ARTFUL WRITING: 12 Easy Ways to T-ART Up Your Boring Writing Pages

You don't have to have pages and pages of just writing in your journals.  Why should you?  I can't tell you how many years and journals I have filled with page after page of just plain old boring writing. And I love to write, but looking back, why didn't it ever occur to me to make those pages pretty?

After I started on my journey of mixed media and art journals a few years ago, I started applying some of this knowledge, in a more stripped-down kind of way, to my writing journals, just so they wouldn't be so boring.  Sure, many of us have and use our art journals for "some" journaling, but in a different way. I think our art journals are more "art" oriented, and less about the actual journaling of life's daily events, memories, self-truths and exploration.  I journal for these latter reasons, and I art journal for these same reasons, but in a far more visual and exploratory way.

So today, I wanted to give you all some tips and ideas of how you can tart up your writing journals to keep you interested in journaling every-single-day, and of course make them visually pleasing for you to go back through, next week or even next year.

1.  Use basic supplies like colored inks, pens, markers to create borders on your pages.  These pages I just used two different colors of markers, one with a solid line, one with squiggles; and I added some doodly lettering on Leap Day.

2.  Perhaps add decorative scrap papers around the edges.  On this page, this fancy border was around a picture I had cut out to use on another project. It was too pretty to throw out, and it was just laying on my desk.  This particular day I also used water soluble crayon (NeoColors) to create a quick colored border to go with the paper.

3.  How about adding some doodled or tangled borders?  Change the color of your ink.

You can change the whole look of your day just by changing the color of ink you are writing with.  Adding doodled or tangled borders makes the page have a ton more interest, and will help you with your tangle practice, too!











4.  ADD MAGAZINE IMAGE(S) or FOUND WORDS you clipped and saved in that big pile you are "saving" for your art journals but aren't using.  Pick one to go with your "color theme" of the day. In this example, I did both.  This particular page precedes my actual "journaling" and combines numerous other elements, including a journaling card, doodles, a border, a quote, etc.










5.  WASHI TAPE.  You can use it quick and easy, down and dirty.  Tart up some pages while you're watching television.  Grab a few rolls and a pair of scissors.  Presto -- gorgeous!  This page uses skinny tape everywhere. I made a header at the top, down both sides, and across the bottom of the left page.  Note also the doodles, magazine images, use of colored pencils.  These type pages precede my actual journaling pages and often depict things I did during the day or want to record that day.  My days aren't very exciting so I can go a little bit crazy with the tarting up.


6.  ADD A FAVORITE QUOTE.  We all love quotes. We collect quotes.  Record them in your journal. Use a highlighter to make them stand out, or color them up!

7.  RECORD YOUR DAY'S APPOINTMENTS & ACTIVITIES using figural images (stick figures) or doodly images.  Representing your day in an ARTFUL way, might relieve some of the pressure some of you feel about "writing."  I usually make a block on my first page of my "to-do" items. Better than expressing it in a boring way, right?   Yes, I know some of us only  having mundane things to do like cleaning, laundry, taking care of the kids or grandkids.  But wouldn't a cute little sketch of a laundry basket look a lot more fun?  And, you are representing YOUR day, your activities in addition to all that soul searching and deep thinking.  You can find a ton of representational images on Pinterest using the search words: planner icons, stick figures, etc.

8.  SLAP SOME PAINT ON IT.  I have added paint to quite a few of my journaling pages, well, because I could, and I just wanted to do so.  I am currently writing in a Miguel Ruis medium graph journal right now, and the paper is fairly thin, so I have glued 2 pages together on most days just to support whatever I decide to throw at my journal.  Mind you, this is NOT my art journal.  This is my writing journal and also planner that i am doing in the Hobonichi style.  This particular page, I used Dylusions Acrylic and babywipes and had just gotten started working on it when I took this pic, so it was still a work in progress.  The writing surface was super smooth and I have prepped quite a few more for the days ahead.  Note this page also has washi tape, doodled borders and a magazine image on it already. Late night fun for me. LOL.  And here is the finished page.      


9.  ADD COLORFUL STICKERS

I don't add too many stickers to my journaling pages, although I have quite a stash of them.  Not sure why I don't.  Think about stickers that represent what you did that day, what you saw.  Use alpha stickers to add the date and day.  Go ahead, stick on those cute butterfly stickers you've been saving and saving.  Now is a good time! There are lots of options with so many variety of stickers available today.  I think I don't add them because I am really trying to work on my own drawing skills. Yes, that must be it.  But I get lazy, too, so I might start adding more.

