POP-UP ART CHALLENGE #15 - MAY CALENDAR

Hi y'all!  Betty here to announce that it's time for a Pop-Up art challenge at Artful Journeys!As April draws to a close, we have to start looking forward, so we want you to create your May, 2015 calendar ... but we want you to incorporate the colors ORANGE & LIME GREEN into your spread.

Here's our adventurous take on this pop up~we hope perhaps we can inspire you with these color combinations!

Melody played with her new flower punch for this challenge, and she said that fitting all those flowers onto the page was the biggest challenge of all! As always, Melody's background is gorgeous with some brush work and use of a baby wipe it seems.  I love how she outlined all the flowers, making them pop off the page!

 

Tamie made an awesome calendar. And look at the hair verrryyyyy closely.  Yup, you guessed it.... "paint boogers" as Tamie calls them.  The dried on paint under the caps, saved and incorporated into yet another creative page, ala Tamie's Madness! How cool is that???  You'll notice lots of techniques in Tamie's work including resist, stencils, stamp work, hand coloring, collage and of course -- those adorable upcycled paint boogers!

 

Betty's calendar is beyond bright.  Working in my  mixed media Artful Journeys journal, I used my Dylusions Blendable Acrylics in orange and lime green (one of my favorite color combinations), applied mostly with a paper towel. Surprisingly, it takes very little paint with these paints and they blend oh, so nicely on the page and are smooth as butter when dry.  I gridded out the calendar in pencil and then outlined with a Neon Orange Painter's Opaque Marker, adding in holidays and notable days during the month.  I doodled a bunch of flowers and doodly things across the bottom since May is all about reblooming, incorporating my little girl pop, Sunny, this time actually in a shirt and with arms!  Colored in some of my doodles with acrylic and most of it with Caran D'Ache Neocolor II's.

We hope you like our bright calendars this week, and wish that you can take away some kind of inspiration from something we have created.  We are anxious to see your beautiful work, too, so be sure and upload photos to Artful Journeys so we can cheer you on!

Keepin' it artful ~~

ARTFUL CHICKS
Betty, Melody, Tamie & Lynn

WEEK #17 - CHANNEL PICASSO

Hi folks!  Betty here again this week to tell you about our fun prompt! We are going to push you to get way out of your own comfort zone with something fun, challenging and different.

We want  you to CHANNEL PICASSO

Yes, you heard right.  PICASSO.  Pablo Picasso.  That zany  Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playright.  You know the one.  Google Picasso and really LOOK at his body of work.  He went through so many stages in his art and we are sure you will find something in this work that inspires you.  You don't have to "copy" the work.  Be inspired BY IT.  Make it your own. Do it your way, but channel the crazy guy you must. Cut loose and let Picasso inspire you and get some of that art mojo onto the page.

Here's the fun we all created this week in response to this prompt.  We know we're not making fine art here, but we're pushing our creative limits....trying to think outside the box and try new things...just for fun.

(Betty): I tried to capture the "essence" of Picasso this week, and surely made it my own. Come check it out over on my blog, here

Melody -  What an interesting way that Melody developed her idea into something very Picasso-esque.  Check it out here

                               

Tamie rocked the prompt this week in her own unique style. Check out her full spread here 

Lynn - Well, the first thing I have to say was I really dreading do this week's page as I don't have an ounce of Picasso in me or any other artist for that matter but this is what I came up with. 

I just thought of different colors that would represent him so I whipped out my favorite paints. Dina Wakely. I used Turquoise with magenta and tangerine and one bottle of Apple Barrel purple velvet.

Faber-Castell just came out with cardboard stencils so I pulled two and just starting adding the 4 different colors on the stencils until the page was filled. Added a rub-on and the "Picasso" is letter stickers I had.

I don't know how much of a Picasso this is but I like it anyway and hope next weeks prompt is easier for me. I'm not real good at this but I never give up and you shouldn't either! Thanks for looking.

So there you have it folks!  We know it is a challenging prompt, but it is meant to be.  And if you struggle, blame Melody -- she selected this week's prompt.  And if you have fun with it.... you can thank us later for taking you into another imaginarium!

We're keeping it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
Betty, Melody, Tamie & Lynn

Artful Journeys Week 16: Earth Day

Earth Day is this coming week on April 22 - and in honor of our wonderful planet, we created pages in response to the coming day.

Your prompt for this week is.... Sights around you.  Take note of the beauty outside.  Perhaps you volunteer on Earth Day and clean up a natural resource and want to show us, or  maybe the beauty emerging in and around your corner of the earth.  Maybe you are enamored by the beauty of things in faraway places.  Whatever it is, show us your take of our beautiful planet.

So, let's get started....

Melody kept it pretty simple with her spread this week.... 

                               

Stop by her blog and see what she did, here 

Lynn took the bull by the horns and had a little fun with our prompt this week, showing a playful side....

Lynn said this about her page:  "I used Apple Barrel's Ocean Blue for my background, then added a die of a globe, that I just got, then put down my words and animals....I had a lot of fun creating this page"

Tamie had a little fun with her spread this week!  Here's a sneak peek of her spread that you can see here....

 

Betty is enjoying her spring in a uniquely Texan way.  Here's a sneak peek, but you'll have to stop by her blog to see the whole thing.  You can see it here

Since so many of you had a harsh winter (and some of that winter is still lingering in parts of the country), we know you are anxious to see signs of spring and the beauty of rebirth out of the frozen grips of winter.  Even if you are still having winter, get outside. Show us the beauty around you. It is everywhere.

We're keeping it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
Betty, Melody, Tamie & Lynn

7-DAY POP-UP ART CHALLENGE #14: ROY G BIV

It's time for a POP-UP art challenge.  And this one is a week-long challenge for you to work your pages in the colors of the rainbow, in a monochromatic color scheme for each day.  And who or what is this ROY G BIV guy? ... the primary colors of a rainbow, of course!

R = RED

O = ORANGE

Y = YELLOW

G = GREEN

B = BLUE

I = INDIGO

V = VIOLET

You can interpret this challenge any way you want, but you should focus on working in a single, monochromatic color scheme for each page.  Accent or highlight colors are purely optional and acceptable, of course.  Paint it, collage it, combine it...do it your way.

Here are some representative pages I have done over a period of a couple of years to inspire you for this challenge.  And remember to share your pages on the group feed or the photo album so we can share in your fun and give you tons of support!

RED

ORANGE

YELLOW

GREEN

BLUE

INDIGO

VIOLET

Now step up to meet this challenge and show us what fun, creative items YOU come up with.

As always--we're keeping it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
Betty

Artful Journeys Week 15: "Found" Poetry

Hey y'all, it's Melody again!  Back to bring you another prompt and maybe some motivation for your muse!

This week's prompt is "Found" Poetry-your words must be cut from other sources...even if you print them out on the computer and glue them down.

So let's get to the fun, shall we????

First, let's take a look at what Lynn created this week....I always love seeing Lynn's pages...They're created by a beginner and she is really learning to go with her gut when she creates.

Lynn said, "I used neon pink Apple Barrel paint for the back ground and added some glimmer strips on the top and bottom.  My poetry was created from words found in a magazine and the arrows are a die cut I have. A simple piece but I liked how it turned out. Thanks for looking girls."

Next up is Betty's page....she really got after it this week!  Be sure to go take a look at her blog where she talks all about it, here!

Tamie, of course, is all about the color and pushing herself a little farther....See her inspiration and full spread here!

And then there's my spread...You can see it and my thoughts behind it here!

Thanks for stopping by, and please be sure to leave everyone a little blog love when you visit!

We're keeping it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Tamie & Lynn

Artful Journeys Week 14 - Doodled Flowers!

Hey y'all, it's Melody again!  Back at the wheel with another prompt!

This week our prompt is really quite simple....Doodled flowers!!  That's right...doodled flowers....use one, use a few, fill the page or just create a border, but doodle them you must!  So let's hop to it, shall we?

Let's start by taking a look at Tamie's spread!  This week Tamie started her page with a layer of Gesso, then grabbed her trusty black BIC pen, and began doodling....Then went back over her doodles with some oil pastels

Then, a stroke of inspiration hit her, and she gave it a few spritzes of Dylusions spray inks....and, voila!

Next is Melody's...and her bright colors are in action as usual....hop on over to her blog here to see her vibrant take on this week's prompt!

Next, we have Lynn's super cute spread....

With a quick layer of Lime Green, Lynn got down to business....she then came back in with some orange and a darker green for her background.  She said, "I actually made the flowers with a Hello Kitty marker,  then came back and  colored over it with a thick white pen which then made the marker grey. The centers and petals of the flowers I colored with red and orange markers.

I then added a flower die cut for the middle and  celebrate on top. For fun I cut some butterflies and made them look like they are flying off the page. Thanks for looking..."

Betty was creative with her doodled flowers this week. You can see the full spread on her blog

We all want to wish each and every one of you a very happy Easter weekend.  Enjoy yourselves, and remember, to keep it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS

~Betty, Melody, Tamie & Lynn

POP UP ART CHALLENGE #13 - APRIL CALENDAR

Boom! It's April. Just like that. Where does the time go?  I know, we'll blink and it will be Christmas again, but right now, we are enjoying spring, or for some of you, hoping to see it very soon!









POP UP CHALLENGE:  Create an April Calendar in your journal using lavendar/violet/purple hues or tones.

Here are our calendars for your inspiration!

Betty - I created my calendar using gradient shades of lavender and purples with craft acrylics applied with a cosmetic sponge. The grid was first laid out with pencil, then over-lined with white Signo Uniball  and the April Holidays and a birthday added with a Micron .04 pen.  I added a quick little tree on Arbor Day and a reverse bunny on Easter Sunday.

Then I spent a couple of hours doodling all over the place, inspired of course by the fabulous Dylusions stamp and stencil, which I don't have... so I created my own version with a bold, black Signo Uniball.

I did all these doodles while having that special "quality time" with the hubs in front of the television.  He was actually watching the TV. I was focusing on getting this finished so I could move on to some other obligations!

MELODY -  Melody made a really beautiful calendar for this pop up, using her ever-vibrant color choices of Dina Wakely's Blackberry Violet and Titanian White, offset beautifully with some stamps, hand lettering and stickers.  The days of the month were cut from scrapbooking paper, hand dated and outlined with a black china marker.  Who doesn't love Paris in the springtime?

Tamie and Lynn were not available for this pop up this week due to other family commitments.  We hope that these two calendars will inspire you to make your own beautiful version to start the month out.  Remember to share your creations with us over at Artful Journeys!

We're keeping it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Tamie & Lynn