dyed fabrics in gorgeous colours.
From iHanna: http://tinyurl.com/7w4ugx7




A collaboration with an amazing result.
From A Little Imagination and A PIle of Junk: http://littleblackkitty.typepad.com/a_little_imagination_and_/




Dramatic Decor.
From WHORANGE: http://www.whorange.net/whorange/2011/11/floor-to-ceiling.html



A page from a most amazing art journal.
 From Dispatch from L.A. : http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/dispatch_from_la/

A Sneak Peek!

Just got some pendants back from the pottery studio - wow!

They're so smooth and shiny.
They're just itching to be worn on a silver chain.

And they're available at A Real Gem this weekend in Ocean Park.

A Real Gem - This Coming Weekend

The sister show to A Real Piece of Work is A Real Gem.

A Real Gem showcases only Jewelry and Accessories.

In other words, it's Paradise on Earth.

Come and indulge...

Add a Bit of Colour, and Voila!

I've been playing around with Mandalas lately. Apparently it is considered therapeutic to do a Mandala every day. I don't know about therapeutic, but I really love working on them.

Each one is different, and each time I start one, a new adventure begins.  

Adding colour just makes the adventure that much more exciting!



Here is a before and after colour comparison. I *love* how the watercolours create the effects of puffy clouds...

Materials: Watercolour and Sakura Pigma #1 black pen.

My Monkey

If you've been following my blog, I often refer to a Monkey that I spend a lot of time with. I'll let you in on a little secret. My Monkey is actually my husband, but he's such a big monkey that I can't help identifying him by his true form. He has asked, in his monkey-est voice, that all references to my Monkey contain a link to show him in a different pose. Always up for a challenge, I am now going to do my best to include photos of him linked to every mention. I may be linking to businesses or websites that I have absolutely no relation to or affinity for, but I'll be doing so with only love on my mind. :D

Psst: today's my Monkey's birthday, so if you're sitting next to him on the bus, poke him in the arm.

A Real Piece of Work - This Weekend!

Don't forget that A Real Piece of Work is this weekend - Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

Come and do ALL your Christmas Shopping!

Musings on Oregon

This past weekend the Monkey and I went on a road trip down to Oregon.

We stayed at the Village Green Resort in Cottage Grove = R&R at its finest.

The trip was just plain great, really. Lots of great things to see and do.

The Main Street "downtown" had some really amazing old signs like this one.

  

We spent a bit of time exploring Cottage Grove - the covered bridge capital of Oregon (heh!). Some of the bridges we saw were actually pretty neat. Some of them were blocked off to traffic,

but we did get to drive on one of them.

This is the first one that we stopped at. Photo-worthy.



This bridge was built in 1925. Still stronger than ever, according to our feet!

 

This is the view from inside the bridge looking out.



We drove up to Eugene on the Saturday and came across a huge outdoor market. There were so many great smells and sights. The Monkey bought some roasted hazelnuts and I indulged in a new hat. 

Apparently this is my "Oh, I *love* it!" expression.

One cannot have too many hats.  

New Business Cards!!!!

EEEEEEEE! I got my new business cards in the mail today! I am SO excited about them and SUPER proud of the design. I LOVE the look of them - the fonts, the colours, the design - everything! (Did you know that I used to do graphic design as a side-job waaaayyyy back in the early 00s?)

I got them printed at Vistaprint, which is the black sheep of the printing industry, but I'm on a budget, so they definitely work for me. Plus, for only a few dollars more, I got them glossy and on thicker stock. In all, 1000 cards cost me only $68 delivered. Pretty cheap, I think. 

Great timing, since A Real Piece of Work is right around the corner!

Opening the package  can you stand the suspense?!?

