The DoodleBook; Curious doodlings on paper by a curious CraftGurl.

The Ides of March have roared in like a lion for sure. This past week's weather really challenged the RA and brought on a couple of flareups that left me flat on my back 3 days- 2 of which were during an  8 inches/24 hr blizzard. Yesterday's rain/sleet mix was another not-so-fun day. But, whenever I am bugged by how many pills or shots I have to do (or the $10,000 per 12 shots price tag that heads that list)... those days remind me how BLESSED I am to be able to have those meds available! So when I post anything I've done or created, I feel a special kind of accomplishment and send up prayers of thanks. I honestly think The LORD puts those days in my way just to keep me close to Him. :)

 

  The idea for an art book actually came along a few years back when we were on one of our Besties Camping Trips.I watched Wendy Cotner open up an art tablet/book that she'd decorated the outside of, turn to a blank set of sheets and begin cutting, pasting, and adding some of her own HUGELY-GOD-BLESSED-TALENTED ink-penned words of inspiration and little 'doodlings' all around the page to create a totally beautiful work of art that was all her very own ! I was impressed, to say the least. Not at the talent, since I grew up with an older brother who used pencil and paper to draw people, animals, or whatever he wanted to put down on paper, at the drop of a hat and made it look like he'd just used a camera instead of a pencil!  I'm not THAT talented, but I there are some things that seem to come easily to me- such as crafting with paper, organizing, or decorating & maintaining care of things. So this spur-of-the-moment art I saw my Bestie do, made me want to try it out. But because of my OCD with monotony, it took this long for me to give up some things to just sit down ANY TIME
& CREATE at that time I felt it calling me. That alone is an accomplishment for ME!
     So saying, the following pics will give you an idea of some new things I've tried, and I'll update every now & then as I go through more of my creative spurts. Here's what it all looks like, including the first three "setpages"...

I used Alterations Dies (Hanging Sign and Hardware Findings) with some IdeaOlogy Hitch Fasteners, a strip of leather, and some heavy cardstock underneath Tim Holtz Correspondence Paper to make the 'lock' that keeps the book closed. It matches the outside covering paper from the same paperie.

The backside of the book's closure- an easy way to 'lace up' the opening so keep anything not yet glued down from slipping out.You can also see where I used my name stamper onto the side. A later pic below shows the date stamper on the topside of the book.

I spent more time on the hanging doo-dads than I'd originally planned. I tend to really get going with these as playing with those little items is just sooo FUN & ADDICTING!!! You can see evidence of the Hanging Sign die once again in the keys. The heart lock comes from an even older Spellbinders die.

Those stars used to keep the IdeaOlogy items on the chain were a gift from Wendy Cotner during a shopping trip one time. She knew I'd LOVE those things...and I DO!!! They worked perfectly as a connector here, and on the front of the book to hold the Word Band on.



 These 2 pics show the insde cover pages of the book. Again- the paperie is Tim Holtz's Correspondence. The Hitch Fasteners work well here as they stay flat. I used a little Glossy Accents inside before tightening with a tiny 2-way phillips/flat screwdriver I keep on hand for these. LOVE those Hitches !!!




 

SETPAGE 2

Having never really 'doodled' before, I took some advice from another crafter and stated out with some 'shapes' to start drawing around. Actually I knew HOW to doodle but just couldn't think of a direction I wanted to go!  I knew I wanted to just 'follow the pen wherever it took me' but needed a start. So since it's easier to do that same thing and 'follow the paper where the dies lead me'; I began with the four new dies The ChiefHubby let me splurge on once I found ALL THREE together on the same site all on sale and in stock !! I've loved that Festive Gent since it debuted, and I've watched every trip shopping for the Old Glory, but finally found it online. Ditto with the Spring Greenery (I chose the Strips Die that has more choices of the greens than the Bigz), and the Window Box die.



I started small, and didn't ruch. You see it was started before Valentine's Day according to the tix up in the right corner. My idea was "From February To Flag Day" when the sun gets warmer and higher in the sky as the Spring comes... FINALLY!!

As I got further along later that week, I decided to add the tix to the pages permanently- just more ways to shape my doodles. I chose to leave the inside of the window blank- as if letting in the sunshine.

The finished doodles.

A closeup of the greens built up inside the Window Boxe's included planter part of the die. I 'went to town' making these ferns the way my real ones look later in summer around the outside of our house. The left side of the Window, you'll notice, is like in early Spring- where they are just starting out.

