Category Archives: Paper

Family Moments…

Posted on March 21, 2017 | 20 comments

my mojo has seemed to be mostly out and about lately partly due to a few hitches in my get along (leg pain) which slowed me down and curbed my creativity…

grateful to be feeling a bit better again I did not want to miss playing along with Yvonne‘s OUT AND ABOUT theme for Art Journal Journey this month…

looking at my journal pages on the computer screen…I noticed that they needed a little something to help anchor them…

so I stamped additional arches using my Impression Obsession, Inc. J4478 Moghul Arch stamp and tore strips to add to the bottom edge…

my spread includes various kinds of paper…deli paper scraps…map pieces…scrap papers from cleaning paint brushes…bits of napkins…stencil with super heavy gesso…grass from a magazine and rubber stamping

20 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Challenge, Paint, Paper, Rubber Stamping

Tagged ,

Love Never Dies…

Posted on February 10, 2017 | 37 comments

this month marks the sixth year since my mother’s passing…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-wool-pin-cushionin some ways it seems like only yesterday and yet…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-love-love

I am extremely grateful to have had a wonderful relationship with her with so many fun times and no regrets other than selfishly wishing she could have lived forever…magpies-nest-kitchen-stool

still inspired by my mother’s painting on the step stool I shared earlier this week here… magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-beginning-pages

I printed out several copies of photos I had taken doing lots of cutting and layering…magpies-nest-omis-painted-stool

I painted several shades of red on top of the heart I gessoed in the center…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-love-never-dies-art-journal-pages

I am pleased with how these pages came together and am sharing them for Linda’s “Fifty Shades of Red” challenge over at Art Journal Journey…

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” -Robert A. Heinlein

37 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Heart, Paint, Paper

Tagged , , , ,

the past is a foreign country…

Posted on January 26, 2017 | 31 comments

inspiration for these pages came from some dotted green paper that I ended up not using and a couple of images torn from an old book…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-foreign-land-beginning-pages

J.P. Hartley’s quote: “The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there” really speaks to me…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-foreign-country-left-pagewe’ve had so many cloudy days this month I kept waiting for a good time to take some photographs…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-ranunculus

it was nice to see a bit of blue sky again…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-kitchen-sunroom-view

I am joining Erika’s “tell me a story” theme over at Art Journal Journey…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-foreign-country-pages

thank you for visiting …magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-human-rights-first

I am sending Peace ♥ Love and Light your way…

31 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, iphoneography, Paint, Paper, Uncategorized

Tagged , , ,

darkness to Light…

Posted on December 30, 2016 | 24 comments

I have missed art journaling and playing along with my favorite challenge blog friends over at Art Journal Journey…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-progress-1

Valerie’s brilliant theme this month is “Light and Darkness” which is something I think about quite a bit having experienced a fair bit of darkness in my life (mostly in the form of loss)…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-progress-2

we all have to face it at some point (I used a fine tip black Sharpie marker for highlights around the gold)…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-dark-to-light-closeup

I have also been blessed with so much beautiful Light (couldn’t help but notice the difference in the Light in my photos)…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-progress-3

this journal page began with what was left from a sheet of Christmas stamps (those little snippets always seem too nice to throw away)…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-darkness-to-light

“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” -Madeline L’Engle

24 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Paint, Paper, Postage Stamp

Tagged , ,

Autumn in Everything…

Posted on October 19, 2016 | 22 comments

happy to have some time in the middle of our beautiful Indian Summer days here in Virginia to share two spreads that I created over the last couple of weeks…magpies-nest-autumn-grows-pages

these pages were inspired by an ad for a ballet performance that I clipped from The Washington Post and I just happened to have a stencil that I wanted to play with too…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-autumn-grows

I liked these pages so much I did not want to cover them up but I eventually forged ahead and had fun adding gold paint along with the Robert Browning quote…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-autumn-gold

now for something a little different… these green and gold pages were an attempt to step outside my comfort zone using colors and collage in a different way…

magpies-nest-13-beginning-pgs

I am still not crazy about the end result but thought I’d share both spreads with you since I had Valerie’s Golden Autumn theme in mind for Art Journal Journey this month when I created them..


magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-13-journal-pages

“There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.” -Joe L. Wheeler

22 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Autumn, map, Paint, Paper, Rubons, Stencil

