ICAD Faith Art Journaling Cards with Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps

 

Hi everyone!  I've been very sick this month, but am finally able to share the remainder of my projects for my Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps Guest Designer spot.  I decided to create some journaling cards, after finding a really neat old wooden recipe box, and thinking it would be great to pull one out from time to time for daily inspiration.  I'm sharing a quickie video on my gel printing methods using my Gel Press printing plate and neon paints HERE.

I used the gorgeous Floral Doily Stencil by Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps for my printing and neon paints from Michaels, mixed with a little Folk Art Acrylic in white.  

I added some doodling with my Posca white paint pen and then proceeded to layer my torn gel printed papers with stamping.  For this first card I focused on the awesome Grace stamp from the Choose Faith stamp set.  

I actually printed on some upcycled tabbed dividers and thought it was fun to incorporate the tabs into the design.  I added some layers with washi tape and staples.  I tucked in a stamped and die cut image from the Be A Wildflower set, which I just smudged neon yellow paint onto with my finger.  

On my next card, I stamped the tiny leaf silhouette to make some faux washi and added one of the beautiful Hope Word Art sentiments.  I did a little stamping in Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide in the background for a hint of blue and gave everything a splash of watery black gesso.  I mounted the cards onto black cardstock for stability, used a corner punch, then edged in black ink.  I really look forward to building my collection of cards in my recipe box and drawing out daily inspiration.  

I hope these cards have inspired you today and you'll take a look at the inspiring products available on the Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps website!  xx, Autumn

Embossing Resist Watercolor Card

I am honored to join the IndigoBlu blog today with a reminder post for the current challenge, A Touch of Red.  Honestly, red is the color I used least, but I tried pairing it with black and white for a more traditional approach and ended up really happy with the scheme.

I embossed two flowers in black and layered the petals for dimension.  For the background I embossed this gorgeous swirl stamp in clear onto a watercolor card, then added a wash of red and a few splatters.  To me this as close to CAS as it gets!  I'd love to know if you all think this is too simple.  Do tell.

My sentiment comes from this beautiful verse, "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  John 16:33 NIV,  I used stickers from Tim's Chitchat collection and outlined them in black watercolor.  A final touch was sketching outlines on the sentiment and card border.

I'm also sharing with:

Mixed Media Mojo: Spring/Watercolor
Craft Stamper: Anything Goes

DIY Smash Book Journal for Fall

Years ago I sold handmade DIY Smash book journals on Etsy.  I had the best time making these and just had to revisit!!!  I love using my scraps of paper and ephemera to fill these amazing books.  I wanted a special gratitude journal to use for fall, since it is the season of reflection and Thanksgiving.  This is what I came up with.  It has just that perfect amount of golden yellow for the Frilly and Funkie Challenge, a touch of gold.

I make my Smash books with old book covers and this herringbone printed Reader's Digest was screaming at me to be made into a journal.  I always use two rings for binding because it is easier to turn the pages with two rings as opposed to three rings.

I layered a Making Memories frame over a stamped leaf by Stampers Anonymous for Tim Holtz.  I stamped it on Kraft and sponged it for the color.  I stamped the pretty typewriter font stamp in permanent black and painted the letters on with acrylic paint.  I layered in there a hymnal strip that reminds me that all good and perfect things come from God.  I sponged it a little along the edge.

The frame was glued after I cut an actual hole for a window in the cover.  I did this carefully with an Xacto.  I sanded the rough edges and made a frame from washi tape so the inside would be pretty.

I added more stamping and some prefab labels and stickers.  The bird is an image from Graphics Fairy, but I don't have the link.  The girl is one that I made after taking Christy Tomlinson's She Art class.  I made tons of magnets with her as the focal point for a swap.  I photocopied that and cut it down so I could use her again in my book.  Something I really want to do more of!!!

I added the fruit of the spirit stamp along the bottom and made her some wings from a SU! leaf stamp.

