I'm a mixed media collage artist that loves everything vintage. I went to art school, owned a brick and mortar store and now I enjoy the freedom of selling on line. I use old photos, fabric, etc. in my art. I live in an old house in Irvington, Indiana just a stones throw from downtown Indy with my nerdy husband and our little basset hound. Vintage mixed with new and handmade makes for a warm and interesting home.
The College Tourist is building a national community by connecting college tourists and their college towns across America through our Million Postcard Project. TheCollegeTourist.com is a fun interactive site which allows college students to post a virtual postcard of the great things about their college towns. We embody the spirit of being a traveller both nationally and globally through uniting student's experiences of their college towns and global studies. In addition, our blog, speaks directly to the smart, savvy and fashionable college students who embrace the adventure of travel, life and fashion.
Hello! My name is Crystal & I am the owner of a fashion & family blog called, Billie Jean. I also have a small jewelry business on Etsy called, Billie Jean Jewels. The name, Billie Jean, is a combination of my two grandmother’s names, Billie Loree & Sandra Jean, put together. I have a serious addiction to antique shopping & I am a huge fan of past decades. My grandmothers in any & every way inspire me & are my motivation to be the best woman I can be. I blog about my life in both Louisiana & Texas, my beautiful daughter & my handsome husband. I do also love posting about my home & my ever-growing closet. And with a huge collection of clothes, I can never seem to find anything to wear! One last thing, designer jewelry is a new passion of mine & I hope that you guys can take the time to check out my shop! Enjoy the 15% off for Everyday is a Holiday readers!
Hello, my name is Heather from vintage grey! I am a vintage girl at heart, and I’m always on the hunt for sweet treasures that I can bring back to life in my home, and in my handmade creations. I love to quilt, crochet, cross-stitch, embroider, and create pure crafty goodness. I am a Christian who loves Jesus, and each day I am seeking His will for my life. This year the Lord has lead me on a new venture of starting a blog and opening up a shoppe. Both have been such blessings! My little shoppe specializes in vintagey tea towels and other lovely goodies all made with re-cherished linens and modern fabrics to give your home a handmade, vintage touch. Would love for you to come by my blog and say hi!!
My name is Kara Haupt and I'm an artist, photographer, and design student. I spend my days blogging, designing, and hanging out with my cat. I love iced coffee and sketchbooks.
My name is Laura McHugh and I love sharing my art, passions and creations on my blog. Vintage2Glam is my idea of reusing colorful vintage finds, salvaging items most would consider old or used and turning them into something Glam. I Love recycling the past and incorporating these items into my own vintage inspired accessories and artwork with a modern twist.
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Diana Gonzalez is a self taught collage, mixed media artist, writer and teacher, formerly known as The Craftaholic. Sometimes she likes to get crafty with her two kids and artist husband (whom often complains of having too much paint and yarn in the closets).
AamapolaA is Maria Jose, a Spanish economist passionate about handmade and crafts. It all started with a craft class to learn how to decorate wooden boxes that sparked my creative side and eagerness to learn to do things.
The shop is broad, from brooches, earrings, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, rings, purses, handbags, hairpins, as well as boxes, frames and decorative mirrors that we make on request. Each article is made from a completely handmade process with great care and perfectionism, which makes each one unique and unrepeatable.
Aloha, I live on the Island of Maui Hawaii. I am an avid surfer enjoying my days at the Beach with my family. By Trade I am a Professional Airbrush Painter for Timpone Surfboards Maui. When the Surf is Small I am in my Studio with my Chihuahua Creating Mermaids, Fairies, Surf Art and More for my Etsy Shop. To see more of my work visit my blog.
Here at The Glamorous Housewife I discuss all things pertaining to being an elegant wife, a charming mother, and an enchanting hostess. From cooking the perfect roasted chicken to setting your hair in curlers, I hope to encourage you into living an inspired life; because deep down, we are all glamorous housewives.