10.  USE DECORATIVE RIBBONS, BRADS & OTHER EMPHEMERA.  Just the other day I added some decorative ribbon tape to my journal.  The texture of it was very nice.  I just ran it down both the far left and right margins of my writing pages.  Boom!  Color!

11.  ADD A COLORING PAGE (or part of one).  In this example, I cut up a page out of my "Color Me Calm" coloring book.  It was a mandala that I cut in half.  Half on the preceding planner part of my journal and half on my journaling pages. Big splash of color and it really works and was easy as pie.  (After it was colored, of course).  Going to do some more of these in this journal.  I enjoyed writing around all the work I had spent a few evenings coloring.  A fun way to enjoy it all again.

12.  USE THOSE RUBBER STAMPS!  Okay, I know you  have a big stash of rubber stamps just waiting on a reason to be used.  Add a super cutie to one of your writing pages.  Give it a quick color in with some colored pencils.  Voila!  I went crazy on this planner page part of my journal when that big blizzard hit the northeast.  The snowman, snowflakes, the banner.  I thought it turned out pretty cute considering I did absolutely nothing that day but stay in the house, hiding under my favorite quilt.

So there you go.  Twelve ways you can spice up your writing journals.  You can add visual interest that pleases you. You can do all of these things while you are being a slug on sofa. No big artistic skills required.  And if you are really organized, you can get several days to a week or more done ahead and ready to write (doodle, draw, stamp, color, collage, glue) your hearts out.  I know you guys are all uber-creative and can come up with dozens of more creative ways to make your journaling pages pretty and less boring!

As always, we're keeping it artful, and hope you are too.  Enjoy your journals!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty aka Arty Auntie

Melody, Lynn and Shana

Artful Journeys - Week #50 Art Prompt

Here we are, week #50 of a year-long art challenge.  Can you believe it?  This whole year has just seemed to fly by and now the sudden realization that there are only two, yes TWO very short weeks left of 2016.  I'm not finished with all the things I wanted to accomplish this year, in my art and in my daily life.  Are  you? 

A special request:  While we are all thinking about the impending Christmas holiday, food, shopping lists, gift buying, wrapping, parties and social events, excited children, frustrated shoppers, let's also remember to stop every single day, even if just for a moment to consider and give thanks for the many blessings in our lives.  Think of something you can do for someone who might not have enough food to eat, warm clothing to wear, no family to share the holiday with, or anything to give to their children for Christmas. Can you involve your children or grandchildren to help teach them the value of giving and volunteering?  Consider buying a gift for a deserving child on an angel tree, helping a homeless person get a hot meal, volunteering in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, spending some time with someone who has no family, sharing some joy with someone, to help make their day a little brighter.  I have so many blessings and things to be thankful for in my life, and I LOVE paying forward my blessings and helping those in dire situations that need the help...and not just during the holidays... I do it throughout the year, and as a matter of course. Giving is a big part of my life.  Consider sharing your blessings the whole year through. You, and your life will be enriched by the experience. 

This week at Artful Journeys, we're thinking about winter. I particularly am jealous of those of you who live in climates where you see and get snow regularly.  Snow brings out a special kind of happiness for me, and fond, fond memories of my childhood and the rare snow events of my life, all of which I can almost clearly identify they have been so few.  What memories does snow evoke for you?  Do you hate it, love, it, go play in it?  So show us!

OUR PROMPT:  "LET IT SNOW"

My spread this week reflects the fun memories from my childhood regarding snow and snow days. Here's a sneak peek, but to see the whole thing, hop on over to my blog, HERE

 

MELODY made this very pretty page, in her favorite "signature" color and left plenty of room for journaling about her winter days. I know she is hoping for snow too, but she still wants the schools to remain "open" for a quiet day at home!  One thing about Melody's journals, she likes "writing" on a painted page, and most of her backgrounds for writing are always so smooth and luscious.  I can't wait to see her writing around those snowflakes!

