Lessons From an Art Journal Chapter Two

Chapter Two 

Validating Fears of Ruining a Project

One of my biggest fears is creating a base for a project that I absolutely LOVE and ruining it.  I think that is why it takes me FOREVER to complete even a simple card; I am afraid that I will have finally put together the "perfect" elements and ruin it.

Lesson Number One: You WILL ruin the "perfect" background.  Time and time again.  Get over it.

I have yet to bite the bullet for a larger Gelli plate.  I have a 6x6" plate, which I LOVE!  It is rather ironic that I can smear paint on that plate and make mono prints all day without stressing about ruining the prints. It is probably the only time I let go and let the process just take over.  Of course, that does not apply to actually USING the prints! HA!! There I still have the overwhelming fear of ruining the prints. 

Since my mixed media journal is 9x11" I decided to experiment with an idea that that I hoped would give me the look of a mono print.  What I achieved was almost better! A mono print with texture.

I wish I could capture the amount of texture on this page!! The ridges are actually raised.  I could run my fingers over it all day, just feeling the rise and dips of the paint.

I started this page by putting a layer of Gesso down. I then randomly put globs (such a artistic, technical term) of Claudine Hellsmuth paint and Liquitex Gloss Gell on the page.

Using a brayer and a Martha Stewart paint tool, I spread out the paint and added the textured lines.

Just for your information:  I bought this paint tool from Home Depot.  There are three different textures tools in the pack.  I think I spent $10.  CHEAP and gave me the texture I was hoping for!

Lesson Number Two:  There is no rule that says you cannot have a journal page of just lovely paint and texture.  There is an extensive amount of art hanging on gallery walls that exists of just paint and texture.  If you create such a piece that makes you happy, don't feel pressure to add to the piece.  

Lesson Number Three: If you choose to ignore Lesson Number Two, then don't be shocked and disappointed when you ruin that lovely piece of textured art.

I admit it.  I ignored Lesson Number Two, despite that nagging voice that was yelling in my head to just leave the piece alone.  I got greedy and thought to my self that adding some wonderful embossing paste through a stencil would give me even more wonderful texture.

Totally ruined the piece.  All those lovely ridges of paint do not make for a good surface to place a stencil over and achieve a crisp image. When I pulled the stencil, I had GLOBS of embossing paste that had slipped under the stencil.  

Lesson Number Four:  Learn from your mistakes. 

I decided that I would try again, but with a few deviations from the original background.  First:  I did not Gesso the page.  Actually, I just forgot this step. Interesting outcome was that my textured base layer did not have as high of ridges.  I'm not sure if this is because the paint and gel soaked into the paper more, or because I did not use as much as much paint and gel as I did the first go around.  

Second:  I used the stencil again, but instead of using embossing paste, I pulled out various artist markers to fill in the stencil.

The stencil is the center skull and flourishes from the TCW.  The stencil is only a 6x6".  It was swallowed up by the larger page so I free handed the "roses" in a style I hoped complimented the stencil. 

Highlights were done with a Sharpie Paint pen

Not quite as much texture, but maybe that enabled a crisper image from the stencil.

Lesson Number Five: It's okay to feel uncertain with the outcome of a piece. This piece is a bit busier than I usually create.  The texture adds another dimension in reality that I cannot capture with the photo.  I like the fact that I pushed my creative boundaries.  I'm a bit iffy on the amount of "activity" the piece conveys.  

Lesson Number Six: Try to relax and enjoy the creative journey. 

Using Up My Gelli Print Scraps

Hey People!!  Amazing how quickly time flies! I can't believe it has been three weeks since I last posted. I don't know why that surprises me.  One would think that by now I'd realize that posting on a somewhat regular basis is sooo not going to happen!! LOL!  

Oldest Kiddo was invited to spend this long weekend at a friend's house to celebrate said friend's 16th birthday.  Originally, I had an idea that actually came to me while trying to fall asleep one night, but, as the creative karma would have it, I happened to see a scrap of the Gelli Print that I made for the eP Birthday Bash.  

So the dreamland idea went out the window (in favor of just getting the card done) and a somewhat quick card was made from the Gelli Print scrap.

Look familiar?!!  Yeah, I really didn't venture much from the journal cover made in the last post.  But, what can I say?!! I REALLY liked the look and it seemed perfect for a 16 y/o boy!!

Did I mention a "somewhat" quick card? 

The scrap piece of Gelli print did not have any of the black paint accents on it.  Since I had pulled the print using a self adhesive laminating sheet, which, is a slick surface, I had to do a bit of experimenting to see what medium would best "stick" to the slick surface.  I know I could have stamped with Stazon ink, but I confess, I was sooo afraid that I would mess up the stamping and ruin my one little scrap piece!! 

