Tracy Weinzapfel Studios

I am on a Journey...Inspiration Page

Aren't we all on a journey?  Sometimes the journey feels rawer and scarier than other parts of the journey but finding what speaks to you is part of it.  I love how the pages in my journal are speaking to me.  I love how a blank watercolor page can come to life with just a splash of color, a sketch, a bit of glue and a charcoal pencil.

That is what happened on this page....

 
This was a rather simple page and I looked for more "things" to put on it but it just did not need it. I just wanted to be plain and simple.  That is what spoke to me.

MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar Adhesive - Premium Craft Glue & Liquid Scrap Dots
• Acrylic Paint - Decoart (Spa Blue, Poodleskirt Pink, White Wash)
• Charoal Pencil
• Stamp Pad - Colorbox
• Stamp - Stampendous
• Butterflies - Jenni Bowlin

 
I also want to share some more pages from those who have emailed me!  Here is Leanne Garner's Album and her first pages!

"I wanted to make this inspiration journal for several reasons! One being that I've never made anything like this and always love to try new things! The other reason I feel like I wanted to make this is because I feel like I'm on a new journey in life! Not a bad journey, just a new chapter opening up and needs to be explored! I love all the inspirational quotes you can find (you can look for days!) and love to pick out the ones that I either need reminding myself of or ones that keep me motivated! This is something I know I can cherish when it's completed!" ~ Leanne

 
 

Thank you Leanne for joining me!  Keep sharing your pages: [email protected].  We never know where the journey will take us. My page spoke to me on my journey and I hope you find what speaks to you on yours.

 

"All of life is a journey which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us.  We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there." ~Unknown.

Painting in the Journal and Helmar GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Decided to do some paintings in my Daily Inspiration Journal too! I love to play with paints and find a couple of things very simple to draw.  I guess martini glasses seems to be one of them.  Just love to play with water colors, acrylics and a charcoal pencil and see where it takes me.......

 
MATERIALS LIST:

• Watercolor Crayons - Carandache
• Acrylic Paints - DecoArt
• Inks: Marvy Heritage Ink
• Charcoal Pencil

 
 
Sometimes just going back to what you love feels good.  I want to also award our winner of my Helmar Giveway week! 

 
What a great response.......the lucky random winner is:

Deanna Foy

I have always kept favorite quotes or thoughts about my day but never added art to it. I love that concept. I guess I never thought I could do it but I believe I'm gonna try it! and I would love to try all the Helmar glues. I keep reading how awesome they are!  Posted by: Deanna Foy | Tuesday, June 07, 2011 at 08:24 AM

Deanna, please email your shipping address to [email protected] to claim your prize!

Thank you everyone for your pages and comments!  I am so loving sharing this experience with so many!  It is not too late to email your pages to me: [email protected].  Have a great week!

 

"This day is a journey, this very moment is an adventure". ~Recca Pavlenko 

Creative Life

I have a degree from a top ten university I worked hard for and am proud of. I loved working in construction for a number of years but always knew that there was a creative person in me dying to come out.  Many ask how I got involved with my job today and I say by a lot of hard work.  I knew long ago even in that construction job when I would leave on a Friday to crop at the local scrapbook store that this industry held my heart and I wanted to be part of it.

I took that opportunity when I had the twins and quit my job. I never looked at it as quitting my career........I shifted careers. I had no idea know where that decision was taking me but today I have this opportunity to be creative, paint a picture, glue things together that make me happy and more important now share (now teach!) what I love.

People used to ask what I do and I would use the word scrapbooker, designer but would shy away from it.  What is the word for what I do?....Who has an easy time saying they want to cut paper for a living. I joked that my college degree was not being put to use, what about all those years in sales, my accounting skills............but every bit of experience I gained along the way I am putting to good use today and am also putting trust in my creativity...

Who knows where creativity will take me, you or anyone but we all know when we have a calling and open that new door. So in today's Daily Inspiration Journal page it is all about not being afraid......