 

SHANA submits this vision of loveliness for your inspiration this week.  She says, " This was one of my 1st journal entries mixing acrylic paint and my Prismacolor pencils.  I used a stencil for the blue and white background and most of her hair is pattern paper showing through. For the snowflakes I used my white Faber Castel pitt pen on some stamps, along with the Pitt pens for the smudgy shadows."  Shana told me that she actually painted this journal page on her first winter without snow, when she first moved to the desert.  Being a Wisconsin cheese-head, (a title she proudly professes), Shana knows snow.  But alas, living in the low desert, she has to find a mountain or go home now to get any!  LOL 

 

                 

Be inspired this week by winter.  Let the magic of "snow" get all in your head, and in your heart...even if you are living in a warm climate!  Maybe you can fancy up some palm trees covered in snow?  You'll never know until you try!  And don't forget to share at ARTFUL JOURNEYS!

Have a great week, and as always, keep it artful!
 

ARTFUL CHICKS

~~Betty, Melody, Shana & Lynn

 

ARTFUL JOURNEYS - Week #49

Hi y'all!  Betty here again this week to bring you our prompt!  With the approaching holidays, we know most of you are busy shopping, decorating  your trees, your homes, your yards.  So of course you need a little holiday decoration in your art journals as well!

This week's prompt:  "AND THE STOCKINGS WERE HUNG..."

MELODY made this cute spread in her journal, with plenty of room to write about a favorite Christmas memory and says "This week's spread was pretty basic. It's been a tough week and no art has gotten done. I started in my small Dylusions journal with burnt umber and titanium white creating a wall and mantle to hang the stockings from. My stockings are by Jolee's Boutique and found them when I was hunting up some stickers to use in my journal for Christmas. Hope you like it."

SHANA sends along this sneak peek and a link to her video!  Follow through on the link to see the process and the finished spread HERE

That's it from our end of the world.  Lynn and I were unable to participate this week due to outside commitments.  Let this prompt challenge you to create a special memory, or recreate one.  Maybe add a special Christmas story as a tip in!

As always, keep it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn and Shana

ARTFUL JOURNEYS - WEEK #48 "Hang a Wreath"

Hi y'all!  Betty here this week with a message of good cheer and glad tidings, and your weekly prompt!

The holiday crush is upon us!  Thanksgiving is behind us, only one more "big cook" left until the new year,  with shopping and decorating in full swing across most of the country.

We want you to also "decorate" your journal this week by "HANGING A WREATH" (by creating one) in your journal. You can draw it, paint it, collage it.  Do you have a holly leaf punch and some green construction paper? There you go! You can festoon it any way you want. Use the gorgeous autumnal colors of fall, or think about cold, wintery cool blues or icy white, or start your holiday decorations with a full-on red and green wreath.  Perhaps you have some awesome greenery in your area and want to construct a "real" wreath using actual greenery  (be sure and preserve with medium or mod podge so it doesn't come apart all over everywhere a month from now!) And of course there are a bazillion options out of silk!  Add a nifty or appropriate quote or some journaling about your  holiday season and make it your own! However flat, bumpy or lumpy you get it done, hang a wreath in that journal for us this week!

Our spreads for this week are as varied as the four of us are, each taking a unique approach to the prompt.

MELODY made this beautiful spread and here's what she had to say: "I started by hunting up this background....I knew I had made it during the retreat and thought it would be perfect for a fall wreath of pretty leaves. The leaves are Recollections from Michaels, and I started by using a large candle to "draw" my circle, then began by laying down the leaves. Once I knew it would work, I pulled them off to glue them all down, then added some smaller leaves over the top, just to give it a little more depth and texture. Thanks for looking!!" 

LYNN put her thinking cap on and crafted up this pretty page ... "The "wreath" that almost wasn't. I spent over a hour trying to paint something pretty and oh boy the more I tried the worst it got so finally trashed it and said oh where is the cutting machine. Cut out leaves until I had enough to make a circle glued them all down and added the Christmas flowers. Punched out a few snowmen and the ribbon is fabric. The Christmas tag I cut and below that is a Christmas sticker.Thanks for looking and make Sure you see what the other girls came up with."

My spread was a lot of fun. My initial idea was a kaleidoscope of color, but it didn't quite turn out that way..... check it out on my blog HERE








We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, thought about the many blessings in your life and got to spend some quality time with friends and family!  We are truly blessed to have you all be a part of our lives, and wish each of you a  stress-free upcoming holiday season!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn & Shana

Are you missing some prompts from earlier in the year?  You can find a permanent link at the top of the blog "2015 Weekly Prompt Archives" or click to go directly to the archives.

