Soar ... Art Journal Page

Happy Friday!  I am back with the last art journal page that I did while we were camping last weekend.  The background is a gelli plate print that I made a while back, and loved so much that I knew the print had to be the focus of the page.  It is full of red and turquoise and silver and gold metallics, with the turquoise showing a lacy pattern achieved using a paper doily.  Since I knew that I wanted the background the main focus, I simply added a bird cut from some Christy Tomlinson paper that coordinated perfectly with the colors.  Check it out ...

This photo doesn't do the project justice because of the great color in the gelli print.  The paler sections are actually where the metallic paints are and give it an amazing sheen. 

I traced the bird from an old piece of chipboard ... I actually think it is from Scenic Route, who has been out of business for ages, if that tells you anything.  The colors in the Christy Tomlinson paper picks up so many of the colors in the gelli print, even tiny bits like the yellow at the end of the top 'tail' of the bird and the turquoise paint.

The quote is very simple "Fly, Soar, Reach for the stars ... Find Joy in the Journey!"

I know I say this about a lot of my art journal pages, but this really is one of my favorites, mainly because of how much I love the print I got by using the Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate.  Have a wonderful weekend, and Blessings,

Products and Tools:

• Paints - Anita's All Purpose Acrylic Craft Paints
• Pen - Prismacolor
• Mod Podge Glossy
• Paper - Pink Paislee She Art by Christy Tomlinson
• Card Stock - Georgia Pacific 110# white
• Ranger Inkssentials Brayer
• Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate

Never Stop ... Art Journal Page

Welcome back!  Today's project is another art journal page that I created while on our recent camping trip.  It's kind of different for me, but I loved how it turned out in the end.  And the words have great meaning to me.  Check it out ...

Isn't this gelli plate print so great?  I love all the elements, from the alphabet stencil to the punchinella and the peeling paint on the side that was caused by letting the paint on the gelli plate get too dry.  I've got to do that more ... it really gives a lovely aged look to prints!

This starburst was made with a Christy Tomlinson stencil/mask that is really a doily shape, but I only used the center elements to get the 'sunshine' look.

And I used modeling paste tinted with paint and the Christy Tomlinson stencil/mask again to get this pretty doily element.

The text leaves were cut from Christy Tomlinson 'coffee filter' papers, and the yellow flowers were all hand painted.  I love how the yellow pops from the page!

"Never stop ... learning, dreaming, giving, living, singing, trying, creating ... Living!"  Enough said!

So, what do you think?  I am getting better about adding different elements and techniques, and hopefully it is showing.  The thing I am working on now is painting 'girls' and I've got the head and neck shape pretty well, but the hair ... not so much!  But I'm practicing on plain paper and will eventually get to where it's acceptable, if not perfect.  Sometimes, perfection is highly overrated!

Thanks for visiting, and come back soon for more art!  Blessings!

. . . and there was Peace! Art Journal Page

Last week we were camping at a lovely state park in southwestern Georgia on Lake Seminole.  The weather was great and there was plenty of time for art journaling!  The night I made this page was just beautiful, with a pretty sunset, birds settling down for the night, and a peaceful feeling all around.  And since art journaling is all about showing what is on your mind and in your heart, that is what I shared on the page you see here ...

The background is a gelli print that I made on a magazine page.  If you look closely you can see pictures and text bleeding through the paint.  I edged the tree, which was created using a Cricut cut as a mask, with my black Prismacolor pen.  The brown text is from an old French text stamp that I've had forever and can't remember who it is by!  The quote reads 'frogs croaked, birds sang, fish jumped, the sun set ..... and there was peace'.  And that was how I felt right then ... peaceful!

 

The blue tinted modeling paste 'snowflakes' were achieved using a paper doily as a stencil.  The toadstool shape came from a stencil, but I hand painted the elements then outlined it with the Prismacolor pen.

I used more of the tinted modeling paste with a bit of punchinella (the 'holey' strip that is left over when sequins are punched out) and I love how it looks like wisteria or lilacs or something pretty!

Don't you love how this turned out?  I love how it feels when I complete a project and know that it is pretty and exhibits how I am feeling at that time.  Have you tried art journaling yet?  Go on ... I dare you!  It's amazing how much fun it is!

She Found Her Wings ... Art Journal Page

Hello there!  I know I've not posted in a while, but my  hubby and I took my 82 year old Mama on a camping/fishing trip last week, and all the prep and packing just took all my time.  And while I had planned to schedule this post ahead of time, it just did not happen, so here it is!

