Art journal page - And what about your garden?

This A4 (cca 8.5" x 11.5") journal page started as a two colors background - I used Dylusions Pomegranate seed and Calypso teal - with some stenciling and stamping in the colors of the background or black. Than I used black cardstock with double sided tape on it and die-cut some wild flowers from Tim Holtz. I covered them with Distress Vintage platinum glitter dust. I brushed off any excess powder and sprayed the fixative over them, so there are no glitters falling of the page now. The result is so nice and shiny. Quote is just embossed with Versamark and Platinum embossing powder on the black cardstock and than gently covered with Inka gold wax from Viva (in Old gold and Platinum colors). I used it also on the edges of the page and on the other page elements  :0)
I'm not very "shiny" person, but I love the unusual contrast of this darker background and bright glitters :0)

23.5.2016 "And what about your garden"
(in the sunlight)

(in the my working, north oriented, room light)

Art journal page - Lost and found and lucky in art

Simple A4 (cca 8.5" x 11.5") journal page with an interesting accident :0)

I wanted to use a gel medium transfer technique. I found a few pictures of hot air balloons in the news paper, so I played a little bit with the background (Distress paints and Silks acrylic paint) and transferred the pictures on, but the paper was too thin and distressed a lot during the revelation process and kept quite dull. Therefore I decided to re-colored the pictures a little bit more and used alcohol markers. I started on the big balloon with red marker, but it became clear soon, that it was not my best choice - the result was horrible :0) No problem - I covered both balloons with Dylusions black paint and stamped and stenciled the background with black archival ink. At the end I used white Dylusions paint to stamp with it on the balloons. Surprise, surprise - although the big balloon was completely covered with black, the red marker "soaked" through the paint and become visible on the white paint as a pastel version of the original strong red marker color :0o.... Very unexpected effect :0) But it can be useful, so I decided to share this journal page with you :0)

Enjoy your creative experimenting and have a very nice day :0)

20.5.2016 "Lost and found and lucky in art" 

Playful art journal page 12

Obsession, that could be a topic for today's journal page. But the official name is "Halloween again?" ,0)

You probably also know it....sometimes you have an idea, you try to bring it to the life and the final result is....anything else :D. So you try it again (and maybe again and again) :0) That happened to me with last two journal pages. Page 11 was a little bit Halloween, but completely differently then I wanted. And the initial idea in my head was not fulfilled and became a kind of obsession.... That's why I offer you a new page with different point of view :0) Unfortunately I need to admit that even if I love this new page really a lot, the obsession remains :D. Please forgive me, but there will be probably another Halloween page in the future, although it's only May now :D

I'm very proud of this page, because it is 97% one layer page (except of the pumpkins green parts). Normally I would use paper piecing technique, but this time I decided to try it with masks. And it was a lot of thinking about the right order of working steps I must say and paper piecing would be much much easier (but more bulky). Also, I would not worry so much that my next step destroy all the previous work .0) But I think that it was worth it. I love the color combination, shining pumpkins and my cute skeptical owl :0))
There is only one disappointment - my mobile phone camera is not able to take full spectrum of colors. Violet (Distress ink pad Wilted violet) is almost invisible, blues (Distress ink pads Faded jeans and Chipped sapphire) are faded and orange color of pumpkins (Distress ink sprays Fossilized amber and Carved pumpkin) is too dark, even in the sunlight. I spent a lot of time just with taking pictures of this page and I unhappily think that this photo is the best I can make with it....

But I used Distress ink pads and sprays, alcohol markers and for the first time in my crafting history colored pencils also. I learned how to make darker orange color for shading of the pumpkins (according the color theory I mixed orange Carved pumpkin and it's opposite color Wilted violet, so I received darker, muted, but still very nice color), I successfully used colored pencils (and I will use them again) and I made my own masks for each object.... hurray :0)

Please enjoy this page with me and have a very nice day :0)

19.5.2016 Playful art journal page 12

Playful art journal page 11

Today a slightly different page - with a little bit more painterly look. Although it was not intended to be like this, I learned a lot with this page - especially about "how important sealing the layers" is :0)

