a large art journal page...

it started like this...

I cut a large page 

 from

 specialty stamping paper...

and sized it to fit the 

large art journal cover...

about 8 ½ x 6 inches...

I misted on some leaf green archival spray & some sky blue archival spray & dried the page...

(archival reinkers mixed with 

rubbing alcohol into misters)

I stamped the violet bouquet with 

glacier white pigment ink 

and used white embossing powder...

to "watercolor" with archival inks...

swipe the pad onto the craft sheet,

adding just a small amount of ink 

it takes very little ink...

add a few drops of rubbing alcohol off to the side...

this will dilute the color as needed & allow it to be painted in layers...

I like the detailer water brush...

I use it empty & just moisten it in the alcohol...

now just paint away & dry between layers...

the embossing helps control the ink, making it easy to paint...

once I had the bouquet painted, I touched the water moistened detailer water brush into water & then touched it to the tip of

 the hickory smoke distress crayon ...

this made a good shadow color...

the embossing makes it super easy to go along the outline...

since the page base is archival ink (waterproof) & 

the crayons are water reactive distress, 

they work very well together...

the archival doesn't smear & the distress crayon color stays true...

 I got this far & ran out of time & ideas...

initially,

I had no clue where this was going...

sometimes you just have to START...

but sometimes an image guides the process...

 here's the finished page...

I started with the borders stencil...

did you see that I used all 3 stencil sections?

it's a good versatile stencil...

the diamonds are stenciled vertical...

the scallop was made thinner by masking part of it off with painters tape...

and...

the sky blue diagonal border

is a little technique twist...

stencil it once, then flip it over & stencil again to create a lattice pattern...

I used sky blue for both, but you could use 2 coordinating colors...

the cut out sentiments are all from 

the new "just say it" background stamp...

there are 21 sentiments on this guy!

the violets are here...

and the large sentiment is here...

I customized a mat mini button 

with leaf green archival...

it's lightly inked, then over stamped with 

the ticking background, 

using fern green...

stamp once...

reink...

turn the stamp 90 degrees & 

stamp again to create the cute mini plaid...

I stamped random vintage text in the background, using watering can archival...

I like to use stamps unmounted,

 to add in text wherever it is needed...

this makes it easier to control & add just small sections...

a few stenciled dots, using sky blue...

a few black glaze pen dots...

a few waterproof lines...

I rounded the 2 right corners...

why 2? not all 4? 

 no clue...

I opened the drawer & saw the corner rounder...

I like it...

I think I'll do that more often!

LOVE the black mat mini heart to tie in with the jet black stenciled scallop border...

the violet, leaf green & sky blue inks look fresh & spring-ish...

like sandal weather...

and the sentiments are good reminders...

HAPPY MONDAY!

I hope you can

make art!

wendy

ps...just a reminder...

when using specialty stamping paper, make sure to dry it between each addition of ink...

the magic coating slows down the drying time & EVERYTHING need to be dried, 

specialty stamping paper is

 GREAT STUFF &

 it helps to make awesome pages!

best of all...

nothing seeps thru to the back,

 so the back page can have a fresh start!

doilies, dots and...

crazing medium...

meet my newest addiction...

cheapo paper doilies...

this started as a #8 tag that I cut down 

to 5 ½ inches tall...

if you haven't tried cutting off ¾ of an inch, 

you'll be surprised at how it changes

 the proportions of the tag...

I used watering can & sunflower archival sprays to add the first layer to the background...

(archival reinkers mixed into rubbing alcohol in a mister)...

I added the paper doily with 

the matte collage medium...

then decided to add the crazing medium to several spots...

I tried making it a little thicker, to add a bit of texture...

I'll show close ups below...

to alter the stark white doily, 

I scribbled over it with 

the fossilized amber distress crayon, 

pressing the color into the doily recesses, where you would expect some darker color...

then with a moist paper towel, I lightly wiped over the top of doily to lighten the color...

my sentiment was stamped with

 jet black archival...

the leaves were stenciled with

 leaf green archival...

the white mat mini heart was inked with

 red geranium archival & 

then stamped with this stripes stamp,

 using jet black...

the mat mini hearts package

has a sheet of white hearts & a sheet of black hearts for a total of 42 hearts...

they come in lots of shapes & sizes to fit any project...

the white hearts allow ink to be used & I LOVE the black used plain or with embossing powder or embossing paste...

the bow was stamped on a scrap of

 clearly for art/newsprint paper, 

cut out, 

inked with red geranium &

 stamped with the polka dot background stamp, using jet black...