August was a great month for blogging and a great month in general. I'm so happy to play host to all of these fab sponsors, who are wonderful artists, shop owners, fashionistas, writers, and moms. Please go and visit each one when you get a chance.
I'm thrilled to be connected to these lovely and talented ladies! And I hope to pass that connection on to you guys.
Ohhh and don't forget about this month's fabulous giveaway! You still have time to enter! :)
Happy Friday kids! So who else had a mega busy week? Yowza! Aaron and I finished up some pretty big tasks and started a bunch of little ones, what else is new? ;) We had a great time putting together this week's AJ with J&A and are already gearing up for next week's. And we have a handful of super fun & cute tutorials planned for September that I think you'll really like. Gosh, I am so so ready for fall! I've been pinning lots and lots of Pumpkin recipes. Everything from Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake ...Geez Louise! to Aunt Ruthie’s Butter-Crunch Pumpkin Bars, to Pumpkin Ice Cream! Oh yes and fabulous sweaters, and pretty Autumn sceneryas well. I mentioned that I'm an October baby right? :)
I'm totally ready for the weekend, ready for some baking, and organizing, and some movie watching. And of course blog hopping and wish list making. Speaking of...
This dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs is so up my alley. Totally channels my inner Wednesday Addams. I always go for black with sweet white collars. Part uniform, part storybook. Not for everyone...but this style really seems to be a go-to for me. If I could sew you can bet I'd have a closet FULL of them. Oh and I'm only dreaming here...as far as owning this, well till money grows on trees.
I just adore this print. My current sentiments exactly!
This adorableDIY bunny pinatastole my heart! I would love to make one to hang in the studio! Isn't it beyond cute?
This porcelain ringis too darn cool! It's like a gum ball machine prize for grown ups! : )
This kitschy & sparkly planter makes me really really happy. When Aaron and I had an antique booth (years ago) we'd always come across these super fun "JUNK" items...most of the time vases. I used to scour ebay for them...and wow some went for a ton! Such cool time capsule pieces!
Welcome to Week 4! We feel like everyone involved is gaining momentum and ready to make bigger bolder statements. This week's spread is all about having fun. It's loose, bright, and perfectly random. Make sure you pull out some things you love...colors that you absolutely live for...images that capture the essence of who you are. There aren't any rules...but these are the "rules" for this week: Make your pages personal. Say what you want to say. Make them YOU.
Who's ready to have some FUN?!!
As with last week's class, we made a video slide show. Of course on it's own it only gives an idea of each step, so we included full detailed instructions for you to follow along. In the upper left corner of each photo in the slide show you'll see a title. In the instructions we've titled each step with those same titles so that you'll have an image to match each step. You can view the video once, or twice, or more...pause where you'd like, rewind, fast forward...watch it here on the blog, full screen, or on youtube.
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gather your elements. It's great to have an arsenal of favorite things. Scrapbooking papers, bits of vintage wallpaper, stickers, trims, old photos, etc...But the real fun starts when you start to gather the few things that will define your spread.
prep your pages. We're working in a Moleskine, so the pages are thin and need to be bolstered. We actually covered both pages with Kraft paper and then coated one page with gesso. To do the Kraft paper (or postal wrapping paper) Just cut a piece that's a tiny bit bigger than your page and adhere with decoupage medium. Rub until all the wrinkles and bubbles are gone. Let dry. Once dry then apply a thick coat of gesso to one page. Let dry. After your gesso is dry run a piece of masking tape down the seam of the journal. This actually does reinforce your binding and it makes for a smoother transition from page to page.
apply gesso with a palette knife. On the page with the raw kraft paper we knew the focal point was going to be in the center of the page so we were only interested in putting gesso in the center. We were going for a messy, piled up look so we applied a thick coat of gesso with a palette knife. This textured effect worked even better because we used gesso by Deco Art, which is super thick and heavy.
crosshatch your gesso. simply run your palette knife through the gesso on the page in opposing directions. I did vertical and horizontal strokes. You can also go diagonal. Do this to your desired effect.
