Blog: Art Journal

Go ahead, underestimate me! – sassy Art Journal Spread ;)

I thought it was funny :) And I love Lupita Nyong’o and I wanted to use her image from a magazine.

I used my new Chicago Stencil and sprayed over it with acrylic spray paint.

I used different markers to paint over the magazine image. When I applied the magazine image, it crinkled up a bit, which I add to “oops, oh – good now it has some wrinkles and texture- good”

I added the journaling with a red and pink marker and traced the outside of the letters in black. I like the page- even though it is a pretty simple one in terms of layering

Here are the supplies I used – some links are affiliate links:


Wishing you a gorgeous day!!!!

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Julie B

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    Love this (and even better in person)……can’t wait for the stencil; love how clean the image from this stencil is with spray paint and the quote cracks me up. Thank you!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Julie! HA and now that you played with spray paint in my class…maybe you are on it yourself ;)

      Reply

  • LauraB

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    yaaaassss, Queen, yaaaaasssss!

    Reply

  • Barb Charlotte, NC

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    Very creative. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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Life is tricky

Life is tricky, Baby, stay in your magic.

I had a good time creating this page when I wasn’t really cheery but playing with those colors and with my new Amsterdam Stencils – 9×12 and 6×6 – made me happy again :)

I used red and green as complimentary colors on purpose to make everything pop a bit more. I applied acrylic paint with a foam stamp through the stencils.

I love that the pattern is slightly different in the 6×6 stencil and the tulips are also bigger- different size, different pattern but same elements – an easy way to tie the design together and apply some layering.

I used a small brush to paint over the magazine image and added some highlights with pastels – I love how the blue pastel pops off the dress.

Here is the supply list- some links are affiliate links:


I hope your day is super magic today!

Nat

Comments (12)

  • jbonomo

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    Stunning page! This stencil is one of my favorites (there are too many favorites like Chicago) and thank you for your color theory tutorial at AWOH. I love how everything pops off the page. Me thinks that your next venture will be high couture.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe- thank you Julie! It was wonderful to have you at AWOH!!!!

      Reply

  • sunmoongal

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    Hi, love this spread. Have to get some stamps!

    Reply

  • Linda Faber

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    Wow! I so love this page! So dynamic in color and style. Great stamps too.

    Reply

  • joi

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    What SUPER pages Nat. Love your sentiment and the neat dress PLUS your amazing patterns and colors! Xj.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe- thank you Joi – I want to own that dress :) Have a wonderful day !!!

      Reply

  • Sandra

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    Nathalie, I’ve signed up for one of your classes at Artiscape this year. Excited to meet you. Will your stencils and foam stamps be available for sale there?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Sandra, so happy you will be there and I will meet you! I think stencil and foam stamps as well as my rubber stamps will be there – I am in the midst of organizing that ;)

      Reply

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When Beauty Begins – Art Journal Spread

Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself!

I painted the background with different blue and teal acrylic colors – also mixing some white gesso in there in between.

I layered the Versailles 9×12 Stencil on top and sprayed some orange and parchment colored acrylic spray paint over the stencil.

I love the dimension spray paint layered up can give and this is definitely one of my favorite stencils.

Here are the supplies I used for this art journal spread – some links are affiliate links:


have a beautiful day!!!

Nat

Comments (1)

  • joi

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    Absolutely FABULOUS – wow… wow… love this. And…. YOU dear Nat are always just YOURSELF and BEAUTIFUL! Xj.

    Reply

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Dream a New Dream – Michelle Rydell

    

Hello! Today Michelle Rydell from my Creative Squad is sharing a super happy art journal spread using my Versailles Positive and Negative Foam Stamp set, my new Star Tag Cling Rubber Stamp, and her take on this month’s theme: Dream a New Dream. This January, let’s focus on all the possibilities of a fresh start.  What are your dreams for this year?  Whether it’s art-making, family, travel, or work related, January is a great time to dream about what the future could hold.

This month’s theme is sooo perfect for me, because New Year’s Eve/Day is my favorite holiday!  I adore the fresh start and the time to “Dream a New Dream!”

I had a quote that I wanted to document in my journal, and this was the perfect opportunity…

I’m creating this spread in my 8” x 10” junque journal. For reference, here’s what the pages looked like before I started…

I started building the background with a coat of gesso, some random stamping of one of the Versailles stamps (the negative), and a thin coat of turquoise paint.

The second layer was done with paint pen doodles and a couple of paper bits.

Third layer includes more scraps of paper – purple to bring out the underlying stamped images, and lime green for contrast…

One of the cool things about the Versailles stamps, is that, when I look at them I see designs within designs! Here, I wanted to bring out the circular part of the stamp, so I cut a circle in some deli paper – just the size of the part of the stamp I wanted to capture; then painted up the positive stamp and stamped thru the hole in the deli paper.  (You could actually do this without the deli paper, if you were a little more careful than I was with the paint application)…

I outlined the circle patterns with a white paint pen…

Then I turned the spread sideways, stamped the negative stamp with black paint along the left edge, and added some flow paint along the bottom. Lifted the page so it dripped randomly down the page.  These drips would work as journaling lines for my quote…

To finish the page, I filled in the spaces on the border and added the quote with a paint pen, used a Faber Castell Pitt Brush Pen to darken the background in places, and added some embossed white stars, using Nat’s new Star Tag stamp.