Mediums tried:  A very THICK layer of Wendy Vecchi's black embossing paste.  I was hoping to use a stencil I had for the numbers and it is made of a very thick plastic (more for hand lettering, not actual stenciling).  Then a THIN layer of the black embossing paste.

Then I tried Claudine Hellmuth's black paint.

And a basic sharpie.

The paint won.

I felt that the embossing paste was too easy to scrap off.  While I could scrap off the paint with my fingernail, it took a bit more work. And the sharpie just rubbed right off (which didn't really make sense, but maybe I didn't let it dry enough).

So, using the same TCW stencils as I did on the journal cover, I added some accents with black paint.  I could not find a die cut of numbers that fit the style of this card.  I tried to cut out my own layered numbers from paper, but I did not like the uneven lines I got with fussy cutting.  Finally, I dug through my stash of stuff and found some grunge paper elements. I painted the numbers with Claudine's black paint, smooshed them in a Versa Mark pad and embossed with fine black embossing powder.

That's it for me today!! I actually have another little "scrap" project in the works, so hopefully, I'll be back sooner than later!! And of course, there is still the dreamland idea!! 

'Till next time............have a fabulous and creative week!!

It's a PARRRRTYYYYY!!!

WhootHoo!!  Welcome to eclectic Paperie's Belated Birthday Bash!  Today we're celebrating the (belated) one year anniversary of the store's new ownership! It's been an amazing year, full of inspiring projects, wonderful classes, and many, many new products!!  eclectic Paperie wouldn't be where it is today without the ongoing support of our customers and as a BIG thank you, you'll have an opportunity to lots of great prizes!  You have until midnight, tomorrow(9/20), to comment for your chance to win the following prizes!!!

 A full set of Tim's NEW Distress Paints
6x6 Paper Pad Bundle
Dylusions Stencil Bundle
A set of NEW Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks
Crafter's Workshop Stencil Bundle

 To be entered into the prize drawing, please be sure to comment on the eclectic Paperie blog and on each of the eTeam blogs.  Check out all of the thumbnail links below to view the rest of the eTeam projects!  Enjoy the hop!

I was very excited to be asked by Kim to help eP celebrate it's first year under new ownership!  When Kim started this new journey of ownership, her goals included  offering lots of new products, ideas and inspiration. I have personally been inspired by the current eTeam members and have enjoyed watching them explore new ideas and mediums in their own creative journeys.  It was with that thought in mind that I decided to try a new technique (for me!) in using the Gelli Plate with clear adhesive (in my case, the sticky side to self laminating sheets).

First things first; getting out all the possible supplies that I thought I might use to make my mono prints.  *Note: originally I had thought I would use Distress Paints for this technique.  It just wasn't the look I was going for. While not pictured, I ended up using Claudine Hellmuth's wonderful paints instead.

Supplies:  6x6 Gelli Printing Plate (HIGHLY recommend the 8x10 one.  That will be on my next shopping spree!!), various stencils, masks cut from dies, embossed papers, Paints (see above note) brayer, non-stick craft sheet

Next; lay out masks in various spots on the Gelli Plate.  You will note that this layout is not the actually one I used for my final project.  It took several prints before I came up with the look I wanted!

The next steps are lacking photographic representation.  It would seem that somebody (ahem!) got caught up in the making of prints that she forgot to take pictures of the steps!  OOOPS!! Basically, I placed my masks on the Gelli Plate. Using the brayer, I applied a combination of Claudine's Dab of Yellow and Dash of Red paints onto the Plate and over the masks.  Carefully removing the masks, I then added some stenciling (TCW's Susana'a Arrows and Mini Ledger) and free hand elements, using the end of a paint brush, an old hair pick and a marker cap.  Remember, for this particular technique, what you see on the plate is what you will transfer to your clear adhesive. You also want to keep some areas free of paint.

HELPFUL TIP:  it is important to let the paint dry between layers to avoid making a muddy paint mess!

AFTER THE PAINT HAS DRIED *VERY IMPORTANT*, apply your clear adhesive to the plate.  I used the sticky side of self laminating sheets for my project.  You could also use clear packing tape. Burnish the adhesive onto the plate using a scraper or a bone folder.  Then, carefully, remove the adhesive from the plate.  If you find an spot of paint that didn't stick to the adhesive, roll back the tape and use your fingers or scraper to burnish that spot again, so that the paint sticks.  