I made this page on a Saturday morning when I woke up very early and couldn't sleep.  I rarely do that any more, but this time I was happy to get up and play because it was such an inspired and fruitful morning!  I actually had the inspiration for the verse and made a tag, but once it was finished I knew I had to make a tag inspired art journal page!  And here it is ...

Isn't it lovely!!!  The base is a mono print made using my Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate ... of course!  But I did some stenciling with paint onto the top the print using some punchinella, 'holey' drywall tape, cement board tape, and a paper doily.


All of the papers for the elements you see here were also made using gelli plate prints.  The hummingbird body and wings were from a print made onto a magazine page.  I simply freehand cut the body, then kind of sketched out the wings before cutting them.  The leaves and flowers are also cut from different gelli prints.

I painted the wings with a bit of Mod Pdge, then added some very fine gold glitter for a bit of shine, then I did the same with the red flowers, but added red glitter to the blooms.  The 'beak' is a sliver of black card stock, and the 'eye' was made using the wooden tip of a paint brush handle dipped into purple paint, letting it dry and then dipping the tip of a very small paintbrush handle into titanium gold paint and touching it to the center of the purple spot.

The quote is in honor of a sweet friend who is going through some struggles, but is beginning to find her wings, and I know ... KNOW ... she is finding her wings and soon will be flying on her own and showing her strength and courage with grace and dignity!

Products used are paints by Anita's All Purpose Craft Paints, Mod Podge, Prismacolor pen, and my favorite toy, the Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate!

I hope you've enjoyed this project, and hope you will come back soon as I have a few projects that I made while on our camping trip last week to share with you .  See you soon, and Blessings,

Becky

Technicolor World ... Art Journal Page

One night last week I was looking at video tutorials about using the Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate and someone had used old magazine pages for making prints.  And of course I had to try it!

So last Thursday when I was at my LSS I gave it a whirl, and oh, how I loved the end result!  Even though the acrylic paints are deep colors, somehow, when you put them on the gelli plate and pull prints, they are almost clear in that you can see objects from the paper below.  And it is very cool!  The page that I used as the base for this art journal page has probably three prints, but still you can see elements from the page.  Here, take a look for yourself ...

The quote is 'She wanted to LIVE in a technicolor world!', which I believe was fitting!  The house is kind of plain, but with the roof and windows reflecting the colors of the surrounding sky.  Do you see the text, and the bench and bowl that are part of the magazine page?  I'll show you that in closer detail later on, but first, let's talk about some of the elements and details on the page ...

As the background is a gelli plate print made on a thin magazine page, I first adhered it to 110# card stock using Mod Podge.  The white edge of the paper stood out so brightly that I took coordinating colors of paint and thinned them with water to make a wash, and alternated the colors in a 'frame' around the edges of the page.  I love how you can still see the 4 stars and 'fresh picks' on the printed magazine page.

 

The house is just a piece of ecru card stock that I cut freehand, then inked with a piece of 'holey' dry wall tape to get the dots.  The roof and windows are actually (and this is so cool!) cut from the back page of the magazine where I had been cleaning off my brayer!  It had a real 'raibow' effect that came through well.  I used scraps of card stock for the awnings over the window and the door, and a tiny piece of purple cut from an ad in the magazine for the purple chimney.  The tree is a leaf stamp that I made by cutting the design with my Cricut and then tracing around it onto some fun foam and cutting it out.  I did extend the 'stem' to add more of a trunk for the tree.  The paper for the tree is cut from another gelli plate print.

For the 'LIVE' words I created a stamp using fun foam for the word, but didn't like the print I got with paint, so I added the glitter and outlined the words and liked it more.  Do you see all of the circles in the background?  For one of the prints I used a stencil that I made using my Cricut by just cutting rows of circles and ovals.  Because it looked kind of like a lot of moons, I highlighted the larger circles under the quote by using gold metallic, white metallic and other colors of paint to give them a luminous look that ... sadly ... doesn't show in this photo!

I promised I would show you elements from the magazine page and if you look closely here you can see text, and then up in the top right hand corner you can see the leg of a bench that goes straight across the top of the photo.  I tried to use the colors from the bench cover in the page.

It is always amazing to me how you never know how a gelli print is going to come out!  You may plan it one way, picture it in your mind, but I guarantee it will come out looking just the way it wants to!  I hope you have enjoyed your visit today, and will come back soon!  Blessings,