Sunday 5 August 2012

Journalling Supplies


Now first of all I must do something which I ought to have done a few posts back, but events overtook me - as so often happens! A couple of weeks ago Ada Bea from Vintage Sheet Addict blog, awarded me the 'Lovely Blog Award' which was so kind of her. Ada has only been blogging a short while and has already got right into the swing of it...pop across and visit! So........

Big thank you, Ada, and I nominate....gosh this is hard.......and you kind of forget who's got which award so hope I don't duplicate anyone here........

Christine at A Mermaid's TaleA mermaid's tale...........Els at Fiberrainbowfiberrainbow........Wendz at 15 Coast Road15 coast road
Sue at  crafts@homecrafts@home and Penelope at L is for LoveLisforLove. I will try and do the linky thing but if it doesn't work, take some time out to visit these lovely sites, if you don't already know them.

Oh and.....a few things you don't know about me...that you don't already know....that I don't mind you knowing! Even more difficult!

1. I love horses and riding but have quite recently lost my nerve, which is hugely sad, but there you are.

2. I have wasted 6 months of a gymn subscription; partly due to a family bereavement and partly to the trouble I had with The Toe, but mostly because of sheer apathy. Smack wrist!

3. I am having difficulty getting back into my textile mode - this is not a Good Thing!

4. And because the other 3 have been mostly confessional and a bit negative I am going to blow my own trumpet and tell you that my usually non-commenting melodeon tutor made some ridiculously lovely comments about my playing the other night, I was beaming widely all the way home, 50 miles in the car! I have to say he is not a grumpy tutor - far from it, just doesn't make a fuss about progress etc. So such comments are highly prized, believe me!

That's your lot about me.  I was asked about the pens and markers I use for my journals so I thought it would make a good - and colourful - post. Bear in mind that I am not the fount of all - or even very much- knowledge on this topic, I am very much a beginner and it is kind of a side-line with me. If you want to know more there are LOADS of bloggers out there who really know what they are talking about, and some brilliant tutorials on youtbube.


So, starting back-to-front, really, the markers which I use for my favourite bit of journalling, the last bit, the writing and detailing. I do sometimes use them in the earlier stages, but mostly not.


These are Letraset PROMARKER permanent twin tip inks. They blend beautifully and the wedge and bullet tips are really useful. Yes, you can store them like this!


Ah, my lovely twin-tipped ink markers, various brands. Great for both coverage with the brush tips and fine detail with....the other end! I have  Marvy LePlume,  Tombow ABT, Zig Art & Graphic Twin, Zig Calligraphy, Berol, Stabilo `Write-all.I have a pack of Staeddtler triplus fineliners which are nice for detail, and can be found in supermarkets for much less than the full price. I think that's it, I will never turn down a new brand, and would LOVE to be able to afford COPIC markers which everyone raves about, but as a messer-abouter I am not going to take on a mortgage to buy markers which are definitely in the professional league.

I also have a collection of the most important BLACK MARKERS which I forgot to take a piccie of, sorry. Journallers will atest to the fact that a good black lettering marker is a special find and you choose carefully. I have various tip-sizes of Sharpies, a bog standard Multi Purpose Marker Pen, Faber-Castell Pitt markers are brill, various tips with them, Uni-pin fineline by Mitsubishi do a great pen, and I pick up anything I think will do the job.

WHITE MARKERS are less common and I use mine up quickly. I have a new uni POSCA white marker, also mitsubishi I just note. Pilot do a variety of tips but are a bit  over-emotional at times! Sakura do a BRILLIANT gelly roll white, I love it, and also I have a Hybrid Gel by Pentel. They use up at varying rates.

 Ooooops, I notice I also have some metallic markers which I use for small details - too much is....too much!

The surfaces these markers write best on also varies, some will cover almost any surface, others are a little more temperamental. As long as they are permanent you can varnish over them, but to be on the safe side I varnish (if I'm going to at all) before I add the lettering and final details.

I've also got some Derwent Inktense water-colour ink pencils which give a lovely saturated colour when you paint over them with water, and some Aquapastels which do a great finishing job, or as an all-over background which I then knock-back with a thin layer of white acrylic or white gesso, scraped down with an old credit card - a brilliant and simple technique.


I also buy large tubes of acrylic from discount stores which come in great for backgrounds, I love scraping a layer of in onto the page as well.


..............and I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a book or two on the subject!


These are my own journals....the top smaller one is one I am prepping the pages to take to Ireland with me.  Each page is ready with a background, some colour, maybe some collage, some barely-seen background stamping....so all I have to do is the lettering and final detail, which means I don't have to take a load of stuff with me.