Thank you Michelle! I love Michelle’s uplifting quote and how she used the drips as journaling lines! In addition to some collage paper, Michelle used these supplies – some links are affiliate links:




Play along with us! I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (3)

  • Sharon Fritchman

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    Michelle, your style is absolutely amazing. I love everything about your art journal spread and your take on the theme.

    Reply

  • Jessica Sporn

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    What a gorgeous page and a great tutorial. I love that quote, the stamps, and Michelle’s exuberant style!

    Reply

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Get Real Girl – Art Journal

This was a little reminder for me at the time I created this art journal spread. It worked ;)

The background of the art journal spread was ugly from some scraped of left over paint – but a stencil like the Granada Stencil is the perfect stencil to work on such a background and make it work. I layered it on top of the background and then used different colors of spraypaint in different areas of the stencil.

I love to scratch into the still wet acrylic spray paint too as it gives such a nice texture.

Awe- spray paint- you make me happy.

Here is a list of the supplies I used for the art journal spread – some links are affiliate links:


If you art journal, do you use your journaling sometimes to prepare yourself for something like I do?

Nat

Comments (1)

  • joi

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    WONDERFUL! Rich colors blended so incredibly with the stencil design. Love the freedom! j.

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Shoot for the Moon – Art Journal Page

For this quick art journal spread I stamped some of the Embroidery Stamps onto the blank background and then painted over the background, alternating between a thin transparent layer and an opaque purple layer. I stamped again on top of the dried paint with different stamps and archival ink. For the border I used the Satin Stamp – it is a great border stamp.

I used the Chain Link stamp to create pattern on the magazine image dress.

For the journaling I used a fude pen in black and then wrote on top of it in white with a signo pen. I love stamping and covering up – repeating – the process – as I feel it makes it more interesting if you don’t know where a stamp was applied or how.

Here is a supply list – some links are affiliate links:


Do you use stamps in your art and craft?

Have a wonderful day!

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Jill

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    Love this journal page! I’m participating in the #ArtMarks30DayChallenge with Rae Missigman and am loving working in my journal each day. I really haven’t made time enough to do that in the past so one of my 2017 resolutions is to get more journaling in. Love your work. You are an inspiration, Nathalie!

    Reply

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Focus Baby, Focus! – Art Journal

jaja jaaja – I knooooooww- but it is so hard to focus , isn’t it? LOL.

I used my new Mesa Verde 9×12 Stencil and sprayed with read acrylic spray paint over a previously painted background.

I painted over a magazine image with acrylic paints and used some pencil and pens on top.

Love the pattern – it makes me want to travel now, forget focus I guess ;)

Here are some of the supplies I used for this art journal spread – some links are affiliate links:


Are you good focusing on your stuff?

Nat

Comments (7)

  • stephanie

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    The red is great! BTW I see you’re coming to Ohio for Artiscape – yay!!! Hoping to get into a couple of your classes

    Reply

      • stephanie

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        Same here :)

        Reply

  • marshavalk

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    Oh! You know what… I have that spray paint. And I still haven’t used it! I also have some ugly painted backgrounds in my art journal… I think I know what to do with those now! ;-)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL I love using it with those backgrounds because it really nicely covers :)

      Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    What a great background – love the way the colors blend. Great girl too. I wear some type of hat every day – love her hat!! Always inspiring Nat. Xj.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Joi! I always wanted a hat but somehow I think I am not a hat person- LOL – I don’t look to smashing in it ;) Have a wonderful week! Nat

      Reply

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What Makes You Different – Art Journal Page

I made this art journal page with my new 9×12 Hamburg Stencil which was inspired by my hometown Hamburg in Germany.

The “H” in the pattern refers to the city abbreviation of HH for Hansestadt Hamburg, and is found on license plates in the city.

I used grey spray paint over the stencil laid over a previously painted background

For the journaling I used the ArtGraf Varco sticks- which I love love os much and then went over the writing again with a wet brush to move the pigments.

The magazine image was painted over with some acrylic markers and pencils.

Here is a supply list for the spread


Nat

Comments (2)

  • jbonomo

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    Love this page! Love the colors, the sketching over the magazine person and oh, that stencil. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

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Dream a New Dream – Cheiron Brandon

 

Hello friends! Today Cheiron Brandon from my Creative Squad is sharing a very happy art journal spread using my Manhattan Positive and Negative Foam Stamp set and this month’s theme: Dream a New Dream. This January, let’s focus on all the possibilities of a fresh start.  What are your dreams for this year?  Whether it’s art-making, family, travel, or work related, January is a great time to dream about what the future could hold.

Hi there! It’s Cheiron here with my January post, and this month is all about Dreaming a New Dream. I always love the start of a new year and the chance to set goals and recharge.

For my project today, I created an art journal page with some of my dreams and goals for the coming year. I used Nathalie’s Manhattan Positive and Negative ArtFoamies stamps to create some printed deli papers to use as part of my journal page. I love making black and white papers to use with really bright paints.

I then layered on some paints in bright fluorescent colors…don’t they make you happy?

I finished up my layers by adding more paints, some dripped fluid paints and some splatter.

I topped off the page with cut out hearts in black and added some word stickers to the hearts. I applies Distress crayons in various colors around the hearts and blended them in with my fingers, then added another layer of white splatter to the whole page using a splatter brush. Fun, easy page and a great way to think about what I want to accomplish for 2017!

Here’s a closer look at all the yummy color:

Thank you Cheiron! I always love the fun colors she uses and this one really makes me feel happy! In addition to a die cutting machine, Cheiron used these supplies – some links are affiliate links:




Play along with us! I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

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