an art journal page...

today's post was prompted by these 2 questions...

#1...will you share more of your art journal pages?

I NEED to be inspired...

#2...what remedies do you have to jumpstart a mojo that has vanished?

yes...I am still creating art journal pages...

I was really focusing mainly on cards for CHA...

and to answer #2...

I go back to my comfort zone...

I'll start with color combos that I KNOW will work & make me happy...

I'll also go back to favorite stamps, but combine them with new stamps/stencils, 

for a new look...

the page below is a "comfy" color palette for me...

2 of my favorite distress colors...

I used scattered straw & brushed corduroy,

 combined with 

leaf green & sky blue archivals...

the older stamps are the lamp post & the house...

the mini berry tree is new, as is the lines border that you see under the house...

look closely at the background to see some random lines from this stamp 

that look like worn corduroy...

and I LOVE the "cracks stamp"...

it's perfect when combined with

 the brick stencil...

 I used the new oval spotlight frame stencil...

to set the stage for the focal point...

it is one of 4 stencils/masks included in this set...

I'm thrilled to have these...

having a stencil & the perfectly sized mask is really useful...

Ted gave us a great price 

on this 8 piece set...

in the background you'll see...

the checkmate & basics bricks stencils...

2 great stencils for everyday use...

both great starting points or background fillers...

to accent the flame, 

I added a tiny bit of 

the gold foil sheet...

it was rubbed on with 

tim's new remnant rub tool...

the slanted end is perfect!

that gold line under the lines border stamp is also done with the gold foil sheet...

here's a better look at the flame & 

the cracks stamp...

I darkened the glass area with

 the wild honey distress marker...

I like watering can archival for background stamping & I save jet black archival for my main images & things that I want to be front & center...

I am LOVING these foil sheets...

what took me so long to figure this out?

that thin metallic line is a very cool detail...

now...

going back to the very beginning...

the background for this page was created with 

tree branch & sky blue archival inks, using them with the rubbing alcohol technique...

the journal page above is the front...

after I dried the page,

 I turned it over...

and I got this...

DO YOU SEE IT?

YIKES! 

sure looks like  face with sun glasses to me!

sometimes you get a surprise when you...

make art!

wendy

WAIT...one more thing...

just a reminder...

there's only13 hours left to visit 

the Ranger blog 

& submit your entries for a chance to win one of the three sets of my new archival inks & embossing powders...

there are several ways for you to enter...

check it out here...

GOOD LUCK friends!

a new art journal is born...

my new embossing powders inspired me to create a new art journal...

today, I'll share the outside front & back covers...

 the front cover started like this...

I used the etched art parts art journal, 

without the etched frame this time...

it's about 5 ¾ inches square...

I like this size because it's square & I've not seen square art journals in stores before...

I also like to create my own journal, so that I can choose the surfaces that I want for creating the pages & I can make them any size...

I also enjoy working on one flat page at a time...

that makes stamping & stenciling easier for me...

I also find it very freeing...

if the page turns out butt ugly, in the trash it goes with no evidence whatsoever...

I like that!

this journal can be a top opening or side opening orientation...

your choice...

this one is a side opener...

I used the blending tool to add some cornflower blue archival ink to the front cover & purposely did not add ink all the way to the edges...

while the ink was wet, I sprinkled on the cornflower blue embossing powder, then heated it to melt the embossing powder...

next, I added potting soil archival ink to the edges & partially over the blue embossing powder to age it...

I used watering can archival with the checkmate stencil to fill in the empty areas around the perimeter...

the white dots were added with snow cap white pigment ink, using my spatter background stamp...

this creates an authentic graniteware effect...

I used watering can archival to stamp the text you see...

it's from LCS066 & it's titled "remnants of art"...

the large art parts heart was inked with red geranium archival ink, sprinkled with red geranium embossing powder & heated to melt the powder...

again, I used potting soil around the edges & a tiny bit of tarnished brass distress paint to add a worn gold edge on the heart...

I used watering can archival with the vintage mesh background to stamp over the heart...

the art parts words ART & FOR were painted with black soot distress paint...

to create the art parts geranium, 

I inked the flower portion of the art part with red geranium ink, sprinkled on the red geranium embossing powder & heated it...

then I covered the leaves area with fern green archival ink, fern green embossing powder & heated it...

next, I inked the geranium stamp with jet black archival & pressed the art part onto the inked stamp & gave it a quick dry...

***REMEMBER***

the embossing powders are opaque when melted, so if I stamped first, the stamped image would have been completely covered up by the powder...

make sense?

so add the embossing powder first, melt it & then stamp on top with archival ink...

the little art parts flower was finger painted with an uneven coat of salty ocean distress paint & a tiny bit of wild honey distress paint was added to the flower center...

