Be You... An Art Journal Page

Hi everyone!

I just love the chance to get all inky and messy for these Design Memory Crafts posts, mixed media has always always been my big love but I rarely get chance to do much of it these days so it's a real treat for me to sit and have a play - and I am so lucky that I am part of this fabulously talented team and able to use such an awesome range of products and show you what they can do! In fact I get so wrapped up in what I'm doing I go like the clappers and usually forget to take photos!

This art journal page was such a joy to make and I think I used ALL my Design Memory Craft products all in one place so I hope I didn't go too mad!

1. First of all I took some blue Gelato and scribbled it onto a resistant surface, added a little water and mixed it into a liquid paint. I then took a brayer and smoothed it out to a thin layer.

 2. Now take a mask and lay it over the top of a patterned paper.

3. Roll the brayer through the Gelato paint and roll it over the top of the mask - dont worry about getting paint on the mask.  Notice that the brayer picks up the pattern from the mask.

Now remove the mask and pull the brayer across the paper so that the pattern transfers onto the paper - the actual pattern will reverse so you need to remember this if you're using something that is not symmetrical or anything with text or numbers! The colour of my paint was quite light so you can't see it too well in the photo once it's on the paper but you will see it once it dries and the metallic from the Gelato shines through!

4. Now slice some shavings of Gelato onto the resistant surface again (you can use a piece of acetate or an acrylic block). I used the Gold here (love this colour, it's a really nice vintagey gold instead of a harsh yellow gold). Now take a paintbrush and a little water and add to the Gelato, smoothing it out into a paint again - don't add too much water or you'll lose the colour just as with watercolours. You can see the metallic shine in this photo - awesome!

5. Now take a piece of Cut & Dry foam and pick up the ink then dab through the mask again, repositioning so that you create a different pattern. I overlaid both my colours to give me a nice blend with the paler blue underneath and more definition from the gold.

See the shine coming through as it dries? Just awesome!...

Don't worry if you get lots of specks of Gelato - I like this and leave it as texture to dry - you can also heat it gently and it will attach itself onto the paper! Gelato's are so so versatile!

6. Now take an Aquarelle pencil and draw some swirls and flourishes onto the paper (if you can't draw you can mix an Aquarelle or Gelato with water to make a watercolour paint and then use it with a stamp instead).

Now take the paintbrush and with a tiny amount of water drag over the flourishes to spread the colour of the Aquarelle around and make it softer. If you overdo it just allow it to dry and then go over the top with the Aquarelle pencil again - as I was using quite soft colours I did this a couple of times to get some nice definition and a sketchy feel.

7. Take a green Big Stampers Brush Pen and colour in a bird stamp - these pens are just amazing for stamping with! The ink adhesion to the stamp is second to none, they give lovely coverage and don't dry out and pool like most other pens do! Love, love, love! I NEED every single colour in this range for sure, they're a must have product for me now!

Next I added some Blue Big Stampers Brush Pen to the same stamp to mix up the colours a little and blend them together - the ink loves it when you do this, they blend like a dream when you stamp!

Stamp the image a couple of times on the page wherever you want to place it.

8. Now take a different mask (I told you I used ALL my products) and with a Pitt Pastel pencil rub it through the mask really roughly, not worrying about being precise and using 2 or 3 different colours to give a sketchy feel. Remove the mask and then use your fingers to blend the little circles of colour better and give a softer coverage.

9. Finally, create your page adding stamps and elements you wish to use. I used the Big Stampers Brush Pen on all my stamped elements because I love the intensity of colour they give you. This is just perfect for when you are making complex layers as on this page - other mediums can get lost in layers sometimes but the Stampers Brush Pen has such a density of ink it takes a lot for it to disappear, even in a busy background like this. I finished off by adding some big strokes of blue Gelato around the edge of my page and then dry rubbed it to get a gorgeous metallic high-shine around the edges.

One of the accidental things I loved on this page was that all the areas that were covered with Gelato resisted the other inks, which gave me a really patchy and distressed look - a complete happy accident of course! But then, aren't they always the best ones?

Supplies:

• Angel wings coloured with Pitt Pastel and Aquarelles
• Dress & Heart coloured with Aquarelle
• Crown coloured with Pitt Metallics - gold
• All main elements stamped with Stampers Big Brush pen
• Flourishes & Leaves coloured with Pitt Pastels

 

  I'm Nikky Hall and I have been crafting all my life. I love using all kinds of different products in my crafting but my favourite is mixing different mediums and finding new techniques and effects - usually by accident! You will find me hanging around all the pens and pencils in any craft store!

Comments

[Dawn Carlyle]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this... love the page, layout, colors, and how you show the various ways I can use my favorite gelatos. Thanks for sharing!

[Kathy]

Love this! Who is the angel stamp by? BTW, did I say I loved it!

[Nikky Hall]

Thanks Kathy - the angel stamp is my Art Girl from my Studio 12 designs, you can get it here http://www.polkadoodles.co.uk/index.php?cPath=461_739 Thanks for the lovely comments x

[Tracy]

Loooove it,she is adoreable!!!
Tracy
xoxo