Friday, September 1, 2023

September

Happy new month everyone. Welcome  to September.

First let me once again thank Chris for hosting at Art Journal Journey last month. And thank you everyone who joined us at Art Journal Journey. It was great to visit so many fascinating places in the world.

Seeing it is a new month, it is time for a new challenge at AJJ. This month I want to welcome the talented Elle who you probably know from her blog Empire of the Cat . Elle's challenge is 

BOOKS, CATS and TEA

As  Elle says in her write up, these are 3 of
 her favorite things. They are some of my favorite things too, but I would have to add dogs in there as well as cats.  😏


I decided I would start this month using all 3 of those items in my journal page.
As Elle mentions on the AJJ homepage, your pages don't have to include all 3 of these prompts into your art. Your art may be just about tea, just about books or just about cats. Or any combination. 

I used this book printed paper for my  initial inspiration. After I made the background with paint, sprays and ink,  I cut out  some of the books from the paper to make this stack. The cats are stamped and fussy cut; I also colored in their eyes. Even though they  look like tiny toy sized cats, I added 3 on the top of the book pile. Smile. I die cut the tea pot out of some blue  paper. I inked the blue with black for some definition and added the polka dots, some steam, as well as the stamped quote. 

Elle's challenge runs for the month of September. Please remember we only accept art journaling at Art Journal Journey. It can be any kind of journaling, but we do not accept cards, tags, ATC's, photographs that are not part of a journal page nor other forms of art.

I hope Books, Cats and Tea inspires you, and you  make a page (or even better, more than 1 page) to join Elle as well as Elizabeth, Chris, Valerie and myself ( the admins)  at AJJ this month. It should be fun to see everyone's take on this theme. 

Have a great start to this new month. 

I am also linking this post up to Nicole's Friday Face Off  as there are 3 kitty faces on my page, and Gillena's Friday Art for Fun Lunch Break.



 

26 comments:

Hels said...

The title "Books, Cats and Tea" reminds me of discussion I had with friends, looking for what in life brings about the most pleasure. People wrote in with ideas like travel, sex, football etc etc. I wrote "Books, labrador dogs, white wine and espresso coffee" :)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What an amazing first entry, Erika. I absolutely LOVE the cats peeking out behind the books. Adding the teapot at the bottom completes the beautiful entry, too. Thanks for this amazing first entry you have given us for Elle's theme at Art Journal Journey, dear friend.

Tom said...

...I'll skip the tea, thanks.

Angie's Recipes said...

Dogs and cats are all GREAT! Used to drink lots of tea daily..now just water :-)

Iris Flavia said...

Such a beautiful page! The three cats are just adorable!
A student at Siemens had two black cats and often sent me pics.
Somewhere I´d heard people don´t like them cause they are not good for taking pics, such nonesense.
The teapot looks like mine, just in blue!
No idea if I can join. Most of my books are on the kindle and I have no cat, but two deco-ones.
But I look forward to see more! Have a great Friday, hugs

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Books are essentially life itself, cats and tea not so much. Hugs - David

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful page, with lots of blue, always my fave colour. Love how you put the cats on top of the books. My Kitty loved getting onto a bookshelf, aqueezing through to the back, and then pushing the books down, one by one. Hugs, Valerie

CJ Kennedy said...

Fabulous page. The teapot is my favorite color, and Love the3 Inks on top of the books. Looks like another nice day shaping up. Enjoy!

Jeanie said...

That's a toughie challenge! All good themes but sometimes hard to incorporate all three!

Gillena Cox said...

Luv your response to AJJ
Thanks for linking to Art For Fun Friday

Much🖤love

kathyinozarks said...

Happy Septmeber! Love the new theme for AJJ and I really love your journal page.
Happy Labor Day Weekend

pearshapedcrafting said...

A fabulous page Erika, Those cats look as though they could be quite mischievous. I love the spotty teapot even though I wouldn't drink the contents. Have a great weekend,hugs, Chrisx

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

This really is a grand page Erika, I too love those cheeky cats peeping over the books. A great theme from Elle but I have to say I'd have to have chosen Dogs too :)) Wishing you a wonderful holiday weekend Hugs Tracey x

DVArtist said...

Happy Sept. How can you go wrong with cats, books and tea? Elle has some good favorites. Thank you for sharing it with FFO and have a nice weekend.

peppylady (Dora) said...

Well done, on your AAJ page.
Coffee is on, and stay safe.

Neet said...

I don't think size matters osn a journal page, unless you are trying to achieve perspective so the fact that your cats are smaller than the books did not appear wrong to me.
It's a fabulous page, I love how you incorporated all three elements of Elles challenge and yet came up with something so cohesive.
a truly fabulous page Erika.
Hugs, Neet xx

sirkkis said...

A great idea with cats, books and tea! The cats look so relaxed looking what there in a room is going on...
Happy inspiring September xx

Aimeslee Winans said...

I think the cats are perfectly placed, them being so small gives it a perspective, like you are looking up at the scene. And they could also be playful kittens, too! It's a great page and kudos for including all 3 elements. I highly doubt I'll be doing that if I get a chance to play. Hope your weekend goes well, xoxo

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Love those titles... and those kittie-boos!

Divers and Sundry said...

They do all seem to fit together...

carol l mckenna said...

Wow! Awesome collage with the kitties ~ love it! Xo


Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

craftytrog said...

Happy September Erika!
I love this page, the black kittys are so cute!
Hugs,
Alison

nwilliams6 said...

YOu got all the elements. Several of the books must be good since there are two copies! LOL. Love the kitties!!! Great background too. Hugz to you Erika.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Love those whimsical, literary kitties!

Sharon Fritchman said...

Hi Erika! What a beautiful page you created for Elle's theme this month. I love how you incorporated all three elements into your clever and gorgeous project. The books look amazing, those cats really look like they want to drink some tea while they are reading, and your teapot is whimsically cute with the white polka dots! WOW! And I want to thank you SO MUCH for commenting on my blog post (already!!)! Your comments mean so much to me! HUGS! Sharon

Empire of the Cat said...

Blogger has decided to throw a fit today so I've been having some trouble commenting on some blogs. I "think" I left a comment in moderation but I'm not sure it took. Please ignore this if it's a duplicate. I love your black cats on top of the books - I actually have a toy black cat that sits on top of some of my books just like that! I like the "from the library of" text too, it reminds me of something I will have to look out for this challenge, if I can find it that is. The teapot is so cute, it would make a really nice real life teapot design too. Thanks for joining me for the Books, Cats & Tea September theme at Art Journal Journey this month Happy Journalling! Elle/Empire of the Cat xx