“If I would have known what I know now, would it have been easier to endure?”
Again for the backgrounds on this one I was using papers that I had previously stenciled using my Signals and Space Age Modern stencils, RubberMoon ink pads, and a blender tool. I just pasted them into my art journal and then used deli paper to sketch out the figure. I was working on the back of the deli paper, layering my Wabi Sabi stamps with black archival ink and then painting over it. I cut it out and adhered with a glue stick.
A Look Back – This time I’m looking at art journal pages that Embrace the Empty Space! Did you ever consider the empty page as part of your composition? Sometimes I like to, and it can be a pretty cool tool when you get it right (and when you can manage to actually keep it clean LOL). It’s something to think about – Read on and enjoy!
A Look Back is a blog series to show you some projects and posts that you may have missed – sometimes going WAY back in the archive. I think it will be fun to revisit a few ideas that we haven’t seen for a while. I’m excited to see how a little look back might inspire something new in the future :)
First stop is this post from 2018 where I kept the top and bottom of the page clear to highlight my cityscape scene stretching from side to side. I used a bunch of my rubber stamps from my Stroll Through the Hood and Stroll Around the Block sets and the sketch of the figure became my Actually I Can stamp! All were on top of washi tape and paper.
In this post from 2018 I used another stamp from my Actually I Can set along with some Hex foam stamps to create a very atmospheric environment. I like the shape of the white space that is created in between the hexes.
A stencil (my Flower Maze here) and spray paint allows for a subtle transition between blank space and pattern like here in this post from that same year. If you’re feeling a little hesitant about all that open real estate, try adding some splatters.
An all over, continuous pattern is another way to embrace the blank page without having to deal with large open areas that may be calling to you. In this page from 2019 I added a rubber stamp from my Floral Tile Small set and my Gnarly foam stamp. Simple but still a cool way to Embrace the Empty Space :)
Not every page needs to be about an all over composition. I love playing with stamps to see how they fit together and this page from earlier this year shows a really impactful design that I didn’t think needed anything else. I combined my Love Story and Mini Motifs foam stamps into something that reminds me of a crest or seal.
I hope this makes you think differently about how you can use the blank page to your advantage. Have fun with it! Here are some of the supplies I used:
“When you know better you do better.” – Maya Angelou
My background is from papers where I had used my Art Deco Fairview,Art Nouveau Wallpaper , and Art Deco Empire stencils and Moonlight duo ink pads with a blending tool. I attached them with double sided tape and then GASP when I reorganized my studio I cut up a painting – just the part I liked and added it to the art journal – can you believe it?!?
The quote was written with acrylics marker on watercolor paper which I cut out and then adhered.
I used grid paper to play with some patterns that I had stashed away – it fell into my hands while reorganizing the studio so time to use it again. I adhered it with doublesided tape and then stamped with Moonlight Duo ink pads and some of my favorite stamps for pattern making: Triangle Love, Hex Set Small, Mini Motifs, and Floral Tile Small. For the dots? A pencil eraser. And then I sketched my figure using a bamboo sketching pen, acrylic inks and markers on deli paper.
I added my quote with Posca markers to finish things off.
“She believed she could but she was tired…so she rested and you know what? The world went on and it was ok. She knew she could try again tomorrow.”
I created my page using gelli printed collage paper (actually from the bag from Sarah in ArtCollab Episode 2 – I used it as a texture tool with a gelli plate), Posca and Liquitex markers, gesso, my Fan-Tastic rubber stamps and the new white Moonlight ink pad. I am really happy with how the layers and color palette came together.
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have Emilie Murphy sharing a nifty art journal page with a list of her favorite mixed media supplies. She is using my Mini Motifs foam stamp and my Exchange Place stencil and our theme: My Creative Playlist – Your favorite mixed media supplies are like your favorite songs: they lift you up, inspire you and just feel good to groove to. What are your favorite supplies? Use them in a project – YOUR Creative Playlist that always gets you going.
Hi there! Today I’m presenting you my take of the theme of the month that is “My Creative Playlist”. I chose to make an art journal page listing some of my favorite art supplies. It was tons of fun making it. Let me guide you how I made it!
To start my project, I used my Gelli plate and a sheet of 8.5×11 white cardstock to make the background. I first applied only a layer of yellow paint and pulled the print.