I used multi medium to glue the art parts to the front cover...

it looks like this...

with a little pen stitching around the heart...

here's a look at the geranium detail...

I used the black glaze pen to add dots to the flower centers...

 decisions...decisions...

I had planned to make the back cover red & use something blue as the focal point...

just the opposite of the front...

but 

then I spotted the watering can embossing powder & decided to use that as my background...

I followed the same steps as I did on the front cover...

the art parts bird was inked with forget-me-not archival ink & then I sprinkled on the cornflower blue embossing powder, making sure to wipe the powder from the edges to create a worn effect...

after the powder was melted, I added potting soil to his legs & the un-embossed areas...

I used watering can archival to add the polka dots to the bird & the wing...

I test drove the bird placement & before gluing the bird to the cover, I used jet black to stamp the flourish that appears under his wing...

he needed something to stand ON, so I used 

the art part bow with the coordinating stamp...

I inked the art part with brushed corduroy, then used the coordinating stamp (LCS097) with jet black...

if it stands still in our house, 

it just might get heat embossed...

see the star?

it's one of tim's mirrored stars...

easy to alter...& it can take the heat...

I used the blending tool to add some tree branch archival ink & then sprinkled on the tree branch embossing powder while the ink was wet...

a little heat & the powder melts...

I added a tiny bit of potting soil to darken it a bit...

idea-ology adornments are fun to alter too...

I used the perfect mediun embossing pen, inking the leaves first, then sprinkling on the fern green embossing powder & melting it...

the I added the embossing ink to the flowers & gave them a dose of orange blossom powder...

when the powders cooled, I lightly swiped the red geranium archival pad over the raised areas of the flowers to add some shading...

it looks imperfect, vintage & crusty...

just what I wanted...

***be very light handed with the embossing pen***

it takes very little ink to add the embossing powders...

adding too much embossing ink will cause the powders to chip off or peel off metal & glass...

I'm excited to have a new journal to work in...

pages this size can be completed in a short play session...

good timing for the busy holiday season...

did you hear that Santa delivered early?

I'm THRILLED that...

the matte finish 

GLUE N SEAL is back!

this is 

BY 

FAR 

THE 

BEST 

paper adhesive in the 

whole universe!

seriously...

T H E  B E S T...

whenever I want to adhere paper to any surface, 

like chipboard, art parts, grungeboard, wood or card stock

I choose Glue N Seal...

why?

because it doesn't warp paper...

even vintage dictionary pages, which are very fragile & don't do well with any moisture...

my favorite use is to paint a thin layer of Glue N Seal onto a sheet of

 my clearly for art (CFA)...

add the dictionary page, brayer it & give it a quick dry...

NO BUBBLES!

then I'll either stamp on the paper side & 

cut it out with tim's scissors or

 use a Sizzix die to cut the CFA...

to create a strong dimensional embellishment..

that's reason #1 why 

I LOVE Glue N Seal...

reason #2...

if you add a thin layer to a glass bottle, when it's dry you can then add tim's rock candy crackle paint & it STICKS, CRACKS & stays securely attached to the glass like MAGIC...

rock candy crackle paint over glass without 

Glue N Seal doesn't stick...

it flakes right off...

it needs tooth to grab onto...

the most cost effective way to buy Glue N Seal is to buy the small jar...

it's super convenient to have the brush built right in the lid...

no mess...no cleanup...

and then get the large jar to refill the small jar 

or you can use it with a larger brush for larger projects...

you get lots more glue that way & 

it's a much better value than buying 2 small jars...

THANK YOU RANGER

 for listening to our request 

to bring back GLUE N SEAL!

that's it for today!

THANKS so much for stopping by!

I hope you'll get out a journal &

make art!

wendy

another art journal page...

 happy Monday!

I had a play day yesterday & created a few pages in my art journal...just for fun...and just for me...

but then I decided to share them...

so... no step out photos... 
yes..this IS still my hobby...I REALLY LOVE IT!

I wanted to use Sassy...
each wood mounted stamp must have a name, so
that's her official name in the new flyer...
she looks like she has an attitude...
thus her name...

below is one of the pages I created...

it's 5 ¼ inches square & it's a nice size...

not too large...not too small & I like that I've not seen square journals in stores...

the art parts covers include an etched frame...

I'll show you that in an upcoming post, but the link will show you what it looks like...

the frame actually has a design etched right into the art part...

