Messy monday

Messy Monday was originally an excuse for my friend Clare from Paper Pen and Plan and I to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and create journal pages, usually with a heavy helping of paint and ink involved. Already a lover of messy journal pages, I encouraged Clare to embrace her messy side which resulted in some amazing backgrounds. We had lots of fun with it and I think we both miss those days.

Clare mentioned it again a few weeks ago among the members of the Paper Pen and Plan Facebook group so I thought I’d try and bring it back in some form or another. Now to be absolutely truthful here I did start this at the weekend. I left it open on my worktable and added a bit to it every time I went past, which was often!

I started with the first layer of charcoal scribbles then added some acrylic paints in smears before taking a watersoluable crayon and smearing some blue/grey here and there. That was yesterday, this morning after a walk in the forest it reminded me of the low Autumn sunlight through the trees and so that was where the theme came from. With a small collage and a title it was finished.

Happy Messy Monday

Jaine xx

Micro Journaling and why it’s so satisfying

Last week I showed you my little micro sized gel print journal and thought it would be cute in the leather cover I’ve had for a while now.

Already bursting at the seams and even with half the contents emptied out, it was still far too small for my little journal. So the only thing to do was to make a brand new one.

The extra pink bit came about simply because the piece of leather I wanted to use was too short to wrap around the front when all of my journals were inside. I added the fancy edge to it to stop it looking a bit like an after thought!

This little journal which is no bigger than a fat cheese sandwich (or doorstop), with its pre-printed backgrounds, is the perfect place for a quick art fix or to try out a new purchase. Its size makes it far less intimidating to work with as the pages are the same size as an ATC. More to the point the whole journal and cover is just too darn cute on my shelf and takes a great photo.

Creating a journal from pre-printed pages or mop up papers gives me an instant place to start from. This page just grew as I was trying out these Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks from Paper Pen and Plan.

This little page was completed in a few short minutes as the background was already there.

This little journal will grow and grow I think and before long I’ll need to make a few new inserts.

Have a good weekend

Jaine xx

Summer Vibes

I feel like I’m back in the swing of things again and the journaling vibes are flowing nicely. I decided to add another page in my Mixed Media journal and use a new product to me. In the recent package sent by Clare at Paper Pen and Plan, was a little jar of Texture Powder by Prima. I say ‘little’ it is in fact quite substantial and if I’m careful will last me a fair while. When added to another medium it creates a texture paste.

I started with a base of acrylic paint and texture added with the texture tools. It didn’t worry me that it was the backside of the page with stitching as I could just cover it with something else.

I mixed up the Texture powder with Unicorn Acrylic paint. It was just a matter of finding the right consistency myself, the Unicorn paint is already creamy so it didn’t take much powder to turn it into a useable paste.

It went through a stencil perfectly and I can also say that the colour wasn’t diluted at all by the powder.

Once it was dry I added a few scribbles and a few collage bits then had a flash of inspiration and went out to cut a couple of pieces of lavendar from the garden.

The texture is just great and again the pages of the journal stood up to it all with no trouble at all.

For Prima products and more go to Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy and get 10% off with the code JAINE10 too!

Jaine x

Art Journaling Again

It’s been a long while since I did any proper art journaling and to be honest I think I may have been in a bit of a mixed media fog for a while now! I just needed a little nudge which came in the form of a parcel from Clare at Paper Pen and Plan containing a few Prima goodies. A Mixed Media Album, paints, brushes and texture tools waiting to be opened.

I spent twentyfour hours with it all on my desk while I had other things to get on with, all the while itching to make a start.

Eventually I cleared some space and started to lay some paints on a page to overcome that first page anxiety. The pages are thick enough to stand up to my Impasto paints and that’s no mean feat either! Using the Prima texture brushes I could spread paint where I wanted and create some cool textures with the combed ends.

I decided on adding a collage over the painted base and using the Prima butterfly stamps to complement the large moth image from my collage stash.

The feather was one I’d picked up somewhere and had been longing to use on a project for ages. Stuck on with some gel medium, I tacked it down further with some machine stitching then added a bit more here and there – just because I could!

I finished off with a smear of sparkly Unicorn paint and black Raven paint also from Prima to contrast with the paleness of the page.

I love it. I’m delighted at how the journal pages stand up to all the different materials without any warping or buckling, and the spiral binding makes it easy to lay flat or push a page under the sewing maching needle.

I think this has been the kick start I needed to get me creating journal pages again.

Jaine x