Cherish Happiness

So...will you miss the weekly Product Spotlight?  Since I include all new product details in our weekly newsletter (you can sign up at the bottom of our home page), I thought everyone would rather see more projects!!  And today it's my turn to share and I'm super excited to share my very first journal page spread...that I really like!  LOL!  Such is the case when you're just learning...a whole lot of so-so pages before you hit the one that makes you happy!

I wish I had taken photos of this project in the works but once I started going I just kept working and didn't even stop...thankfully, my memory still somewhat works so I'm happy to fill in the details! :-)

I started by finding a pretty clean two-page spread in my Dylusions Journal and then I applied a layer of Gesso.  (I've also been adding masking tape to the spine of my pages to keep paint from leaking.)  I then used Adirondack Paint Dabbers (Cloudy Blue, Aqua, Willow, Eggplant) to add a sky and grass.  Eggplant was just added to the edges....adore that color!

Then I used Archival Ink to stamp the Poppy Background images all across the bottom of both pages.  Then I got to work on using my paint dabbers again, this time adding Terra Cotta, Salmon, Cranberry, and Mountain Rose to the mix and coloring in all of the flowers.  After doing this, however, I lose some of the outlines of the flowers.  Guess what i used to add them back in...My Copic markers!  Yes, it worked perfectly!

Once all of my paint was dry, I got to work with some stencils!  I used Classic Words, along with a Viva Pearl Pen for some very cool results.  Then I threw on some designs from the Chevron, Dotted Flowers, and Blazonry stencils, by using the paint dabbers.  Next came random text from one of my fav Tim Holtz text stamps and then...rub ons! 

I have a giant bag of rub ons and since I've been watching a bunch of Donna Downey videos, where she's decided to use up her stash of stickers and rub ons, I was reminded to check my own stash. I found this amazing "Cherish Happiness" sentiment that I just had to use on this page. I also added a "I'm learning" ('cause I am!) sentiment from the She Sprouted Wings stamp set.

My last two elements were to add this sweet dragonfly image (from this Sweet 'n Sassy stamp set, Nature Silhouettes) and a tag with the date...and the words "happy place!"  How fun is that!

I hope you enjoyed today's project and if you're just starting on your own altered journal journey...keep playing, keep experimenting, and keep working...you're going to get to your own happy place!

Enjoy!