"All the Bells and Whistles" 

published in Art Journaling Magazine!

My Journal and article are in the Spring/Summer issue of Art Journaling Magazine!  What an honor!  If you are interested, you can see photos of the entire journal "All the Bells and Whistles" on my website.  IngridDijkers.com

The Studio Loft

 

The studio is a constant work in progress.  We have been working on it for probably 9 years now.  We started with an empty steel framed metal barn, put in a second floor loft and completely revamped the inside.  Someday I'll do a more complete post on that, but in the meantime this is our most current improvement.  We had a smaller none opening window in the loft that we just had changed into a larger opening window and then added shutters.  The loft if just used for studio storage for supplies, but it sure would get hot.  Hopefully, this will keep temperatures more comfortable.

Now that the window project is done is done, I can go back to the seemingly never ending task of organizing the loft.  I am about 1/3 of the way done, but there is still a long way to go.  I'll post photos when (and if) I ever get it done.

Pocket Altars

Well, It's been a few years, but I thought I would see if I could stir up some interest in continuing with this blog again.  We'll see what happens.  I always loved blogs back in the day, not sure why they faded out.  If only for myself, I plan on doing a few blog posts to see how it all goes. I just can't do FaceBook any more and Instagram has just never really appealed to me.  Blogging always interested me in that there is the option of more detail and the ability to add lots of photos.  It's also a great way to keep all the posts together and an easy way to look back on older posts.

These are photos of a few pocket altars I have just finished up.  The closed size is 4" X 4". We'll be having workshops at Running Rabbit Studio to make these. The religious themed class is full, but we still have a few seats in the Pendulum Pocket Altar workshop on Saturday, September 26, 2026.

 

Would love to hear your thoughts on Blogs.  Are they dead or is there a growing interest in them again? 

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!