Next, I chose three colors and applied the paints in strips using my brayer. I stamped on it using the Mini Motifs foam stamps, one at the time, in line. My intention here was to remove some paint to be able to see the previous yellow layer, so that I rubbed my foam stamp on scrap paper after each stamping.
Next I pulled a print.
To add a little more texture and interest to my background, I used Nathalie’s Exchange Place stencil. This time, I applied a partial layer of paint, laid down my stencil and pulled the print.
And Voila! Isn’t awesome? That’s why, I think, it is so fun to play with a Gelli plate. At that point, I was satisfied how my background looked like.
Next, I gave to my background some highlights getting over the different patterns with black and white pens.
Then I created a border around the edges. I cut a mask and secured it with removable tape to prevent from moving.
I applied black paint and let it dry. Then, I applied some white paint on the foam stamp with a sponge and stamped repetitively on top of my black layer.
I removed the mask and doodled a little more adding some marks, lines and splatters using some Posca pens.
I created some labels with a page of old book coated with a thin layer of white paint. I let my page dry completely before writing down my favorite supplies with a permanent black pen to avoid the ink to smear.
After I cut and glued down all my labels with a glue stick, I gave them a dimensional effect drawing around, only on the left and bottom edges, with a black Stabilo pencil. I stayed closed to the edges and wiped my brush off from time to time when I applied the water on the black Stabilo to avoid spreading it too much. I added a little tint around the others edges of the labels in order to make them embed in the background.
To finish off my page, I added some music keys with black and white Posca pens.
Voila! I really love to the way it my page turned out and the fact I can still see the mini motifs and the beautiful pattern of Nathalie’s “Exchange Place” stencil on the background.
Hope you enjoyed my February project and it gets you inspired to make your own creative playlist. Have some fun playing with your favorites art supplies!
Have a good rest of the week and see you next month!
Thank you Emilie! I love this idea for an art journal page!
Hi there! It’s Riikka here with my third and final guest project! I hope you have enjoyed them so far. They are all quite different, but that’s just to show that Nathalie’s stamps go so well to different projects and styles!
As my final piece I made an art journal page. I really love how versatile the “Grove Street” stamps are. In the card they reminded me of a sun with the rays of light, in the earrings they made me think about Nordic patterns and Marimekko and here I turned them into a crown and neck ruffle! All with the same stamp set!
I started the page by making some patterned paper of my own. The stamps make it easy as you can combine them in various ways. I created one bigger pattern and another smaller one. The bigger one then became the background for the page whereas the smaller one ended up being a piece for the dress. I used the Grove Street foam stamps and the Fairview Fan foam stamps.
The character I made for the journal has a head from an actual painting. The painting is by Anthony van Dyck and it’s of Queen Henrietta Maria, done in the 17thcentury, 1638. I printed the head a couple of times as I wasn’t sure about the size but went with the middle size one.
The part that’s not visible in the video is the collaging or adhering. After I have the background painted and the elements embossed and printed, I collaged them all together using an acrylic gel or a glaze of sorts called Izink ICE. This way I could make the background older looking by using a tea-colored glaze there and make the blue dress even more vibrant using blue gel. I’ve added a link to a series I made as a Seth Apter Creative Team member about ICE to the description box of the video, so you can see more, if you wish.
Thank you for this chance, Nathalie! I hope you have enjoyed these projects and thank you for stopping by today!
All the best, Xoxo Riikka
Thank you Riikka -absolutely love how you used the foam stamps for that collar and dress! Henrietta has some serious style :)
Want to give it a try? You can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and here are some of the other supplies Riikka used:
Beautiful! Love the rich palette and how much the white really pops. Nathalie’s stamps work so well, especially for the ruff! Just gorgeous. Thx for doing this guest tutorial.
When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it If only we’re brave enough to be it
-Amanda Gorman
I was so inspired by Amanda Gorman’s poem from the presidential inauguration, and particularly the final lines.
For my background I used my Fairview Fan foam stamp and also the Fairview rubber stamp from my Fan-tastic Small set. I added little dots under some stamps to make them look like exclamation marks – words fly…
I sketched Amanda on Dur-a-lar matte with acrylic ink and paint markers.
Love the colors and the quote. So often we think the world will stop if we take a break, but it will go on just fine.
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