Day 1- 31 Days of Halloween 2017

Well hello there, welcome to my first 31 Days post for this year! I'm ecstatic to be participating in this again. It's been a few years since I've been able to even fathom making projects all month long, but here's hoping this year I can pull it off!

If you haven't yet read the rules post for 31 Days and need a refresher, or if this event is new to you, please check out this post. I explain exactly what this event is, what you should expect, and how you can be entered to win a prize from me! Keep in mind, other Wicked Bloggers may be hosting giveaways on their own blogs, and if so you should follow their instructions during the month to enter.

Okay, let's get right down to my first project. I am trying something a little bit different this time around. I'm going to concentrate on one big accumulative project over the course of the month, with maybe a few little extras thrown in here and there. This is mainly to keep my sanity, and also because I'd like my project to have a little bit more personal meaning. I'm in a place where I am just beginning to explore my art regularly again after a substantial break, and I want to push those explorations. So, I decided I would create an October themed art journal, and fill it throughout the month.

I started the journey with the front cover of the journal. A little back-story...in true form, I did not start my project until about 7pm yesterday. This is because in all this time, I couldn't figure out exactly what I wanted to do for 31 Days. I went to a store yesterday morning to take a glance around, and lo and behold, I found what I was looking for. A mixed media journal from Ranger that has burlap, canvas, and thick pages throughout. I'm sure these have been around, but as I don't shop for art supplies often and haven't been staying in the loop lately, I was super excited to find it. Then it all clicked.

As I said, I'll be adding to this journal throughout the month, and may even add more to the cover, but for now here's the beginnings of my month long exploration.

 I used a whole bunch of materials and techniques to create the background effect on this cover, including plaster, joint compound, and various layers of paint washes. I chose to go with a simple color combo, to include black, white, and copper.

My focal point features a piece of old door hardware that got dressed up with a resin-ed coil, wires, quartz and tourmaline crystals, charms, chain, feathers, and microbeads.

Closeup of the background texture

Tourmaline and quartz

Charming!

Closeup of the coil in resin

The finished product once again!

This is the journal I started with.

I hope you like it and I'm really looking forward to filling these pages and sharing them with you. Until tomorrow, enjoy visiting the other Wicked Bloggers and checking out their projects for today. Don't forget to leave your comments if you are participating as a Horrifying Hopper! You can find the blog roll in my sidebar, or in the rules post that I mentioned earlier.

Happy 31 Days!!!!!!!!