After you have removed your tape from the plate, you have several options for the clear areas.  You could apply some printed tissue paper, dictionary pages, fine glitter, foils, or as I did, some Pearl Ex powder. I chose to use some bronze. I sprinkled the powders on the sticky side and used a "glitter" brush to evenly spread the Pearl Ex evenly onto the surface.  

WAH-LAH!! You now have a wonderful piece with shine and texture to add to a project!  

Originally I thought I would use my piece to make a birthday card (as this is a birthday celebration!) but instead, I went a different path.  I dug out a 6x6 chipboard cover (from my stash) and randomly applied a fairly dry brush layer of Claudine's Charcoal Black  paint.  

Using an adhesive spray I adhered my focal image to the center.  Pulled out some old idea-ology Alpha Parts and added them to the image.

Final project is still to be determined.  I am debating on using this as a cover to a small 6x6 mixed media journal (in which case I will decided on whether to use my Bind It All, Jump Rings or some other binding mechanism to put it all together) OR I will leave this as a little art piece for my desk.  

I wish I could have captured the lovely shiny sheen this has!  The Pearl Ex adds a wonderful metallic glimmer and the shiny surface of the laminating sheet give this another depth that catches the eye!!

Congratulations Kim for your first birthday at eP's helm!!  Here is wishing you many, many more creative years!

Tinting Black and White Photos

Hello People!

I had originally planned on getting this post completed before we left on vacation last week.  Well, it would seem that getting all those little "before you leave on vacation" chores done and trying to get last minute laundry done without a working dryer took up all my time!

Do you have any idea how long it takes to dry a full load of laundry with only air and no heat?!!  I was wishing for a laundry line in the backyard so I could hang up all the clothes!  I'm sure it would have sped that chore up considerably!!!

As I'm sure you didn't drop by to hear my laundry woes, I thought I'd finally share the attempt at tinting the black and white photos I took a couple of weeks ago with acrylic paint.

I'm taking Claudine Hellmuth's Technique Toolbox online class from Big Picture Classes. This particular class may be closed to registration now.  One of the techniques that was taught is to tint black and white photos using acrylic paints and Claudine's Extra Time, slow dry medium.   I don't have this particular medium and as I am really trying to use all the goodies I have accumulated over the years so I tried this technique first with some glaze used for faux painting techniques and with a floating medium from Plaid/FolkArt.

Don't try the glaze. Just sayin'.  The glaze pulled up the ink from my photos rendering a blackish puddle of ick.

The floating medium was more successful as long as I had a light hand applying the paint.  It also pulled up some of the ink from the photos, but I rather liked the effect it created.  I found that the thinner consistency I mixed the paint and floating medium, the better.  If I worked the area too much, I started pulling the ink off the photo.

If you look closely, you can see the petals where the floating medium pulled off some of the ink off the petals.  They would be the ones that have a more blueish tint.  While the faux painting glaze just made a bluish octopus ink smear, I thought the floating medium pulling the ink slightly gave the petals a bit more dimension and shaded look.

This flower I added a bit of a brown tint near the bottom of the petals and along the center. Very faint, but again, adds a bit more dimension and shading.

Oh my!  This is not a success in my book, LOL!!  The streaks that you see on the petals is where the paint and medium just pulled up the print.  I also managed to get a nice black ink smear on one of the petals. By letting the paint dry some, I was able to carefully work out the smudge, but at the expense of pulling up more of the photo base.  This one is NOT a favorite of mine!  Not sure if it is the color, the lack of skill in application or a combination of both!! LOL!

 I am thinking about trying to seal the photos prior to applying the paint and see if I can keep the ink from bleeding. 

Or, I could just take a deep breath and order some of Claudine's Extra Time and see if it makes a difference with my ink jet printer!! HA!

Now to figure out how to use these photos in a project. Or maybe, they will just go in my "possibility" file for a while!

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Vacation was spent at Flagstaff, AZ and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  I will save all those details for another post! I have decreased the 400+ pictures I took down to 300+, but need to weed out more before posting.  You're welcome! LOL!

'Till next time..............

Be Yourself

Hey there Peoples!! Today is my last day as guest DT on the eP blog.  I started out with the idea of exploring a more layered mixed media journal page and ended up with more of my usual style of  CAS (clean and simple) mixed media canvas instead!! LOL!

AND I used PINK!!!  

I am dying of laughter on that one!! I find it beyond amusing that I titled this project "Be Yourself" and I used PINK!!! BWHAHAAA!!

 Yes, for those of you who may not know, I am sooo NOT a pink type of gal but for some unknown reason I reached for some pink stains and inks on this one!!

I hope you will visit the eP Blog  to see more details about this "girly girl" project!!

