For the First Time

When was the last time you tried something for the very first time?  It's probably not often that we try new things, as it's far too easy to get in to a regular routine (and I confess that I'm a sucker for routine) but I find that when we break out that doing the same 'ol thing, we're sometimes pleasantly surprised and that is something to get excited about! 

Surprise is what the mixed media journey has been for me.  I am not a painter, not someone who can draw, not someone who naturally likes things messy or off center and yet here I am...totally enthralled with all of the messiness of painting with my hands, of experimenting with different techniques, of trying new products, and of just having an absolute blast with all of these new toys!

This two-page journal spread is a serious nod to trying a bunch of new techniques and products and just having fun!  That's what I adore about the Dylusions Art Journal...it's full of experiments...some good, some not so good, and some that I adore and can't even believe that I made something with paint and stencils!  It's all sooo good!

These two pages actually started out as something completely different and I didn't like the look at all so...gesso to the rescue!  Gesso really does cover a multitude of mistakes! LOL!  Once I applied gesso to both pages I applied a whole bunch of Remnant Rubs and some Distress Stains.  Now...as I found out...Distress Stains don't do well with gesso as the stains need something to soak in to.  However, I just kept adding some color, drying, etc. and I found that I was able to achieve some serious drippage (love that term from Donna Downey!) and more of a watercolor effect.

Once the stains were dried (and I needed a heat tool and some fixative...aka hair spray), I used the Tiny Circles stencil (my all time favorite) and some white embossing paste.  Then came some watered down acrylic paint, to highlight that juicy little circles and to get more drippage!

Once all my paint was dry I punched out a bunch of circles, from a book, randomly glued them to my pages and went around them with a magic pencil (it's not really called that but that was Dina's pet name for this cool pencil and yes, these are coming to the shop very soon!) and hit the pencil with a waterbrush to get that great watercolor effect.

Then a fun silhouette stencil and black paint, followed my messy outlining and journaling (another Dina technique).  My two journal spots say, "practice makes perfect" and "if one refuses to try, then one will never get better"...nice reminders for me!  My last step was to add the date (I love this idea from Donna because it helps you really keep track of your progress and what you products or ideas you were playing with at a certain time) and this great sentiment.

So that's the journey of how these two pages came together...tell me, what will you create today?

Supplies:
Dylusions Art Journal
Distress Stains
Remnant Rubs
Adirondack Paint (Terra Cotta and Pitch Black)
Flossie Stencil
White Gel Pen
Tiny Circles Stencil
Way with Words Stamp Set