Finally - my Art Journal

Hi eclectic Paperie friends!  Julia here to share my altered Art Journal.  I have been trying to muster the creative energy to make this for ages - I just wasn't confident in my skills to put it together in a pleasing (to me) design (!)

So I decided to bite the bullet and just jump in -  and here it is! My Journal that started out life as a plain black - spiral bound journal - I think I got it at Michaels.....I've had it for some time - gathering dust in my Craft Room!  

 

I decided to see how Distress Stains would look on Kraft Glassine Paper.  So I stamped the bird and window frame from Tim Holtz Classics #16 stamp set using Archival Jet Black Ink and let it dry.  Then I just dabbed Tumbled Glass and Picked Raspberries Distress Stains over the images - they kind of beaded up on the Glassine paper so I just kept dabbing and the color did soak in a 'blotchy' kind of way - and they did keep their bright colors!

I die cut borders using Tim Holtz Vintage Lace Sizzlet die out of a Foil Tape Sheet that I had adhered to white card stock  and then inked it with Ranger Distress Black Paint.  I adhered the strips across the top and bottom of my cover .  I didn't pop out the little circles on the lacey cuts so the black distress paint would show up better. I also used this technique on the crown and ink bottle which I'll show close up below.

The sentiment stamps are from Destination Art by Wendy Vecchi/Studio 490 Stampers Anonymous.  Perfect for my Art Journal I think!

 

I added Forest Moss Distress Stain to some White Embossing Paste from Wendy Vecchi and applied it to both the Dot Fade and Stripes stencils.  I cut the label from the Apothecary Bottles die from cork, stained it with Picked Raspberries Distress Stain and added some Life Quotes Remnant Rubs to it.  I dabbed the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Paint.

I stamped the feather from Tim Holtz  Bird Feather stamp set on vellum using Frayed Burlap Distress Paint (wash your stamp right after 'inking' it with paint!)  The paint on the vellum is very subtle but can be seen better IRL!  I added some Life Quotes Remnant Rubs over the feather  (note - Remnant Rubs will NOT stick to the Kraft Glassine but will stick to vellum- how do I know this??!!)

The ink bottle is a die cut Apothacary Bottle that I cut the bottom off of to look like an ink well - with the feather as the pen.

I die cut another  Apothecary Bottle labels out of Art Parts Clearly for Art Modeling film, added a Chit Chat sticker that I stained with Tumbled Glass Distress Stain and outlined with a black Stabilo Pencil and layered it over the bottle.  I used the clear film as I didn't want to hide any of the design on the inkwell!  I used the Sizzix Patchwork Embossing folder on this.

 

Here's a close up of the crown.  The curve of the crown fit nicely over the bird's head.  I used the Riveted Metal Embossing folder on the crown

You can see the Idea-ology Door Knob that I screwed into the cover better in this photo - you can actually open the Journal with the knob - so fun! and when the Journal is open on the table - the knob actually protects the popped up pieces on the cover since it keeps the cover from lying flat.  I looped a single piece of Linen Ribbon through one of the binder rings.

I wanted to keep the back flat - so there is nothing sticking up here. I used several Remnant Rubs here (Life Quotes and Botanicals).  I used the same papers on the front (under the Kraft Glassine) and the back - Paper Stash/Wallflowers.

I stained some Chit Chat stickers with Picked Raspberry Distress Stain and outlined them with a black Stabilo Pencil 

I die cut the Ornante Frame from Kraft Glassine and stained it by dabbing Tumbled Glass Distress Stain over it and framed the gentleman's face on the patterned paper.

 

 I used the same papers on the inside covers - I've just left them as they are for now - they have such wonderful imagery on them - maybe I'll put some sentiments or stampings on later.....I find I sometimes have to just STOP before I over do it - and go back later to see how I feel about it!

Now I just have to work up the nerve to actually do something on all of these clean white pages inside my Art Journal!!!   One step at a time - right??!!!

Thanks so much for sticking with me through all of these pics!