grab a stamp. We like to vary the ways that we bring pattern to a page. Patterned papers are great but you want to add variety...sometimes stencils are called for...and in this case we used a big stamp with a polka dot pattern.
stamp a pattern. We went for a messy, spotty, sketchy look. Haphazardly brush paint onto your stamp in varying shades. Then stamp down in an equally haphazard manner.
repeat on other page. When switching to the opposing page we changed from tan paint to aqua.
speckle. We use a #6 round brush...load it with the watered down paint...hold the brush a few inches above your page...and just tap the metal end with your index finger. Do it to your desired effect. We love speckling for it's imperfection. It's messy and haphazard and perfect in it's own way.
adhere papers.After selecting papers and choosing where they'll go on your spread, then it's time to make your final tears and cuts and adhere them to the pages. To adhere papers brush on decoupage medium and lay the papers on the wet medium. It's better to be generous with the medium. If you apply too little you won't get good adhesion. Smooth and rub to eliminate ripples and bubbles.Now that the pages are dry, apply a sealer coat of matte gel medium. I use Golden brand. Let dry.
more speckles & gluestick dots. Again, speckling is no exact science. You'll see all sorts of drips and spots of paint on these pages. I even loaded the brush with watered down paint and then squeezed the bristles while holding them above the page, forming tiny puddles of wash on the page. Be careful to hold the book flat if you don't want the speckles to run. Blow dry from a safe distance to speed up the drying. Also, once again I dipped a gluestick in paint and made spots wherever necessary.
cut image in half. I chose a large flower from a piece of scrapbooking paper and cut it in half. I did this because I wanted the image to come on and off the page, thus spreading out the floral theme.
adhere to top & bottom of page. Just line up either straight edge with the edge of your page and adhere onto opposing ends of the page.
trace circles. We used a clear cap from a can of picture hanging brackets to trace circles onto the page. Trace wherever you think you need a big spot of solid color.
paint in circles.We used a #6 round brush to paint in our circles with aqua and pale pink paint. It only took one coat because it was quality paint. You might need two coats if you want a solid look.
washi tape time! Washi tape is a great way to add color and pattern wherever your layout is lacking.
apply tape to seam. When working in a moleskine or any bound journal,I always add washi tape to the seam. It's just my personal preference. To me it just looks right.
adhere papers.After assessing the pages more I decided more papers were needed. Adhere them where necessary, let dry and then apply a sealer coat of matte gel medium. Let dry.
distress edges using paint. We love to "distress" the edges of our pages with paint. This process is very imperfect. Just dip your thumb or finger in paint and rub the very edge of the page.
add paint wherever it feels right! As I said above with the speckling...add more paint wherever you think a pop of color is needed. And experiment with methods. There are no rules.
pause to show that we are creatures of habit. Midway through the process we realized that our pages looked exactly like our living room. But in a totally indirect abstract manner. Each element is mimicked by another element. And this was totally unplanned...total coincidence.
grab your Sharpie pen! I've said it a million times...Sharpie pens are great for Art Journaling. Little bits of black are always welcome in my book and fine line details add another layer of texture.
doodle some words. We wanted one of our pages to feature one big statement in clear bold letters. A font like this is easy to do...take a look at it, give it a try...I'm sure you can do an equivalent. Write it in pencil first on watercolor paper. And once you've got it right, then trace over your pencil lines with Sharpie pen. Then cut out each word.
cut out your main image. We adhered our pic of Lia Lane's painting to a piece of watercolor paper, let dry, and then cut it out with decorative edged scissors.
adhere. Adhere it to your page, creating a large focal point image. We pressed down the image using a clean dry paper towel, just to be careful not to mess up her face with our bare, could-be-sticky fingers
adhere words. Words are a great focal point because they can be spaced however you like...do whatever works for the page.
needed white speckles! Yes, just when you thought the speckling was over...we just needed a pop and splash of white.
sequins! We had this black sequin trim but we only needed a few single sequins...so we just pulled them apart.