 A bit of vintage lace makes her cozy in her new home!

These books are so much fun to create.  I hope you'll be inspired to enjoy a season of thankfulness and to create something to express it.

Gotta love that birdie...

So much to be thankful for, especially freedom from the bondage of sin in Christ Jesus.

Many, many pages to complete, but that is the point!  I can't wait to play in this journal some more and will share along the way.  I'm linking to Frilly and Funkie for their Touch of Gold Challenge HERE and to SSS Work it Wednesday for their Fall Challenge HERE.

Be Glorified Oh God Journal Page

This journal page was preconceived, the idea just came to me, which is unusual for me because I usually just sit down with no concept of what I will do and just pour paint directly onto my page without any rhyme or reason.  But I had an idea for this bright green page with all of this growth pouring out in a cluster and this is what I came up with in the process.

I painted the green and added some white and hellow highlights and lettering in with a black sharpie.  I added some stamping and mod podged a group of leafy die cuts below the hand drawn scallops.  I wanted the bottom half to be softer, so I dry brushed some gesso over it.  I added very little journaling to this page, just wanted to illustrate the point.  I really love this 7Gypsies arrow stamp and used it here with the idea that no matter what, I want to lift God up.  Even when it is hardest, I want to glorify Him in my actions.

 My daughter took this amazing photo while we were on a boat at Table Rock, SC.  "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."  The earth literally reveals God's glory, we are compelled to join and declare His mighty works.

Thanks for visiting today, take a moment today and absorb the beauty surrounding you.  I'm linking up to Simon Says Anything Goes HERE and Balzer Designs Journal Every Day HERE.

Think on These Things Mixed Media Journal Page

My Take Me Deeper journal page for August week 3, focused on Philippians 4:4-9, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

I never quite understood how to train my mind to stay focused on these things, it wanders!  But Mary Brack shared a very insightful devotion on why thinking these things helps guard our minds from thoughts that destroy.  The end of the verse promises that the God of peace will be with you if you as your thoughts are aligned with these good things.  Mary shared that the path to cultivating such thoughts begins with thankfulness.  Recognizing God's work in and around us helps us to stay focused on the real truth, and as we give God credit for His work, He fills our hearts and minds with peace - WOW!  Today's verse over at Bible Gateway is "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."  Isaiah 26:3  Man, did this ever hit home with me, during such a rough week!  Thank you, Mary!  My Grandma always said, "Count your blessings every day and all your troubles will fly away."  I practiced thanksgiving this week to help me get out of a slump, and it has!  PTL!

For my journal page, I used some layered stencils, including some DIY stencils I cut from file folders.  I've been playing around with finger painting a lot lately.  I scribed into the wet paint layers here.  The bee stamp is by Stampers Anonymous.  The white flower is embossed and by Penny Black.  It really changed up the texture on the flat paint.

This is one of my favorite pages so far.  I stamped the butterfly by Penny Black onto tissue paper and mod podged it to the page, so I could get a clean stamped image.  I love adding strips of washi tape to my pages...  You can see I also sanded some of the paint in a crosshatch pattern.  

Here is a look at the pile of completed pages from this year.  All are front and back.  Slow, but steady progress.  Gives me plenty of time to decide on my binding method.

I'm linking up to Take Me Deeper, A Vintage Journey for their Things With Wings Challenge, Craft Stamper UK for their Pencils and Pens Challenge, WOW! Embossing Powder for their monthly Embossing Challenge, and Penny Black for their Summer Flowers challenge.  Thanks for looking!  I challenge you to put the practice of thanksgiving to the test today.  <3

Studio on the Go Journaling at the Beach

I was so blessed to be able to create some new journal pages while we were in Edisto last week.  This was the view of the coastal marsh behind our place.

Alligators and turtles roaming freely, along with happy little children on bicycles...

The turtles loved to line up on that lone fallen tree.

I promptly set up my little studio on the patio.