Interested in what we are doing?  Join us by clicking for direct access!

ARTFUL MAIL GROUPIES (mail art swaps)
ARTFUL JOURNEYS (art journaling group)
ARTFUL EXCESS (buy/sell/trade art supplies & handmade items)

POP UP ART CHALLENGE #25

Hi y'all! 

Betty here.  This is definitely late and not on our routine schedule.  The art retreat we had at the end of October had all of us (and me especially) busier than a one legged man in a butt-kickin' contest!  Maybe some of you did yours, and if you did -- good on you!  I just finished mine up, so this was an excellent time to remind those of you who might have forgotten...

POP UP #25 - NOVEMBER CALENDER
Create your November "month at a glance" calendar with a fall or Thanksgiving theme.

My background had a lot of bleed-through Dylusions inks from the previous page, so I gessoed it rather heavily, and used a Calyx tool and made random marks in the gesso while it was wet.  Khaki and Citrus Green craft acrylic was applied with a brayer, then zapped with the heat gun (you know how impatient I can be!).  I then used two different Sugar Loaf stamps on each side of the page, and because of the textural nature of the gesso, they didn't stamp very well, so I had to draw in the details on both stamps. I colored them with Sakura Gelly Pens and Prismacolor pencils.  I sketched out the calendar blocks the exact width of my rule, went over the lines with a black Posca marker and added the dates.  Some random fall leaf stamps added and also colored with Prismacolor pencils and I called it done.

LYNN made this beautifully composed spread in her journal, and the colors just evoke a full-on fall feel, don't they?

Melody and Shana were unable to participate in this challenge.  I know we're behind, so join us in "catching up" before the holidays get us!  Share your calendar with us over at Artful Journeys!  As always, keep your world artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn & Shana

#Pop-Up#25 #November Calender

ARTFUL JOURNEYS - WEEK #46

Betty here this week bringing you our prompt for this week.  We want to push you a little bit this week, to think outside the box a little bit.  And there's a little play on words in motion here.

OUR PROMPT:  "EMPTY THE PANTRY."  Use a bag, box or label in a creative way in your journal.This week I really tried to push myself outside my own comfort zone and do something outside my "normal."  I think I managed to do that, but I'm still a little stressed over it.  Come see how and why HERE

LYNN made this bright and cheerful page, and here's what she had to say about it:

"I started by punching out hearts from a Cheerios box and the tag is cut from a apple cider box-- something I have been drinking lately--after coffee, of course. I covered my page with sunshine yellow paper and added black lace washi tape to the sides. Stamped my Tim Holtz bird and fussy  cut him out. Stamped the quote and topped it on the cider tag.Thanks for looking at this week's prompt and make sure you check out what the other  girls came up with. I got a sneak peek at Betty's and it is fabulous!!!"

MELODY created this lovely background  for her journal.  She says: " This week I made a background using an old cereal box and acrylic paints in varying shades of pink with stamps and stencils."  What a transformation!

Shana has been under the weather all week, but will be back with us next week with more of her beautiful artwork.

We hope that we have inspired you in some way or given you some ideas of reusing what might otherwise become trash.  Save the earth -- turn trash to treasure!


Have a fantastic week, and as always, get out there and keep it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn and Shana

Week 45 - Pick a decade, any decade

You know how sometimes, you have a time period that speaks to you?  Usually it's one that we've grown up in, lived our fomative years in the bulk of.

For me, it was the 80's...sitcoms, MTv, great candies, great music, and so many advances in technology!  For my spread this week, I took a background of pink and black, and began collaging different things from the 80's onto the page...nothing fancy here this week:

Then there's Shana's amazing post which you can read HERE and take a look at her amazing take on this weeks prompt.  And be sure to leave her some love when you go.

Betty and Lynn were unable to play with us this week, but will be back next week for our next prompt.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look!!!!!

Melody, Betty, Lynn and Shana
The Artful Chicks

ARTFUL JOURNEYS - WEEK #43

Howdy y'all...Betty here again to bring you our prompt for the week.  I have been extremely busy preparing for our art retreat, and quite frankly, working on prompts was not on any of the myriad of lists I have going at the moment.  But I managed...barely.


Since Halloween is just around the corner, our prompt this week is "Ghosts, Goblins & Other Spookies"
As most of you know, Halloween is not my favorite holiday, and it is hard to get in the spirit of it, when we never have trick or treaters way out here in the sticks where we live.   Of course, my neighbors are all decked out decorated and told me they were anticipating some children this year.  I told them not to hold their breath since in over 20 years we have lived out here, we had one trick or treater and that "child" is in her 20's will be getting married next weekend!  Now, of course they use that excuse to buy candy and feel good about it "just in case".  But since NO children live down here at the far end of a very dark rural road, the likelihood of seeing little ghosts and goblins is quite marginal for us. When we lived in the suburbs of Dallas, I loved all the little kids and had fun handing out candy to them, taking pictures and trying to get into the spirit of it all.  My fur babies weren't quite as receptive, but at least I did love those cute kids coming up on the porch!

EPIC FAIL

So I had some trouble with this. I have very little ephemera for Halloween, save for some cute things I got in happy mail this past week.  But none of that spoke to me.  So I did manage to draw this first thing, get it colored, and then hated the entire thing.  This was a dismal fail...but I'm going to show it to you anyway.....  it WILL get some gesso all over it very soon, I promise.  I find it to be hideous and like nothing about it whatsoever.  I used Copic and Aqua markers.There was bleeding from the adjacent page and streaks I could not obliterate without dragging out the paint too.

While talking with Melody on the phone, an idea hit me, so I whipped out my trusty pencil and grabbed black, red and white acrylic and managed to complete this new mess for you.  I'm so over Halloween. Thank goodness it will all be over next week.  The following one says it all...about my mood and inability to deal with Halloween right now.  Sorry folks. Hopefully next week my Muse will be re-enthused after spending four glorious days with the gals making art and having great fellowship with them.

LYNN made this super cute page and says: "I used scrapbook orange paper and the bats and ghosts are glimmer stickers. Washi tape at the bottom of the page. Hope you enjoy and see what the others came up with."

SHANA and her Muse were working overtime this week and came up with this really fabulous spread.  She says:  "Playing in my hot press watercolor handmade journal with aqua markers and watercolor pencils. I knew I wanted to make a goblin but I wanted him/her to be cute, and "pretty much everything is cute in a pink tutu!"  And how right she is.  This is super cute!

 

MELODY has a double entry for us tonight.  We saw her background earlier in the week and were stoked to see what she did with it.  But she says that her Muse must has flown off into the night with a vampire bat or Count Dracula, because this is how she feels......


And here's her spread.  She thinks that is her own blood on there after her Muse cut her throat. 

I think the general consensus is we're all happy Halloween is about over.  We have no more dark pages in us and the spooky ghosts and goblins have departed from our repertoires.  We are hopeful, though, that some fun and magic remain in YOUR imaginations, so be sure and show us your successes...and your failures.  We did.

Be safe, and have an artful week!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn and Shana

POP-UP ART CHALLENGE #24 "We TOADLY Get it"

Hi everyone!  Betty here to bring you our pop up art challenge this week.  I have been pretty much MIA preparing for our upcoming art retreat next week, and at this point, my lists have lists.  We're excited about the retreat and I'll be happy when it finally gets here and I can slow down and spend some time with some great folks and actually make art!


"WE TOAD-LY GET IT" is the theme of this pop up.  Obviously we are thinking frogs, warty or otherwise, but you can interpret it any way you see fit.   I'm already tired of Halloween (not my favorite holiday anyway), so this is a welcome reprieve for me!

Here's what we came up with --


SHANA made this stunner and shows off her amazing drawing skills for us once again.  She said this about her page:

"Frog Prince Kiss --Prismacolor pencils in a small Strathmore mixed media journal. White highlights done with sharpie paint pen. I originally was going to do a halloween type drawing, I was thinking witches with warty toads and frogs but when I did a search for pictures of frogs I of course came across frog prince pictures and my page completely changed. I actually wish I would have scanned my original pencil drawing so I could have tried to color it with different mediums, I like this little page!"

 

MELODY did this adorable background page for journaling in her new notebook with acrylic paints, washi and super cute embellishments.  It doesn't have to be fancy to be great, does it?  What fun it will be to journal all over this cute page!