add sequins. Sequins are great when you've already got a polka dot theme going on. They add texture and shimmer. We adhered ours with little dots of plain old Elmers glue.
gold stars! I told Aaron to look for some gold star stickers the next time he went to Staples. Sure enough, they had 'em, in the teacher's section. I love a gold star every once in a while...it bolsters the self esteem.
gold stars & sequins! It really is the little things that make all the difference. These silly details give the spread it's mood...it's attitude.
looking good! It is looking good...but another layer seems necessary.
add some trims. That's what was missing...fabric. This tiny bit of lace trim...a little rick rack...and that itty bitty strip of leopard print paper! They make all the difference. To adhere the fabric bits we dabbed the lace and the rick rack with Elmers glue.
Hooray! This is a bold spread. It shouts but doesn't scream. It's big and fun...with oversized images and tiny details.
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Supplies used on these pages:
Papers used:
black and white floral - Hambly "garden party"
aqua damask - Hambly "mini brocade"
leopard print - me & my BIG ideas
pink and white stripe -
*this was a piece we had and couldn't find the name but if you'd like a paper very similar try: Echo Park "Homefront Dots & Stripes Collection"
watercolor paper
kraft paper or postal wrapping paper
photos of personal art collection, artist Lia Lane
Thanks so much for joining us this week! We are having a lot of fun...and from the blog link ups and emails we're receiving it looks like you guys are too. Lets spread the word...tell your friends...and feel free to grab the above button to display on your blog or facebook page.
And once again, if you've done any art journaling this week and if you will be this coming week...come back here and link it up below.
I just had to share this with you guys! One of our dearest dearest friends Jennifer Paganelliof Sis Boom fabrics fame is featured in a Downy Commercial. I was crying when I first watched it... and well, I was crying the 2nd time I watched it too! And then just HUGE SMILES!! I am super duper happy and proud of this gal! She is so talented and so REAL! What you see here in this commercial is such an accurate portrayal of the actual Jen Paganelli working and dreaming in her beautiful home and studio. Though every time we visited Jen's home the entire downstairs was a glittery wonderland filled to the rafters with her wares (yes, right in her house she held amazing shopping events where she'd debut a lot of her latest fabric collections and offer up about a million handmade crafts!) And we'd see her studio in full swing creative mode...buckets of glitter strewn about, vintage Christmas ornies, doll parts, and a dozen glue guns lying around, still warm from the countless projects undertaken over the preceding weeks. Anyway, like I said...this bit of video captures Jen perfectly and in case you guys haven't seen it yet I wanted to show it to you here.
Also, if you haven't yet seen her amazing book "Happy Home", here it is below with a brief descript...
Jennifer Paganelli designs one of the most popular fabric lines in the marketplace. In this gorgeous collection, she shows readers how to whip up twenty-one beautiful accessories to transform their space into a sunny, happy home. Each project showcases Jennifer's fresh, whimsical style—from luxe drapery to cheery tablecloths and napkins. Featuring simple step-by-step instructions, a comprehensive glossary of techniques, pattern sheets tucked into a handy front pocket, and lush color photos, this book makes it exceptionally easy to pretty up every room in the house. ............................
Ok, just thought I'd share one of my dear friends with youguys. Tomorrow is Thursday and that means another installment of Art Journaling with Jenny & Aaron. We had so much fun with this week's class! Midway through we realized just how much our pages resembled our home decor...it's pretty funny actually...you'll see what I mean once you see the video. Alright, 'til tomorrow. xo, Jenny
ps...I sat this week out of Wonderful Wednesday, but the gals are still partying and blog hopping! So go join the fun!!
This month's giveaway is brought to you by three fab and talented gals! Jennifer of Hydrangea Hippo, Heather of Vintage Grey, and Marie of Bows & Arrows! One lucky lucky winner will receive all three prizes!
