little update on life atm...art and the new filofax.

I've been a little bit MIA lately! and all for good reason, I've been working on commissions and playing in my art journal, plus I got the filofax bug so I was on a crazed hunt for one. When I fall for something, I fall hard, and devour videos and blogs devoted to them, so I fell down a filofax hole lol.
currently on my easel is one of a set of three of a commission for the one client.

 and with each layer, i fall a little more in love...even though I know I have to add in things I wouldn't normally add...I will be taking shots of sections that I want to preserve just for me.

I'm in a mail art group over on Artgeeks and I also put a call out for penpals over on facebook, I miss writing letters and getting little bits of love in my mailbox so I've been sitting making little index cards into postcards to fly across the skies to their new owners.

with my word for this year being organized, I did end up getting myself a filofax...after a much appreciated mermaid circus angel, offered to buy one in her state and post it to me..saving me a lot of cash. My life atm looks like this

 my beautiful leather malden personal filofax, my writing brain dump book and my art journal these three books contain my life and I love them.

I thought I'd lost my muse the other day, my mojo was gone and I was desperately trying to find it...but as a lovely woman said...my mojo was being poured into my filo creating instead of my artjournal, and its true...I got my filo on Monday, and started making it fully mine with customized items and little 'courtney' touches.

I started by replacing the cream dividers because...as much as I like cream...comon...lol do you know me! lol

so I used some of my scrappy journal pages I started months ago to turn into a journal and made dividers.

I also made sure I added a little of myself into my weekily pages...this is where I am atm..but I know I have done a few things since this image, mainly add more colour...because I am a visual girl and wherever I go..there has to be colour.

then I knew something was missing...photos! my world is kept in photographs and I needed my filo to hold the people that ment the world to me, so i started to DIY some little photo holders out of trading card protectors I had lying around. I printed my photos to the protector size, and added washi tape boarder to punch holes in...and before I knew it, I had my family happily at the front of my filo.

 

so that is where I am at...making art...making art snail mail...and getting my life orgaizned and personalized. I want the filo to help me flesh out the ideas for the future of little raven ink...I am in the process of making repeatable patterns to make fabric...featuring the nook dwellers..so look out for that.

have a wonderful Wednesday..yes I didnt cook...but you got art and filo love! 

xx Courtney

I Do Wednesday! - DIY bride!

I have had such a blast looking at DIY things to do to keep costs down on our wedding day!
here are some of my fave DIY looking items!

Place Cards! From Here

Keeping little ones entertained from Bridal Musings,

Engagement Party Decorations (I am thinking of some of these at mine)

 

and a little bit of honeymoon DIY LOVE with this little postcard book

Every bride needs a little DIY at her wedding...I think it saves money and means more.
xx Courtney

Inspiration Tuesday - Paint Chip Tuesday

The humble paint chip! you get them from hardware stores and paint shops, free 90% of the time, and you don't really notice them...and I admit it, neither did I...until I delved into pintrest searching for something to inspire me for the week...and I found some very cool uses for paintchips!

Putting them through your printer! and giving such a fantastic look to your family photos! this may not appeal to many, but this sung to the artist in me and the memory keeper! this is deffinately on my to do list! even if the photos just end up in my journal! still a great way to use your photos and give your art journal a splash of colour! totally my top pick.

 

How about adding some art to the walls of your house! This blew my mind, John wasn't sold on it, but me, I was in love! I may even make a mini version for my studio wall, I thought this was a stunning home decor way to use a stack of paint chips! and a very budget friendly way to give one of your walls a little attitude and brightness.

 

 One of my faves, purely for my little girls sake and her love of notebooks! was turning them into little notebooks add a little cheap white paper sew them down the side to hold it all together and before you know it, you have a great array of little notebooks! My little Lily will lose her mind over these, as she is a notebook hoarder, and has such a collection (almost as much as mummy) so I will be making these for sure...for the both of us, an easy way to throw a little book into your handbag for your daily reminders.

above is another take on the notebooks...can you tell I love them hehe. Such a simple idea...used in so many ways! there was alot of ideas for paint chips but I had to pick my three faves, or this post would be huge!

I hope this has inspired you a little to look outside the norm for something to brighten your day on a budget!
xx Courtney
see you tomorrow for my first wedding post!

 

Thank Goodness its Friday

It's finally Friday, it has been a long time since I wished for a Friday, with the school runs now, catching the back back and forward it tires a girl out...so I long for the Friday afternoon where I can just slouch! today, while it rained I just taped things into my journal, and did some work on the naughty corner face. Slowly with each layer I put down, I'm rather liking her. I pick her up every few hours add another colour, shading, high lights.


I think I need to unround her eyes... give them a more natural look instead of making them so rounded. To combat my hair hate, mum said to put a bandanaesk thing on her, to make her features pop... and it worked.


I also started drawing a little whimsy girl over the crazy pink I put down a few days ago, she turned out rather nice, just simple little creative steps to try and keep myself motivated to blog everyday again and be happy with my art.
so what are you working on in your art journals?

todays simple DIY journal find is hereComposition Art Journal By lilblueboo.com

xx Courtney