Drawing Girls Faces Tutorial & Zine

Hello wonderful blogland, happy PPF...posting a little early as will be out in the land of no computers tomorrow (- yes I'd forgotten such a place exisited too!!) Hope everyone is well?? I've not managed to do much painting this week so I'm looking forward to sitting down this weekend and cracking open some lovely new acrylics. 

But the above I have managed to do, and they are for my latest zine, (which you will know I've been all 'crazy lady' about making lately if you read this previous 'I love zines, and so should you' post lol).

Issue #2 'How to Draw Girl's Faces' and
Issue #2.5 'The Cheats to Drawing Girls Faces'

I've been shocked at how popular these zines have been, I only just put them in my Etsy shop yesterday and they're walking off the...well err printer and copier lol...I also made a video tutorial to accompany it where I draw three girls under three different time frames (though all still fairly quick, longest is 40mins). 

And although they obviously go better together I made the video visible to everyone, not just to those who have purchased a zine, because well, I'm no squirrel and I don't like to hide my nuts* away 

* nuts here meaning arty hints, tips and tricks, not edible, or any other kind of nuts lol

Linking with Paint Party Friday, can't wait to do some arty blog hopping this week, I missed you guys last week

much love Jennibellie xxx

Eco-Friendly Crafting & A Little Workshop Teaser!

Hello lovelies just a quick post today, as some of my blog friends know I'm an eco-friendly crafter, I don't throw anything away and use whatever is around me for my materials. Well a while ago I was asked for a video on how I organise all the things I keep and/or collect so here it is, along with tips for collecting your own eco-friendly creative treasure trove (you'd be surprised how much inspiration you can get out of a humble tissue paper roll you really would ! lol):

I've been asked the same question a couple of times this week - how do I attach/include many of the items that are in this video to my projects/journals and funnily enough that just happens to be what my next art journaling video series is on! So here's a heads up keep a look out for my Art Journal Add Ons Workshops! Whoop! Just a little series of making your journal fun, chunky and tactile to take the serious edge off of our daily drudge! Not sure when they'll be up yet as I'm very busy at the moment (life has a habit of being so when there's fun to be had doesn't it?) but I'll be filming them here, there and everywhere till they're done so as I say keep your eyes peeled ;)

Much love and arty wishes

Jennibellie

A Week of Doodle & Zine Craziness, Studio Revamp and Gesso Mess

It's been a while since I journaled in a doodle style, but yesterday I just couldn't seem to get enough of doodlin'.

Posties over zine titles because they're just TOO good, will have to wait till they're printed & published :)

In fact by the time I doodled this page (1am-ish) I bizarrely didn't much feel like doodlin' any more, but it was like it was against my will, like I had caught a bug!? See I didn't want to sneeze any more...I just couldn't help it!! So this page was done very doodle-lazy (if that is not a contradiction in terms?!) due to the 'all doodled-outness' (medical term!) I had suffered from earlier in the day.


The culprit of the 'all doodled-outness' is ZINES!!! If you're a journaler but haven't brought (or traded) any zines you have NO idea what you are missing out on! Zines are a self published magazine basically, they started with Fanzines I believe, when photocopying became cheap & easy - much like pamphlets that sprung up everywhere on every topic when the Printing Press was invented [insert sigh & 'here goes the history nerd again' grumble here] lol

Just a few of my zines (or stories), all these ones purchased from Etsy

They can be on any topic - writing, comics, politics, fiction, crafts, you! etc etc etc though usually they are made by 'arty/illustrating' kinda folk that turn any subject they like into (almost) an awesome journal! I don't really understand why zines are not more popular, but in a way it's kinda nice that there is secret zine culture going on; on the other hand though I seriously want more people making, and shouting about, zines! THEY RULE! So I've mainly been crazy about buying, and making my own, zines since my last post.