From Hydrangea Hippo one lucky winner will win a 25.00 shop credit! Above I grabbed some pics that merely scratch the surface of the goodies Jennifer is offering up in her shop. This is the type of magical ephemera that makes my collectible crafty world spin.
From Vintage Grey a beautiful handmade tea towel made with vintage linens. Yes, the tea towel you see here could be yours! I really can't even handle how ME it is. Let's hope it's YOU too!
And an item of your choice from Bows & Arrows! As you can see above...Marie is a talented gal and has a clever knack for carrying her Bows and Arrows theme through her work. And in addition to the giveaway Marie is offering 10% off to everyone who uses the coupon code ARROW in her shop right now!
August was really a great month here on the Everyday is a Holiday blog! We got the Art Journaling off to a smashingly good start and we can't wait for September. The Fall is my absolute FAVE time of year! Ok, wishing good good luck to all of you giveaway enthusiasts! Love ya ta bits. xo, Jenny
Time really flies. In December it will be an entire year that we're living here in the house. I'm sure I've mentioned that we still have so many of our things still packed away in moving boxes. We had plans to move from our tiny temporary bedroom to the master bedroom upstairs. But my sister moved back from Brooklyn and needed a place to stay for a while. So we hit the pause button for about 5+ months, and now she just found her own place and will be making that move within the month, which means a big game of tetris again! We'll finally get the chance to unpack everything and really really organize. Any of you that are self employed and work from home know what a challenge it is to keep the kitchen the kitchen, and the living room the living room. Somehow we end up blurring all lines. When we say that we work from home...we mean it. We work from ALL over the home! It's near impossible to keep work relegated to the studio. I really hope to get it under control at some point. I think having totally separate spaces for working and for living will also have a positive mental influence. Maybe we'll be able to actually feel the difference between work time and downtime. But even with the studio in perfect working order I think we might hold onto the coffee table habit. I love clearing it off and laying out all of my favorite bits to art journal, or paint, or craft. It makes the work feel more relaxed and it makes the tv watching feel more productive.
Just the other day I was thinking about our last apartment. It was tiny but cute. The second floor in a really old house with great moldings and textured walls, wood floors, and lots of windows that faced every direction on the compass. We had a cute studio space, which happened to be a really bright room and faced the street. But we just never felt that it had the right creative vibe. So again, we would end up packing up all of our supplies and bits and rolling carts and stools and dragging them down the hall to the living room.
While thinking about the old place and the living room, I remembered some favorite bits that I haven't seen since the move. Which sent me searching high and low. Just when I was about to give up the search I remembered that I had tucked the tiny treasures into one of my vintage jewelry boxes! When I opened the box you'd swear I just found a winning lottery ticket...ok well maybe a $20.00 scratch off. Hooray! My tiny doll shoezies, a little Charlotte doll head, itty bitty aqua Christmas balls, this pretty pink crocheted collar, and the sweetest little baby pin. To say that its a thrill to be seeing these things again is an understatement. For a moment there I had that terrible sinking feeling like I'd never see them again.
Ohh I had to share this! Look what I spied in Aaron's Art Journal! Ohh geez!! He had left this out to dry when he came to bed, and I found it today. This is so so fun! What does he have planned for this page?! I hope he paints himself too! Part of me says...geez...he's painting a portrait in a marble notebook? But then I say...heck yes!! Why not in a marble notebook?! He's so so talented. I wish I could paint people like him.
Well this is a bit of what's going on over here. Hope you guys are enjoying the rest of your weekend!
For once I think It may actually feel like a Friday for me! And a welcomed with open arms Friday at that! I'm so so ready to carve out a little "Us" time this weekend. It's been so non stop for us the past few weeks. I'm thinking at least one nighttime stroll on the beach would be perfect, and some Indian food from our absolute favorite place, and maybe even a Netflix movie...yes, I know, we're dripping with decadence over here!
Now for my Favorites! We are huge fans of fake cakes and we make them any chance we get...and we even teach classes featuring faux cakes. So you better believe that I love the sweet geniuses behind these cake slice postcards! And I'm loving them for sharing and making it a tutorial so that we can all join in the fun. I think there will be many smirking mail carriers in the weeks to come.