 (Besides which I shall be stitching, playing and listening to some music, shopping, sight-seeing maybe..and just generally chillin'!)

Here are some detail shots of the page I made in response to the way I was feeling about the 'count -down' to the Olympics. I was quite angry with all the shennanigins, but I am now enjoying the stuff that REALLY MATTERS - sponsors take note YOU ARE NOT IMPORTANT.  I do not want to eat your disgusting beefburgers or drink your toxic brown liquid.  You do not 'own' the logo or the name or anything else. Stop spreading your noxious influence round the world and do something honest with your billions. There. I promised myself I would not rant on my blog and I just did. Get over it.



Phew, well, it's just between you and me, isn't it? Actually I felt we should have orchestrated mass civil disobedience and everyone worn 'illicit' tee-shirts or hats to the torch journeys through each town...let them try and sue everyone - hah! Anyway, the superb efforts by the real heroes of the events have pushed all of that to the background and there is true Olympic spirit being shown every day. Well done to them!

well, I think it's all I've got to say about my journalling 'stuff'. I have re-organised my space to better accommodate things near to hand. But I'm now feeling the tug of the textiles urging me to get my mitts on some fabric and commence stitching again. Thank goodness! I wish I could be an evenly balanced person....after all, I am a Libran...but I am a bit all or nothing...there, that's another thing about me! It's amazing, really, that I get anything finished at all, but I muddle through, somehow.

Hope you are enjoying your Olympic  weekend, and that some of you, at least, are having some continuous sunshine! Catch you next time.

30 comments:

  1. I know very little about journalling, now I know a little more, bet youre high as a kite with all those felts!(sorry couldn't resist that one!) Ada :)

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    1. Now I've never thought of having a sniff, Ada, you naughty woman!

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  2. Hey Lynne, you have soooo many talents!! Love the journals, wouldnt mind giving these a go!
    Heatherx

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  3. I can't remember what got me started.. I think I saw an (very) old copy of Somerset Studio and was amazed at what people were putting on the page; I love the effects of transluscent inks, layered upon each other. Then I saw what you could do with rubber stamps, beyond the merely 'cute' and 'whimsical'.. I'm not naturally artistic, I can't draw, but I do love colour and this satisfies a part of me that textiles don't. I also love the idea of trying out different lettering styles. It's just doodling and messing about, really.

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  4. Hi Lynne, I love your journals, so much color and fun. Congrats on the award!!
    I used to journal but don't much anymore. I still have all of mine, even have a scrapbook from the 1960's with a gum wrapper chain in it! :)
    Most of my journaling was done while I was going thru menopause (it's a miracle my husband survived menopause!) I have them in a safe place! Don't know who I will get to dispose of them when I'm gone! heehee
    I'm glad you are feeling more like stitching again!

    Dorothy

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    1. Hi Dorothy,.....I'm with you about 'who gets it when I go'! Perhaps you could do what I've done with the pages I no longer want on view...I gessoed over them, even where bits show through it doesn't matter....then journal over the top. It kinda doesn't wipe out the feeling entirely, just blunts them. I think 'getting it on the page' when you are going through a hard time is excellent therapy...and boy, I've been there too! Thank goodness we eventually get out the other side into calmer waters!

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  5. Oh I am so excited that I found your blog! Your journal pages are out standing and I've taken a little stroll through some of your other posts . . . I am enchanted my your creativity, you rock!
    I am a retired activity director, before retiring I worked in an assisted living building with 93 residents. It kept me busy planning parties, bus tours, dances, ice cream socials, etc. Now, I volunteer. At least with volunteering, if the roads are icy in the winter, I can stay home and get cozy by the fire.
    When I'm finished typing this I am going to hit the follow button. I'm looking forward to following your creative journey. Please come over and visit my humble blog, I would be honored if you followed me back. Have a marvelous week, Connie:)

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  6. Hello Connie, what a lovely comment, thank you, and so pleased to meet you. Being retired certainly rocks!! A bit of elastic on the end of each day would be useful though.......

    Have checked out your blog and love your journal pages..as you can see I do love a bit of colour myself!

    See you soon! Lx

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  7. Love your pages and your post did give me such a chuckle and I agree with all you wrote!
    thanks for popping in on my Clitheroe jaunt... it WAS a great day.
    When you mention that you remember the radio programme, do you mean Radio Merseyside? I worked there for 8 years so depending when you left Liverpool, you might well have listened to ME!!!
    Jo xxx

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    1. Hi Jo, no I meant The Clitheroe Kid!!!! (Def showing my age now!)

      And I wouldn't have caught you on the radio - what a shame! I left Liverpool in the Late 60's when I ran away to sea...........true!