This page started light blue - I wanted to use Faber-Castells gelatos, but I was not completely satisfied with the intensity of colors. So I dried this first layer and used Distress inks over it in two shades of violet - Seedless preserve and Wilted violet. I used "halloween" stencils and moved the page into a little bit "darker" mood. Than I painted a moon, stamped the crows etc.... The page was almost finished and everything was good as long as I decided to make a final sealing of whole page with clear gesso, because without it I was not able to achieve pure white color of the birds and feathers. Every coat of white became slightly violet after I applied it. And then it happened. Even if my brush and all layers on the page were completely dry, the violet colors of Distress inks smudged or disappeared and the covered first layer of light blue gelatos became visible again. Quite a disaster. And the white moon? There was no white anymore :0O
What happened? It emerged that gelatos, even dried, did not hold Distress inks well. It was only sit on the top of gelatos. If I would sealed gelatos first with the clear gesso or mat medium, it would be much better base for Distress inks and if I would later sealed Distress inks with e.g. microglaze, it would be even better.

So what I did with it? I left the "clear" gesso coat to dry and than started with violets and black again. Of course, It changed the background pattern of the page a bit, but the outcome was not so bad at the end. Than I stamped my crows in white and black and when the stamped images were dry, I sealed only the white part of the crows (it was not important that they become violet again, because when the sealer - mat medium - was dried, the violet color was finally and safely locked into it and was not smudgeable anymore) and repainted it again with white marker. Success :0)) And do you see the flash of genius - when I did not sealed whole page again but just the crows, so there was no danger that I will move the Distress inks again? .0)) That kind of clever ideas is usually coming when you really need to solve some problem or save something you accidentally destroyed :D

So in fact I should thank this accident for opportunity to learn something new. But to be honest, next time I would prefer things to go more smoothly and cleanly .0)

16.5.2016 Playful art journal page 11

Playful art journal page 10

Another "simple" art journal page with topic "Tempus fugit / Time hurries" :0)

Background was made with Dylusions Dirty Martini spray - I love this color - and Peeled Paint and Iced Spruce Distress inks. I just played with some of Tim Holtz stencils and a little bit with ghosting technique. And a new stamp from Stampendous - A hare in a hurry - is so cute :0) Colored with alcohol markers and distress ink. And also with shimmery Twinkling H2O watercolors. It was for a fist time I used them and I'm very happy with the outcome. Instead of Ranger Archival ink Jet Black I used Hero arts Hero hues India Ink Black dye ink, which should be also archival, fade resistant and good to use with both alcohol markers and watercolors and I'm very satisfied with it. It is dark enough and there was no smudging with any colors I used with this ink. Definitely thumb up :0)

Unfortunately I had the same problem again I have with most of my journal pages recently. I want to make just easy pages and enjoy the creating, so I'm trying not to have any preliminary idea about the final page. No focus image, no quote. So I always start with a background and add some border ..... and I love the result so much, that I have a sooo hard time to find something to fit with it. E.g. this time I had a great checkered border and and I twice changed the colors of it and colored it black at the end, because I did not find any way how to connect it with the rest of the page. I need to say that it is really, really frustrating for me :0D...
Maybe I should have one journal just with background pages, perhaps with some quotes... .0). But I feel there is a danger in it....I don't want to end up doing just the backgrounds .... hmmm, what a dilemma :D

Anyway, enjoy today's page and I would appreciate any your comment.... e.g. how would you solve my problem with too cute backgrounds :0) 

14.5.2016 Playful art journal page 10

Playful art journal page 9

Today's journal page is just a simple combination of some elements I wanted to use once. And topic... "Around the world" :0)

Background is made with stamping and Pan pastels again, postal stamps die cuts were embossed with embossing folders with script, travel and postal theme sprayed with Distress inks with some Pan pastels on it for more matte look. A globe is a gorgeous die from Tim Holtz. And than these nice stamps I have from my parcels and letters with crafty things...irresistible :0)

So no special technique today, just a little challenge with grey background...it is really not a color I would use a lot :D Just one funny thing - when I took my photos of this page, if the sunlight came from other side, the embossed parts looked like deeply debossed. Very cool - but not truth :0))

3.5.2016 Playful art journal page 9