the end result/ut photo journal
embellishing this, i tried to stay true to the desert elements with my colors and textures. raw. An afterthought… i wish i would have had some of the desert floor. i could have used that in texture with acrylics as well as a memorabilia element in a small glass bottle –! 
i used a synergy of products; 7gypsies stamp/naked journal, making memories alpha stickers (distressed, of course*wink), hks number stamp, map tape, ranger/tim holtz alcohol inks. and of course acrylics, walnut ink.
a couple of cool new discoveries… on the first inside photo (not pictured) i wrote out together always’ with my dip pen and ink –didn’t like how it looked, so i wiped the ink off with the thought that i would just cover the smeared ink area with some distressed technique- WELL… i found that it left the impression anyway.. in a negative way!
the ink actually –took away from- the finish of the photo and it looks like i used a tool to write into the photo; leaving a ‘negative’ appearance. Loving that.. i'll show an example of this eventually.. on the photo collage page i randomly put acrylic across the photos-then wiped the paint off, which in return took away from the photo finish. the photos look like they have been melted with heat, and with the acrylic in the mix, it’s a very cool effect in real life. (photos never show enough depth) -! of course, my fav part of this journal is the appearance it gives from the outside. The edges of the chipboard pages are very raw and stained with the walnut ink, and with the pics,etcetera on the inside.. making the outside look ‘gap-y’/or for better words ‘random’. *don’t know how else to describe this, but you artists’ understand my thought! lol.
it’s all around a fun photo journal; interactive with the 2-pg spread that i was able to stuff 12 photos into. (i attached 2 photos together; back-back, and in a staggered fashion i attached one side to the book with wide masking tape; stained with walnut ink. the tape allows the photos to flip with flex).
ALSO the debut’ edition of Somerset Studio's ARTful Blogging is out (i think- if not pr-order it… you’ll have it soon!)- i received my comp copy last week and the book is fabulous! the players/blogs featured in this issue are amazing. the layout of the images;photo and art, to the ‘partial post’ is really good. the synergy rocks to say the least!! get it. you’ll love it. i gave a big plug to my girl who designed my blog header/kim, but it wasn’t in the final piece, so i wanted to shout out TY KIM -and your work wow’s me!! she’s amazing to volunteer to design this for ME!! sidebar// i'm very happy with the visuals they used of my blog in the article. it's good stuff
- now i have some serious catching up to do on my on-going monthly life journal. [what else is new, right -?] my intention is to work on my june (i know... it's almost august -GASP) entry, and i'll post when done. have a fab weekend! slm
Steph totally love how this journal has turned out.
Enjoy the weekend.
Posted by: Lee | July 26, 2007 at 10:36 PM
How cool is that! Have ordered the blog magazine and signed up for subscription as we don't get that magazine over here and it looks fantastic....have a great weekend!
Posted by: sarah the kiwigirl | July 26, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Hey Steph!
Love the way the journal turned out! I love to 'mess up' & distress my photos, gotta try your new 'accidental' technique! Love that Heidi Swapp map tape...it went on sale at my LSS a couple weeks ago, and I bought 4 rolls of it! It also looks great on mixed media pieces...anyway, LOVE the journal, why don't you bring it to AZ so I can see it IRL one of these days?
Happy creating!
Posted by: carlene | July 31, 2007 at 01:13 PM
Hi!
I'm having an Artful Blogger party on my blog this Wednesday the 8th to celebrate the publication and artsy blogs everywhere. Congrats on your article. Hope you'll join in the fun.
Kari
www.artsymama.blogspot.com
Posted by: ArtsyMama | August 05, 2007 at 10:04 PM
Steph,
I just read my copy of Artful blogging, I wanted to stop by and say how much I enjoyed your article and your art. I was familiar with many of the other blogs, but somehow I had not landed here before. I am glad you were in the magazine :)
Posted by: shona | August 20, 2007 at 08:58 PM