Tagged , , ,

teach…

Posted on September 30, 2016 | 20 comments

an all time favorite Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song TEACH YOUR CHILDREN  inspired this two page spread for Elizabeth’s BACK TO SCHOOL theme over at Art Journal Journey…magpies-nest-teach-inspiration

I challenged myself to use colors I don’t often use and found a napkin along with some of my mother’s old paints that helped move me in that direction…

magpies-nest-teach-pages-in-progress

not totally comfortable with my color matching my favorite heavy gesso came to the rescue once again…magpiess-nest-distracted-by-dried-paintthen I got distracted for a bit by my paint tray noticing a small corner of paint sticking up… sure enough the layers of paint peeled out easily and yes I did save those bits for what I am not exactly sure 🙂 …magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-rainy-day-fun

then it was back to trying to make my pages work on a lovely rainy day here in Virginia…

magpies-nest-teach-left-page

it was fiddly fun cutting and pasting thin pieces of napkin to carry the design from one page to another (that napkin was too good to cover up completely)…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-teach-right-page

it took me awhile to get some matching turquoise and greenish yellow for my painted pages…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-teach-your-children-well

some Adirondack BOTTLE stamping ink applied with a wet wipe worked for one part since a lot of my Tim Holtz DISTRESS STAINS seem to have lost their color over time…magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-teach-art-journal-pages

a little more doodling with my gold paint pen and my pages are complete (tricky to photograph on a rainy day)…

You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good-bye.
Teach your children well,
Their father’s hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.
And you, of tender years,
Can’t know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your youth,
They seek the truth before they can die.
Teach your parents well,
Their children’s hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
Songwriters: Graham Nash
Teach Your Children lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group

20 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Birds, Heart, Music, Paint, Paper, Rubber Stamping

Tagged , ,

…a couple of kids…

Posted on September 24, 2016 | 24 comments

with September whizzing by I did not want to miss the chance to join in with Elizabeth’s fun theme of BACK TO SCHOOL over at Art Journal Journey…

magpies-nest-early-pages

while clearing and organizing I have had lots of ideas on the theme and finally took some time to play…magpies-nest-butterfly-atc

not sure how I know this Will Cobb/Gus Edwards song exactly but I couldn’t get the chorus out of my head… that along with an ATC I created some time ago were my inspiration…

magpies-nest-patty-szymkowicz-when-we-were-a-couple-of-kids

here is some of what went into this spread:  it began with spray painted book pages… stenciling with super heavy gesso… adding bits of monoprint paper, forget-me-not origami paper and deli print paper used to clean up the plastic doily used for stenciling along with some computer generated words on the right… the white flower trim was something that surfaced in my clean up as well

~♥~

“School days, school days Dear old golden rule days Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic Taught to the tune of the hickory stick You were my queen in calico I was your bashful barefoot beau And you wrote on my slate, “I love you, Joe” When we were a couple of kids.”

24 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Butterfly, Fabric/Ribbon/Fiber/Lace, Paint, Paper, Stencil

Tagged , ,

Blessings…

Posted on July 31, 2016 | 21 comments

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz IN MY GARDEN 1another inspiring theme over at Art Journal Journey for July…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz IN MY GARDEN 2many thanks to Yvonne of Meggys Way and all of the participants…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz single pagesas a final offering I created a 9 x 12″ canvas inspired by a photo of a statue in the sumptuous gardens of Isola Madre on Lake Maggiore in Italy… Magpie's Nest Blessings Lady

lots of layers (pattern tissue… citrasolv paper… cheesecloth… netting… vintage lace and trims adhered with my favorite soft gel medium)…Magpie's Nest BLESSINGS closeupat first I had stamped IMAGINE on tissue paper with some turquoise ink that was too light so that gave me a chance to change the word to BLESSINGS (Art Impressions, Oregon USA)…Magpie's Nest Blessings supplies

I rushed a bit on this and intend to go back and add some touches of green paint…thanks so much for visiting ~♥~

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz BLESSINGS“It is only with true love and compassion that we can begin to mend what is broken in the world. It is these two blessed things that can begin to heal all broken hearts.” -Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

21 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Blogging, Canvas, Fabric/Ribbon/Fiber/Lace, Paint, Paper, Rubber Stamping

