Monday, February 6, 2012

From Thoughts and Words to a Journal Page (and a beautiful pantry!)


Here are some of the journal pages I've been playing around with as practise for the Letter Love 101 class.  It's great to get out all the markers and pens and just play.  In this first one I used copic markers for the colour in the flowers and stems and then I used pan pastels for the overall background colouring.  It's the first time I've used them, and I must say they are a lot of fun to work with.


After doing that page, I decided to try using the same techniques to make an ATC.  I found this much more challenging and realize that to be happier with the results, I'll have to start with a much finer marker when working on such a small scale piece.

The rest of the pictures show the transformation from black and white lettering to the colourful finished page. I used Pitt pens and Microns to do my lettering.

 Then I used my Copic markers to colour in the flowers...


...and some of the features in the grid lines.


 Still using the Copics, I coloured in some of the shapes created by the letters.  Here's what the page looks like with all of the marker work done.  Now, on to the background.


I used my Inktense watercolour pencils.  I love these pencils!  You use them just like a pencil crayon, pressing as hard or as soft as you like and blending and shading as you do with regular pencil crayons.  I wanted a soft background to contrast the bright pop of colour that the Copic markers provide, so I was shading lightly with the pencils.


Here's where the magic comes in.  Using one of these wonderful watercolour brushes, you just paint over the areas you coloured in with the Intense pencils to release the watercolour pigment!  I just keep a paper towel beside me as I work so I can switch from one colour to the next without muddying up my paint.  It really only takes a little dab on the paper towel and you're ready to go. This makes the Inktense pencils perfect for travelling since you don't need a water jar for cleaning your brush!

I just love how the colour pops as you brush over it with the aqua brush!  By the way, Inktense comes in various sets (in wonderful tins) but they also sell individually.  That means that when you eventually use up a favourite colour pencil (they last a long time) you can replace just that one colour that you need. 




Okay, so here's the crazy thing...the other day we went to the Bulk Barn and stocked up on all the various flours and other 'stuff' required for gluten free bread baking (that's a whole other story which I won't get in to here).  Gone are the days when I could just have a bag of "all purpose" flour in the pantry.  Well, as you can see from the photos below, everything kind of looks alike so I organized them into mason jars and labelled them.  Well, thanks to Joanne's influence I couldn't just write plain boring labels could I???  LOL  Thanks Joanne, my pantry looks "Letter Love"ly!


20 comments:

  1. Awesome Linda! I'm having fun too but my pantry isn't nearly as organized!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you're enjoying the class as much as me. As for the pantry, it was a scary mess until this morning when I got busy playing and making pretty labels. Now I'm thinking they might need some colour. Pan pastels, watercolour, coloured markers, hummmmm.... :0)

      Delete
  2. I agree with Kelly!
    Thanks for the link to your blog. Great description of the process.
    Gretchen

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely whimsical design and colors!! It looks like lots of fun and that's what it's all about! Keep creating!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Linda - Great artwork and I love the look of the mason jars - why not color your labels too. I teach school and today I found myself adding flourishes to the kids grades! Great class, right! Joanne may be creating lettering addicts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure the kids would love that! You could incorporate these beautiful letters in your art lessons too. And yes, if lettering were harmful we'd have to start a 12 step program. LOL Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  5. Love your work and your blog. I haven't started yet but can't wait.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you and thanks for dropping by. It's great to meet another Letter Loving cyber friend!

      Delete
  6. Beautiful work!!! Your colouring is wonderful! I'll have to try my Inktense watercolour pencils now! I love what you did to your pantry containers too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Stephanie. I think you'll love the control that the Intense give you. As for the pantry, I guess now I have to get all those wonderful ingredients out and actually try to bake some bread. LOL

      Delete
  7. I LOVE your journal pages.. They look fabulous..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm so glad I signed up for Joanne's Letter Love 101. So much fun!

      Delete
  8. Great pages and wonderful blog! I have several inktense pencils and don't know why I never thought to use them on my pages. Thank you for sharing and now I need to get up from the computer and work on my letters (I'm a day behind.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cheryl. And yes, I'm falling a bit behind too. It's all the messages on Facebook, Yahoo and Flikr that see to be taking up my time. LOL

      Delete
  9. Linda, great post, and GREAT lettering pages. I like how you made a "master list" of font types to work with...I am definitely going to do that. Thanks for sharing pics of your whole process!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Andria. The Letter Love 101 class with Joanne Sharpe is the best $35 I've spent in a long time. Fabulously inspiring and info. packed online course!

      Delete
  10. What fun to see the evolution of your truly colorful page here. I enjoyed following along as your page came to LIFE! I'm also in the class, but yet to get started because of some other commitments. Hope to join the fun soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Claire. I'm glad you liked the post. You're going to love the class once you have time to get started. Great to meet another cyber friend!

      Delete

I love to hear what you think . Thanks for your comment .

I've had to add moderation because of a lot of spam, but your message will be posted soon. Thank you!
Linda

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.