2020 #1 Love is in the Air: Layers and Poetry with ESA minis {by Lotte Kristensen}

2020 Topic 1: Love is in the Air

I adore this kind of journaling spread. The bravery it takes to follow your instinct and go with the flow. As Lotte says herself in this post, it can be hard to identify what it needs, and sometimes, if you just step away, when you come back you will instantly see what needs to happen next. I love how she knocks it back with Grunge paste, and then stamps with the infusions. All the layers end up the perfect setting for the stamped words! Nice one Lotte, and thanks for sharing your creative process so perfectly!
~ Leandra

Hey everyone, Lotte here and *my* love in the air is the delicious new selection of Seth Apter mini stamps, together with lots of lovely layers of (also) new Fresco Finish paint, plus Grunge Paste, *and* Infusions - oh yes!!  You know, I never really got why they use a 3rd century martyred saint to celebrate St. Valentine's Day...... 

Okay, so first off, I used a brayer to put on a coat of Gold Rush Fresco Finish onto my journal pages - I have loads of them prepared with strips of old magazine and book pages, bits of masking tape etc, to make the page a bit heavier and textured, so it can take loads and loads of paint and water and everything else I prolly throw at it.  Before it was completely dry, I used a baby wipe to rub off some of the paint for a mottled effect:

Next, I used a bit of sequin waste to stipple some Blue Bayou Fresco Finish around the edges:

Next, I used a small gel plate to brayer on some Blue Bayou - you can either dip the stamp in the paint, or brayer it on, but DO make sure to clean it off instantly!!

Then I stamped randomly onto the pages:

Next, I used Orange Blossom Archival Ink pad to stamp more random impresssions:

And a little close up:

So, at this point I thought it looked a bit too bright, so decided to add some Grunge Paste, some through sequin waste, and some just with a palette knife:

And *then* I got another of my favourites out - a Stabilo All pencil, which I used to scribble around the (dry) grunge paste:

  
Then it was time for some spritzing with water, to let the Stabilo pencil colour run (use a small brush to move it around if it doesn't go quite where you want it) 

...at this point I also sprinkled on some Golden Sand Infusions:

As there are a lot of circles in the Apter stamps, I decided to make some of my own by using my fingertips with the Infusion and pencil:

I remembered that you can also stamp with Infusions - I think it was Ruth Mescall who I first saw do this technique - so I spritzed some water on the gelli plate, sprinkled some Infusions on and stamped randomly (again!!) onto the pages:

After this was all throroughly dry, I used some of my ancient alphabet stamp sets to set out the quote from Emily Bronte's poem 'Spellbound' - I think the wintery colours suit the words perfectly: 'The night is darkening round me // The wild winds coldly blow // But a tyrant spell has bound me// and I cannot, cannot go'.

  
Well, that's it from me - one thing I thought I'd mention is that when you do multiple layers like these, half way through it *always* looks like a dog's dinner (poor dog!) but the beauty about doing pages like these is that you can re-work them until you're (as) happy (as can be) - sometimes it's good to leave the spread for a couple of hours or even a day, and come back to it with fresh eyes.

Until next time!

Lotte 

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