New Mandala Pages

So much has happened in the past year (actually, well over a year) since I last updated this blog!  We have moved to Mid-Michigan to our dream house with a barn that we are revamping into a studio (almost complete!).  I plan to post more on that soon.

In the mean time, I have learned of a new technique called "Acrylic Pours" that I have been experimenting with.  My results have been less than stellar, but I have enjoyed experimenting with the process.

The results reminded me of celestial bodies and I decided to make them on Round 8.5" boxboard to incorporate into my Mandala Journal.

The rest of the Mandala Journal can be viewed on my website here.

Folded Books and Paper Art: 14 Projects to Create

I am pleased to announce that "Cloth, Paper, Scissors" has come out with an e-book (available for download) including instructions for my Graffiti style Accordion journals.  Below are a few pictures of those journals -

Folded Books and Paper Art: 
14 Projects to Create From the editors of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine

In the meantime ....

Still, in what seems to be an endless process of getting our house ready to sell, on the market and buying a home, I have managed to complete a few journal pages with very limited supplies, in the past few weeks.

I knew this would be a very difficult process and realize this is why we have put this whole idea of moving off for so long.

However ... slowly ... everything is finally starting to fall into place, but it still looks like it could be up to another 2 months before we get to settle into our new home.

We have had a few let downs, which at the time made it seem like we would never find what we were looking for. Making things more difficult was the fact that my husband and I were at opposite ends of the spectrum as to what we wanted in a house.  Finding a house we could both agree on was a challenge, but we did it. The new place is more than we both could have hoped for ... so all this searching and now waiting, will be worth it.

In the meantime, we press on, but I have to admit, I am having a hard time on focusing on just about anything.

I will begin working on starting up a Facebook page to document and share the progress of my new studio. I hope you will join and share in this new adventure!

Workshops for the remainder of 2016

With selling and buying a house, plus a move underway, life has been hectic to say the least! I have had to cut way back on my schedule for teaching this year, but I am determined to remain active.  After settling down from this crazy time, I will be developing new workshops, picking up on my teaching schedule and will be preparing my new studio for classes and for having other instructors come in as well. This is the plan, but will take time to set into place. In the mean time, upcoming workshops (and links) are listed below -

"Blue Twig Studio" Colorado Springs, Colorado

June 3, 4 and 5, 2016

"Over the Edge"

"Mandala Journal"

"Through the Rabbit Hole"

"Art Unraveled" - Phoenix, Arizona

August 1st - 9th, 2016

"The Bug Book"

"Twirly Swirly Journals"

"The Mandala Journal"

"Charmed I'm Sure" - Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

September 16,17 and 18, 2016

"Through The Rabbit Hole"

"Under the Sea"

Why I appear to have vanished ....

It has been a ridiculous amount of time since I have last blogged and/or updated info on Facebook.  I have not fallen off the face of the planet and have not been idle!  There are so, SO many plans in the works!  I am hesitant to start sharing plans until they are concrete, because often times things change along that path ... which they have ... dramatically, in fact!... but, all for the better!

In a nut shell-

We are in the process of getting our house ready to go on the market and are in search of our perfect "Forever" home.  This has been our total focus and is turning out to be a major undertaking!  Just to say .... the new house is actually secondary .... the accompanying studio space is REALLY what it's all about. So, as we embark along this venture, please check back on occasion ... perhaps friend me on Facebook for updates.

Just wanted to share that for now .....

Drawing in Journals

I love drawings in journals and I think all of us journalers should do it more often. Unfortunately, I am not as good at  keeping up with my drawing skills as I should.   It really is a skill that needs to be practiced regularly. 

This journal is somewhat newish.  It's a larger journal than what I usually work in, being 10" X 12" X 2 1/2" thick" and is constructed with 1/4" plywood covers. A very stout journal indeed ... just the way I like them. More photos to follow as this journal progresses. Hopefully, with lots of drawings!

"Art and Soul" Virginia Beach 2015

"Art and Soul" in Virginia Beach, Virginia will be September 28th thru October 4th, 2015.  I'll be teaching 3 of my favorite workshops. Classes are filling up fast!  Hope you'll join us!

"Over the Edge"  the new fun size version!  Wednesday, September 30th, 2015.  More photos of "Over the Edge" can be seen here.