So perfect, right? I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Here is a copy of the file that I designed and sent in.
Since the photograph shows the super glossy finish, the blue background looks a bit darker.
Here you can get the real idea :)

November 14 - National Pickle Day

In commemoration of all of the pickles that have fallen in the line of duty, I'd like to take this opportunity to salute you. You've been been salted, brined, boiled, pressurized and packed tightly into your jars. You've played an outstanding primary role in many sandwiches and burgers worldwide, and you've always been a loyal and trustworthy friend to Mustard.

Pickles of the world, I thank you for unsurpassed salty and dill flavours, and will continue to rely on your garlicky juiciness for the rest of my life.

Sincerely,

Shannon Ganshorn

Winter Trees

I know it's not quite winter, but I really think about the cold and the change of seasons when I see bare tree branches.

I've been pretty snap-happy with trees silhouetting on skies lately. Here are a couple of my favourites...

Special Delivery!

Have I told you about my adorable and very talented friend Miss K at The Rockabilly Girl Next Door ?

Miss K lives in NORWAY! How cool is that? Norway is approximately 7211 km or 4480 miles from me in White Rock, BC, Canada. That's pretty far, right? Too far to walk, that's for sure! ;)

Luckily, Miss K and I can keep in touch whenever we want with email. She's a bit of a superstar when it comes to style and cool things. You really should check out her blog and her videos.

Anyhow, my adorable and very talented friend Miss K sent me a cute little care package! She had told me that there would be a package arriving, and voila! I'm going to share it with you!




Super cute envelope and vintage image. Notice the stamp is from Norway!



Cute little gift! Again with the vintage image - love it!



Looked like matches, right? It's actually little emery boards...SWEET!

A PERFECT little package the mail. It's so refreshing to get REAL mail! Thanks, Miss K!

Art in French Class

Did you know that I teach high school French?

My little Frenchies are so much fun. They're really not so little - most of them are getting their drivers' licenses and first boyfriends and girlfriends. Honestly, it's so much fun to watch their emotional strife as they learn about themselves and discover who they are...

We just finished a unit where they had to explore their childhoods and then write a 400-word autobiography in French. This was a pretty big task for them, so once it was finished, I rewarded their hard work with a day of portrait painting.

The only criteria were that the images had to represent themselves in some way, and they had to be somewhat recognizable in the pictures. I encouraged them to think outside the box and use symbols and motifs to help represent who they are as people.

Here are some of my favourites. Can you guess which one is mine?

 

Sorry about the formatting! I am having trouble figuring out image placement :P

A Real Piece of Work

A Real Piece of Work is the invention of my great friend Kerry and myself.

This TENTH annual Art and Fine Craft Sale is right around the corner: November 19th and 20th, 2011.

It takes place at the Ocean Park Hall in South Surrey (White Rock).

There are TONS of fantastic artisans participating this year, making it pretty much your best bet for one-stop Christmas Shopping. I do all my Christmas shopping there - the variety and quality is always amazing!

I will be there as an artist, too, with a plethora of handmade awesomeness, including my journals and my stuffed creatures.

Stop by my table and say hello!

Coptic Wha....?

When I was researching different methods of bookbinding, I did a double-take when I came across Coptic stitching for binding books. Having taught grade seven for a couple of years (before venturing into high school), I learned a lot about Ancient Egypt. Did you know that Coptic Egyptian is a language that goes back hundreds of years? Coptic is also a type of bookbinding stitch.

After some research and a couple of videos, I am now the Coptic Master. I definitely don't speak Coptic Egyptian, but I can sew a great Coptic stitch!

Check out what  I  did tonight! In particular, I'm not only proud of my Coptic Artistry, but of my great cover designs. Totally unique and definitely one-of-a-kind!

Psssst! They'll be for sale at A Real Piece of Work on the 19th! Come and get 'em!

Here's my cheesy proud video - I'm so stoked about these journals that I don't even mind showing my face on camera. Now THAT'S excitement!

Finished Art Journal!

I finished this art journal last month, and since I had so much fun making my FIRST video that I thought I would make another one!

Let me know if you have any questions about my techniques or materials!