Distressed Hummingbird

Hey there People!  I have another project up on the eP blog today as April's Guest DT!  This week I pulled out my never used very neglected Distress Stains and played a bit also with the new Distress Paints.    Just to make sure it was a true "mixed media" project, I included pastels and a bit of charcoal too! Add some very rusty skills of sketching, water coloring and I came up with this:

 I hope you will drop by the eP blog  for more step by step pictures and listing of products used!!

'Till next time.............pull out some "neglected" mediums and have FUN!!

Canvas Message Board

I am so thankful that Kim from eP invited me to be a guest DT for the month of April.  My creative wheels have been turning in over drive!!  

This week I'm sharing how I altered an 8 x 8" canvas board to create a message board.

I hope that you will head over to the eP blog  for more details as to how I made this!!

'Till next week.....make sure you add some creativity time on your calendar!!

Hello???  Hello???? Is anyone still out there?!!

It's been a loooong time since I last posted!! I had to just walk away from it all.

Walk away from the mess created from moving from my craft room to a corner of my bedroom.

Walk away from the overwhelming task of downsizing.

Walk away from trying to figure where to put everything.

Walk away from blogging and looking at blogs.

And then  literally, I started walking and exercising again.  Which takes up quite a bit of my "free" time.

The mess is still present.  I'm ready to start dealing with it again.  I need to deal with the clutter so my messy creative self has room to throw paint, pull out papers and make a whole new pile!! LOL!!

Yep.  I'm ready to get back to my creative journey.

That journey starts today.

I am very excited (and a bit nervous!) to be joining once again with the E-Team as a Guest DT blogger for the month of April!!

Head on over to the eP blog  to get more details on how I used these products-----

to make THIS!!!

She's BAAACCCCKKKK!!!! lol!!

'Till next time.................make a mess!! Explore some creativity!!

A Woman's Strength

Whew!

Today is another blog hop with the E-Team and special guests!!  I didn't originally think that I would be able to participate, but while on the drive home from work last night, creativity hit me over the head and I left dishes in the sink so that I could join in on the E-Team's Inspired By Words, part 2!

Before I show you my page inspired by this quote, let me give you the details for a chance to win an eP gift certificate

• Visit each E-Team blog participant PLUS the guest bloggers to leave a comment for the chance to win a $25 eP GC. Comments can be left from May 23-May 28th. Two random winners from the blog hop will be chosen. GC winners posted May 29th on the eP blog.  
  
  Join the E-Team in our journal adventure and post your journal cover on the eP blog. We are going to pick 2 people to join us next month for another journalism adventure.  You have until Sunday, June 3rd, to upload your  journal page inspired by this month's inspiration quote. We'll pick and announce the next E-Team guest blogger Fri, Jun 8th on the eP blog. 

  Daisy/eP Blog

  Broni

  Micki

  Sherry

  Me!

  Guest Melody Schwartz

  Guest Marjie Kemper

  
  

  Here is my page.  I paraphrased the inspiration quote as I felt it fit better with my main image.

  

  
  

  

  
  

  Basic details on the makings of this:  I started with my version of the Wrinkle Free Distress technique. I smooshed (technical term) randomly Distress Inks in Fired Brick, Faded Jeans and Tea Dye onto my craft mat and misted heavily with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Vanilla Breeze and Antique Brass.  I then placed my paper in the wet ink and ran my hands on the back to spread out the wet ink to all the edges.  

  

  
  

  
  

  Using a finger sponge dauber, I applied Claudine Hellmuth's blank canvas paint randomly over the background.  Since I grabbed a finger dauber that is usually used for blue inks, the dots have a blue tint.  

  
  

  The image was found on the Internet and cut out and taped onto the background.  The letters were written with a combination of Copic markers, Faber-Castell PITT artist pens and an inkssentials opaque pen.  

  
  

  I personally am dedicating this to my sister!! Love ya!

  
  

  Hope you will join the journaling adventure!  I look forward to seeing your take on this inspiring quote!

  
  

  'Till next time

  
  

Inspired By

TODAY IS THE DAY!  The BIG reveal of the project you have all been anxiously awaiting! Just go with my disillusions here! hehe.   The E-team is starting a new series that I think we will all enjoy and hopefully grow from!

This new blog hop is featuring our own personal journals as we embark on a journal that is

INSPIRED BY WORDS.

Visit each E-Team blog participant and leave a comment between today, April 25 to Sunday, April 29th for the chance to win a $25 eP gift certificate.  Winner's will be announced on the eP blog, Monday, April 30. PLUS!!  Join the E-Team in our journal adventure and post your journal cover on the eP blog by May 4th and we will pick 2 people to join us next month for the next journal adventure!!

