Holiday Selfie Journal Time

There are very few times I have created an art journal page. I think it's just my perception of the old secret diary remaining a secret that keeps me from exploring the rather cool world of art journals. Someday I'll overcome it and you will be getting plenty of your share of my "secrets" in journaling with paint and whatever else I can find to use.

Even so, I'm here with a journal layout. I say layout because it's just a sheet of paper that I, if successful, will glue into a journal and a date added to it. The layout is for the current Mix-Ability challenge on Splitcoaststampers. It just seems appropriate that their be a journal page for the MIX99: Holiday Selfie theme.

I didn't think to photograph my steps to create this, but I'll try and guide you through as best as I can.

Supplies:

From Stampendous:
Blossom Beauty Stamp Set
Creative Palette Monoprinting Plate
Jumbo Snowflake Trio (Retired), alternate set: Delicate Snow)
Winter Snow Stamp
Journal Lines
Detail White Embossing Powder
Versafine Onyx Black ink by Tsukineko®
Versamark Watermark ink by Tsukineko®

Plus:
White Sulphite Paper (Pacon)
Acrylic Paint by Liquitex®
White Gesso by DecoArt®
Zip-Dry Glue by Beacon Adhesives®
Black Brush Pen by Prismacolor
Water-soluble oil pastels
Acrylic paint marker
Stamp Positioner Tool

Instructions:

1. Create a monoprint with two shades of green on the Creative Palette. Create more than one print from the first ink so you have extra for layering and sentiments. Let them dry completely.
2. Open up the Blossom Beauty Stamp set and remove the free template. Pop out the head shaped mask and set aside. Using the remaining template, tape down onto monoprint and paint white gesso onto the head shape. Let it dry and repeat if gesso is transparent.
3. Add the template back onto the gesso area and use flesh paint color of choice. Let dry.
4. Remove template and add head shape mask with the eye area masks removed.
5. Add gesso tot he eye area and let dry.
6. Ink up face stamp from Blossom Beauty with Onyx Black ink and stamp using a stamp positioner to align the stamp over head shape area.
7. Paint highlights and shadows onto face.
8. With the top of the head shape as the hairline guide paint freestyle hair of choice in color and length. Let dry completely. (Optional: Use the free hair templates downloads on Stampendous website)
9. Paint swirls around the face image.
10. Stamp snowflakes with Versamark Watermark ink and emboss with Detail White embossing powder.
11. Stamp sentiment from Journal Lines above face and then randomly stamp asterisk from same set around the layout.
12. Add handwritten words.
13. Let dry and glue into journal.

Sunday Reflection with my Artist Journal

If you're looking for the Diva Inspiration Hop (and a chance to comment and win a GC) go to this post, now closed)

I love the idea of creating just for me. A place where I try new techniques without fear of needing an eraser before I publish it. When I received the new Plain Jane stamps from Verve (gotta love that they are under $3 a piece right now), Julee mentioned that she started out using these quotes in her journal and I'm so glad she did. My creativity was so excited to crack open my artist journal and play with the new stamps that I couldn't stop with just one stamp.
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I used Jet Black StazOn ink with the Grace Plain Jane and stamped on a white paper towel! How fun is that! I grabbed some travel watercolors and painted a rainbow vertically over the sentiment and let it run together with an extra saturated brush. Since I can't wait long when I'm creating I grabbed my heat gun tool and quickly dried the paper towel, then tore the edges against a metal ruler. I painted some white gesso on a journal page before I did the watercolor and it was dry enough to apply my stamped paper towel to the page with matte finish Mod Podge. I cut out a frame with the Rounded Scallop Frame Die from Basic Grey's Picadilly paper line and glued it over the sentiment.

For the rest of the page elements I stamped some flowers around the sentiment with the Fringe Flower Plain Jane coloring them with a variety of pens (see detail list below). With a Copic Multiliner pen I drew a larger frame around the page and again with some watercolor randomly brushed for color. I took the negative rectangle from the Rounded Scallop Frame and added it to the top of the page for repetition and stamped only the beginning two words from the One Day Plain Jane with Staedler pens. More random stamping with the dotted background from Verve's Bountiful Backgrounds set in Basic Black making sure not to get a good inking so it stamped in a partial pattern. The very last step was to mask the sentiment and brush black gesso around the frame and across the top of the page.

My journal page doesn't have any erased parts. I took my time... had some fun and will be ready to journal, well if I want to journal at all on this page, for another day. Using stamps on journal pages is a huge help to me because I tend to work too hard on my handwriting the main elements. If you've taken anything away from my creation today, I hope it is this. Take the time, whatever amount you have, to create with abandonment. Try new things and enjoy the mistakes for learning. When you get ready to create for someone else you will more likely have confidence in your design. That's my reflection for today.

