Author: Clare at CatsEatDogs

Daily Moleskine 2018 July pages

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Seven months into my daily Moleskine practice and I love how my little planner is getting fat and full! In July’s pages I have been continuing my stamp making and playing, practiced some faces (not sure what everyone is looking at on the last pages!), adding some simple collage elements and messing about generally. This is one of my favourite things about this practice, I get to just play, the paper in this book is thin and the pages end up crinkly and with the image before or after showing through, and because of this there is no pressure.  If I want to paint  face with strange hair and wild eyebrows, I will and I will pretend that is the image I was going for. Ha!  This is where I will try new supplies and ideas, I will test a new stamp or stick in a fresh gelli print or print right onto the page.  It is a wonderful and precious record of where I am at and what I am doing with my art. …

Get Messy Season of Seasons week 1.

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The season of seasons is upon us over at the Get Messy Art Journaling community. I have to admit that it took me far too long to decide on a journal to use for this season!  Eventually I decided on the Airfoil instruction book and a pile of vintage library catalogue cards. I thought that this way I can work in the book and on individual cards which I have recently been enjoying.  I have some glassine envelopes on the way so that I can include the cards in the book and ensure a cohesive journal. Well, I can’t promise cohesive but at least it will be all in one place. Once I had decided on the journal (s), I wanted to make a little ‘kit’ to see me through the season without having to decide which supplies to use for each page, of course my little kit got bigger and bigger and I am pretty certain that my vintage typewriter will have a major part to play too. I am still sure that this …

Taking Stock August 2018

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Time for another Stock Take as the last one was in May this year.  I credit Pip at Meet me at Mikes blog for the original idea, I like to do it a few times each year to see what is going on. I always have the goal to whiz through the ‘prompt’ words and write down quickly whatever comes to me, but usually this post takes most of the day as I leave it to do laundry or make dinner then come back to finish it! If you fancy a stock take, I have a blank list at the end of mine. Making : Plans for my next art journal which I think will consist of vintage flash cards! Cooking : Burgers for dinner, a combination of beef, mushroom and veggie for our family! Drinking : Fizzy grapefruit flavored water. Reading: The Captives by Debra Jo Immergut, I have only just started it but it is good so far. Wanting: The weather to cool down, yes we are in the midst of the mid-west …

Using a ‘found’ book as an art journal.

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Firstly I ask myself is a ‘found’ book the same as an altered book?  An altered book is one which you transform with your art into a new experience which could start with an old book from the antique mall, a kids board book from the thrift shop or a clothing catalogue which you use as a base to sketch and paint in. A book is a book is a book and all are ‘found’ by whoever owns them.  So for the new season of Get Messy Art Journaling which is the ‘season of seasons’ we are going to use a found book, which sends my head spinning (in a very good way). Why? Because I just can’t decide! Then, someone mentioned cards to use for the season and my head went off on it’s axis again, what a good idea, old playing cards, vintage flash cards, postcards, postcard books. Oh boy this could take a while! So far I have narrowed my search (and pile) down to the following -a 1976 diary from “St Louis Photo” …

Get Messy season of story week 8

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I can’t believe another season at Get Messy Art Journal is almost over!  Almost two months of the season of story and it has flown by.  I took a while to get going on this one but I have really settled on a coherent ‘theme’ in my journal and I love to include the vintage photos and clipping out random words and arranging them into poems of a sort is sheer joy!  I am really loving it! Making art in my handmade books is so exhilarating, I like to work through and fill them up with art journal spreads as well as sketches and practice pages like the portrait over a spray painted background.  It is a place to try things and keep them all, good and bad, a place to learn and improve. I have been trying to add more sketches to my pages to make them ‘mine’,  but it all takes practice and that is what I intend to do. Happy Thursday x

Mudlarking on the river Thames.

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While we were on holiday in the UK, alongside visiting family and playing tourist in my home town of Lincoln, we also booked the train to go to London, wander along the edge of the Thames and see what treasures we could find. The ancient art of mudlarking is alive and very much kicking, everyone seems to be doing it and finding some amazing things.  Check out London Mudlark who not only finds the most wonderful historical treasures but also gives the background to the items along with essential mudlarking tips and guidelines. Of course you can’t just roll up at low tide and start digging about in the mud, you need a permit and these can be obtained from the Port of London Authority.  They take about a month to process so give yourself plenty of time. As we were only in the UK for 2 weeks and not in London, I pored over the tide tables which are also on the Port Authority website, to ascertain the best time to get into London on …

Get Messy Art Journal, Season of story week 7.

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I am loving how this handmade sketchbook is filling up during the season of story.  I am no where near full but I am happy to keep going with this one and see it full of journaling goodness. Almost every page so far has begun with or included a vintage photo of someone or something.  The top page here has a 1923 note from a ledger of the time, an antique post-it!  The parrot has no rhyme or reason except that he is so cool he had to be included and he ended up on the first page, which I never start with.  I don’t know why, but I never begin a journal at the first page, I usually dive in wherever I feel like it and work out until it is full! I photocopied the reverse side of the photos of Dorothy Jean, so the writing could be included in the page.  One of the many things I like about old photos is the writing often found on the back of them. If you …

100 days of freeform mandalas 91-100

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Hurrah for the completed 100 day project!  I finished a while ago but have only just got around to blogging my triumph. I also just realized that I missed a mandala off these photos, I made number 92 but neglected to include it here.  Ooopsy! I did enjoy the whole project, but I must admit that I am pleased to be done. I have made all kinds of mandalas and this project has been in part responsible for my new love for making stamps and some experimenting which went well and some which I  maybe didn’t love. Will I do it again next year? Most likely, yes! Happy Monday x    

Daily Moleskine 2018 June pages

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Lots of sketches and splats of colour in June.  Two weeks of pages were completed while I was on holiday in England so there are some good memories in those pages. I like ‘Don’t panic’ as I did that page right before we flew to England and I was panicking!  I am an airport panicker, always worried I have forgotten something or something will go wrong! Also, I like the sunnies which opened June, a pretty bad sketch but it makes me smile anyway. Are you doing a 365 project?  How’s it going now we are half way through the year? Happy Tuesday x  

Get Messy Season of Story Week 5

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For the Season of Story over at the Get Messy Art Journaling community, I made a journal which I love and I am super proud of and then I left it at home when I went on holiday to England for two weeks.  I left it because I didn’t want it to get squashed or damaged or worse, ignored.  All of these things would  most likely have happened to it, so I am pleased I didn’t take it. However, what also happened was that I didn’t do much of anything in the way of art journaling in my new journal for another couple of weeks afterwards.  It is a chunky little number and it needs to be filled! This week I saw a bird egg which I decided to paint in order to capture the colour of it, then I searched my old photos for suitable candidates for the season of story.  At the same time I pulled out some old National Geographic magazines which I had recently bought at an estate sale and I …