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  8. Heee, hee, you must be as old as me!! What school did you go to?
    xxx

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    1. Aigburth Vale - AVHS - alas, it is no more, I belive, victim of that flash guy whose name I forget....lots of dark curly hair and some dodgy friends.... during the time of Militant Tendency I think.....

      I left summer 1969 to join the QARNNS.

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  9. My Dear Lynne, thank you for the sweet comment you left on my blog, and welcome to my group of lovely followers. I have only been blogging since the first of the year and I have met so many dear blogging sisters through this media. It is much more than I ever imagined it would be. I thought it was just a sharing of ideas, but it is a world wide friendship. It sure beats listening to the news and all the bad that is going on in the world. It's an outlet to much of the good that is going on. Like minded women, enjoying their lives, their families and their homes. I am looking forward to following your joyful and creative journey . . . love, love, love your journal pages.
    Have an enjoyable day, Connie :)

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  10. Maggie again.... is it best to store felt tips lying flat or upright?
    Love those journal pages, have started on my own now... .and thanks (I think) for the books I saw that I thought 'Hmm, that looks interesting...'

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  11. Maggie, to be on the safe side I tend to store almost everything flat, all bar the Promarkers, you can virtually do anything with them, I believe.

    BRILLIANT that you are now journalling too....gets a bit addictive, but you can sort of pick different activities for different times of the day and where you might be sitting; I paint/ink/glue/collage etc during the day in my (ahem) sewing room (EEEEK...fabric....wet paint.....!) and the actual lettering and final details I like to save for when I'm sitting half-watching TV or listening to music, in the living room.This last is also conducive to sitting outside in the sunshine..when we get some.. or on a boat...or at a cafe.....or lazing in the park....lolling about at Sandringham or scrunched up on a sand dune sans too many tourists....etc etc etc.

    And I am SO GLAD to have thrown some book ideas your way!! Get out there and spend that pocket-money, girl!

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  12. Hi Lynne, THANK YOU for your lovely award (though I must say I'm awfully bad at the placing and follow-up thing :-( ....!)
    I had the most wonderful weekend in Sara's workshop, but things are still not solved at home ... So back to all kinds of arrangements but we will survive !
    Lovely journals you make, right now I would not have the energy to keep up something like that every day .... Will wait what comes out of Ireland ;-) (wow !!! you have a LOT of pens !!!!!!)

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    1. Hello Els, I'm quite jealous of your workshop with Sara, it looked brilliant, she is so talented.

      Hope things work out at home, just go with the flow and don't exhaust yourself. (see, you can take the girl out of nursing but you can't etc etc etc....!)

      Don't hold your breath about what ever I get up to in Ireland...I always have the best of intentions but it depends how I'm feeling while we are there. I live in hopes though!

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  13. I agree re your new name... and have a Boots Bentley sign in ( Pau of the Artsiders)... must be a relative from the other side of the tracks!
    Love JoZarty x

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  14. I have begun my little journal, just a six inch square one, but find that I am not using it perhaps as most people would, ie as a repository (nearly put suppository but maybe it has the same effect!) for thoughts and fears, dreams and hopes. More it tends to be somewhere I am writing down bits of poetry, and illustrating (for want of a better word) the pages. My thoughts and so on tend to be more easily expressed in my writing journals, with lots of words and not few words and lots of illustration. I have also bought - and don't laugh - some colouring books for grown ups!

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  15. Hi Maggie, delighted I have passed my journaling addiction on!

    You know, mine are a mixture of things to me; some pages are just designs and colour or mere doodles coloured in...as you say, colouring books for adults! Some others are minimal collage and lots of writing, be it thoughts/reflections on current events, my own feelings at the moment, poetry etc. And some are just examples of lettering styles, or trying out backgrounds. I feel that they are MY journals so I will use them any way I wish.

    Let's face it they were originally diary entries which someone had embellished with a little bit of flourishing or what-not. Do what pleases you!

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  16. Lynne, you kill me with your rushing about comment. You make me laugh and feel like I'm not alone in the world. Thank you! Love your journal creations. They are just amazing.

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  17. Hi Marisa! Lovely to see you over this side ofthe pond.....sorta! It's true, my mum just has no qualms these days about saying the first thing that comes into her head. Never mind, I expect we'll all get like that some day. Meanwhile we have our quilts and journals to sustain us...and our friends who understand our funny ways!

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  18. Love your pages and seeing all of your supplies! And your commentary on the Olympics!

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    1. Hello Lynda, thanks for commenting...and having a chuckle, I hope at my little rant! You have a lovely and very interesting blog....looking forward to checking back your older posts, and have followed. Lx

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