Hello August

   Hi  everyone.  Happy August to you. It's already month 8 of 2026. And the second half of summer. I remember being a kid when summer seemed to go on forever, and now, it feels (as the cliche says) like just a blink of the eye. 😉

   Since it's a new month, it's time for a new challenge over at Art Journal Journey. But before I get to that, I want to once again thank Halle for hosting last month and thank everyone who joined in. It was a super month of fabric, lace and trim. Thank you again for hosting for us Halle. I hope you'll come back and host again.

   This month I am hosting, and my theme is In The Good Old Summertime.

  In the Good Old Summertime  is the name of a very old song. The music and lyrics were first published in 1902. I picked this theme because you could (obviously) make summer themed pages, but you could also make vintage themed pages. You can even combine them for a vintage summer themed page. Or you could make a journal page about something good. And although not a music themed month, you could make a journal page about this particular song or a summer titled song. 

    Several weeks ago I noticed this Ciao Bella ephemera and paper journal.  I really liked it, and it wasn't expensive, so I picked up a copy. It contains papers, items to fussy cut, and stickers. I then chopped it up and used items to make my own summertime journal. You'll be seeing lots of pages from my journal over the next few weeks.

I used part of a sheet of paper from this item to make the base of my first page for this month.

    I then outlined much of the page with a black Sharpie just to frame the image more. I used an older rubber stamp I have that contains the partial paint pan and the brush on the left (image by Impression Obsession).  I also stamped another older paint brush image, but I'm not sure who made that image. Then I used markers to color things in. To make the right side of the page less white, I splattered some watery blue watercolor paint. I like how it made the page look wet. Finally I used a great quote stamp (also from Impression Obsession). I think this quote is the perfect way to start off a new month of art.

   I must also add a couple of reminders to my post about the dreaded rules. Please, no cards, tags, ATC's unless they are part of a journal page. But we accept any type of art journaling. Also, please be aware we can't all  comment on  various social media, so please, if you  link up through a source that is not a  blog, we may not be able to comment.

   I hope no matter where you live, you'll find something to inspire you with this challenge. I know we'd love to see you over at Art Journal Journey. ❤👍😊