Tagged , ,

tea and friendship in my garden…

Posted on July 25, 2016 | 32 comments

Organic India is a favorite tea company of ours for lots of reasons… in each box of tea they include a little product booklet which I always feel a bit bad about chucking into the recycle bin when the box is empty…Organic India info

so I decided to create a small journal by gluing some pages together…Patty Szymkowicz Tea & Friendship gesso

and adding some heavy gesso to help give the slippery pages some tooth…Magpie's Nest tea journal side view

with no real plan other than a focus on tea and friendship…

Magpie's Nest T Journal 1&2

for the first pages I used a scrap of Neal’s Yard tissue paper from our 2013 trip to the UK along with a piece of security envelope… one of my favorite swans and some star tissue…

Magpie's Nest T Journal 3 & 4

a tea stamp on tissue paper with a tea pot and cup catalog cut out…Magpie's Nest T Journal 5 & 6

coffee advert with old music sheet snippet which happens to have the #3 on it which is fitting for the recent T Stands for Tuesday anniversary…

Magpie's Nest T Journal 7 & 8

NYPL Japanese tea ladies with citra solv paper scraps and pieces of torn paper parasol…

Magpie's Nest T Journal 9 & 10

assorted blue clip art and a US postage stamp as a finish…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz tea journal cover

the cover of the book is from my paper collection and the cup is a wooden cut out that I colored with a gold Krylon pen… the tassel and gold fringe helped pull it all together…

joining Art Journal Journey’s IN MY GARDEN there is challenge and wishing everyone over at Elizabeth’s T Stands for Tuesday a Happy T Day…

“Make tea, not war.” ~Monty Python

32 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Mixed Media, Paint, Paper, Peace, T stands for Tuesday

Tagged , ,

garden of dreams…

Posted on July 20, 2016 | 24 comments

another spread for Yvonne’s IN MY GARDEN there is theme for Art Journal Journey…Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz background pages

working in my DREAM journal with layers of paper napkin… paint and gesso…

Magpie's Nest Nigella

torn bits of Misty Mawn collage sheet… fabric fusion paper with a Love-in-a-Mist bloom from my flower press...

Magpie's Nest black capped chickadeepressed flower fusion paper and tissue paper…Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz Garden of Dreams

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in – what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” -Victor Hugo

24 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Birds, Butterfly, Garden, Nature, Paint, Paper, pressed flowers

Tagged ,

Art Journal Journey May Wrap up plus one more…

Posted on May 31, 2016 | 22 comments

the creativity for Erika’s JOURNEYS theme last month was great (you can see everyone’s work in the gallery here)…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz French Travel Journal May PagesI got a nice bit of work done in my French Travel Journal above…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz Journey like a Dream along with a piece in my “Life is but a dream” journal…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz CJS AT JourneyI also created a digital collage honoring our son’s Appalachian Trail journey… 

1 Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz HOPE supplies while clearing out a bit this morning I came across some scraps of fabric fusion paper … a blue paper dinner napkin from our travels that I had only used the corner of and didn’t want to waste along with a couple of free images from the internet and a quote which inspired me to make two last pages for Art Journal Journey’s May theme of JOURNEYS…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz HopeHOPE can be an important part of every journey don’t you think…

22 Comments

Posted in Appalachian Trail, Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, French Travel Journal 2016, Paper

Tagged , , , , ,

the desire to create …

Posted on February 2, 2016 | 35 comments

the February Art Journal Journey challenge is “If Music Be the Food of Love“ which can include things like music …

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz strips of paper collage backgroundfood or anything you love…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz button heartmy art journal pages are full of things I Love like paper and gesso and buttons (even button papers) and words…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz the desire to createcreating is something that brings me endless joy…

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Creation brings satisfaction and fulfillment.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

35 Comments

Posted in Art Journal Journey Challenge Blog, Buttons, Heart, Paper

Tagged , ,

a hole in my pocket…

Posted on January 22, 2016 | 40 comments

 it was really nice visiting so many talented artists over at Paint Party Friday last week for my first time playing along…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz Painted Collage Background pages

this week I created a spread in a “Dream” themed art journal…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz Gouache Stars

and had fun with a star shaped stamp and gold gouache…

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz Brandi Carlile lyric

cutting out a few stars and stamping a burst stamp over them using a mask..

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz Dreams Heart

I had printed out two of my altered images using the smaller one in another of my art journals here… this version worked out nicely for these book pages … 

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz dreams fall quote

the words are from a Brandi Carlile song “The Things I Regret”… 

Magpie's Nest Patty Szymkowicz dreams fall

thank you for your visit…

“Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate.” -J.R.R. Tolkien

40 Comments

Posted in Paint, Paint Party Friday, Paper, Quote, Rubber Stamping, Star