Stamps:  Stampers Anonymous - Classics #16 and Bird Feather/Tim Holtz, Destination Art/Wendy Vecchi,
Paper:  Kraft Glassine - Idea-ology; Foil Tape Sheet - Ranger, Vellum - Stampin' Up, Paper Stash Wallflowers - Tim Holtx, cork sheet - Michaels, Art Parts Clearly for Art Modeling Film - Wendy Vecchi/Studio 490.
Ink:  Archival Jet Black
Accessories:  Ranger Distress Stains - Tumbled Glass, Picked Raspberries, Forest  Moss; Ranger Distress Paint - Black Soot, Frayed Burlap; Alterations Dies - Apothecary Bottles, Heart and Wings, Ornate Frame, Vintage Lace Sizzlets; white embossing paste - Wendy Vecchi/Studio 490; stencils - Dot Fade and Stripes - Tim Holtz; Cropadile; Idea-ology Door knobs, Chit Chat Stickers, Live Quotes and Botanicals Remnant Rubs, Linen Ribbon; Black Stabilo Pencil.

Gelli Plate Stamping Journal Page Play

Hi everyone, Micki here.  I watched this wonderful video from Journal Girl in which she shares a tip on how to use your Gelli Plate like a stamp.  I love using papers with the Gelli Plate, however sometimes I just don't want to add extra papers.  So I knew I had to try this tip. 
Get a piece of Plexiglas and place the Gelli Plate on top of it. I will say that I was hesitant to flip it over, but it worked.  The Gelli Plate will stick to the Plexiglas and since the Plexiglas is clear you can see where you're going to stamp your print.

After covering the plate with paint, I added a stencil and flipped it over directly onto my art journal page which had previously been covered with gesso. 

(Detailed supplies used at bottom of post)

 Depending on the stencil, the Pink Paislee Doodle Stencil has a lot of intricate design, which meant I had to apply more pressure when stamping the plate.  But other than that, the other stencils worked great.

I will use the Plexiglas as a base whenever I use my Gelli Plate, whether I use it as a stamp or not.  I'm storing the Plexiglas with the Gelli Plate in the clear storage container it came in.  Works out great.  (Note,  I do NOT leave the Gelli Plate on the Plexiglas when not using it.)   
Now what to do with those two pages.  For some reason, I am thinking flowers, green grass and blue skies - probably because we are having temperatures in the 60's and then it's supposed to drop to a high in the low 20's.  That will make anyone wish for spring time colors, right?
With that in mind, I dabbed on Salty Ocean Distress Paint, misted with water and distributed it using a brush.  Next I used my Dylusions Ink Sprays, spritzing the upper part of the pages with the different blues, misting with water and after turning the journal this way and that, used a brush to add swirls (and cover the area I wanted covered).  I did the same thing on the bottom of the pages using Distress Paints and Dylusions Ink Sprays.

 And then.....another idea (not always a good thing).  Remember those Light Brights I think they were called?  I covered it all with black paint and not in a very pretty way.  I laid my flower stencils over the still wet paint and did a stencil resist using a wet baby wipe to remove the paint through the stencil.  It took several wipes and I'm still carrying the effects on my fingers :-).

I wasn't quite sure what color to do the edges and decided to try the red Gelato which I blended using a combination wet brush and finger.  (It's not really mixed media art if I don't use my fingers...)

 That result ended up a little too red, so I toned it down by lightly wiping along the edges with a wet (almost dry) baby wipe. 

 I doodled around the flowers with my white Faber-Castel marker and in some instances doodled some more with a black pen.  I'm horrible at doodling.  I think it's because I'm ambidextrous, I write with my right hand but can sketch and color with either right or left hand.  It confuses my brain I think :-).  Regardless, because I don't like my doodling, I'm more determined to do it.

 Anyway, I added white stars by using Dylusions Starry Night stencil, outlining and filling in with my white marker followed by outlining with black pen. 

I did the same for the border using the border part of Dylusions Letter Jumble stencil.

To finish this spread, I added rub-ons and wrote the first thing that came to mind:  "No matter the darkness, there is beauty."  Mental note to self, remember to think about spacing.  Had to improvise on the word BEAUTY. 

My journal spread, which ended up totally not as I had expected. But that is so me and your art journal should be a place to experiment, right?

The texture is wonderful just from all the Gelli Plate layers and the photos really don't do justice to the wonderful pop of color from these layers.  I hope you enjoyed my journey and were inspired to try a new technique and try using your Gelli Plate as a stamp.  Oohh, I just thought of something..... you could Gelli Plate stamp an old dresser maybe?  Hmmmmm.....

Supplies Used:

InLinkz.com