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Monday, August 19, 2013

A Garden is the Music...

...flowers are the notes.

Hello!

Today I'd like to share with you my latest journal page.  I like journaling.  It's not for anyone else but me and is a way to experiment and learn about how different products and media work.  I learned a lot on this page, but first, the page itself.  Well, the two-page spread (but we'll call it a "page" for convenience sake.) 


Pretty colorful, yes?  I wanted to convey leaves and flowers blowing up and around in the breeze, and I wanted them made of different materials.  Of course there had to be birds and a white picket fence (it's my dream to own one and a house that fits such a fence). 


Lots and lots of pictures and techniques, and I won't spell them all out (I'd need more space), but the birds were made using my newest favorite technique to color them with Neocolors and coat them with three layers of UTEE.

Real music and book pages were used for some of the leaves and flowers, cardstock for others...


... a MacDonald Plaid Stamp grocery store coupon book from the 1950's was used for some...



...and there's even a bit of the back label from a bottle of Scotch whiskey. 

The base coloring was done with Gelatos over gesso, and some general stamping was done first before the flowers and other die cuts were applied. 


The fence was painted with shimmer paint, and I did some general doodling on many of the flowers.

Most everything was smudged around the edges with charcoal pencil, while the page edges were smudged with Gelatos.


I wasn't happy with the page until my daughter suggested I put a textile on it (I love textiles on paper projects), so I applied a small piece of vintage lace that my mother gave to me with spray adhesive which dries very hard and allowed me to spread a bit of clear glitter glue on with a finger.  It doesn't show up well, but it gives a lovely sparkle in real life.  There's no real reason why there should be a piece of lace on a design like this except maybe to indicate that a lace tablecloth blew off of the clothes line where it was drying.  Yes, that sounds plausible.



Pearls and Liquid Pearls finish things off.

Thank you for joining me today as I learn about this thing called "art journaling," and here's wishing you a lovely, colorful, sparkly day.






Things I learned on this piece:

1)  Don't use waterbased media as the base color when you're going to apply upper pieces with waterbased gel media.  It smears the color below (which can look nice too but is frustrating if you liked it to begin with).
  
2) Also don't use waterbase ink to stamp background images.  You lose those too.

3) Cardstock is too thick for something like this with lots of layers.  At least it was for me.  These flowers would have done well on a canvas and I would have done well to use thinner paper for the paper elements on the page.

4) Invest in another bird cage die.  I'm getting tired of this one.  :)

Happy crafting!

Challenges entered:

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes
Simon Says Monday Challenge - Carnival (I think of the colors as such)
Fussy and Fancy #95 - Bingo Board (almost everything's there, but let's go with Pearls, Free, Lace)
613 Ave. Create - Anything Goes

StampNation - Inspiration Challenge Week 3 - Inspiration photo

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14 comments:

Kristie Goulet said...

Another masterpiece! Love all the details you add to your projects. So creative!

stitch-and-greet said...

Hi, Shea! What a fantastic piece of artwork! So many details and so much to look at! Thanks so much for sharing your journal page with us at 613 Avenue Create - and please come back soon! Regards and "Hugs", Renata

Chana Malkah said...

Hi, Shea! Okay, so you hit another one out of the park! This is a very artsy piece and I love it. There are so many interesting little details, the eye never loses interest in this design. Thanks for sharing this with us at 613 Avenue Create. We always enjoy your visits!
Hugz,
Chana, Owner

Lisa Walsh @ www.papercraftbusiness.com said...

Hi Shea,
Wow, I love this. Very colourful & lots of details. I have to start my own journal & I think you have just inspired me to get it out & get it started :) It's wonderful I love it.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog & leaving such kind words. I appreciate it. Hugs, Lisa.

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Vickie Y said...

Love every element of your page, especially the colors you used. Thank you for playing along with us at Altered Eclectics August Challenge.

Paperesse said...

Love the pages, and your comments about what you've learned. You made me laugh! You know really, when you think about it, it's only when things DON'T go quite like we like that we learn anything at all!!!

Donna Ellis said...

I can tell you had fun with this one, Shea! So happy - and free - just like the bird flying away from his cage! Wonderful colors, a garden full of music and words (isn't that what our imagination creates?) and such HAPPINESS! Thank you for sharing your passion. hugs, de

Marita Soutar said...

I really like this page especially all the detail you have included in it and the lessons you have learned.

Candy C said...

Really cute art journal pages! The flowers and colors make you happy just to look at them! I also love your sentiment. Just perfect for your art on the pages. Thanks for sharing your pages with us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. <3 Candy

Andrea Ockey Parr said...

Oh how I adore COLOR and you take the cake with this one! This is gorgeous and so inspiring! You've got skills, that's for sure! Thanks for sharing this with us at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog!

Unknown said...

Shea, What a fantastic journal page! Just makes we wanna pick up some paint and create!! It's fantastic! Thanks for playing this week at 613 Avenue Create. Love seeing your work.

RebeccaHoot said...

Beautiful! so colorful love it!

Suzanne C said...

Fab use of the colors of the carnival and how it really pops. The journal pages should be about exploring and learning yours was a beautiful outcome to a fun inky time. Thanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Unknown said...

This is a beautiful page (2 pages really) and i love the garden theme. I almost recognize some of the dies you may have used to cut out the leaves and flowers. What type of journal do you use? Love the whole concept AND your "lessons learned" helpful comments.