I tried to take very little, so my on the go art kit included a bag of stencils, a bag of inks and sprays, and a small container of paints and gesso with a couple of brushes.  Coffee is always included in my art kit!  ;0

The first day I woke up at 6:30 and spent several hours just pouring paint onto my file folder journal. 

The rest of the time we spent in the pool or here, just being happy.  What a lovely week...  I came home last night and worked on finishing my pages from the beach and will be sharing them with you just as soon as I can get some photography done.

This is the only page I finished at the beach.  The feather and stripes are stencils I made.  I had a happy accident while making these pages.  I had some florescent paint from the 90's - yeah I'm old! - and it had almost congealed.  So I used it as stencil paste and slathered it onto my pages.  It was neon yellow, but turned a cool shade of yellow-green when it dried.  (Don't look too hard or you might find a mosquito dried in there!)  Thanks for stopping by, hope you feel more relaxed now just looking at these images.  :)  I'm linking up to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Citrus with a Twist HERE.

DIY Altered Planner

I don't know what it is, but as an artist I find it hard sometimes to purchased many premade items.  I always think either "I could make that!" or "that would be perfect if it were more like this..."  Anyway, this conundrum sometimes leads to brilliant discovery and other times not so much.  In the case of planners I decided to DIY before I BUY and am so happy that I did.  I have easily created some base pages that I love and are customized for my particular needs.  I can change the designs when the mood strikes and use so many different products to dress up my pages.  I love working in a binder because it is just so easy!  My binder has envelopes, tabbed dividers, pockets, and holds a ton!  It is also easy to purchase three hole paper in this size.

 I used markers and colored pencils for my lettering.  Love my Uniball and Prismacolors!  These rockin' lead pencils came from Dollar Tree.

 I've purchased these two binders on clearance for $3 at Target.  I picked out random double sided scrapbook paper and cut it to make my dividers.  I used Authentique alpha stickers to label my tabs.

 My first few weeks were were along this line, simple markers and stickers with lettering.

 I tried different templates for the pages.  LOVED this one on the screen and even printed out, but found it a little harder to fit everything I wanted in the 2" squares.

 I use the extra space in the design for reflection and memorization of scripture.  As I add the dates to each page, I go ahead and letter a passage of scripture for the week to keep me focused and help me really absorb the Word throughout the week.

 I printed out little lists to check off things I wanted to accomplish in a day.  That worked for a while, but I soon realized I had been overly ambitious so I scratched the printed lists!  But maybe it would work for you...

 I decided I would really love these pages if I mixed mediaed them up!  So I went to town with some watercolor crayons and sprays.  I colored around the edges of the sections and waterbrushed in.  The chevron stamp is by Marcie's.

 This is for the week after next.  I am on vacation next week, so NO PLANS except to plan on having fun!

 And the next week's planner pages.

 And the beginning of September.  I've used lots of stickers, but the days of the week were printed on the template and triangles to color in for the date.  Here I covered them with stickers.  I never know what to do with all the stickers that come with scrapbook paper.  I don't use them much in card making.  So it was really fun going through my stash and putting them to life in my planner.

 If you love using mixed media on your pages, print them on cardstock!  Easy peasy!  Hobby Lobby has heavy duty white cardstock now and you can rack up when they run the 50% off paper sale!  I also picked up some lined paper, graph paper, and this cool clear envelope for $ at Staples!  It's perfect for storing stickers!

I'm offering a free download of these pages HERE as a PDF, just cause I love you and am happy you visited SewPaperPaint!  Just print, cut in half and punch holes to add to your half page size binder.  I print mine one sided and use the back of the page for doodling lists or lettering.  I will add more designs in the future and give you some updates on these pages' progress.  If you'd like to follow my Planner Pinterest page, click HERE for loads of inspiration.

I was inspired to take my planner to the next level by the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, Make A Plan, HERE, and am linking up.  Thanks for visiting, comment if you like, Pin if you want to remember.  :)