Creative Squad

Hello again from my Creative Squad. Today we have a very special post from one of our NEW squad members: Nicole Watson! We are so happy to have Nicole on the team and are excited to share her incredible talent with you! Her project today is an art journal page that will have you swooning over layers :) She is using my Broadway Fan Positive Negative foam stamps and this month’s theme: Your Biggest Fan – Let’s give a shout out to someone who is doing an amazing job. In a world obsessed with Me Me Me it’s important to take a look around sometimes and give some encouraging words to another, and not just in your art and craft making :) Be their Biggest Fan!  

I have to admit that I had more of what I wanted to do with the stamps in mind before figuring out how I was going to tackle the theme this month! For some reason I was really struggling just who or what I was going to pick to focus my journal page on, but as I was working on my concept, it clicked.

My idea was to create layers on my journal pages that looked like old wall paper through the years. This concept was partially inspired by binge watching Downton Abbyand looking at old photographs with my dad noticing how my grandma’s wallpaper on the stairs changed through time.

Here is a video for you and a writeup below:

After gessoing my pages, I covered them with bits and pieces of book pages. I chose a variety to give that look of different wallpapers from encyclopedia pages showcasing the images, to a German songbook and a dictionary. Then I topped those off with bits of handwritten text from an old notebook and ledger. Next, I used some watered-down gesso to push some of the pages back and have areas that paint would cling a little differently.

Once all the gesso and matte medium was dry, I began to add color to the pages mixing the colors with umber to add an old, grungy feel. I watered down the paint in places to allow it to flow and mingle with the other colors. After it was dry, I added some shadowing around some of the papers with the stabilo all by tracing and then activating it with water.

To create the final layer of wallpaper, I used Nat’s Broadway Fan Positive Negative Foam Stamp. I didn’t want to stamp directly on my previous layers, because I didn’t know exactly where to put the stamp, and wanted a more torn look than a perfect stamped image. So, I stamped both the positive and negative images on tissue paper, one with paint and the other with stabilo! To stamp with the stabilo, simply scribble onto a slick surface (like palette paper) and add water to make what I like to call, a stabilo puddle!

I stamped the pattern both vertically and horizontally on the tissue paper, because the paper only tears well in one direction. Then, I tore the paper apart and stuck it to my journal pages. I wanted to extend the pattern a bit, so I stamped some additional fans with the stabilo puddle directly on the journal pages.

Then, I needed to figure out where to take these pages next and how to attach the theme. I drew some flowers with my charcoal pencil (so I could wipe them off as needed!) and painted them in. I didn’t like how this turned out, so I cut flower petals and stems from book pages and covered them up! I added some gesso here and there for some more white, splattered some of it, filled in the flowers with some sepia ink and a tiny bit of eggplant paint, splattered the ink and then thought about my pages.

It was hard for me to nail down who/what I’m the biggest fan of. My interests and fandom change yearly and sometimes even daily! I am a huge fan of all of the wonderful artists that I’ve connected with over social media, different musicians, musicals, shows, and movies.… and, well, coffee.  This reminded me so much of those wallpaper layers. We often have a change of heart or something we like …. but those layers are still there creating the picture of who we are. It’s fun to tear them back and reminisce.

I topped my pages off with a sticker that expressed how I was feeling perfectly: fall in love with as many things as possible.

Thank you Nicole! Love hearing your thoughts behind your creative process and then seeing the beautiful results :) Want to give Nicole’s project a try? You can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and in addition to book paper, here are some of the other supplies she used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me or tag me #natkalbach how you used my stencils and stamps – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat