Art Journaling: Looking Up

Kim decided to do something different with the May Cards, Tags and More… Kit from Très Jolie; instead of those cards and tags, she went for “more” and supplied us with the beginnings of an art journal, featuring Finnabair’s new Journal Daily line.

I’ve always loved art journaling. It’s a quick and easy way to try out new ideas and techniques and mediums before committing myself to a larger project. If something turns out as “well, that wasn’t what I had in mind…”, no worries: I just turn the page and start something new.

I realize that this should be a two-pager, but I love the quote from Benjamin Spock on the first page. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Dr. Spock, here’s a bit of background. Dr. Benjamin Spock (who is absolutely NOT pictured here) was a pediatrician who wrote “Baby and Child Care”, the must have manual for new parents, starting in 1946. (I believe that it’s still in print, btw.) The quote itself is actually the first line in the book, a reassuring message to all of us first-time parents and a reminder that we really should trust our instincts.

And so, I thought I would let that page be and simply start on the facing sheet. Here’s what I came up with.

I like to coat both sides of my paper with clear gesso. It strengthens the paper and gives it “teeth” that will enable any medium to adhere to it.

As the gesso was drying, I began to select all of the things that would go into my journal page. I started with the first quote card in the stack that came with the album and started to gather things that I thought I could use. I’ve wanted to use some of the images from the Stamperia Blue Stars collection for some time and I decided that this one would be perfect. Next, I selected a stencil and texture paste for my background. I allowed it to air dry while pondering “what’s next”. I pulled a few acrylic paints from my stash and because I wanted to preserve the background print, decided to dry brush Impasto paint up and down over the page. I followed this by blending a small amount of Deco Art paint with the Impasto and dry brushing until I had covered the stenciled images and created streaks of varied hues in the background.

It wouldn’t be art journaling without stamps and I selected a couple of my favorites: one to apply to my quote card and another to print text images around the page.

I used matte medium to adhere my components to the page, coating under and over each piece. To finish my page, I placed a metal wand in my little girl’s hands…

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*****Supplies*****

***Très Jolie May Cards, Tags and More Kit***

Prima – Finnabair – Art Daily Collection – Chipboard Album Cover – 58 Pcs #964771

Prima – Finnabair – Art Daily Planner Collection – Booklet – Creation – 6 x 7.7 #964962

Prima – Finnabair – Art Daily Planner Collection – Sticker Pad – Sentiments #964849

Prima – Finnabair – Art Daily Planner Collection – Victorian Bookmarks #964863

***Paper***

Stamperia – Blue Star Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper

***Embellishments***

Advantus – Tim Holtz – Idea-ology Collection – Adornments – Treasures #TH93572

Advantus – Tim Holtz – Idea-ology Collection – Design Tape - Remnants #TH93671

***Mediums***

Prima – Finnabair – Art Basics – Clear Gesso #961466

Prima – Finnabair – Art Extravagance – Texture Paste – White Sand #961473

Prima – Finnabair – Art Alchemy – Impasto Paint – Linen #966355

Deco Art – Americana – Acrylic Paint – Calypso Blue #DA234

ColorBox – Graphic 45 – Decades Inkpads – Dark Cashmere #41003

Liquitex – Professional – Matte Gel – Matte Medium

***Tools***

Prima – Royal Menagerie Collection – Stencil – 6 x 6 – Décor 1 #582975

Prima – Almanac Collection – Cling Mounted Rubber Stamps #555146

Prima – Wood Mounted Stamps – Find a Way #962159

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.