Mixed Media Art Journal Page - To Create Is To Touch....

Hi!!  It's Wanda here today with a tutorial for a fun art journal page with several layers.  The page looked a bit ugly after some steps but I think it came together really well at the end.  I'm working in a small Dylusions Creative Flip Journal.

I tore a page from a small old phone book.  Across the center of a page in the journal I brushed Distress Collage Medium Matte just long enough for the phone book page width, pressed the phone book page on the medium, let it dry a couple of minutes and pulled the phone page back off.  Some areas came off completely.  Some areas left the text from the back side of the page and other, more dry areas, the whole page stayed stuck.  I repeated the process to finish going all the way across the center of journal page.  

A thin coat of Gesso (Golden brand) was brush over the entire page.

Drops of Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint (PaperArtsy), color Prawn, was put across the center of the page.  I spread the color with my finger, sprayed the paint with water and allowed it to drip down blotting the drips at the bottom of the page.  The book was turned around, the paint sprayed with water again and allowed to drip the opposite direction.  It was then partially dried with a heat tool.

Next came Jade Fresco Finish Paint but not as much paint as the Prawn.  The spraying and allowing to drip process was repeated and the page dried completely.

The Dotted Harlequin Background Stamp was used to stamp Nougat Fresco Finish Paint across the page.  I did not use a block so I could bend the stamp and just use portions of it.  The paint was put on the craft sheet and spread thin with my finger.  You press the stamp into the paint and then onto the page.

The Fiddleheads were stamped using Archival Ink Garden Patina (Ranger, Wendy Vecchi).  Again, I did not use an acrylic block for stamping so I could bend the stamp and just use the top part of the image randomly across the page.

The Checkerboard Corner was stamped in the same way using Archival Ink Watering Can (Ranger, Wendy Vecchi).

To stamp the "To Create Is To Touch" quote I used the Tim Holtz Platform.  Because I was working in a book I placed the platform near the edge of the counter and hung the book off the side.  Before stamping in the book I used graph paper to make sure I had the quote lined up straight.  Then I removed the graph paper and put in the book page.  So at that point there was still some ink left on the stamp from testing on the graph paper and that allowed me to stamp lightly into the book.  Next I used Nougat Fresco Finish Paint to lighten just the area in the book that the quote would be stamped so the words would pop and not get lost in the background.  Once the paint was dry, I stamped the quote multiple times to get a nice, dark image.

I was working on adding the embellishments - Butterfly from the set Butterfly Flourish and the flourish from the set Calligraphic Elements 3.  I die cut the pieces from white cardstock, painted them with Jade Fresco Finish Paint, dried them and added shading with Archival Ink Watering Can.  I glued the flourish on the page and then decided I wanted some splattering.  I tore a scrap of paper to cover the quote and flourish area, splattered watery black paint on the page, dried the page, and then glued the butterflies on just in the body area so the wings could bend up.

Enamel Accents, Carnation Red (Ranger, Wendy Vecchi) was used to add dots on the butterflies and by the flourish.

I was going to call it done but I just had to do more to the edges because it just didn't seem done.  I stamped the Checkerboard image along the top and bottom with Archival Ink Pink Peony and then sponged Watering can on all the edges.

This page was a lot of fun.  I'm getting better at just going with the flow instead of over-thinking and talking myself out of the next layer.  When I had the two paint colors on I wondered if I had made a mistake but then after stamping the Dotted Harlequin it made everything better!!  I am quite please with this mixed media page!!!

Thanks for following along!!

Hugs, Wanda