New, but old skool stylee, technique

But I have had some time for a little art, and the above I also made a video tutorial on, to show an easy peasy technique I found while playing with Gesso:

I also uploaded another video showing what's in my sketchbooks, as it was requested on another video:

Think that's all the videos I've made since my last post...but to be honest though I'm making so many that I can't really tell you what day of the week is it! Like my other creative outlets it's on a whirlwind at the moment! One thing non-art journey related that's been going on this week (though I confess not entirely unrelated) is a studio revamp:

Poor old & battered computer armoire

This is what the area of my room that I don't usually show looked like, well minus lotsa stuff which I'd already cleared away before this pic. I usually show my 'pretty' side with multicoloured boxes and hanging artwork, not the side covered in computer and printers.  But after a trip to Ikea (in which I got a pretty good haul of art supplies too I'll have you know - pretty paper napkins, paint brushes, funky binder clips, prints for collage etc...okay now we're back on art again.....me = innocent whistling and sideways glancing around!! lol) I found a cool corner desk that helps the awkward angles of my teeny-weeny room:

Whoop!! Computers and Printer fit in perfectly :)

And that's about my week in a round-up, though I dare say I've forgotten lots of things....hmmmm but then if I had a better memory I guess there'd be less reason for me to journal! (Yes, my mind works some great excuses sometimes). How's your week been??? Much love and arty vibes, Jennibellie xxx

New Love for Acrylics & Testing the New Derwent Artbars

I have found such a new love for acrylics the last few days, I've no idea why.

unfinished page

Rather than using them as I usually (for the background then using other materials for the foreground or mixing them together) I've just been wanting to do nothing but paint with acrylics. As I usually do when the creative instinct calls I've just gone with it, and I find it sooooo relaxing slapping down the paint and leaving it where it lies.

But I received some other art materials which I've been so excited about getting, the new Derwent Artbars, so I'm thinking acrylics will be put to one side tonight lol. They are watersoluable wax bars, and they can do all the things Caran D'ache neocolour II can, but you can make them either translucent or opaque. They are triangular so you can literally draw with the points too, and I find it's easy to manipulate with water - so you can keep some lines visible and erase the ones you don't want, which sometimes I cannot do with neocolour IIs. I did have time for a tiny a bit of a play, so for 10 mins I just drew with them and then added water to the page, it created this page:

The new Artbars :)

For touch ups I took the brush directly to the bar to create a paint - I really like the thick yummy paint they can make. I think I definitely prefer them to the neocolour II, but still being a such an easily dilute-able material I think they will work best for larger background work in my journals, unless I'm feeling all abstracty that is, as I don't like how this page turned out.


I'm going to link with Paint Party Friday and Studio Sneak Peek as I've not joined in any online art hopping for aggggggggggggggggges, hopefully I'll see you there, much love Jennibellie xxx

Homemade Glazes

Bit of a change from my usual post today, I'm going to keep it art-free! (that feels strange to type, you realise we only ever say that ( -free) when the previous word means is something bad?? Sugar-free, Fat-free, Ammonia-free, Alcohol-free - well I guess art can be addictive also lol!) Instead I've been making homemade glazes:

I'm waiting patiently for more squeezy bottles so I can make a whole collection to fill up an old rosewood aromatherapy box I've had ever since I first started making my own lotions and potions (too many years ago to count):

Here's a tutorial on making your own:

 Thanks for stopping by, what have you been up to?? Jennibellie xx

Acrylic Blue Woman

Hello blogland! I'm alive (in case anyone on earth wondered where I got to...probably not lol), last weekend as a belated birthday thing I went to stay with my bff in another county, all arranged to have a wonderful time and once there got really sick, typical right? So I've not been creating since, and spending most of my time in bed instead, but now feeling much better & as a throwback into journaling I painted this:

I wasn't feeling like doing much so was really shocked that by the end of the day, I had been really productive. I ended up liking it so much that today I put the image on my new business cards, which I have needed for a while but hate creating them (well actually no I like creating them, what I hate is all the 'extras' they place on the order making a £8 bunch of cards go up to £45 but anyhow I digress...)  Don't you just love it when only a simple hour of journaling, done without any premeditation of what's coming, churns out something you really like? It's since sparked more painting of acrylics, I love the 'no cleaning your brush' technique I'm doing! I also recorded the process of this page and created a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPEKBKfSCX4&

Later note: Unfortunately Blogger & Youtube are not playing ball so I cannot embed the video here (blogger is not acknowledging any new-ish videos on youtube, stupid really considering they are both Google owned!). I've had this post written for 2 days - just waiting for Blogger to wake up a bit grrrrr, but enough waiting let's post dammit!!!