I love combining older stamps & stencils with newer ones...

new is nice...that's for sure...

but it's also fun to revisit the oldies...

here's a few of the supplies I used...

a manila cardstock base...

with tree branch archival ink with rubbing alcohol & gold metallic mixative for background...(you have been warned...it's addicting)!

the new basically bricks stencil...

the older polka dots stencil, with leaf green archival...

it's from the first stencil release...

and a great basic go-to...

the heart is a manila scrap stamped with the reverse dots background stamp, using carnation red archival...then die cut with tim's Sizzix movers & shapers heart...

the reverse dots background stamps the background NOT the dots...

this is a great stamp when you need to add a pop of color...

"charming" is a stencil from a past release...

"make art" is part of a REAL oldie, all the way back to my second release, January of 2009!

it's from LCS008...

I used just the top part of the circle...

the little bow is from the new SiSi...

you'll notice the bow is different than the package photo...

I changed it after I got my prototype...

the bow on this journal page is now on the stencil...

LOVE LOVE LOVE the flourishes...LOTS!

they're on the set with Sassy...

they fit on lots of projects from cards to pages...

the Sassy stamp was inked with jet black on her face & hair...red geranium on her lips (just use the corner of the pad) and forget-me-not for her dress...

her apron was stamped on a manila scrap with fern green archival, then cut out & layered...

the sentiment is another oldie...

it's from SCS029...

what a GREAT way to spend a Sunday...
making art!

at 7am Chicago time, Rick chose this winner from the comments on the last post...

CONGRATS to...

 Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Lovely to see all the ways you have used the same products, great designs. I would love this stamp set as this is one of the sets I have not ordered just yet x x

August 22, 2014 at 1:08 PM

 

you won the holiday art stamp set!
please email me your address & we'll get this postal...

I LOVE giveaways...

be watching my FACEBOOK PAGE this week...
just sayin...


have a great Monday & remember to take time to...

make art!
wendy

a card & THE WINNER...

well...we got the word loud & clear...

you guys love tim's newest mini distress pads too!

I agree...they are just plain CUTE!

thanks too for the kind words about my art journal page...

making art makes me happy...

I had 2 emails asking how the above art journal page could be transformed into a card, for those who haven't jumped on the art journaling craze yet...

so I created a card, using the same technique as I did for the page...

you'll find that post HERE...

you can see the weeds look similar, but since the base is much smaller, I didn't use the girl or the spotlight frame...

instead you'll see the ornate dots background stamp used as borders...I used tree branch to stamp them on my specialty stamping paper card base...

the background was randomly stamped with the A to Z background stamp, using tree branch archival...

I used the tiny attacher to ground the weeds & to keep the card flat for mailing...

a little matting & done...

so that's how I would use the art journal page as inspiration for a card...

the 3 sets of the newest distress ink pads...

are going to ...

 Susan said...

This is now my new favorite page! i wondered how you 

got the weeds to look so dimensional! i love the 

technique!

April 14, 2014 at 11:21 PM

 

CONGRATS...Susan...please email me with your shipping info...
wbv1213@me.com

that's it for me today...

now it's time to...

make art!
wendy

another art journal page...

just popping in for a quick hello...

I snuck in a little play with another art journal page...

the dots are the polka dotty stencil, with translucent embossing paste...

while the paste was wet, I sprinkled on some frosted crystal embossing powder & heated it for a cool effect...

dear FAVORITE guys at Ranger...

we NEED this frosted crystal in a GIANT size jar PLEASE!

I darkened some of the dots with the stabilo pencil...

and stamped thru the stencil on some random dots...

for the frame, I traced a grid-block...

these make great frame templates...

these art journal pages have really inspired me to combine older stamps & stencils with newer...

new sunburst stencil...
new SiSi...I changed it up with a different flower center...I cut it from this one...
new add a stencil...
old spider from botanical art...
older stem & leaves...good size to mix & match with lots of flowers & easy to cut out!

it's fun to make things fresh again...

the archival ink colors I use are...
dandelion...
leaf green & fern green...
orange blossom...
hydrangea...awesome for background stenciling...
tree branch...it coordinates with everything!
watering can...a fav go to basic...
& my fav jet black...used on EVERYTHING I create!

mixed in with iced spruce & broken china distress stains, for the bow...

back to the TO*DO list...

I'm working on _____ & ______ & ________
and trying to decide if I have enough courage guts to_________...
or if I should pass on the opportunity...

and I'm still tweaking my new 2 day art journal class...
and writing instructions...
and making kits...

ps...you'll see no cooking on that list...
but I *might* sneak in a visit to onelineshoes.com to see what sandals I just might need...

even though the furnace is still going full blast...
spring HAS TO COME...
sometime...

see you tomorrow with a fun card that I created for Ranger!

until then...

sneak away and...

make art!
wendy