What a fantastic banner! The colors, the font, the foil letters, the golden tassles...and of course...the message. I'm a big fan of messages. Saying the right words to elicit a positive response. A little bit of literal encouragement goes a long way.
Even with the advent of Pinterest to handle my endless inspiration, I still NEED an actual and tangible inspiration wall. I don't think I'll ever possess one as large as the one that spanned an entire gargantuan wall in the back of our retail shop years ago...but I've still got one...even if it is only the size of a bulletin board. Anyway, stylist Linda Rodin is a girl after my own heart. Check out this door in her NYC apt. I can't put a finger on the exact elements that make this a perfect bit of eye candy for me...but I will say that if you removed even one piece, it would probably totally throw off the whole deal. Love this!
Of course I want to bite this ring. Don't ask me why. Is it from seeing too many movies as a kid? Seeing old bearded prospectors taking a bite of a nugget? Who knows. And I hear that it's customary for Olympians to bite their gold medals. Anyway, this ring is to die for.
And finally, Friday Faves wouldn't be complete without at least one edible! I called Aaron into the room to spy these Pecan Bars. (but do I even need to disclose that? I call him in for every bit of edible goodness that I find online!) I can't even stand it. And oh yeah, I want to bite these too!
Ok, thanks again for tuning in. Me and Aar are already working on next week's Art Journaling with Jenny & Aaron class. We are so psyched! Happy Weekend to you all! xo, Jenny
We're beyond excited to have all of you back for our third installment of Art Journaling with Jenny & Aaron! We have so so many plans forfuture classes that will cover a wide range of techniques, mediums, and tools. In these initial classes we're hoping to cover the basics and get everyone comfortable in creating mixed media pages in your journals. If you've been participating since week one you'll begin to see a specific pattern in the way we like to put things together. And of course, all of these tips and steps are never meant to be seen as "rules". Art Journaling is meant to be a very free art form. Our role here is less teacher, and more helpful-well informed-cheerleader. We're sharing some of our favorite methods because we know that these things work for us...and hopefully they'll do the same for you!
So now that it's week number three, we have successfully created spreads in three separate journals. First we used Aaron's marble composition notebook, then Jenny's moleskine, and this week's pages are in Jenny's Strathmore Visual Journal. We'd like to say that we did it this way strictly for our student's benefit, solely to show you guys the range of possibilities no matter what type of journal you own. But we also did it for our own selfish reasons ; ) Because we wanted to work on pages in each of our books...simply for our own bit of fun!
So, without further ado...let's get to class # 3, in Jenny's Strathmore Visual Journal. It's got a larger page size ( 9 x 12), a ring binding (no need to reinforce with tape), and heavier stock pages (no need to reinforce with papers).
As with last week's class, we made a video slide show. Of course on it's own it only gives an idea of each step, so we included full detailed instructions for you to follow along. In the upper left corner of each photo in the slide show you'll see a title. In the instructions we've titled each step with those same titles so that you'll have an image to match each step. You can view the video once, or twice, or more...pause where you'd like, rewind, fast forward...watch it here on the blog, full screen, or on youtube.
gesso your page. Brush a thick coat of gesso onto your pages. We used Blick Artists acrylic gesso. Let dry.
choose spray colors. On one of our pages we're using a stencil and some acrylic mists by Mister Huey. These are a really cool product because they blend right there on the page. We often spray a couple of colors over our stencil to get the desired color on our pages...like mixing a blue and a green to get the perfect aqua tone.Just spray one color and then the other.
lay stencil. I knew I was only looking to get the stencil pattern in the middle of my page so that's why I weighted down the edges of the stencil with butter knives (the butter knives elicited an eye roll from Aaron). You can use little bits of masking tape to hold down your stencil. You just want it to stay pretty flat while you are misting. I wish I knew the brand of this stencil but there is nothing on it to indicate the brand. I got it years ago at Michaels. It's really just a laser cut foil-like paper...but I use it like a stencil. Definitely lay down some newspaper behind/around your journal...there is a lot of overspray.
