I have some new journal pages that I haven't show off yet unless you check my artist Facebook page regularly.  You can check that out here.      

I painted my first set of wonky birds on one side of an accordion folded piece of mixed media paper.  Now I have finished painting four more birds on the other side of the paper.  I am also going to show you how I added this paper to my journal.   

To add this art to my journal I started with a strip of card stock that I had used to clean some extra ink off of a stencil.

I cut and folded strips off of the the piece of card stock.

This is the paper with the birds on both sides.

Here I slipped the folded card stock underneath the binding thread that the journal is sewed together with. 

I glued each side of the card stock to the bottom panel of the painting.

Now my birds have a home in between two pages of my journal and I can open out the folded painting and view both sides.

Have a wonderfully creative week,
Janelle

     I don't know if you have figured this out yet but, I love texture.  Two kinds of texture are actual and visual.  Actual texture is the way that the piece feels.  Is it rough, soft, smooth, bumpy, etc.  I love to add papers, fabrics, ribbons, lace, wax, beads, and many other textural elements to my pieces to create actual texture.  Layers of fabrics can add a lot of actual texture that invites the viewer to touch the piece.  Visual texture is the pattern that you see.  You don't feel a lot of texture, but you can see it.  Using stencils with paint or sprays is a great way to get visual texture.  Layers of paint and brush strokes also create visual texture.  Most of my art uses both kinds of texture at the same time.      
     I love beautiful things that make me want to touch them.  That is one of the reasons that I love to make art quilts.  They appeal to both the eyes and hands.  My art quilts are meant to be touched and enjoyed, not just looked at. I also love to add texture to my other art as well.  My journal pages often include some kind of textural element.  I add lace, fabric, and drywall tape to my pages along with the texture that you get from using tissue paper, paint, and gel medium.  I don't usually smooth everything out on my pages, because I want to be able to feel the texture.  I try to convey that texture through the photos that I take, but of course it is always easier to see in person.
     I also love making wearable art because you guessed it, texture.  When you have a bracelet or cuff on your arm that begs to be touched, it just lights up your whole day.  Being able to see and touch a beautiful piece can help your whole day improve. 
      I want to appeal to all you art lovers out there that also love texture.  I love to make art that you can enjoy visually and texturally.  I love to satisfy the craving to touch art, not just stand behind a barrier and look.  Here are some bits and pieces of my favorite textured art that I have made over the last several years.  All of these pieces have actual texture.   Some of these pieces have soft texture and some of them have rough texture, but in all of them the texture adds to the feeling of the piece.          

   Here are some bits and pieces that have visual texture that is stronger than the actual texture.

I have several tutorials available that have actual textural elements.  You can find the tutorials on this page. http://www.handsandharts.com/tutorials.html  I am also available to answer questions about my use of texture. 
I hope that this helps you understand my work and the ways that you too can use texture.
Janelle  

I painted these birds for a Lifebook lesson.  Making wonky birds is so much fun that I want to do more now.  I hope that these make you happy at the start of the weekend.  These are on an accordion folded piece of mixed media paper that I am going to stick into my journal. 

Have a great weekend,
Janelle

I have finished some more journal pages in the last week.  These were all Easter themed.  The spread with the girl wearing bunny ears was the last spread in my altered book journal.  I added some views of the book, so that you can see how fat it has become.  Now I am working on some lessons for the Lifebook class that I am taking this year.  I hope to show some of those off soon, but for now have a great week.
Janelle  

Thank you Tammy from Embracing the Whole Heart for awarding me the Liebster Award.  I always enjoy reading Tammy's blog and viewing her artwork.


ABOUT THE AWARD 
This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion. Once you've been nominated, you award it to five blogs that you like that have fewer than 200 followers, to encourage new visitors to visit these blogs. 


RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE 
Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award onto your blog. Give the award to five bloggers who you appreciate that have fewer than 200 followers. Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award!

Pay It Forward
Cia Williford at Angels Art and Attitude ~Cia always makes beautiful peaceful art and has wonderful stories.  
Jani Franck at Jani Franck ~Jani always gives great advice for creative types and helps me to see the funny side of life.
Julie at Sesenarts ~Julie has wonderful textile art and beautiful felted art to show off. 
Faye at Venus Blues Hideaway ~Faye makes a lot of wonderful art and always has a lot of animals to show off too.
Carol Sloan at Carol Sloan Studios ~Carol is a wonderfully artist who always inspires me.   
Thank you again and check out these blogs.
Janelle