The Sketchbook Project 2012 - Pages 5

At last the final installment of my Sketchbook Project entry... for this year at least!!
I wanted to make sure that my journal had a uniquely New Zealand feel, so I made sure I used New Zealand designed patterned paper on both the front and back covers. A couple of delicate rub-on scrolls to finish the corners and some gaffer tape to cover the spine. The title is chipboard, painted white (to stand out on the deep green patterned paper) and coated with Glossy Accents to finish.

And a quick glance at the gaffer tape on the spine.

The front page - the first page anyone viewing my Sketch Book will see.
Quote:
"The phoenix hope can wing her way through the desert skies and still defying fortunes spite, revive from ashes and rise."
Miguel de Cervantes

The back cover - the patterned paper is pre-printed with "Aroha". The rub-on scrolls the same as the front and the official label with the bar-code that had to stay on the back of the sketch book.

 Finally the inscription I wrote inside the back cover.

The Sketchbook Project 2012 - Pages 4

I received an email over the weekend from the Art House Librarian Robot, from the Boston Art Library advising me that they had received my Sketchbook Project 2012 entry. So if you ever make it to Boston and you happen to find yourself wandering around the Boston Art Library looking at various Sketchbooks from the Sketchbook Project 2012, then be sure to look up call number 157A.2-4 and you will be able to see all the pages I created up close and personal.


Quote:
"Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see - in the mind's eye - a path to a better future."
Jerome Groopman

Hope Definitions - Embossed Stamped Image

Quote:
"Hope is not like a lottery ticket you can sit on a sofa and clutch, feeling lucky... 
Hope is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency!"
Rebecca Solnit

Quote:
"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word:
Freedom, Justice, Honor, Duty, Mercy, Hope."
Winston Churchill

Sketch Book 2012 - Pages 3

Last few pages for a bit, but I will show you the rest before I send the completed Sketch Book to Boston.
Quote:
"Blind hope faces a blank wall waiting for a door to open.
 Doors might be nearby, but blind hope keeps you from locating them."
Rebecca Solnit

The brick wall was made by running scraps of craft cardstock through my Cuttlebug machine using the Tim Holtz Alterations Texture Fades "Bricked and Woodgrain Set" embossing folders.
I then inked both the bricks and the door with Distress Inks - AMM Caramel & Chocolate Paper Stain Inks; Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Mustard Seed & Fired Brick. The colours were all layered on and blended until I was happy with the finished result. I adhered the cardstock to the Sketch Book pages. I then added details to the door using a fine tipped brown journaling pen before adhering this with photo splits on one side and foam squares on the other. I hand drew in the door hinges.
Finally I attached the blue and green patterned paper scrap to kind of look like a jumble of sky and leaves. I hand wrote the quote onto this.

 Close up of the wall (above) and door (below). The colours here are more realistic than in the picture above which looks very red compared to the actual page. I really LOVE the finished result. Not sure if it's because of the embossing or the inking... either way this is definitely an effect I will be trying again!!

Sketch Book 2012 - Pages 2

Some more...


Quote:
"All it takes is one bloom of HOPE to make a spiritual garden."
Terri Guillemets

 Plain blue scrapbooking paper. I sanded the paper with a scalloped template underneath, this gave the outline of the clouds. I then added coloured chalk to add highlights and dimension before adhering the paper to the Sketch Book pages. I hand cut (eyeballed) the curves for the hills and fore ground and adhered these as well. I hand wrote in the quote and added some more chalks to give the fore ground more dimension and interest.

 Close-up of the cloud detail. I'm really pleased with the way these came out. Before adhering the flower I gave the pages a light spray with hair spray to set the chalks so that they wouldn't rub off.

The flowers were all white, so I added pink and purple chalks onto each layer. I then sprayed these with hair spray as well before layering the flowers and adding the bling brad. The hair spray not only set the chalk, it really intensified the chalk colours especially on the flower. Way brighter than I was expecting but I love the finished result.


Quote:
"Learn from yesterday;
 Live for today;
 Hope for tomorrow.
 The important thing is not to stop questioning."
Albert Einstein

The is the last page in the Sketch Book and I kind of cheated a wee bit. I did the calligraphy and writing directly onto the page. No patterned paper its all just pen and ink (so to speak). For me it was just about playing and experimenting, as the whole journal has been so far. Me trying out a whole of of new techniques or techniques I haven't done for a while. 

Sketch Book 2012 - Pages

As the postal date draws ever closer for me to post my Sketch Book away to the Boston Art Library, I thought it would be nice to show some of my creations in it so far. (I also wanted to prove I haven't got so caught up in getting organised that I haven't had a chance to get crafty.)


Here are a couple to check out... more to follow.


My chosen theme is "HOPE". I found some amazing quotes on the internet and have decided to scrap my sketch book with what these quotes mean to me.


Quote:
"Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all."
Emily Dickinson

 I dry brushed pink and yellow paint directly onto the pages before spritzing with Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist - Pearl. (It doesn't photograph well, but looks so delicate in person which is exactly what I wanted.)
Hand written quote in gel pen as well as some musical notes. (Does it show I never studied music!!)
Hand-made feather wings with chipboard topper covered in patterned paper. The "Hope" was embossed on with a pearlescent embossing powder that shows  from certain angles only.

 Close-up of the feathered wings. I pulled off clumps of feathers from dyed craft feathers and then individually attached them to the wings. The feathers are mainly white interspersed with various pastel colours. The recycled chipboard heart was cut from some leftover packaging. I covered it with scraps of patterned paper I received in a card swap.

Quote:
"The deepest dark, reveals the starriest hope".
Gerald Massey

 Believe it or not this is Bazzill Black cardstock (even though it looks decidely grey). Very simple treatment on these pages. The quote was handwritten with a silver gel pen. The "Hope" was embossed with silver embossing powder on calligraphy letters I created with an embossing ink pen. The stars were embossed with the same pearlescent embossing powder I used on the heart and feathers wings. I wanted the hope to stand out more than the stars. I wanted the stars almost to be hidden unless you stopped to pause and look at the word hope and took a close-up look at the page.

The Sketchbook Project 2012

I can't remember where I discovered the Sketchbook Project 2012, I just know I stumbled upon it at random a couple of days ago. Since then I have read the website from start to finish and back again several times. I've ummed and ahhed about whether to do it or not, whether I could justify the cost let alone the time and effort and then finally tonight (or should I say this morning) I finally made up my mind. JUST DO IT - So I am.
So I have signed up, committed myself and my creativity to the project. WHY... because when I asked myself whether I would regret doing the project more or would I regret not doing the project more... and there was only one answer.
So what is the Sketchbook Project? To quote the website...

It's like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks.

Thousands of sketch books will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the world.

After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view.

The project is open to anyone from anywhere in the world. Sign ups close on 31st October 2011 and sketchbooks need to be submitted (post marked) by 31st January 2012.

The tour makes it to Australia but unfortunately not to New Zealand, though I have paid for my completed sketchbook to be digitized so that it will be available online for anyone around the world to view even if you can't make it to The Brooklyn Art Library.

If you want to know more then click here to find out about the project. I will be updating you with progress here on my blog, on twitter and on Facebook.

• To follow along here - click follow in the right hand column of the blog
• To follow on twitter - search my twitter name ScrapFX
• To follow on Facebook - click on the Facebook batch in the right hand column of the blog

I can't wait for my sketchbook to arrive!!