Easy Art Journal

 

by Stacey Dunning, Blockheads Paper Arts

This journal page was created using our Grunge It Up Stamp Set with Distress and Memento Ink Pads, the Cubist Crafter's Workshop Template,  and Gelato Paint Sticks.

I was inspired by a tutorial on the Faber-Castell blog: Creating an Art Journal Background

I've found that I really like journaling on old books.  I look for paperbacks, so I'm not destroying any rare edition, with broken spines at 2nd hand stores.  After I do several sets from the same book, I can bind them together into my own journal.

 I brush a thin layer of gesso on and speed the drying time with my heat gun.  I like having some of the words show through, but not distract too much from my journal.

The Gelatos are easy to work with.  I really wanted some a purple color so I used a wet paper towel with a tiny bit of hand soap on it (in lieu of the baby wipe they used in the Faber-Castell tutorial) and wiped it to mix the colors.  I did find I needed to add more red and blue to my original color selection to get the colors I wanted.

I then put the cubist template over and removed some of the paint which is where the lighter color squares come from.  I then used the corner star with Memento Danube Blue and corner wildflowers with Distress Dusty Concord from the Grunge It Up set as well as the small rust stain with Distress Scattered Straw to add a little yellow for interest.

I use art journals for two things.  One is to practice new techniques without feeling like I need to worry so much about the final look.  The other is to record thoughts.  I thought it would be fun, years from now to look back at what I would say to each of my neighbors if I just spoke in uncensored thoughts.

Did you know that writing pro/con lists in a journal before making decisions and then looking back after the decision was made may help you feel more confident in your decision making abilities?