mist. As I said, I'm mixing colors...so spray one, and then spray the other til you get the mix you desire.
dab. I'm not looking for my pattern to come out perfect...I'm going for a more watercolory, hazy patterned look. Dabbing it right through the stencil while it's still wet will give you this effect.
remove stencil. Removing a stencil when using Mister Huey's is easy. It's a lightweight mist that isn't drippy at all. So you can just lift the stencil and reveal the magic beneath. Let dry.
mix a wash. Just add a bit of water to some acrylic paint. I'm using a brown tint to give my pages an antiqued look.
apply wash. With a 3/4 inch brush apply the wash to your page...thin the paint to your desire. I was able to brush the wash on the entire page before having to dab it due to having coated the page with gesso earlier. If you'd like even more "open time", you can seal your pages prior to doing a wash.
dab wash. Dab with a clean dry paper towel to achieve a mottled, parchmenty look.
add more wash. Again, I'm not looking for a perfect stencil pattern. In fact, I'm going for a deconstructed, beat-up, and worn feel. So I brushed the wash around the edges and crept into the middle section just a bit. But I didn't want to totally deconstruct it. Mister Huey's will smudge right into nothing unless it is sealed...so only brush the wash in places where you want the pattern to smudge away.
dab & blot wash. I dabbed and blotted, turning some of the aqua pattern into an antiqued blur...but I left the center untouched so that I'd retain some pattern. Let dry.
seal your pages. Now that the pages are dry, apply a sealer coat of matte gel medium. I use Golden brand. This will keep your stencil pattern intact and keep your antique wash just the way it is. Let dry.
adhere papers. After selecting papers and choosing where they'll go on your spread, then it's time to make your final tears and cuts and adhere them to the pages. To adhere papers brush on decoupage medium and lay the papers on the wet medium. It's better to be generous with the medium. If you apply too little you won't get good adhesion. Smooth and rub to eliminate ripples and bubbles.
let dry. We never brush right over top of papers that we just adhered to the page. We find that you get much better adhesion if you decoupage them down and then let them fully dry before applying a sealer coat.
seal papers. When dry, apply a thick even coat coat of matte gel medium over your spread.
mix gesso wash. The same as a paint wash. Just water down gesso until it's the consistency you desire. In this case I'm looking to simply "cloud" the colors and patterns of my spread. So it's just a skim milky type of wash.
apply gesso wash. With a 3/4 inch brush apply the wash over desired areas and dab away with with paper towel.
mute papers. Some papers and patterns I wanted to soften a lot, so I applied a thicker gesso wash and didn't dab as much of it away.
back photos with watercolor paper. To back it with watercolor paper just brush decoupage medium onto watercolor paper, lay the photocopy down on the wet medium, and smooth out just like you did when applying your papers to your pages. Let Dry.
cut out photos. Cut away the excess watercolor paper.
adhere photos. Now adhere the photo in the desired spot using the same method as above. We often use a clean, dry paper towel to press down photocopies just so our possibly damp fingertips don't muss the picture. Let dry, and then apply a sealer coat of matte gel medium. The sealer coat will protect your photos etc. from the speckling and washes in the next steps.
mix speckle wash. Our speckle wash is dark but that doesn't mean that we used more paint in the water to paint ratio...we simply used a darker color. The wash is probably the same consistency as our previous washes.
speckle pages. We use a #6 round brush...load it with the watered down paint...hold the brush a few inches above your page...and just tap the metal end with your index finger. Do it to your desired effect. We love speckling for it's imperfection. It's messy and haphazard and perfect in it's own way.
bottle cap rings. Again, we love the messy, imperfect look that bottle cap paint rings provide. Just apply paint to the rim of the cap and then press down on your page.
