Art Journals

Hello blog! Well, I have not blogged in a while and I am not really sure why. Things have changed recently as I am not crafting as much.  I have taken a brief break to pursue another hobby. My new hobby is creating Art Journals. I find this fascinating because when I work on one I am free to express myself artistically.  Sometimes I can work on the same page for days and it makes feel at peace. It kind of clears my mind which is highly needed sometimes.

How did I get started? Well, I did not just jump into it. I did a lot of research on youtube.com and I had to pretty much buy all new supplies. My husband gave me a $100 gift card which I used to purchase acrylic and water color paints, water color pencils, background stamps, gesso, mod podge (both luster and matte), paint brushes, Canson watercolor paper, pearl/gold sprays, etc., etc., etc! I actually went to Michaels several times so that I can repeatedly use my 40% off coupon. Believe me, I stretched that $100 and was able to buy a ton of supplies. This week Michaels had Craft paints on sale 3 for $1.00 and I stocked up and bought a lot of fun colors. They also have all their clear stamps for $5.00 and they retail $14.00. I stocked up on most of Tim Holtz stamps. TH is perfect for Art Journals. 

Well, as I mentioned above, sometimes my mind needs clarity. On a long day, here is what I created. Looking at it you can see that my imagination ran wild that day! I must have needed a lot of clarity. I love how it translated onto paper.  

Here is what I did: I went to a thrift store and bought an old photography book. I cut out some of the pages to create hearts. Also tore paper strips which you can barely see embedded in the background.  I used my Cameo Silhouette to cut out floral and polka dots stencils which I pained in green, red and blue.  I used Tim Holtz stamps for the background. I really have to credit a lot of the tutorials on youtube. A lot of the ladies on there are fantastic with awesome techniques.  My technique still needs to be refined and I am sure practice will help! Please feel free to ask me any questions relating to my first Art Journal.

If you just read this, I hope you Have a fantastic Day!

Veronica