Hoping this week to get back into the blog & online flow, thanks so much for stopping by, much love Jennibellie :)

PS I've updated the Journaling Videos page so you can catch up if you've been meaning to, they're all there yay! finally!...well except for the new ones I that aren't embedding that is  :)

...My (!) Crazy Days

Like usual, I have a million and one projects on the go...but today I've not only got the day to do them (though they cannot possibly be finished in one day) but the mojo is also working, which I'm so thankful for, as I feel she has been lacks so far this year. So not one single minute of today is being wasted, here's what it's looking like:

I go from my messy, messy, juicy messy desk where I am making my latest zine...

into another room where my computer & I are harmoniously video editing the next instalment of 'Art Journal Supplies 101' (well I say next instalment, there's only two - but they're mighty :) )...

via the hallway where every crossing I spend one minute on the floor with stencils & huge sheets of paper, ready to go inside the current journal I am making... 

during which time I usually come up a great idea that 'I just have to do now', but then remembering I have too much to do already & have to prioritise, I write it all down in my ideas journal. This usually takes a while in itself but at least I have the goodies stored...seriously this has happened every time I've picked up a stencil today - I've completed 6 new pages in this journal!...

I then jump on my new bike to try and re-focus (see I am using it!!) and it actually works, though in the beginning I usually end up thinking of another video I want to do...

but all I do is write it down here (on my current videos list) to be elaborated on later, and by the end of the exercising I am focused enough to jump off and go straight back to my desk to do more zine-ing!
(though in case you're wondering; no I'm not sweaty at this point as I only exercise for 10-15 mins at a steady rate - I tried half hour hard core this morning and nobody in the history of the world has ever needed a shower more - so I much prefer these gentle bursts!)

In case you want to see it here is the first half of the Art Journal Supplies 101 series, though I know many of my blogging friends are very advanced art journalers a few of my subscribers on youtube wanted a guided hand, so you may or may not get something out of it, it's your call but I still enjoy seeing what other people used in their journals and what techniques they have to share:

Hope you have a flying mojo today too, if not pop around here and I'll share some of mine - it has given me enough projects to do for the next 5 years so you could probably take some of those with you too lol much love Jennibellie xxx

A Year Older...& a 5K Whoop!

Hi Guys, I write before you a year older and...well probably not much wiser. Turning 28 (scarily close to thirty - which I will not take very well when it occurs lol) attributes some of my absence this week from blogging, yesterday for example, though the day after my birthday I spent nearly all my spare time constructing this birthday present:

This beast, which is a cross trainer and bike is to fit in an already tight bedroom, but alas there is nowhere else for it to go so I'm looking to make all rooms in the house as ergonomic and multi-functional as the art studio; which is not only the smallest space in the house but it also holds the largest amount & is the most used lol. (Btw don't think me getting this means I'm a healthy person, I'm defiantly not lol but since leaving London I am in need of fitting daily exercise back into my life, as I just don't do the same amount that used to come naturally dashing up escalators or running to catch trains). So due to it's size we've decided to called it Grawp, as it's a giant, after Hagrid's little brother from Harry Potter - we decided it couldn't be called Hagrid as it wasn't furry...

& we couldn't call it Madam Maxime as my full sized mannequin jewellery holder got that name a decade ago....long before it was popular to drape your jewellery on things for decoration, I used to go out looking for interesting objects because I like to add drapes & dangles to real life as much as I do to journals :)

Anyway I just wanted to catch up as I haven't done anything much arty things this week except for a few pages in my smash book:

And a video on my homemade smash kit as was requested by subscribers after my last smash book video:

One thing that did make me smile today is my original recycled cereal box journal tutorial today reached over 5,000 views on yt, now I know to some that might not seem so grand but to me it's just *awesome*. Even this week I've still seen new blog posts & videos showing versions of handmade journals people have created using this tutorial and it just makes me really, really happy. So go cereal box journals, go! Whoop! If you have no idea what I'm talking about here is the original tutorial, much love and kisses, Jennibellie xx