#20 - Happy Crafters Moley (Moleskine) Group~Full

[Nicky]

Do we put anything on the back of the 3 pages that we create our art on?

Hi Trilov - I suggest to add your artist info on the back of the page (screenname and real name, date and anything you'd like to tell us about you and your art?). In that way you'd know who did what - I for one would like to know that.

[goatgoddess]

yes it's very fun to see the pages as they the months go by and you start getting molies with more art in them - to see who made what and learn more about each of the artist.

[goatgoddess]

for my theme I will go with Myths and Legends - feel free to use any culture - don't feel like you have to stick to just the Greek and Roman ones.

DO's - Artist choice on style of art - collage or drawn it's all good.

DON'TS: not too much nudity, I like to share your art with others (friends and family) and some are not so open .

http://www.pantheon.org/

[Nicky]

Taking all remarks into consideration and with a bit of help from The JAZZ! I've come up with a mailing order that should make sense. It can be found in #2 and will stay there for the rest of the time.
As soon as I have received all addresses, I will mail you the details of your partner (even if it is not necessary - it's my duty as a host).

Please try to complete your themes by the end of this week, so we can all start thinking on what to do for our first moley....

[Coyote]

It all makes much more sense now. I am no good with figuring things like this out.

Just wait until the order of mailing has been decided. I will decide who mails to who when I have got all the addresses and I can make sense of your locations. After that I will let you know who it is that you will mail to. And yes, in that way you will get every moley once and it goes round in a circle until the last one can sent it home.

[Coyote]

The japanese moleys extendout, do we do a two panel spread or a three panel spread?

[Nicky]

Hi Coyote,

Like it says in the first post, we do a 3-page spread. That is why you are getting my moley first... you already did two lovely pages in my Japanese moley and I'd love you to add one more to make it the required three (3) pages... Can't wait to see what you come up with

[TriLov]

Received my moley in the mail today! Yay! I saw how small it was and I had to go back and check the measurements! LOL
Does anyone have advice on the mediums to use on this paper? Does watercolor work well?

[Nicky]

Lol TriLov... now you know why we do 3 pages... so we can at least expose our art on these small pages... but small books are easier to mail out too.
As for watercolor - I'm not sure... I mostly use color pencils and markers. They work fine.

[kentuckydakota]

I found watercolor a bit difficult and when dry it looked a bit chalky in the last one I did. Could be the watercolors I was using. I wonder if there's a treatment for the paper that would make watercolor work better?

[Coyote]

If it is okay with you, i would love to do a completely new 3 page spread. I don't want to add any more to the one I did, i would be afraid to make it to busy since the other pieces in tour book are so clean and simple.

I was planning on creating a traditional Japanese scroll with calligraphy and painted cranes across 3 pages.

If you would like me to add a third panel to the paper crane drawing I made first I certainly can. If not, that is my idea for a new three panel spread.

[jazzie]

Use gesso if you're going to use any paint - the less liquidy kinds work best when applied in a really thin layer with a make-up sponge (pouncing). There is less warping that way. Covering with wax paper and putting a heavy book on it helps too. Same thing if you're gluing any paper, use the driest stick you can find instead of any liquid glue.

They make clear gesso and absorbent grounds for watercolors.

I've had good results using all kinds of acrylics, gouache, and watercolors when applied thinly. I think Distress Paint would look great on a Moley page because they have no fillers that will flake off (check out Tim Holtz tag tutorials on Youtube). If you're heavy handed with acrylics they are going to crack on the folds and start falling off before the Moley gets back to its owner - I've seen it happen in both groups I've been in.

[Nicky]

Hi Coyote - that Japanese scroll sounds great (perhaps on the 3th page since it will have crane(s) too and the theme is consistent with the lovely Origami cranes you already did?) See, the problem is that my moley will be 2 pages short if you do another 3-pager... To avoid that I would have to order a completely new moley to start with and I can't get that done before the end of this month (it will not arrive in time).

[DebbaPeot]

This mikey group will be great! I'm heading for surgery Friday so my 10-12 weeks of no walking on my knee and then a years recovery will be perfect for me and am excited to see everyone's moleys. Hugs!!!

[waffle]

Hi everybody! So happy to be on another journal swap. I just ordered my moley and hope to get it by Monday. Yay!

I agree about using Gesso to make a base layer for painting in the moley - however I recommend using acrylic paint instead of watercolor. I've had more success with that.

My theme will be "Long Live Sustainability" - it's inspired by this cute notebook I found at the store last weekend. Here's a link: http://bit.ly/1CXVm88
I would like each spread to include a quote about being green, sustainable, environmentally friendly, conserving natural resources, taking care of the planet, nature, wildlife, etc. The three page spread should include a quote that does not take up more than one whole panel of space. Artwork could be natural landscapes, habitats, plants, wildlife, cute critters (caricature, kawaii style), people doing green activities like recycling, etc. You can use any medium you like - if you do mixed media/collage just make sure it's not too thick so the journal can still fold up and close easily.

[goatgoddess]

very good hints - yes my last book cover molie I was very heavy handed on the acrylic paint (layers) and it is very cracked along the binding, need to repair it at some point.
I've been wondering about those Distress paints - will have to try them.

Use gesso if you're going to use any paint - the less liquidy kinds work best when applied in a really thin layer with a make-up sponge (pouncing). There is less warping that way. Covering with wax paper and putting a heavy book on it helps too. Same thing if you're gluing any paper, use the driest stick you can find instead of any liquid glue.

They make clear gesso and absorbent grounds for watercolors.

I've had good results using all kinds of acrylics, gouache, and watercolors when applied thinly. I think Distress Paint would look great on a Moley page because they have no fillers that will flake off (check out Tim Holtz tag tutorials on Youtube). If you're heavy handed with acrylics they are going to crack on the folds and start falling off before the Moley gets back to its owner - I've seen it happen in both groups I've been in.

[TriLov]

Thanks for all the tips! I worked on my first 3 pages last night and tried a thin layer of watercolor. It was ok, but I'm not super happy with the results. It does pill easily if you add too much. I ended up using tombow markers(no water) and some colored pencils. It came out better than I thought it would. I'm glad I tried it out first on my moley! I may stick to markers and acrylics.
Does anyone know if Sharpies will bleed through? My thought is yes, but I don't use Sharpies much.

[TriLov]

This mikey group will be great! I'm heading for surgery Friday so my 10-12 weeks of no walking on my knee and then a years recovery will be perfect for me and am excited to see everyone's moleys. Hugs!!!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[Nicky]

Good luck with your surgery Debby dear! Hope all goes well and that the recovery will go smooth!

[JSilver]

Yes, Deb, hope all goes well and you recover in record time.

Watercolor does pill and is not my choice. Sharpies DO bleed; so be sure the rest of the pages are out of the way.
Acrylics and colored pencils are my favorite. Sometimes with a little pen to accent.