 

And close up views of the corners and her embellishments --







And finally, my contribution this week.  Yes, I actually drew this frog!  I did the background one night earlier in the week in the wee hours when as usual I wasn't sleeping.  I wanted to do something sort of sarcastic since that's where my mood has been... Sarcasm is my super-power, you know.  Anyway, I did tone it down compared to where my head was, and this was the result.  Background has about 5 different color layers of acrylic paints scraped and brayered on; stenciling and some found letters.  Frog was hand drawn and fussy cut. Colored him in with Spectrum Aqua pens and a Signo Uniball pen.

We hope you like what we created for this prompt and that perhaps we have inspired you in some way.  Whatever you choose to put in your journal, where Halloween oriented or not, we TOAD-LY get it!

Hope you are having an artful week!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn and Shana

Artful Journeys - Week #42

Hi everyone!  Betty here this week bringing you our weekly art challenge.  Week 42 is here... only 10 more weeks until the year comes to an end.  Can you believe it?  Why, when we were kids did we wish so hard for time to go by faster.? Now, father Time seems to fly by and we blink twice and the holidays are upon us.  Whoosh!  And "they" told us to be careful what we wished for ... ha! But I digress...

This week at Artful Journeys we want you to STAMP A MANDALA in your journal.

A "mandala" is described on Wikipedia as " Mandala (Sanskrit Maṇḍala, 'circle') is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe.^[1] The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T.^[2][3] Mandalas often exhibit radial balance.<sup>[4]



There are many kinds of mandalas in the world of mixed media, and most would generally agree that a mandala forms a circle, in general.  A mandala can have radiating arms, be circular in nature within a square, but generally will conform to the overall shape of a circle.  There are 100's if not 1000's of examples of mandalas on the internet, in adult coloring books, etc.

But for our purposes, we want  you to make use of all those rubber stamps we know you have been collecting and have hiding out in your stash of beloved art supplies. Drag them out. Be creative. Use some you never use, but love. 

Here's what we came up with this week for you. 

First up is LYNN and she created this lovely example of some complicated mandalas for you.  Here's what she had to say: "Hi girls. I used lime green paint as the background and had this circle stencil that I just used a black ink pad to stamp around it and added circles here and there for more of a design. So only 3 items was used this week. Stencil, Ink pad, and Lime green paint.  Don't forget to check out what the other 3 girls did and thanks for looking."</sup>

Next up is MELODY has created another bright and eye-catching spread in her journal. She says, " For this week's prompt, I just started grabbing stamps! They're all by Heidi Swapp. I started with the butterfly, then tried going in a square around it, but that failed, and I just kept going until I ran out of room. The background was prepared with my favorite Quin Magenta & white acrylic, with some stenciling and the page edge finished out with some coordinating washi tape."

 

  

My spread (BETTY) began with my favorite color combination of yellows and orange acrylic, brushed on and then smoothed out a bit with a baby wipe.  Quite some time ago, I got this really great, but small stamps from Close to My Heart and used them to form the basis of my mandala.  I used a compass to make some guidelines, which were later erased with a Hi-Polymer white eraser by Pentel.  Seems like every time I rough in a mandala I want really circular without my trusty compass, it is a little wonky or I run out of room on one side, so using the compass and starting in the center of your page will help keep it even on the page.  I always look upon a mandala as more "the circle of life" as opposed to the more traditional "universe".  I love all kinds of mandalas, but one of my favorites are the really ancient ones drawn based on iconic religious symbols for various cultures and countries. Some of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen were from victorian age Russia and ancient Tibet.

SHANA got super creative with her spread this week, and here's what she had to say: "
I made my stamped mandala in my Dylusions journal using black StazOn ink pad. Creating the mandala was so zen-like. I made no real conscience decisions when I created it, I chose the stamps based on size and just repeated on the opposite side. I loved how the pattern turned out but felt it needed some color, that is where the Dylusions spray came in! I used multiple colors and 4 or 5 different stencils blotting the excess until I got the color burst and texture I was looking for! I can't wait to use this background in the future! big hugs and mushy stuff! "

So there you go.  Four different interpretations of a stamped mandala.  We are anxious to see your beautiful creation, so be sure and share with us at Artful Journeys.

Have a fantastic week, enjoy the fall weather, and as always, remember to keep it artful!

ARTFUL CHICKS
~~Betty, Melody, Lynn & Shana