Tuesday, March 1, 2022

March

Hi everyone. Happy March to you.  

March means the official start to spring and hopefully the end of winter. The days get longer, and since we turn the clocks ahead here in the US in a couple of weeks, our evenings will be even longer soon. Hurrah for more sunlight, and hopefully warmer days. 

As it is a new month,  it is also time for a new challenge at Art Journal Journey.

First let me once again thank Bleubeard and Elizabeth for their style challenge. I also want to thank everyone who joined in. It was fun to see everyone's style and how the word style could be used in so many ways.

And for our March host, we welcome Valerie over at Bastelmania with her challenge

SPRING.


My month begins with a new journal that I am working in. You can see it has a horizontal orientation. Since I moved some art supplies down into my dining room (as the spare bedroom is under construction), I figured I would start fresh with a new journal. I haven't worked horizontally for quite some time,and it's fun, but I must admit, the photos are harder to show online because they are stretched out and long.


As you can see in the full page directly above this sentence.

And the next 2 photos are each half of the full spread.



Besides this new journal, I am also  trying to use up scraps and a few small (6x6 or 8x8) paper pads that have been sitting around. I'd rather not have to move them back into the space once it is finished.

I started this page by taking a few small sheets out of a 6x6 spring paper pad that I've had for a very long time. I ripped several sheets into small pieces and glued them down collage style.  I then doodled and cut out a mask on some stiff paper. My hand drawn mask makes the flowers and their stems on my page. I  used blue paint and covered over my base using my mask. (Sorry no photos). Once that dried, I quickly sketched some leaves and painted them in with some opaque light green paint. 

The green  paint on my leaves  was a little lighter than I wanted so I used a Sharpie and did some messy writing on my leaves. It added a nice bit of contrast.

Some of my rubber stamps are now out of commission with the spare room make over (they are packed away and not reachable), but I could get to these Dina Wakely bird stamps, so I stamped them on white paper and cut them out. I decided to leave them white as I think they stand out more that way.  Before I attached them I added this strip of pink ribbon to neaten the bottom of my page and give a few of the birds a place to stand.

Finally, I'm also trying to weed down the sticker collection, so I used a few letters here on my page, and I finished my page with a few clear sequins just to give my page a bit of pizzazz. 

At Art Journal Journey we only accept journal pages. They can be on paper, on fabric or digital pieces, but they should be some kind of journaling. And yes, you can include photos in your pages. We no longer have size limitations on pages either. But remember, we do no accept card, tags and other forms of art.

There you have it.  I hope I'll see your spring themed pages over at Art Journal Journey this month.

13 comments:

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Wow, I am impressed with this new format you are using this month. Stash busting, while having limited supplies. Welcome to my world (grin). I like how you created that mask to cover the grasses the birds sit in or around. That was quite clever. It's also clever the way you covered the papers which look very springlike to me. And of course, the birds. Thanks for this great first entry at Art Journal Journey using Valerie's theme.

sirkkis said...

Wonderful, happy spring pages, Erika.
In the spring so many things are comin new... so nice to see something new also here!
I wish your spring is inspiring and full of happiness, my friend xx

nwilliams6 said...

So much fun, Erika. I love the birds and all yoru fun details. Perfect Spring page with limited colors (I did the same on my bee page). Great page for the theme. Hugz

Meggymay said...

A real happy joyful page to welcome Spring Erika. I like your new horizontal format for your pages.
Stay safe.
Yvonne xx

craftytrog said...

A gorgeous Spring spread Erika!
Happy March!
Alison

R's Rue said...

I’m ready for spring.

Jeanie said...

I can't wait to spring forward! Love your happy journal title page!

Iris Flavia said...

Beautiful page, oh, I so wait for Spring!
Here it´s only March 20th, but the birds chirp already. But cold... 0C.
I like the horizontal format, too.

Divers and Sundry said...

Glorious Spring! Yes! Your art is a welcome sight, with those little birds. They're probably looking for nesting material :)

pearshapedcrafting said...

I love this pretty spread...and that it is so wide! The birds have started singing in the early mornings now! Hugs, Chrisx

Neet said...

How pretty are those birds. They remind me of cheeky little robins who come into our garden. So chubby. I remember seeing these and loving them so I bet now I have to buy that stamp.
What an interesting way you have built up this page in your new long journal. I love how you did the grasses and how you chose blue for your background colour.
This page makes me sing. It is lovely and Spring-like.
Hugs, Neet xx

Sharon Fritchman said...

Oh my goodness - this is absolutely beautiful! I really like the soft colors and just love how it is filled with joy and happiness. Thanks so much for sharing your gorgeous art! Hugs!! Sharon

carol l mckenna said...

your artwork is divine ~ love your color palette and the sweet birds ~ wonderful! Xo

Wishing you love and peace in your day,

A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)