the first step

Hello my friends.  Today I tried something new and different... for me, at least. Recently, I've been drawn to art journals.  I'm not sure there is a simple definition for an art journal, but it seems to be a form of self expression and connecting with your inner self through the process of making a journal which is more than just words, but includes pictures, which can be drawn, painted, cut from another source and pasted in, stamped, etc., or a combination of those and more, as well as using other mixed media.  So, anyway, I decided to try my hand at making an art journal.  I have never kept a diary or journal, so I don't know how successful I'll be at actually completing a full journal, but at least I'm giving it a try and taking the first step.

To begin, I bought a large pad of watercolor paper and cut it into some smaller sizes to make a book or two.  I was going to bind them with my bind it all, but when I pulled out the box the other day, it was empty, so I'm not sure where the machine is hiding.  I may end up taking it over to Office Depot and having a coil binding put on.  But before I do that, I need to cut some chipboard for the covers. 

To start my first page, I pulled out some new stencils from Crafter's Workshop and decided to play.  (As a side note, I'm taking a free on-line course from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer called Stencil 101.)  Using a 6" Bricks stencil, I sponged distress inks in victorian velvet, dusty concord, and bundled sage.  Then with a 12" Butterfly Meadow, I used Adirondack color wash sprays in lettuce and wild plum.  This is the first time I've used that and got a little heavy handed, so the ink bled under the stencil, but not too badly.  After removing the stencil, I used a fine black marker to add just a hint of shadow along one side of the stems, leaves and flowers.  I guess that would have been easier if I had left the stencil in place.  I then sprayed some butterscotch color wash over the background, because I thought there was too much bright white space. 

The words are computer generated, sprayed with butterscotch and then cut apart.  I sponged the edges with tea dye distress ink and two sides with black soot.


I wanted to add some butterflies, so I went searching in my stash to see if I had any already stamped and found two that were perfect from Wonderful Wings (SU) already colored and cut out. 

I had fun making this and I'm really happy with how it turned out.  Maybe next time, I'll be brave enough to actually draw something.  Since, I'm a very private person, I'm unlikely to share anything really personal on my pages.  But I think this is a really great way to experiment with different techniques and products, because it doesn't matter if you make mistakes. 


Thank you so much for stopping by today.  Be blessed.