I hope you will jump back to last Tuesday's hop and enjoy what the Diva's have come up with for the Inspiration Hop this month. Today is the last day to comment for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to the Verve Shop! See details on the Verve blog post here.


Details:
Stamps: Grace Plain Jane (Verve Stamps), One Day Plain Jane (Verve Stamps), Fringe Flower Plain Jane (Verve Stamps), Bountiful Backgrounds (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Sketch Book, Picadilly (Basic Grey), paper towel
Ink: Jet Black (StazOn, Tsukineko), Basic Black (Stampin' Up), Watercolors (Royal) colored pens (Staedler), Copic markers and multiliner
Accessories: Rounded Scallop Frame Die (A Cut Above Die, Verve Stamps), White and black gesso, matte decoupage glue (Mod Podge)

Em-spiration and Winners!

This weekend I had the most wonderful time with some friends of mine that have a bazillion ounces of creativity in them. It was a great time of getting to know eachother better and as we exploded out into all sorts of mixed media fun. I'll show you all my ARTjournal page in a minute, but first I want to let you all know about the winners for our Purge Hop!

Kristen from By the Book Paper

Congratulations Kristen!!!!! Please contact me through email with your shipping information!

Each blog winner will be posted at my friends blogs, but I couldn't help to share in who I know won so far. If one of my friends hasn't posted yet, I've put the friend's blog link so you can hop over there and see who one a bit later in the day. Congrats to you all the rest of the lucky winners!

Tosha’s winner	Lots of winners at Stamp Talk with Tosh  Gabriela Ellena  Wanda Naomi  Barbara A. Connie Crafter
Andrea’s winner	Deb from DebsDesignsNDoodles
Maureen’s winner	Luanne from He Golfs… I Stamp!
Sony’s winner	Kelly (irishgalkelly) from Molly and Me
Laurie’s winner	… see Laurie’s blog at Just Give Me Stamps
Julee’s winner	… see Julee’s blog at Poetic Artistry
Janelle’s winner	Kristen from By the Book Paper
Betty’s winner	Toni (Ravengirl) of Sweet Peas Story
Jen’s winner	Heather from Wire Wrapture
Teresa’s winner	Sherry from Life Is Good

Now here is that ARTjournal page that I mentioned. I watched my friend Em for awhile and how amazingly quick she was at getting her page all covered and designed... then I spent the rest of the afternoon on my ONE page while she completed a few more. LOL She's a rock star!

After everyone packed up and left I sat with my daughter as she made her own ARTjournal page. She had a lot of fun and took off with it before I could get a photo to share, but love the memories we created too. : )

I went back to my page to add in some white highlights and grabbed some new stamps and stencils from Layers of Colors. I dabbed some white acrylic paint onto the Elegant Touch Art Stencil and pressed it down on my page. I left it there and put some brown paint on a paper towel to add contrast around the stencil. Touch of Elegance Art Stamp set by its name is a tell sign that it should be used with the stencil, so I inked some of them up with Onyx Black and randomly spread around. I grabbed a black felt pen and started sketching border lines and defining lines on the page until it looked like I better quit! LOL I wanted to add one more thing though... I stamped the scripture from The Love Chapter Art Stamp set (also from Layers of Colors) a couple of times in Brown Bag ink.

One more thing... Layers of Colors is have a huge discount on all their in stock stamps and stencils. 50% off. It's all in conjunction with a new partnership they are revealing at CHA this weekend!!!! I can't wait to hear what it is all about.


Details:
Stamps: Touch of Elegance Art Stamp Set, The Love Chapter (LOC Art Stamps)
Paper: sketch book, book pages
Ink: gesso, craft paint, Onyx Black (Versafine Tsukineko), Brown Bag (CTMH), Liquid Expresso black pen (Sanford)
Accessories: Touch of Elegance Art Stencil (LOC Art Stamps), brushes, paper towels, friends and a few sweet snacks

A different kind of Journal

I've been inspired to create an artist journal. I've yet to get the official description, but I think I probably should avoid that because it would put a damper on the idea I had immediately after super talented Taylor over at Quiet Moments had sent the word out. She was wondering what she was going to do in her artist journal. WHAT? Where have I been?

Really, I've known about them from all those art classes in college (think DaVinci sketches, Degas, etc.), but it never crossed my mind that I would create an artist journal for me. This idea I had incubated for almost a month and then it was a lightbulb moment, I tell ya. I can't really add anything else to my busy life, but what if I just put the journal together with my need to scrapbook about and of my children? That's it. That's my super-duper-uper-schmooper idea!

Gesso and Re-inker, stamps and felt

Have a blessed day!

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