"The Mandala Journal"  Tuesday, September 29th, 2015.  Lately I have been loving this format for journaling with loose pages that fit nicely inside a box! More photos of the Mandala Journal can be seen here.

"The Journal Obscura" Monday, September 28th, 2015. Again, loose pages that are neatly contained within a box.  This journal is inspired by the Camera Obscura. More photos of the "Journal Obscura" can be seen here.

"Through the Rabbit Hole" Workshop in Phoenix!

I am so happy to offer "Through the Rabbit Hole" at Art Unraveled in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday August 4, 2014!  There are a few seats still available! This is the only time this workshop is being offered this year.

I  am also teaching  "Urban Ransom" and "Over the Edge (the new fun side version)", but as of now, they are filled classes.

"Vintage File Folder Journal" Workshop

Won't you join us for "The Vintage File Folder Journal" Workshop?  

Sunday, July 19th at THRIVE in Waterford, Michigan.  

Details can be seen on the THRIVE website or more information is available on my website with oodles of photos to show what I have done with my File Folder Journals journals.  This is my all time favorite journal format and I bet you'll agree after making one for yourself! 

Please pre-register as seating is limited

Ingrid@IngridDijkers.com

Image Transfers

I have been fighting with image transfers these past few weeks.  I know there are a million different methods, but I determined to make it work with packing tape or contact paper.

I am finding that packing tape transfers make for very transparent crisp images and the paper is very easy to remove from the back.  However, it's near impossible to use any mediums on top of these transfers.  If you sand the images to roughen them up a bit you can, but it still can easily be removed with the slightest pressure of a finger nail.

I'm working with magazine images from different magazines,  laser prints and various book images ... color and black and white.

Contact paper transfers are proofing to be rather unpredictable and it's difficult to remove the paper from the back without actually lifting the image.  The plus side of the contact paper transfers is that you can use other mediums on top ... with a slight sanding, everything seems to stick quite well.

Just yesterday I discovered a new type of contact paper and so far am having wonderful results.  Grant it, I have only made 1 transfer, but so far so good! Extremely transparent, all the paper comes off the back easily AND other mediums stick to the surface.  In the picture below I used a print  (the text) from my laser printer and it sure seems to work. I am now off to try it with other images from magazines and books!

New Journal Cover

I have been working, on and off, on this journal for over a year now.  When I first made it I covered the front and back covers with some Gelli prints I made quite awhile ago, but have not been very happy with it.

I ended up just leaving it and kept hoping something would come to me, which it hasn't until now.  I really enjoyed the last several journal pages I made in this journal (see previous blog post) and figured that style would work well, but I wanted a focal point. Last week my new friend, Brenda Ball-Wood, shared a fabulous paper punch with an octopus. It was too small for the cover and the proportions weren't right, so I scanned it and edited it until it was exactly what I needed. Then I made a stencil (and mask) of it.  I'm pretty happy with the results ... just goes to show "Good things come to those who wait".

A Few New Journal Pages

This past week I have been working feverishly in this journal of mine. It's a procrastination technique I am mastering quite well.  

As always, these pages contain nothing more than my usual random ramblings.  Often, I consider blurring out the text when I put my journal pages on my blog, FaceBook or my website. But, as I mentioned these are mere ramblings of what's on my mind at the time.  I'm not trying to make a statement or convey any messages.  There are no secret agendas involved.  I am merely sharing journal spreads I have made. Here are shown a few of the journal spreads that I made in that time.

The pages are all quite similar in technique and style, pretty much just different colors. Often times when I work with a new technique I like to make several spreads using it.

The idea for this was sparked from an old plastic letter/number stencil I found while I was trying to organize my supplies.  This kind of thing always leads to distractions ... it's a wonder I ever get anything done.

Many more pages from this journal can be seen on my website here if you are interested in seeing them.

Building a New Journal

I spent the morning deconstructing an old hard bound discarded book, painting large pieces of paper for pages and then rebuilding the old book into a journal to better suit my needs.

This is a new workshop that has been designed exclusively for the "Rooted Women" group at THRIVE in Waterford, Michigan. We'll be taking an old hard bound book and we'll rebuild it, start to finish, into a very personal journal over the six week course of the program.

To learn more about this group and others offered by THRIVE, please see their website.