Mini Art Journal: Part 1

I seem to be out a lot lately, when I am bored I play games on my phone or look for inspiration online. When I am home I don't always have time to get out supplies and create. Usually, I set out supplies and go to bed.
Time for a new journal. One that will fit in my purse. I went to Michaels and bought a journal (originally $3) for $1.50 it has a fabric/ canvas type cover. Perfect for holding paint and other mediums.



I started by coating the cover generously with gesso. First with brush strokes in one direction, let dry then another coat in the other direction.




I am not sure what I am doing with the cover yet, so I will get to that when I get an idea.




Inside, I used matte medium to glue pages together. I put waxed paper in-between sets of glued pages.




To make space for papers and other extras I ripped out pages using a ruler. I made sure to leave a couple of millimeters so the pages don't fall out the other side.

Once it was dry, I went to the second page and coated it with gesso.




To cut down drying time I used a heat gun. I used matte medium to glue papers and other background images in.




I used acrylic paint and a dry brush technique to add subdued coloring to the page. I then coated it with gesso, using a dry brush technique.
If pages seem loose once painted, I use tissue tape in the seam so it doesn't fall out.




Now it's ready for more paint, text, stamps and images. Having a few prepped pages will make it easier to journal on the go.




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Blackened Bananas

After eating banana bread for a few days, I decided to make cookies to finish off my blackened bananas. I searched many sites looking for recipes and found my new FAVOURITE cookie.

Kitchen Parade has a recipe for chewy banana oatmeal cookies. The banana cookies I have made in the past have been very cake like (imagine the tops of muffins) which is good, but I want cookies not muffins today. If you follow the recipe the dough is the perfect consistency to add in nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips or anything else you can think of! You can also use splenda instead of sugar or whole wheat flour, shouldn't change the cookie much.

It will take a week for these bananas to be ready... I cant wait.

My Version:

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Prep: 30 min  Makes 30 cookies

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 very very ripe banana (pretty much black)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

• 1-1/2 cups oatmeal (old-fashioned or quick, not instant)
• 1 cup coconut, preferably unsweetened
• OPTIONAL
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees F
Melt butter in small dish. Transfer to mixing bowl. Using electric mixer, combine butter sugars, banana, egg and vanilla.

In separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir together then add to wet mixture.
Once mixed, stir in remaining ingredients one at a time.

Drop dough by tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely on wire rack.
Store in airtight container to keep from drying out.

Soo Amazing...

I'm Back

Well... I didn't really go anywhere. I have been taking it easy for a few months. Mid December I found out I was pregnant. Big surprise. We weren't planning on it for a few more years, but it was a VERY happy moment.

4 months of super fun morning sickness and moving at a snails pace has passed, I feel more like myself again.


18 weeks...


Today, 22 weeks! Over halfway. I am now in the mood to be more creative. My body is busy making a healthy baby and my mind wants to keep busy now too.
I am going to start creating every day. A photo, a doodle, mail art, some journaling, painting, scrapbooking or sewing... Whatever it is, I will do a bit each day and try to post at least once a week.

Last week I made a plush blanket for my new niece (born almost a month ago) and painted some wooden letters for her nursery.



Today I played around with the Halftone app. Pretty fun effects. I am now going to spend hours of spare time editing photos. They will go great in my art journal.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone