Secret Content Art Journal Page

Hello all, I'm back with my art journal page for Tina Walker's #TheStencilfiedJournal project in conjunction with StencilGirl Products and this page was inspired by Tina's week #7 prompt.

'Stencil a page. Rip it out of your journal. Rip it up. Put the pieces back in your journal.'

I have several of Seth Apter's stencils from StencilGirl Products and wanted to create my page with them and then decided I'd go full on Seth by using his Fresco Finish acrylic paints from Paper Artsy and some of his dies from Spellbinders.

I used Seth's Alpha Drips, Number Drips, Numbers and Inside Out stencils from StencilGirl Products; Fresco Finish Buff, Terracotta, Mahogany and Midnight paints from Paper Artsy (along with DecoArt Media Titan Buff for a tone on tone background through the Scribble Scratch Handwriting stencil); and Seth's Robo Square and Coffee Ring dies from Spellbinders.

Here's the layout before I tore it apart.

Instead of ripping the right hand page apart, I decided to die cut it which is where Seth's Spellbinder dies came into play.  I tried to use as much of the page as I could, using the negative and positives of the die cuts.  Here are a few closeups.

So that's week 7's stenciled journal page done, I'm all caught up now and waiting impatiently for Tina to reveal week 8's prompt on Monday!

I'll be back as soon as I get it done, hope to see you then and happy creating!

Deb xo

Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry 103 Revisited

Hello everyone, I've been having a great time revisiting Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry courses over at Online Card Classes and just finished up all of the technique tags for Creative Chemistry 103.  There were several I hadn't done when the class was first offered as I didn't have the supplies at the time and then I totally forgot that I had more to do (the body is willing but the mind is getting increasingly weak!)

Here's a peek at a few of my favourite techniques (although to be honest I loved them all!).

Distress Crayon Resist

Alcohol Ink Painting

Texture Paste Resist

Distress Paint Resist

Alcohol Ink Faded Layers

(I'm thinking this one would be super easy now with Tim's new Alcohol Lift Off pad from Ranger Ink!)

Distress Layered Collage

(what's not to love!)

Remnant Rub Resist

Gesso Fresco

(I hadn't done this one before but I LOVE it, feels like silk and the glow from the gesso is incredible, you will be seeing lots more of this technique now that I've rediscovered it!)

Texture Paste Embossing

While I was there, I decided to also revisit Creative Chemistry 101:

and Creative Chemistry 102:

and so now with the Creative Chemistry 103 technique tags:

I have a world of inspiration at my finger tips, thank you Tim!  If you are a Tim Holtz and Ranger Ink fan, I highly recommend these classes if you haven't taken them, they are worth every penny, and if you have already done them, give the classes a revisit to refresh your memory of these fab techniques.

Hope you're all having a great summer and are able to take the time to reinvigorate your own creative batteries, have fun and happy creating!

Deb xo

Be You Art Journal Page

Hello everyone, another art journal page to share with you created for Tina Walker's #TheStencilfiedJournal collaborative project in conjunction with StencilGirl Products.  This page is for week 6 and the prompt was:

'Stencil a page.  Poke holes in the page.'

I decided to cut holes in the page and make a three page spread so you could view different words and images as the middle 'holey' page was flipped back and forth.

StencilGirl Products Doodle It Bigger and Circular Patterns For Play stencils were used on this layout along with Distress Inks and Archival Inks from Ranger Ink and stamps from Stampers Anonymous and Simon Says Stamp.

The middle page is a recycled piece of packing paper in my junk journal so I reinforced the cut out holes with cardstock.

A bit of doodling (I am not a doodler!) and Platinum Stickles around the edges.

I had a lot of fun with this prompt, thank you Tina!

Week 7's prompt was just released today over on Tina's blog so I'll be back once I get the next page done, see you then and thanks for stopping by!

Deb xo

Inside Out Art Journal Page

Hello everyone, I have another art journal page to share with you today for week 5 of Tina Walker's #TheStencilfied Journal collaborative project in conjunction with StencilGirl Products.  Week 5's journaling prompt was:

'Create a mirror image using stencils.'

If ever there was a stencil that was perfectly designed for creating mirror images it is the City Scape stencil from StencilGirl Products!  I also used Seth Apter's Inside Out stencil from StencilGirl Products for the mirrored words.

Distress Inks over gesso'd pages, the City Scape stencil is fab because it is multiple stencils and masks in one, making for lots of creative possibilities.

Tim Holtz's Umbrella Man and an arrow from his Journey Clear Stamp set were also used, I realized I'd mucked up the Umbrella Man by not mirroring him after I'd adhered him (I stamped him twice onto tissue paper) .... arghh!  But there was no fixing it so there you go, I'll have to be happy with a partly mirrored stenciled page LOL!

One more journal page to go and I will be caught up with Tina's project (at least until she releases her new prompt on Monday that is!) so hopefully I can get week 6's page completed this weekend.  Be back with pics when it's done, see you then!

Deb xo

Nature Love Art Journal Page

Hi again, I didn't think I'd be back so soon but Tina's week #4 prompt for her #TheStencilfiedJournal project went somewhat easier than I was expecting!  Here was the prompt:

'Stencil with your least favourite colour.  Write about things you love.'

As I mentioned in my last post, red is my least favourite colour but the prompt to 'write about things you love' led me straight to Mother Nature so I think She helped me to find a way to use that unloved colour.

I decided to bite the bullet colour wise and immediately laid down a basecoat of red Distress Stains (Fired Brick and Barn Door) onto my journal pages.  The left side was mixed media paper basecoated with gesso and the left was untreated watercolour paper.  I used StencilGirl Products Heart Swirl stencil, Journal Notes 6, Nature's Gatherings stencil, Tropical Florals, Doodle It Bigger and a couple of small images from the Numbers stencil.

I've just revisited Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry classes so used his sticky powder with glitter technique from CC102 on a couple of the stenciled images with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter.

A Faber-Castell white PITT artist pen was used to stencil the little bird from the Nature's Gathering stencil, love how the red of the Distress Stain came up through it.

Lost some of the vine pattern on the Heart Swirl stencil because of paint bleed but that's the way it goes!  Did some stamping through the stencil (was reminded of this technique from revisiting Tim's classes) with the Ledger Script stamp to evoke the 'write about things you love' prompt.

I am absolute rubbish when it comes to writing in my journals so I just printed some of the things I love with PITT pens and left it at that.  Really should try and practice some lovely script writing or at least some interesting block lettering techniques ... yeah right, who am I kidding, that is never going to happen LOL!

So that's week 4 done and done, not one of my favourite pages but they all can't be works of art; if they are at least works of heart I think that is enough, don't you?

On to week 5's prompt, I am only a couple of weeks behind now so catching up slowly.  Will be back when it's done, see you then!

Deb xo

Stop And Look Around Art Journal Page

Hello everyone, I have another art journal page to share with you for Tina Walker's #TheStencilfiedJournal collaborative project, this page is for week #3 and the prompt was:

'Stencil on a leaf. Add it to your journal.'

I 'borrowed' a leaf from one of my Shepherd's Crook plants, coated it both sides with white gesso and let it dry for about 10 days and then stenciled with black acrylic paint through StencilGirl Products 'Rembrandt's Words' stencil.  I gave the leaf back it's green colour with Shabby Shutter and Crushed Olive Distress Spray Stains.

This page in my junk journal is recycled coffee dyed packing paper so I just gave it a quick coat with Iced Spruce Distress Stain, some water spritzes and then stenciled over it with the 'Vintage Script' stencil from StencilGirl Products and Iced Spruce Distress Ink for a tone on tone background.

One of my favourite stamps from a discontinued Crafty Secrets set stamped in Black Soot Distress Archival and clear embossed.

The facing page is mixed media paper so I gesso'd it and added a wash of Iced Spruce Distress Stain with water spritzes.  Stenciling with Iced Spruce Distress ink followed through StencilGirl Products 'Tropical Floral' stencil and I then randomly clear embossed some of the inked areas and added Vintage Photo Distress ink over the whole page with more water drips.

One of Tim Holtz's Life Quotes stamps from Stampers Anonymous was stamped with Black Soot Distress Archival and clear embossed.

And then a few Garden Greens leaves were die cut from some textured card and added to the top corner.  Because you could see some of the Turquoise Deco Foil edging on another page I had previously created in the journal, I added just a touch of the same to this layout.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing my page, I'm having a lot of fun creating from Tina's prompts!

On to week #4's prompt which is journal with your least favourite colour.  That's going to be a challenge, my least favourite colour is red (sorry to all of the red lovers out there!) and I am going to be hard pressed to use it.  Pinks, lavenders, purples I'm good with but I've never cottoned onto red, this should be interesting!

Hope you are all having a lovely summer, we had a long cool and wet patch but the sun is out again and the temps are soaring here in B.C, woo-hoo!  See you again soon and happy creating!

Deb xo

Gatherings Art Journal Page

Hello everyone, back again to share another art journal page that I made for Tina Walker's #TheStencilfiedJournal project for StencilGirl Products, this journal page created for week #2's prompt which was:

Stencil a page.  Rip it out of your journal.  Tie it outside.

Well that's a first, never done that before!  I decided to go with a nature theme since I was going to be putting it outside and created this Gatherings art journal page.

Lots of StencilGirl Products stencils went into this one: Scribble Scratch Handwriting stencil for the background, my fav Black Birds In Trees, Houses stencil, Song Birds stencil, Nature's Gatherings and finally Valentine Of Mine stencil.

Because it was going to go outside, I used DecoArt Media and Americana acrylic paints along with Distress Paint and Archival Inks.  The background was gesso'd before painting and had slap dashes of crackle texture paste and transparent texture paste added here and there.

Tim Holtz's Ledger Script stamp was added randomly in the background with Archival ink and the 'gatherings' word from the Nature's Gathering stencil was inked with Archival as well.

The Song Birds were stenciled onto old book paper and the 'home' sentiment stamped onto tissue paper with Tim's Worn Text stamps and both adhered with Distress Matte Collage medium.

To tie in the stenciled blue birds, the layout was edged with Turquoise Deco Foil.

Now came the hard part, tearing out a page!  Tina just tore out one side of her journal spread so I did the same.

I am not sure if the torn out page is going to go back in the same place or not (apparently we will be reusing the page after it's been outside for a while) so I left the stenciled book paper portion intact where it had crossed the midline of the page.

And then I grabbed some rusty wire from my stash and wired the page onto a bush near our front door, it's partially under the eaves so if it rains it hopefully won't get soaked LOL!  I'm hoping that the rusty wire will leave some interesting patterns on the page??

So that's week 2 of #The StencilfiedJournal complete, onto week 3.  Stay tuned!

Deb xo