  
MATERIALS LIST:

• Adhesives:  Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste
• Acrylic Paints: DecoArt
• Ink: Marvy Heritage Pads
• Stamps: Unity
• Inks: Daler & Rowney
• Charcoal Pencil

 
I shared this page in progress on Facebook and many asked me the step-by-step (sure wish I had shot photos!)

1. White Gesso page (to start fresh)
2. Painted the Purple Acrylic paint on background (gesso was still damp so mixed together)
3. Brushed the teal to the top and watered it down to spead down page.  Flipped page over and did the same.
4. Stamped flowers (Unity Stamps) with Marvy Heritage Inks.  Outlined with a charcoal pencil and smeared
5. Printed quote on printer paper and Decoupaged to page (Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste)...♥Helmar Decoupage!
6. Went back in with Marvy Heritage Inks & Indian ink (w/ nib tip) to outline and emphasize flowers to complete the page.

I will try to take some more pictures in the process.  If you are taking my new Studio Classes we will do pages like this!

I got lost in this page.  I tried new elements and just loved the process......I trusted myself as an Artist.  A reminder for all of us who doubt ourselves and get lost in the Fear.

 

"You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith."  ~Mary Manin Morriss 

Inspiration Pages by YOU!

Wow I am blown away by the emails I have recieved from so many sharing their inspiration journal pages and this journey with me. Not only am I excited to see the beautiful art-filled pages but to hear your stories is so amazing.

Like this one from Jean....

"I have a twin sister who is ARTISTIC just like my mom, while, I could not draw a straight line with a ruler...I want to create but I live in fear – mine won’t be as good, my people look funny, what was I thinking, etc. So I created this page reminding me to just have fun...I need to remind myself not to compare my work to my sister’s or anyone else’s. I am doing this JUST FOR ME! The girl is cut out from a children’s book. I altered the background.  Thanks for listening! For some reason, I wanted to share this. We have to remind ourselves that we are doing this for us – not anyone else." ~Jean Marmo

Jean captured what these journals mean to me! Thank you for sharing your art Jean and YOU! And thank you for the reminder of what this is all about.

Another Jean shared with me....

"Tracy, Here is my page from yesterday.  Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration with me.  It is such a great way to look at all I have to be thankful for each day.  It instantly takes me away from whatever challenges I may be facing at the time.  Thank you." ~Jean McNulty

 

I feel the same Jean when I lose myself in my pages! 

And Victoria shared.....

"Been following...on making journals as well as some great art!! Thanks Tracy Weinzapfel Burgos president of Helmar USA.!!! I am really enjoying this challenge from Tracy. It is a one month challenge to journal art every day!!! What could be better than crafting and creating as well as adding my thoughts or a special quote in my book. I also have my daughter joining in to." ~Victoria Martin

and look at Victoria's Daughters Inspiration Journal pages!

"This is my daughters Inspiration Journal. She is trying to stay caught up. So she is missing a little. But she doodles all the time so it's a no brainer for her. She is wanting to get some water color paints to finish them up. Her art is awesome to me. Wished I doodled that good." ~Victoria Martin

  

So cool mom and daughter are doing this together!

Thank you everybody for sharing your beautiful work with me!  It is not to late to join us in my Inspiration Challenge!  Pages can be emailed to [email protected].  And don't forget the Helmar GIVEAWAY going on this week.

 

"Stop every now and then.  Just stop and enjoy.  Take a deep breath.  Relax and take in the abundance of life." ~Unknown 

Inspiration Page "The Beauty in Balance"

Last Friday night my friend came over for some Girl Time and Art time.  We had a lot of fun "Gettin' Our Glue on". I enjoyed myself and let go and created this page in my inspiration journal which I really like:

 

MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar 450 Quick Dry
• Indian Ink:  Winsor & Newton
• Acrylic Paint - DecoArt & Golden
• Mists - Tattered Angels
• Ink - Black Marvy
• Stamps - Unity 
• Buttons - Jenni Bowlin
• DMC Floss

The pages are still coming in and I am loving it! Stay tuned as I will be sharing more this week here on my blog!  Not only are the pages great but the stories associated with them are so cool!  

