Fadding & a No-Reason Giveaway

I've been smashing a lot lately. 

I find with the small creative time I have I go around in circles of the different creative areas I like - like smash booking, art journaling, blogging & online art pursuits, book binding, zine making - all are obviously tailored around my love of journaling somehow but I do it in a 'fad' (as my mother would call it) kind of way.

 I do the same with materials, one fad I love pencils, the next acrylics, the next paper for collage, the next metal for mixed media. Does anyone else do this? Is it just a way of 'creatives' or am I a lone fadder???

I'm liking smashing at the minute because it allows either minimum or maximum creative input. Some days when I just don't want to do anything I can just grab a glue stick and go, and the days when I do I can create some pages that have some thought behind them.

One kind of creative pursuit that I'm not seeming to be fadding with is video making, and as I've been smashing that's what my latest videos are on. The first is on the difference between smash booking, junk journaling and art journaling. Many people I think have begun to think of them all as the same thing, but to me they're very different and so this video shows the different kinds of books and journaling styles:

 And then I've also done a smashing tutorial, which shows both the kinds of smash booking I mentioned above - the easy and the more thought through.

And finally I feel like doing a giveaway. And other than the fact that I really love my online art chums & can't find enough time lately to be fadding and being online too, I can't really find a reason for giving one, but hey it's like easter eggs right??? There doesn't need to be a reason to have that extra one right?? (yes I do have a little feeling of guilt this easter, how did you tell?). 

The giveaway is not much, just 2 small packets that includes the above girls from the drawing girls tutorial post. I always like to give away something handmade, the same as I prefer receiving handmade, so I'm including one in each packet.

And you can ask what's inside the packets but I'm not going to tell you lol but if you know me and guess that some vintage ephemera would be in there then you'd be, well not wrong but that's all the clues you're getting lol just leave a comment if you wana play, and I'll pick two winners out of a hat in my next post.

Much love and happy faddy pursuit wishes

Jennibellie xx

'Summer' (?) Studio

What you are looking at is my summer studio (that wooden shack) in our lovely British weather. Yep, this picture was taken half an hour ago, not half a year ago. Earlier this week it looked like this:

Lovely and sunny

It was so nice in fact I shot a video tour in the sun

Now it's looks like I have to wait for another winter to pass to use it again :(

Much Love

Jennibellie xxx

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  :)