Sunday, August 24, 2014

Envelope Art Journal online workshop

Now available!
Envelope Art Journal online workshop

http://shop.motherrubber.com/ONLINE-WORKSHOP-Envelope-Art-Journal-WORKSHOP-EAJ.htm
Click HERE to go to sign-up page 

or watch the Preview video:
(the music is just for the preview -I do actually instruct you in the workshop videos)


Course Description 
In this really fun and easy workshop I will show you how to create, embellish, and personalize your very own Envelope Art Journal.

I will take you through:
  • construction of your journal
  • laying down a base layer of color and background design
  • continued layering and embellishing
  • journal cover design
  • using your own photos in your journal
  • how to use the address openings that are found in many business reply envelopes
We will use:
  • rubber stamps
  • art papers
  • craft paints
  • stencils
  • tape (masking tape, metal tape
  • photos
  • clip art images
  • multiple collage techniques and more!
until we have an art journal that is ready to be filled with your journaling, mementos, photos, or anything else your creative heart desires.
What you get:
  • instant access -no waiting!
  • 25 videos = 4 1/2 + hours of instruction!
  • downloadable PDF* class supply list and video index 
  • Printable files with clip art you can use while creating your very own Envelope Art Journal
  • access to the exclusive Envelope Art Journal online group to share your journals, discuss the workshop, ask questions and celebrate your creativity.

   *PDFs require you to have Adobe Reader -a free program you can download from the Adobe web site here.

In 25 videos, that provide 4 ½+ hours of instruction, I will guide you through creating your own art journal made from recycled envelopes. I created this project-based workshop myself, after designing many envelope art journals, and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. This workshop is unique to me and you will not see these instructions anyplace else (no magazine or zine “how-to” articles).

What you need:
In addition to your art supplies, there are a few basic requirements for getting the most out of my online workshop:           
  • High speed internet connection: the videos range in length from 2 to 25 minutes, so you will need high speed internet to enjoy them to their fullest. (Most of the videos are in the 5-15 minute range.)
  • A computer fast enough to keep up with the videos and your high speed internet connection
  • Basic computer navigation skills that includes downloading pdfs –basic instructions are provided but you need to know how to save things onto your computer.
Are you ready to sign up? Yay!! click HERE (opens a new browser window in my Online Store)

Tuesday, August 05, 2014

almost live!!

I'm on the final stretch of getting my first online workshop released!
Click the image or the link below to go to the information page on my web site.
http://motherrubber.com/Envelope_Art_Journal.html


http://motherrubber.com/Envelope_Art_Journal.html

I'm excited and nervous - let me know what you think, if you see any glaring errors or if you're as excited as I am! :)

-Dawn

Saturday, June 07, 2014

scaffolding




when all the junk that fills up your life is exploded like shit hitting a fan...most of it is left in shards and dust.....and you're left with scaffolding -the framework of your life-the things that hold it together. the basics -the bones
scaffolding for me is my family and the other basic necessities -food, water, shelter. I'm talkin maslow's hierarchy of needs type stuff here. I mean, when you really spend time to think about it most of the stuff in your life is filler-the things we gain on our road to our notion of success -a successful life for a lot of us has a large component consisting of material/physical THINGS. and some of those things start to take on Meaning because we assign them meaning based on when we acquired it, who we were with or who gave it to us, even the time of year we obtained it. but then the shit hitting the fan happens and all of a sudden you are blinded and sent back to the beginning -the basics. you sort of pray some universal transporter will appear and transport the shards and dust to the surface of the sun or some other equally destructive location so you don't have to deal with it.
but we exist on planet Earth -and in real time -this dimension, we are still limited to having to remove the stuff ourselves -so we can find and bolster our scaffolding.
friends-the good, close ones, family, good music....pizza and "nice salads"...a good doggie....a few really good glasses of wine or pints of delicious beer...these are the things that bolster my scaffolding. these are really all you need - you will realize what this means to you if you are ever in the unfortunate circumstances of having to do a CLASS 2 DOWNLOAD to clear your life of the shit -the stuff THINGS that start to take up your precious airspace. I really hope for you that you never have to go through this is real life...that you can just think about it and what you would do and use that as motivation to clear out your shit, find your scaffolding and duct tape that motherfucker so it will withstand a nuclear blast.  mine will withstand
but I'm already making my list of shit to dump.
experiences are what make and shape us, not STUFF THINGS

Monday, May 05, 2014

coming soon!