So want to thank my friend Jeri for this great little book she picked up for my birthday!  What a perfect book to find lots of inspiration from!

I promised a Helmar giveaway.....some of my Helmar favorites which I am using on every page of my journal!!!!!  

 
 

All you need to be entered is leave a comment on this Post AND........if you EMAIL me a copy of your Inspiration project you will be entered in twice!  I will pick a random winner next week!  I am loving all the pages and promise I am sharing them! 

Don't forget to join me Monday night LIVE from my studio for Helmar Product Spotlight on the Helmar Ustream Channel - Monday, June 6th, 6:30 pm (PST).  Lots of things happening in June...details HERE.  Have a great week!

 

 

 

"Every single day do something that makes your heart sing." ~Marcia Wieder

The Inspiration continues and more Journals to Share!

Wow, lots of new pages in my inspiration Journal!  Love when the glue and creativity are flowing!  Here is my latest page......

 MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar: 450 Quick Dry
• Mists & Glam:  Tattered Angels
• Template:  The Crafter's Workshop
• Flowers:  Michaels
• Buttons
• Ink:  Marvy Heritage
• Inks:  Daler Rowley & Winsor & Newton

 

So that brings me to more projects to share.  Thank you to Jessica Diedrich who happens to be a Helmar Design Team Member who shared her journal with me:

"So often I will see a great quote or piece of knowledge out there (even MORE frequently these days now that I'm addicted to Pinterest!) and although they touch my heart and I wouldn't forget them, I very often wish to put them all together in a special place.  THIS is why I wanted to do the inspiration challenge and I can guarantee it won't be the last one I do.   I want to leave a legacy for my children, and I want people to KNOW my heart along the way.  People should be celebrated, and people should celebrate their OWN lives as well :)  While I'm here, I want to take it ALL in, and most importantly, I want to leave the sentiments that mattered most...the things that were most important on my heart, behind for my kids some day :) You gotta have heart or this little life of ours just isn't as magical.  <3 Jessic Diedrich

 

 

I am so inspired by her every day and am thankful she shared her Inspiration Journal with me to share!!  Remember if you want to share your Inspiration Journal you can email them to [email protected].  Did someone mention a Helamr giveaway this week??  I think I did..........stay tuned!

  

"I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether we can do something.  Say, instead, that you are doing it.  Then fasten your seat belt.  The most remarkable things follow." ~Julia Cameron

Take a Leap....

This past weekend I got my fingers inky and gluey and that is just fine by me.  It felt great to create pages in my Inspiration Journal!  So many people are joining me in this so it has so much meaning for me. For me this is more than creating pages but it is creating pages from my heart and trying new techniques.  I had fun with this one because I love working with butterflies. I was fortunate to see Jaime from The Crafter's Workshop at Inspired and she gave me some of their great templates to play with (they also are a Helmar preferred vendor and supplied templates for my whole design team!). This template (Butterfly Ballet) provided the inspiration for my page:

This is a very simple page but I love that with Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots the butterflies are dimensional and flying around my page:

  MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar: Liquid Scrap Dots & 450 Quick Dry
• Ink: Winsor & Newton
• Ink: Marvy Heritage
• Mists:  Tattered Angels
• Template: The Crafter's Workshop
• Punch:  Marvy

 
This leap of inspiration has brought so many great projects into my mailbox from you guys!  So loving that!  Here are some to share:

"Morning Tracy - Here is a page I did yesterday.  I used some mixed media techniques as well as punched book paper flowers and a tag with a quote on it.  I love playing with paint, ink and stamps. I even doodled.  All of the pages you have been sharing are so inspiring!! Thanks for all you do." ~ Jean Marmo

 
And from Sandee Allen which is so fitting this week!