Daisy, eP blog

Broni

Linda L

Micki

Sherry

ME!

I'm really excited about this new series!  I have been wanting to do an art journal for a while, but just never jump off the ledge. Add my love of inspirational words and this series has become the icing on the cake!  I'm so glad the Daisy snuck up behind me, and shoved! LOL!

I decided to make my own journal book instead of buying one.  My thought is that this will allow me to add what ever type of base paper or medium I would like to work with for that particular entry.  And I can add as many pages as I can fit my binding rings around! haha.  For my journal cover, I wanted to combine a couple of my favorite mediums; paint, metal and most recently, Ice Resin.  I started with a couple of Zutter book covers and painted a base coat of TenSecond Studios Verday paint in Bronze.  

Tips:  shake the paint well before applying.  The Verday paint is an acrylic paint that has actual metal particles in it.  You want to make sure that those particles get dispersed from settling on the bottom of the bottle.  

After letting the base coat dry for a couple of hours, I took a rough sea sponge and lightly dabbed more VerDay Bronze paint randomly onto the cover.  Immediately, while the paint was still wet, I misted with the VerDay Patina.  I put my Verday Patina into a cheap, fine mist bottle (like "hairspray" bottle), found  in the area where travel sized accessories are at Target.  

Let the Verday chemically react with the paint overnight.

After drying, I felt that I had gotten a bit heavy handed with the sponging/VerDay and had too much patina. I then just took my course sea sponge again, dipped it into a bit more VerDay Bronze paint, dabbed off on a paper towel and "dry" sponged randomly on the top of the covers to add more copper

Here is a picture, deliberately angled so that you can see all the wonderful metallic bronze shine

I have to say, I hated to cover up all this wonderful patina!!  LOL!  But cover it up I did!  Here is the cover to my journal.

I die cut various layers from the Tattered Floral die and from Spellbinders Carnation Creations from TenSecond Studio's Barn Red metal. I ran some of the flower layers through the Big Shot with an embossing folder and some layers I just hand doodled squiggle lines and others I used a decorative wheel tool on the metal to make patterns.  I then intensified the color with some alcohol inks 

I then shaped the flowers and applied a thin layer of Ice Resin to both sides of the individual layers using a small paint brush.  I recommend wearing gloves for this step.  It gets rather messy and you will get Ice Resin on your hands while trying to paint both sides of the petals.  I left a small portion of the bottom of the flowers unpainted so that I could set them down on my craft sheet to dry.  I was hoping that the Ice Resin would harden the metal enough that the flower petals would be more stable and would not bend as easily.  The Ice Resin DID help stabilize the metal.  I'm thinking that if I were to add another layer, it would make the metal really solid.   After letting the Ice Resin cure for a couple of days, I glued the layers together with Beacon's Glass, Metal and More Permanent Glue.  This is the first time I have used this glue and I was pleased at how relatively quick it set. I would highly recommend using it in a well ventilated room though! It has a bit of a strong odor!

The leaves were die cut using a combination of Spellbinders Carnations Creations and Foliage from TSS's Peacock metal.  

Here is my tutorial , with a video link for making flowers out of metal.  

And a close up of my "first" journal entry.  

The journal entry was typed on the computer, then each word cut out and sponged with Distress Vintage Photo ink.  I cut off a flap from a cardboard box, saturated it with water and peeled off the smooth layer of cardboard, revealing the rough layer underneath.  Distress Stain in Picket Fence was randomly applied.  The words were then attached using glue dots.  

The final touch was adding some swirling bling from Want2Scrap.  

I also finished the inside of the cover. 

I like to think that the TOTALLY different look is reflective of what I hope to accomplish with this journal.  No preconceived ideas.  No limits.  Just go for it.

I first covered the inside with Claudine's gesso.  I didn't really worry too much about how thick the coverage was.  Since I was totally impatient, I heat dried the gesso with my heat gun.  I then dropped random spatters of alcohol ink onto the gesso and hit them with a blast of canned air, dispersing the inks.  A light mist of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Tuscan Sun  was added on top.  After drying, I stamped the sentiment from Wendy Vecchi's I Am My Art set, using Archival Jet Black Ink.  Tip:  I would HIGHLY recommend that you do the inside of the cover before completing all the dimensional work on the outside.  It would make getting a clean, crisp stamped image soooo much easier and you will be able to avoid having to go over the stamped image with a black Sharpie.  Just sayin'.  

I'm really excited about this new adventure!  I hope that you will check out all the other E-Team's journal cover's and be inspired to join us!!