Thursday, June 18, 2015

The Stages of A Journal Page

 Hi there everyone! Friday is here again-already! It is the last day of the kids at my school so YAHOO!!!
BIG BIG SMILE!
They leave at at 11:30 today, and  later on this afternoon there's a cookout at one of my friend's homes. Its a little get together to celebrate surviving  and almost completing another school year.
 Too bad I have 3 teacher work days next week to make up excused snow days and having to fulfill my contract obligations! But I am not really complaining because my summer break is really almost here.
(Just teacher days, although they can be boring, are at least much more low key and less structured.)
Today I have another journal page to show you, but not sure its even good enough to post on my blog.
You know how there are pages you make that you may not really like but they are finished and decent enough to post.
Not this page!
This page is a hot mess! I like the background but there are too many images and those images just get lost on the page. I think I would leave the cow skull and the little bright painted southwestern motif image, but there are too many other distracting elements on this page.
So  my nit-picky self had one of those salvage the page ideas.
Maybe I just need to paint it over!
So I did that- I painted over the main body of the page in brown,  then I journaled with a Sharpie, and  stenciled the clouds in white. Still not happy, I took some blue paint and applied it with a very very wet paint brush. I like how that worked! It gave the page some much needed texture. I then restamped the cowgirl, the cow skull and the southwestern motif on paper and fussy cut them out. I added the word using some thick cardboard letter stickers.
It still needed work. I added the doodle around the edge. I rubbed some paint over the spirit word to make it stand out a little more, and I used a Lego which I painted and then stamped. It gives me these cool little circles. We are getting there.
But to me, it still needed something.
Man, I am being too picky or what?
So my question became, how much time do you put into a journal page? Until you are really happy with it? Until you are satisfied? Until you are ready to toss it in the trash? (But I always feel guilty about doing that! Like I could salvage every attempt.)
After looking at it and thinking about it a bit, I decided it needed something around the edge, so I dug out this cool horse stamp I have. 
And now I am finally happy with it.
Sometimes a simple journal page becomes way too complex.
Hope everyone has some fun weekend plans, and if you're a dad, hope you have a Happy Father's Day.
I think we are  going boating tomorrow with my daughter and her boyfriend, since Sunday it is suppose to rain. But in this world one never really knows what will happen.
Linking this page to Paint Party Friday. Thanks once again to Eva and Kristen for hosting! 
Stop by and check out all the interesting pieces people post!
I am also linking this to Art Journal Journey. This month's theme is masculine and feminine, so stop by there also to see some interesting (and really well done) journal pages.

And I have to post this video! Take a peek if you have a few minutes. This is from my school's graduation that I was at last Friday night. It was an amazing speech and "more" that has gone viral. Its been on Ellen DeGeneres's website, Ryan Seacrest's web page, its been on the news, People magazine., plus a bunch of other places with over a million hits. Just absolutely amazing! And the speech before Colin's was so good we didn't think he could top it, but who knew we would be proven so wrong. But I should have known, because Colin is one amazing graduate!

We've been talking about it all week at school!
Enjoy! Hope you have something fun planned this weekend and of course,
thanks for stopping by to visit my blog.

15 comments:

Faye said...

What a progressive change! I loved the first that you thought was too busy, but was not too interested in the in between version and finally love the last one as well as the first version.!

Valerie-Jael said...

Love your journal page and how you changed it. It would be nice if you would link it to AJJ, too! Glad the 'big' work at school is almost over, I know that feeling of hankering for the vacations when you are teaching! Great video, too. Hugs, Valerie

froebelsternchen said...

I thought the page is just good.. but what you made with it is brilliant.. yes that was it! Great !
Now the schoolyear nearly founds it's end! BRAVO! Enjoy !
Happy PPF!
And why not linking again to AJJ Erika?! It fits perfectly again!
oxo
Susi

Valerie-Jael said...

Thanks for linking to AJJ Sweetie! Valerie

~*~Patty S said...

Wonderful creation in all of its stages.
I always say gesso is my friend...
that said it does take a bit of courage to go over something but I'm usually not sorry.
Congrats on making it through another school year.
I remember how amplified the last weeks always were and then boom it was over.
oxo

froebelsternchen said...

Super that you have linked to AJJ Erika ! ♥♥♥

GlorV1 said...

Love your journal page, the before and the after. Great video as well.

denthe said...

Wow, that's quite a transformation of your journalpage. You did a great job, love seeing all the different steps.

Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

It's fascinating to read about your creative process, especially since I always take all sorts of unexpected turns as I work on a piece. As a parent and Gifted/Talented educator, I LOVED watching your HS's graduation video. Thanks for your visit and happy PPF!

Christine said...

Nice page, glad you posted it, and thanks for sharing the speech!

Anonymous said...

Sometimes you eat the paint, sometimes the paint eats you. I can relate. Process is everything. What a cool kid, he will go far in achieving his passions in life. Must have great parents too! xox

Linda Kunsman said...

I liked your first page busy as it is but would have had the female image larger so that she was the focus. That said, I LOVE your final page Erika! And wow- the graduation speech was beautifully written and spoken, and that musical ending-awesome!! Happy summer vacation to you!

Giggles said...

Wow loved the video, it made me cry! What a wonderful speaker that young man is!! Your page is amazing...and although it was difficult I see a metaphor in what you covered up!! Love that you brought the spirit forward and covered up all the rest of it! Really fabulous process... Have a wonderful holiday!!

Hugs Giggles

SLScheibe said...

That's a gorgeous journal page and I really love the horse stamp around the edge. I think it looks fabulous!

Katie Jeanne said...

Hi Erika! I bet you're glad to be on a school break. :) Now you can concentrate on art all summer!! I'm a former NH girl..grew up in the White Mountains.