My fave part of SetPage2- The Festive Gent parading Old Glory! My fave part of summer is between June and July,

SETPAGE 1

I have no idea why I couldn't post this first. Sometimes, Blogger seems to have a mind of its own.
But, anyway, here is the first doodlings I did. I kind of wanted a 'cover page set' for what my book was going to accomplish in my journey through my imagination. It's true; there have been years where we were so busy traveling places and seeing people, that I would have never had a chance to get any of it onto any kind of paper scrabook, had it not been for social media with Facebook, Twitter, etc. And I can remember shopping for dies or craft items I hardly had time to get out and use those years! So, with all that goes on in just everyday life at work, home, church, fire department, school, etc...'found time' can be a precious thing for any crafter.

My MM dies and folders hardly got any use after my kids graduated High School. It was time to get those out just for wittle ole' me! Add in some newer dies of Tim's Thinlets Dies- Globe, and a few paper stash tix from Correspondence; Filmstrip dies (both large and Mini Alterations) and the older Gadget Gears (can't wait to get my hands on the new Gadget Gears #2!), and Weathered Clock.... tied the pages together to make it look like the filmstrip was coming at you in the air from way off,  with gears flying all around it.

The pocketwatch is from Spellbinders- another old one. and the lettering was in my stash.

Some cuts of foam painted in Distress Black Soot Paint and given a second share of the total wax coating made the pages shiney. I forgot to say I began with a coat of Gesso over the pages before layering the die cuts and stamps.  

                                                                   SETPAGE 3

This was where I really started having experimental fun! I started out by coloring Gesso and adding it to a pinciled-out window and making it 'refract' once it hit the middle of the set of pages and go a different direction. I wanted each color to "come alive' on the second page. If you're with me this far: think PINK FLOYD's "The Wall"... :)

More Gesso piled on after letting air dry, then finish drying with heat to make sure it was all dry before I started adding another DEEP layer...

I kept up the mixing each shade with the next, so that my rainbow went from color to a shade of that same color with a little of the next color. Definitely messy... but fun! You can see where it really started building up and heat-drying was really doing me a favor keeping it from glopping up or coming off the paper.

Instead of just a window... I decided the window was on the side of an old brick building created with the help of TH Bricking Stencil, and Distress Inks in Barn Red, Black Soot, and Pumice Stone. Heated to dry kept it from smeaing- which was quite a challenge!

I cut out the window using the die, and made TWO panes from it, so the plastic would go in between the two panes- creating a window that really ent outside the page The plastic was going to act as my 'prism' from which the sun was shining onto and reflecting the rainbow back out.

A paper toweling underneath each set of pages between my work keeps those from getting anything onto them. I want space pages in between to be able to keep any momentos..... or as you will see: anything that comes along with my idea.

I added an actual "refrracion" bar by using the gold from Foil Sheets with some runner tape- worked like magic! So EASY!

 

After the window was put together, it was completed by adding a bit of Ivy vines into the window's planter box. Then Distress Inks in coordination colors, darkened the right side giving it some depth.

Same use of Distress Ink Markers in shades, and some other Permie Markers in shades- to give me different sizes of dots that I wasnt to make look as if the colors were forming their own little "cells' which then popped out of the color into BUTTERFLIES !! Cut from various cardstocks and dashed with bits of color from markers,

The very last touch was "What goes in the window looking out of it??" problem solved.... with a Found Relatives Occassions card. I decided to make a little envelope to set it into. I can change it out later if I want to use this for something else- it's just too cute to glue down (like me and my hearing pup, Hunni Pi) !!! 

The envelope and flap were cut apart and adhered at the needed spots to hold the card just right.

VERY ADORABLE!!!

The finished SetPage 3 in all its color!

This last two pics show the thickness of the Gesso- giving it the actual FEEL of depth as well as look. And, no, it's not so deep that it bothers closing the book or going outside of it. I think I've got quite alot of space to use up in experimenting with cardstocks, mediums, etc. before the DoodleBook gets too thick !!

The butterflies flutterby... with only one (see window in the full layout above) who comes back to see who is looking out the window wishing for SPRING! 

        THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking the time to look through this very long post! I hope it lifted your spirits a bit since the Groundhog's Official Forecast of Spring coming soon, seems NOT to be as soon as it SOUNDED! I know I can't wait to get outside and mow, plant flowers, open the pool, and get going on some trips again in warmer weather when we can ride with the windows down and the music UP!
       And THANKS to those who left nice comments on my sm sites about my projects!! You ALL are too kind ! And I am still humbled to be a part of so many TALENTED, SWEET folks !

                                 BE SAFE & HAPPY BLOGGING!!