glue stick dots. We seem to always add messy, randomly spaced polka dots. We do this by either dipping a glue stick into paint or the eraser end of a pencil. Just dip your round tip object into whatever paint color you like and press dots onto your pages in areas that might need a little pop of color.
add sepia wash. This whole spread has a time worn, sun faded appearance. After getting to this stage, with a lot of our imagery in place, we felt it needed an overall sepia wash. Tan paint, brown paint, some water. An easy way to get that tobacco stained, aged effect.
brush around images.When you brush the sepia wash around your imagery you are able to age the overall page and still keep some of the images a bit more vivid or bold. And again, blot and dab with a paper towel.
distress edges with paint. We love to "distress" the edges of our pages with paint. In this case we used colors that gave an antiqued feel...browns and tans. This process is very imperfect. Just dip your thumb or finger in paint and rub the very edge of the page.
add fun bits. Adding fun bits is the fun part. These bits of ephemera are what will set off the look of your entire spread. Ribbon trims, ticket stubs, date tags.
grab your sharpie pen. Please get well acquainted with your Sharpie pen. In fact, make it your best friend. It's an invaluable tool for any Art Journal. It's a way to personalize any spread...not only by adding personal details...you personalize it because it's your imperfect hand that's doing the rendering. Your doodles are never the same twice and can't be bought in any store.
add faux stitching. Faux stitching gives any "store bought" detail a hand rendered effect.
more stitching. And vary your types of faux stitching..."sew" each piece on using a different type of stitch.
add washi tape. Washi tape is so great for Art Journaling. It's often one of the very last elements we'll add to a page. It's great to add to the corner of a photo...gives it a taped in, scrapbooky feel.
accent elements with pen. Now, beyond your doodles...this is more about taking the imagery that's there and accenting it with your sharpie pen. In this case we made the roses stand out a bit more...pulled them from the background into the foreground. Even if you cannot draw per se...it'll look like you can if you just follow along with the lines of the image.
outline elements with pen. All of those glue stick dots look better if you give them a little outline. They will pop more and again, they look more hand done...especially if you purposely don't do a great job at outlining them...purposely make your lines start and stop instead of one fluid stroke.
handwritten words. Instead of writing directly in your journal, grab a piece of watercolor paper and write out a phrase or two. We used a Sharpie pen but went very bold and big with our letters. Then cut out each individual word, or even each letter if you'd prefer, and adhere them into your journal. Your words will pop more and you'll add texture and interest...and the bright white watercolor paper stands out.
consider your pages. You might be done...or maybe not. You've been working on your pages for quite a while so it might be a good time to take a break for a few and then look at your spread with fresh eyes.
more faux stitching. We did exactly that. We thought the page was done...but then we saw that the bottom of the page needed more of a human touch. Up top has all that stitching on the scallops, so we balanced it by adding faux stitching to the big polka dots on the bottom of the page.
do you need to add anything? Look closely...
feeling good! Are you happy with it?...do you need more washi?...more doodles?...more dots?...is there anything else you'd like to say?
looking good! hmmmm...you just might be done. It's totally possible.
(The following are the brands and collection names for the various patterned papers. As stated, some of the patterns are on the reverse side of another pattern from the same collection.)
Echo Park Paper Co.- Teal Large Dot and aqua stripes are on the reverse side of Aqua Tiny Dots
October Afternoon - dark grey and antique white stripes are on reverse side of Candles
Crate Paper- Papercloth (yellow antique lace) from Pretty Party, collection
Kaiser Craft- newsprint from the Timeless Collection
Thanks so so much again for joining us! We had a lot of fun with this third installment...mainly because we've been seeing how you guys have been following along and implementing a lot of the tips and tricks into your own Art Journals. When we put these pages together it felt like you guys were in the room with us. Honestly...and not in some corny way...this feels like a group effort. There will be a lot more nitty gritty details in the weeks to come. Please grab the badge above to share on your page and please link up below to share your Art Journals with us. Blog about it like crazy...we wanna see...and everybody else wants to see too!
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