The Beginning

Today is the beginning of a new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and Sue is our hostess.  She calls this challenge It's Been A While and here is what she has to say about it:

Being creative often leads you in different directions and sometimes it isn't until you start that you know where you are heading. For this challenge I thought that as we've not done it for a while it would be good to let your creative spirit wander and have a theme of Anything Goes. Your project must be mixed media and include stamping and/or stencilling but apart from that it's up to you !

I decided to break the first page in the altered book I made to use as an art journal.  Breaking the page was not stressful nor was creating a background even though I realized as I kept going that I was covering things up - oops.  Then my mojo ground to a halt and I could not get anything else on the page that I was happy with.  Finally, after a few days of adding and removing elements I came up with this plan and decided it was time to accept it and move on.  I abandoned photographing my creative process but if you click on the photo it will bring up a large version so you can zero in on the details.  Here are the steps to create this project:

1.  Glue the first two pages of the book together to add strength.
2.  Add a piece of washi tape down the fold to prevent ink and paint from seeping into the spine.
3.  Coat inside of the front cover and the first page with white Gesso .
4.  Use texture paste through stencils to add some texture in random spots.
5.  Use a variety of pastel watercolour paints to add a wash over pages.
6.  Glue pieces of drywall tape in random areas to add texture.
7.  Add more stenciling and stamping with archival inks.
8.  Use a brayer to add translucent acrylic paints to build up the layers of paint.  Tip:  If you have an opaque paint you want to use, just mix it with some glazing medium to make it translucent.
9.  Use a black pen to hand draw a border around the pages.
10.  Add ink sprays next for spots of colour.
11.  Stencil some big flowers on the page.
12.  Ink butterflies with distress inks, over spray with spray stains and stamp or stencil with archival inks to add markings.
13.  Spray butterflies with watered down white Gesso.
14.  Add pearls to bodies of butterflies.
15.  Create sentiment on computer, ink with distress ink and distress edges.

Supplies:

Stencils - Bubbles (Tim Holtz), Mini Harlequin (TCW), Tasty Textures (IndigoBlu), ZigZag (Prima), Chevron and Gepmetric Circles (Teresa Collins), Cross Hatch (Cut on Cameo), Flowers (Plaid)
Stamp Sets - Faded Fragments (Seth Apter), Circles (IndigoBlu), Ultimate Grunge and xx (Tim Holtz), Wall to Wall Textures (Bo Bunny), Numbers (7 Gypsies), Script (Recollections)
Archival Inks - Jet Black (Ranger), Sky Blue, Tea Rose, Dandelion, Peat Moss, Orange Blossom, Pink Peony and Watering Can (Wendy Vecchi)
Paint - Hey Pesto, Blush, Pumpkin Soup and Smoked Paprika Fresco Finish (Paper Artsy) and French Blue Acrylic (Folk Art) and Watercolours (Artist's Loft)
Distress Inks - Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick, Mustard Seed, Stormy Sky (Tim Holtz)
Spray Inks - Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick, Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin and Chipped Sapphire Distress Spray Stains (Tim Holtz) and Frozen Jack Frost and Ramblin Rose Pink Starburst (Lindy's)
Mediums - White Gesso and Glazing Medium (Liquitex), Light Molding Paste (Golden)
Miscellaneous - Pearls (Dollarama, Recollections and Kaisercraft), Butterflies (My Husband), Scor Tape, Drywall Tape (Home Depot), Washi Tape (Tim Holtz)

Can you believe the list of stuff I used?  Now I understand why my husband keeps rolling his eyes when I come home with something new.  It is a crafter's thing!!!!!

Now let's hope my next art journal page goes a little more smoothly.  I always read that art journaling is meant to put your thoughts to paper in a creative way but it looks like I might have a really empty brain. 😂😂😂

I hope you will dig out your stamps and stencils and join us for this Anything Goes challenge.