EnvelopeArtJournal

OK-I know I showed this to you "a while" ago but I am on the home stretch with getting this workshop ready for you. It is my first online class and so I am excited and nervous!
Stay tuned for a "workshop open" announcement within the next 3 weeks!

If you have questions on this workshop please post them here -the comments are moderated so you won't be able to see your own comment until I publish it. :)  woo hoo!!!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

journal page sketching -catching up

catching up with my Documented Life Project journal pages...I had an incomplete challenge for week 6 and didn't want to post them here out of order.
I know, I know.
I can't help it.
So, here is week 6 challenge, "open your Pinterest board and be inspired*"
*be sure to credit the artist or blogger that inspired you. 

That's Easy-ME!
Ha...I have a photo of Garibaldi Bay where my Mom lives as my wallpaper on my laptop and had been wanting to sketch for a while. Here are the results:



Week 7 challenge, "draw one shape -repeat-add color"
I was driving home in the rain one day and thought to myself what of raindrops were rainbow colored-even temporarily....here is the corresponding outcome of that thought trail:




Week 8 was "add a flap to your flap"  :D  sounds like fun, right?

my results could use some embellishing but here it is anyway:
goodies tucked in an envelope flap for future journal entries...




week 9 "collage something you recycle"

not sure if this is done but it's ok for now:

that shiny stuff is glitter glue and iridescent watercolors 
:D :D double down for more fun.

thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed these pages.
leave a comment if you were inspired -they are moderated so it will take me publishing them before you'll see them.
thank you, Namaste.

Sunday, April 06, 2014

new product prototypes - your feedback is requested!

I am designing an add-on to my Ink Pad Palace drawers that will allow storage for Stickles glitter glues and other products in similar size bottles.
I have two prototypes and am wondering which one people think they would prefer to use.

Can you help me out by posting a comment below with your opinion?


Here are the two options:
A. "Neat and Tidy" circles insert - holds 18 Stickles bottles





or
Option B - "Ornament Box" style dividers
Holds 21 bottles (3 more than option A)
the bottles are a bit more floppy in this style divider



Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment....comments are moderated so you won't be able to see your comment until I review and publish it-I'll do that as fast as I can-Thank You!!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

mail art and a secret message

the prompt for week 3 was to incorporate a piece of mail from your mailbox into your journal.
I had saved a big envelope I received a couple of months ago....


 Here's the inside -those two small images on the right hand page are a couple of beer label designs I did. The other two are stickers of Seattle Times front pages from my Pogo printer. My football team won the SuperBowl. for the first time in the teams history-it was a pretty great day for Seattle Seahawk fans.





week 4 prompt was to write a secret message and then paint over all but one word. my design is not the most inspired, however I love trees. anyway, the word I left was "finish." I have an online video class I am working on and have encountered some internal resistance......so I thought it would be a good subject to write a secret message about. I need to finish it ...so there you go.



Friday, January 24, 2014

journal prompt week 2: selfie!

the week 2 prompt for the journaling group I'm in was to incorporate a self portrait into my planner (journal).
I have a few photos of myself that I like, so I used one of those.


and then it sort of took a humorous turn....

I drew us under the photo. I like the weird look it has....like, cartoonish or something....sort of like Lynda Barry but not as good (of course) . just that odd hand drawn look
just don't look at my nose.

I want to get more comfortable with drawing people and these are the two I am around the most  :)

I'm still figuring out how I like to do my entries in this new format....

adjusting.....experimenting.......

those small pictures are prints from my Pogo printer -they are stickers!
easy...AND I can send photos to it via bluetooth from my cell phone: way cool.

here's the inside cover of my planner. I cut the address off of a piece of mail and taped it into the front, in case my planner and I ever get separated. 