it's attached with

 the new small hex fastener...

to define the doily border & 

add some shading, I used 

the hickory smoke distress crayon & 

wiped away the excess from the background with a moist paper towel, leaving the color close to the doily edge...

look closely & you'll see random vintage text stamped, using watering can archival...

the lace border is stamped at the top 

with jet black...

it's on this set...

vertically along the left side 

of the storage sheet...

you'll see I used the old ledger stencil

on the left side, with watering can archival...

on the right I used new the lots of dots stencil

 with red geranium archival...

once that was dry, 

I added tiny white dots over the red geranium, using Dy's new white paint pen...

it works very well!

those white dots made a big impact on the red dots...

now we have...

double dots!

I used the tarnished brass paint dabber to edge the whole tag...

it's an easy, but effective finishing touch...

a little pen stitching 

along the center of the doily &

 that's it!

this shows that using the collage brush adds another texture to the background...

vary the direction of the brush strokes for more detail...

I like that you can create a linen-ish background...

the collage medium 

actually makes the doily look 

embedded into the tag...

it's almost an encaustic effect...

this one shows the thick drop of

crazing medium I added

and accented with 

the hickory smoke distress crayon...

COOL STUFF!

and there's the smaller crazing medium 

spot I added...

loving the crazing effect...

and that it does NOT chip off

 if the tag is flexed...

this photo shows the "double dots" 

and the random text...

you'll be seeing lots more double dots...

I like them!

the background is flat...

but it has lots of stamped/stenciled layers 

to make it interesting...

there's LOTS on the TO-DO list today...

BUT...

I'd rather...

 make art!

wendy

ps...FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY TODAY...

don't miss it!

if you're not seeing my posts there, 

I'm told if you go to the page & LIKE,

 then hover over the little arrow to turn ON notifications...

that helps!

March studio 490 make art challenge...

Kim, our hostess,

 has set the challenge for March...

I like that she kept it wide open...

she simply said...

use a studio 490 stencil...

our sponsor this month 

is Heidi from Simon Says Stamp...

she's offering a $25.00 gift certificate 

to her store...

Kim will choose a random winner 

from one of our

 challenge participants...

THANKS HEIDI!

I decided to treat myself to some play time & join the challenge...

so I have an art journal page to share...

I started with the archival ink/rubbing alcohol technique to create a background on a manila art journal page...

I used tea rose & sky blue...

here's the starting point, after I dried the inks...

I gave myself a time limit, 

because there's LOTS on my TO*DO list...

and without a limit, I could play with one page all day...

seriously!

I set the timer at just 45 minutes!

 I had to extend it to an hour because

I decided to add embossing paste, so that needed the extra 15 minutes to dry...

I used 5 stencils...

can you spot them?

to create the green embossing paste, I put some white embossing paste into the Mix & Store jar & added 2 drops of

the fern green archival reinker & mixed it up with a palette knife to create a green paste...

you can make the color as dark or as light as you'd like, depending on the amount of reinker you add...

then it was simple to spread the green paste thru the wreath stencil...

the Mix & Store jars are great 

because there is NO clean up, NO wasted paste and it stays fresh & ready to go...

like the name says...

just mix & store right in the jar!

it's super convenient to have colored paste ready & I LOVE that we can make the paste any color we choose...

the embossing paste adds very little bulk to the page, but creates just the right amount of dimension & interest...

and FYI...

incase you were wondering...

the paste won't crack or pop off if the page is flexed...

here's a hint on the first stencil I used...

the new spotlight shrine...

this set of stencils & masks is so useful...

I laid the mask (the solid shape) in position on my page, then pressed the new tiles background stamp right over the mask, onto the page...

the mask protects the background and allows the stamping to be all around the outside of the mask...

when it was time to add the stripes, I used the stencil (open area) to protect the area OUTSIDE  the shrine...

so the stripes are only INSIDE the shrine...

I SERIOUSLY LOVE this 

set of 4 stencils/4 masks all in one set...

they work to easily create spotlights on cards, art journal pages and are fun for scrapbooks/mini books too...

I hope you're inspired to pull out

a stencil or 2 and

 join the challenge...

you'll find it here...

now it's time to

make art!

wendy

ps...

WAIT...

did you spot 5 stencils?

name all 5 stencils that I used...

just leave your entry in 

the comment section of this post...

and I'll send a little something to a random entry that has the 5 correct stencils listed...

good luck!

# 5 is a little tricky...

but I KNOW you can do it!