Check out the giveaway on Craft Critique!

Some days when the dog hair's stuck in the glue dots, you cut all the way through the photo with the exacto, and the kids spilled the paint over the top of the art table it's hard to see the humorous side of scrapbooking. That's when you need to pour a glass of iced tea and sit back with this book.

We just happen to be giving a copy of it away on Craft Critique. So stroll over, check out the review, and be sure to sign up. And if you've never been there before check out all the other amazing reviews as well. You'll be very pleasantly surprised.

International Charm Day

You must check out Amber Dawn's International Charm Day blog! There will be giveaways, tutorials, and more. I'm so excited. :D Now to work on my contribution! lalalala! Check back here on the 28th to see what I have up my sleeve!

Favorite Five Friday #3 – Artists

Quick! What pops into your head when I ask who your favorite artists are? Do you write those down or do you fudge a little? Do you have a favorite artist but you tend not to mention him/her because *everyone* likes them? Or conversely, is there an artist that you think you SHOULD like because everyone else does? And what about those old masters? I know some people really do like them but for me, they sometimes seem rather… distant. Or Frida… I absolutely love how colorful she was but some of her more anatomical work is just not my thing no matter how popular she is.

So now that I’ve burnt my bridges here’s who’s currently in my fave five:

1. Liza Corbett http://www.lizacorbett.com/

2. Julie West http://www.juliewest.com/

3. Stella Im Hultberg http://stellaimhultberg.com/index.html

4. Dan Casado http://www.dancasado.com/

5. Amy Alice Thompson http://www.amyalice.com/

These are not journal artists primarily. These inspire me to reach further, deeper… to want to paint or to make giant collaged canvases. I also have a fave five for jewelry and fabric. :)

Favorite Five Friday #2 – Websites

Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday last weekend. Did you get some journaling done? Or did you spend it living in the moment with family and friends like I did? :)

This Friday’s favorite five is websites. Do you have certain websites that you find yourself visiting time after time, whether it’s for techniques, supplies, or just plain ole eye candy?

Mine are (in in no particular order)

1. Dispatch from L.A. http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/dispatch_from_la/ MaryAnn Moss

MaryAnn not only has some of the juiciest journal pages and best martini recipes, she has got a sense of humor you wouldn’t believe. And when she shares her sister’s pages, too, it’s a double dose of inspiration. In the summers they travel together while we sit home and live vicariously through her blog.

2. Be… Dream… Play… http://elizabethbunsen.typepad.com/be_dream_play/ Elizabeth Bunsen

Elizabeth journals everyday it seems and her pages are filled with tons of beautiful imagery. She doesn’t overexplain her pages leaving them just begging to be interpreted by the viewer. She also shares lovely photos of her world.

3. Judy Wise http://judywise.blogspot.com/

I think many of us know of Judy Wise from her beautiful encaustic pieces. She also does journal pages that are edge to edge packed with feeling. I love the stencils she makes from her childhood photos and how much written journaling she does. That’s something I’ve never been able to get the hang of… getting words down on paper without feeling self-conscious about them. Judy does it, and well.

4. Old Lady in A Teenager http://oldladyinateenager.blogspot.com/ Kara Haupt

This isn’t technically a journaling blog. Kara isn’t technically your average teenager. She is a sixteen year old who scrapbooks. Wait! Don’t run off yet. Check out some of her stuff first. The new scrapbooking is really just visual journaling one page at a time. I’m still waiting for other people to realize this and there to be some sort of crossover. It’s gonna happen, folks.

5. Pomegranates and Paper http://artjournaler.typepad.com/pomegranatesandpaper/ Loretta Marvel

Loretta only posts art occasionally. I believe most of it is saved for her magazine articles. But, oh, this woman can turn a phrase. She can write about New York at Christmastime and you can almost smell the chestnuts and hear the crowds. The photos she posts of the window displays make you wish you were right there with her. You’ll want to be one of her shopping/lunch buddies. Or the way she writes about the beach and seafood… my goodness. If you have not visited her blog, do yourself a big favor and read thru her archives.

What are yours?

New toys! Sharpie Mean Streaks

I found the greatest toys the other day at my local office supply store. They're called Sharpie Mean Streaks. They come in black, white, yellow, and red. Our store only had the black and white. They're giant oily crayons that write on wet or dry surfaces. They glide so smooth and easy and dry to a permanent finish within minutes. Apparently graffiti artists have discovered them, too. Here's a youtube video review of them.



You can't get fine detail with them and I wouldn't use them for writing small text but they are awesome for just laying down large swaths of color. I love them!

Fave Five Friday #1 (Early Bird Special)

Every Friday in the Facebook Journal Pages group I’ll be introducing a Fave Five topic where we can discuss our favorite tools, art books, pens, sites, etc. I’ll also post it here for those readers who aren’t a member of Facebook.

I’m posting early this week because I’m going out of town tonight.

For our first Fave Five I thought we might talk about journaling tools. What are you five favorite tools (or supplies) you couldn’t live without, especially non-traditional ones? Is there a special pen that you order from monks in Timbuktu because it doesn’t skip no matter what surface you use it on? Or a paint that has ground dragon scales in it that gives your pages that special shimmer?

My five would be:

1. Caran d’Ache water soluble crayons – even if I don’t use water with them. I love the rich color. I love even just scribbling on my pages with them.

2. Spray paint!

3. Tape – masking tape, duct tape, metal auto detailing tape from the auto parts store is especially cool. There’s also a wide aluminum tape sold in the parts store for mufflers and things that’s really interesting. Also while browsing MantoFev.com last night I saw a new-to-me tape that i can't wait to try - Rainbow Tape.

4. Scrapbook paper – There are some awesome papers, guys. I use to be snooty about scrapbook stores. I thought it was all babies and rainbows. Hambly Screenprints, Cosmo Cricket, and Basic Grey are some of my favorites.

5. Cheap Elmer’s gluesticks - In the fall they go on sale: a 2 pack for a quarter. I buy about $20 worth. This barely lasts me thru the next year til they go on sale again. And I want to stock up, because in November the price goes back to $1.24 for the 2 pack. And I can go thru 4-5 gluesticks in a sitting.

I do not make any commission from the links in this post. I just wanted to provide pictures and possible sources.