"Hi Tracy, ::sigh:: this was harder than you can ever imagine, and it has taken me forever to come up with a twist that I felt I could deal with." ~ Sandee Allen

 

Thank you so much everyone for sharing your pages!  Loving all the creativity and I feel a giveaway in the near future.......how about some Helmar goodness to glue those Inspiration Pages?

 

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~Maya Angelou

Inspiration is Catchy!

I so know what it feels like to feel Inspired!  I am back and catching up from my week at Donna Downey's Inspired Artist Workshop in North Carolina.  I was among so many creative and inspiring people.  Everyone attending is excited.  I took the Inspiration/Gratitude Journal to a whole new group of people. It is so true that Inspiration is catchy and is one bug I don't mind getting!  I got to take my Inspiration journal to a sold out class and we had a great time! 

 

So it is time myself to get back at it and share some new pages of my own!

 

MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar - Liquid Scrap Dots, 450 Quick Dry, Decoupage & Craft Paste
• Acrylic Paint - DecoArt & Golden
• Mists - Tattered Angels
• Charcoal Pencil
• Inks: Daler Rowney
• Water Color Crayon - Faber-Castell 

 
I am loving all the inspiration that is spreading and have so many pages/albums to share that you guys have been emailing me! Keep them coming.  Like this one from Shawna Rae: 

"Hi Tracy... just wanted to share the front cover of my journal with you. I used Helmar's crackle medium on the face of the clock and it turned out sooooo good. I've attached a picture of it... not sure how good it really is. This inspiration journal comes at a wonderful time for me. My current job will be coming to an end in about 4 months - my "time" there is running out (the thought behind the clock). I will need daily inspiration to make it through this phase of my life so I know I will really be working this project.....the carefree creative part of this whole thing is what makes it so much fun and relaxing. Thanks for all you do - you really are a true inspiration." ~Shawna Rae

 

 

So beautiful Shawna Rae! (and my fingers are crossed for the right job to come your way!)

If you have taken my Inspiration Challenge (click for details as it is not too late!) and you wish to share your pages with me so I can post them here please email them to me at [email protected]. 

Have a very Inspirational Day!

 

"You can't wait for inspiration  You have to go after it with a club." ~Jack London 

All Your Dreams...(Inspiration Journal Entry)

The creative fun continues this week with my latest page in the Inspiration Journal.

"All your Dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them." ~Walt Disney

   

This page is definitely brought to by the crafty goodness of Helmar adhesives and art mediums!! 

MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar:  450 Quick Dry, Crackle Medium (Step 1 & 2), Decoupage, and Liquid Scrap Dots
• Acrylic Paints - Making Memories & Golden
• Inks - Marvy Heritage
• Ribbon - Offray
• Ink:  Daler Rowney

I have decided that my new favorite color should be yellow.  My studio is painted yellow and seems only fitting since daisies are my favorite flower.  I love how this page turned out...very much an expression of me.

Hope everyone is having an Inspired week as I am at Donna Downey's Inspired Artist Workshop!

 

 

 

"Love and Live now - the moments are passing and you will not get that time back" ~ Azure Antoinette

A Strong Woman..Inspiration Journal

Loving all the artistic freedom in my Inspiration Journal!  Here is my second page:

 

MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar - Decoupage, Liquid Scrap Dots & 450 Quick Dry
• Acrylic Paint - DecoArt & Golden
• Inks - Marvy & tim Holtz
• Tattered Angels Glitter Mist
• Flowers
• Button

 
When I went on my last Borders going-out-of-business sale I picked up some fun books at 90% off that I could cut use for altered art.  I got this book "The Three-Martin Playdate" just for the vitage pictures!  I bought a bunch of extra copies and might include those in a future giveaway for the Inspiration Challenge!  There are lost of 50's vintagy photos and funny quips to cut up.  I think all the books I bought were like a $1 each!  Tearing up books is a ton of fun with Helmar Decoupage!

Have a great week everyone!

 

 

 

 

Surround yourself with color - colorful flowers, colorful clothing, colorful people. It can make you feel so good" ~Gayle King