I recommend that you do this in all of your journals. it may get your journal back home to you one fine day

my friend Penelope gave me those cool letters -my initials.....I glued those down and went ahead and glittered them right up.


ooooooo look at all the pretty washi tape :)  :)  :)
I used many different colors and patterns without regard to matching.

 my weeks won't be the same so why make their pages the same?



oh yah-this is one of my month pages I added.
I designed and printed these myself.
I haven't added tabs yet -not sure if I will or not.
I probably will - I like tabs, generally speaking. 
 thanks for stopping by - please comment if you like anything - I moderate the comments so they won't show up immediately, but I love comments and will publish them ASAP.

Namaste.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

painting my journal cover

I started by applying 3 coats of gesso to my planner - I forgot to take pictures of the cover with the plain gesso.

I knew the effect I was going for and had an idea to try to get me there...
I love space and wanted my cover to look like a nebula out in space... :D


SO, knowing that a white background will make your colors seem brighter, I picked out a few fluorescent colors and went to work.




I applied a few larger areas of distinct colors on the front cover(above, right) - using my fingers in order to control the the paint application

and because it's fun to finger paint.

this is the back cover, where I used a paintbrush and got into a little brush stroke groove...
if you look at the bottom, left area of the cover you can see it is fluorescent GLITTER paint....
I mean seriously!

I added some pieces of old book pages I had punched into leaf shapes just before I began painting. You can see them above....I like the fish.

this is a close-up of a set of fluorescent fabric paints I used ....

And here is the final result:
I tried a midnight blue and a black acrylic craft paint and determined the black is what worked.


Those pretty shimmery colors are Glitz Spritz sprayed onto the dried paint. 
There is also a bit of Hottie Patottie Pink Starburst Spray in the mix as well.




Do you think it resembles a nebula? 
leave me a comment - I love hearing from you!

Thank you for stopping by!

Monday, January 13, 2014

a new journal - of sorts


2013 ended in a hurried, uncomfortable way for me. We lost my father-in-law in November and the mourning period stretched through to the end of the year - Sunday, December 29 to be precise.

Without kvetching or whining too much, I feel as though I missed a lot of what I look forward to during the holidays, Christmas especially. I have written in my journal about it and am launching into 2014 with a fresh outlook.


I just wanted to share a little bit with you about why it has been so long since I posted on my blog.


I love the New Year - I like setting goals for the new year and feeling as though I have a clean slate;
that excitement of seeing 12 clean months stretch out in front of you like an empty highway begging to be driven upon.
Eventually I hope to be able to have this feeling every morning, but as of today feeling it now, at the start of this new year in front of us, is enough.



A friend of mine up north suggested a free facebook group to me that sounded very interesting - it's called the Documented Life Project. The premise in a nutshell is combining a planner and your journal into one, and filling it out with weekly challenges. 
I decided to post my results here so I have them all sort of collected together in one place online. 

this is the planner I chose - it's a lovely one made by Gallery Leather, found at Barnes and Noble here is Issaquah, Washington - near where I live. I liked this one because it was a lovely turquoise color, and is Made in the USA! The moleskine ones that were recommended in the group are mostly made in China :(   
So with a little patience and searching through what they had, I hit the jackpot. This is about 6 1/2" wide by 9" tall - larger than the moleskine too, which I prefer.



Week 1 Challenge: photograph, sketch, paint or incorporate your front door.

I drew this with a micron pen, size 005, then watercolored over it with Daniel Smith water colors.




I worked from the photo below - it was too cold to stand outside to draw! :)




There is also an optional class that teaches you how to alter your planner, decorate the cover, and add "tip in" pages; these are really just flaps -\I always thought tips ins are when you add an entire page to your book - not just adding to an existing page-but whatever you call them, I did some. I thought I would take my own path -you know, see what the other folks were doing and just make it up.

So here are my page flap additions as of week 1:



what do you think of it so far?  :)