Amazing Giveaway ... Postcards from Paris II by Websters Pages!

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Art Journaling Fun!

Today I had some fun playing with paints and 'stuff' and made an art journal page using one of my recent favorite prints using the Gelli Plate.  I just kind of let myself go and not worry about it being 'perfect', and I love how it came out!  Here goes .................

 

There's a real glare ... that could have something to do with all the gold metalic paint I used, but you get the idea!  At the very top I wrote 'Art lets me be ...' and then below it I wrote 'free to be me' in larger script, then I didn't like the black marker that I used so I added assorted colors of artists pastels to outline the letters.  At that pointed I added an orange glaze to the whole thing and I love how it turned out!  After the glaze dried, of course it needed some bling so I added some platinum Stickles to the outlined words as well.

  

I dripped black paint on the Gelli Plate in the printing process, and I love how that turned out, as well as the layers that came through from earlier layers.  To 'embellish' the page I added some washi tape, but it still needed more.  That's when I pulled out a few things that I had been using as stencils in the Gelli printing process.  One was a paper doily that had so many layers of paint on it that it was stiff and heavy.  The top coat of paint was a 'topaz' metallic, and I loved it so much I cut out three circles from the doily, glued them on and added a gem to the center.  Then I kind of shaped them to show the dimension.

I love how these turned out!  The other product I had been using as a stencil for gelli printing was a strip of drywall tape.  It is full of holes (see above) and is self adhesive to help it hold a shape on joints and corners.  It had some great colors, so I used bits and pieces and layered them to get that feel of texture.

The glue and sealer was still wet on the picture above, but I love how it turned out once dry.  That tape really adds lots of texture!  I love how this piece turned out ... not because it is a perfect example of an art journal page, but because of how much fun I had just letting go and let the creative process make it's own way to a finished product.  I know that through doing this, my techniques and such will get better, and I am happy with where I am for right now. 

I hope you have enjoyed your visit today!  I am sharing this on Carolyn Dube's June Colorful Gelli Print Party, so be sure you go visit her too!  Blessings,

Becky

Another New Thing ...

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately, but I haven't had time for much 'playing' of late.  But today, instead of spending the day with my crafty friends at my local scrapbook store, I stayed at home and attempted something I have been putting off for a while.  (Oh, and no one was going to be there today anyway, so why not stay home and play in my pj's, right?)

One of the girls at the store, Karen, is the cutest, most bubbly and sweet young women I've known in a while.  She is a very busy mom of three little girls who are into all kinds of things like skating and gymnastics.  When she can, Karen finds her creative escape in art journaling.  She uses hard cover books and turns them into her journals, and she is really, really good at it, too!  And I have been envious of her talent for a while, but the whole 'using an old hard cover book' thing has had me stumped for a while, so I never 'went there'.

Then, a while back my Mama gave me an old (1972, so not THAT old) Singer book on sewing.  It is large, and heavy, and my first thought was ... what a cool book for an art journal!  Then I sat on it for a while because I didn't know what to do with it!  And finally I asked Karen how she started her books, whether she glued all the pages together, or what, and she sent me to a video and it helped a lot.  (I can't find the link to the video OR the lady's name ... as soon as I can get it from her AGAIN, I will put it in here.

Anyway, that was weeks ago, and I actually gesso'd (gessoed?) and painted the outside of the book, and the first couple of pages in the book a while back, but never did a page ... until today.  It's not great.  It's not even good.  I found out I need to get a better quality of black ink pad because the one I used ran really bad when I went over it with Mod Podge!  And I wish I had left the clock off of it, but it is what it is .....

I would really love it if the ink on the bird stamp hadn't run and if I had left off the clock and frame!

I used Anita's acrylic paint, an old bottle of shiny 'puffy' paint for the white line, washi tape for the pennant flag, a couple of old stamps, and coated it all with Mod Podge.

I love that washi tape!  I outlined the 'pennants' with a black Micron .05 marker.

The quote says "Change in this life is inevitable.  How you roll with it is up to you!" 

Thanks for visiting today!  Blessings,

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!