Strawberry journal spread with ESC {by Riikka Kovasin}

Hello everyone, Riikka here with you today for an art journal spread process. I was inspired by warm days, memories of summers gone by and the sweet taste of strawberries. In this post I'm showing you, how I created a weathered collage background for the page to echo fleeting moments and then layered a mix of vintage and herbal focal points on top.

 

My main inspiration for this project was the beautiful strawberry set by Scrapcosy (ESC53). I wanted to use that as my focal point. I then thought about a fun technique using rubbing for the background, so I chose a stencil (PS491) to be used in that.

To be honest, I started with three Fresco Finish acrylic paints and then added a Mattint and another Fresco Finish color along the way. First, I chose a color palette that would highlight the red strawberries, but also show off the green leaves. I picked Spring (FF180), Aquamarine (FF153), and China (FF101). When creating, I wanted the background to be more vintage looking, so I added Mattint Glow (MT01) to the mix, and lastly used Gold Rush (FF204) as the last stage of my worn wallpaper technique.

Along with these PaperArtsy mediums, I used a black stamping ink, beeswax crayons, and colored pencils.

I started my art journal spread by coloring tissue paper. For that I used a gel plate and added two acrylic paint colors, Aquamarine (FF153) and Spring (FF180) on top of the plate in small dots. I then used a brayer to spread the colors and pulled a print to a piece of tissue paper.

While making the prints, I cleaned my brayer to my art journal. This added a touch of color to the spread, with the same color scheme I was then adding on top a bit later. Also, no paint was wasted this way!

After the tissue had dried, I added a pattern on top using frottage. I slipped the stencil (PS491) underneath my tissue paper print and then gently rubbed with a beeswax crayon from the top. This added the pattern of the stencil to the print.

 

I named this technique worn wallpaper, but in fact it's a couple of techniques bundled together. The end result looks like a weathered, stained, and torn wallpaper.

I started with collage. I tore the tissue paper into smaller pieces and adhered them on top of the colored spread. I used a matte medium to adhere the pieces in place. If you want to combine a couple of steps, read further for another medium option. I didn't want to cover the whole area but instead give the impression of torn wallpaper.

Next, I added the same pattern but in another way. I used the same stencil (PS491) but this time with paint and a sponge. I used Fresco Finish China (FF101) mixed with Aquamarine (FF153). I concentrated the pattern to the gaps between the tissue paper pieces.

I thought the background needed a touch of contrast. I created that with a text stamp from the set (ESC53) and black ink. As you can see from the picture below, I didn't mean the text to be readable, but instead to add visual texture.

These steps were all about building layers, like layers of different wallpapers added to the wall along the years.

While I liked how fresh the background looked, I felt that a touch of vintage was needed to convey the idea of worn wallpaper and to match the background better to the vintage photos I was planning adding on top. 

First, I added a layer of Mattint onto the page, transforming the color scheme to a warmer one. You can tweak the colors easily with a layer of this medium! If I'd realized earlier, that a vintage touch would be needed, I could have used Mattint to adhere the tissue paper pieces in the first place.

As the last step of the worn wallpaper, I used water resist to create a splodgy paint layer on top of everything already on the background. First, I took a water mister and kept it at hand. I then painted the spread speedily with Fresco Finish Gold Rush (FF204). Next, I sprayed some water on my hand and flicked droplets to the wet paint. I tried to add a generous amount of the droplets, covering the whole area. 

I then used a heat tool to dry the paint. The idea with the water droplets is that the paint underneath the water won't dry while the other parts of the layer do. I then picked up a rag and dried the droplets and removed the paint underneath them. I was left with a splodgy, weathered looking paint layer with all the previous patterns peeking through.  

I had now my mission accomplished - a weathered, torn looking wallpaper background!

Now that the background was done, I concentrated my attention to the focal points. That is the strawberries. I stamped a multitude of them to two surfaces - the more geometrical design from the set (ESC53) on top of white cardstock, to be colored, and the more loose design on top of old book pages. I used the same black ink for both.

I cut the strawberries stamped on top of the book paper loose, and collaged those onto my background. I let the design partly overlap and created a cluster of plants on both pages.

Then it was coloring time! I used colored pencils to add color to the geometrical strawberry designs. I wanted the berries vibrant red and the leaves luscious green. I also stamped a couple of additional strawberries and colored them, too.

After coloring the images, I cut the strawberry plants loose. I also cut some of the berries loose, to be used individually here and there.

I chose a couple of old photos of girls to be standing among the strawberries. I layered the strawberries and girls and adhered them to the page using double sided tape. As I was working on a bound journal, I didn't dare to use foam tape, which I usually prefer to create an illusion of perspective.

As a finishing touch, I added a little journaling to my spread. First, I stamped the "beautiful memories" from the stamp set (ESC53) onto a piece of old book paper. I then searched text stickers that would make up a story, when combined. The stickers were actually from a Halloween themed pad, but I bet you couldn't tell that from the finished story. At least I hope so! You can read the story a bit further along the post.

An air of days gone by topped with sweet strawberries! Above you can see the finished art journal spread. I really like using the long journal format, but it's a bit tricky, when taking pictures.

The main points in this spread are the layered, worn wallpaper looking background and the clusters on top. Notice, how I used the strawberry design repeatedly, like there's a shadow underneath the colored plants? You can just see sneaks of the bookpaper stamped flora, but it still creates a nice backdrop to the colored clusters.

Here's a closer detail on the cluster and the background. There's repetition in the pattern - first in the background using the same stencil and then in the cluster using the strawberry stamp. I hope here you can see the bookpaper version better, peeking underneath the colored plants.

In case you are wondering, what kind of a story I whipped up with the Halloween stickers, you can read it here. "Beautiful memories held her spellbound. Then, suddenly, a strange thing happened. A beautiful garden." Naturally, instead of stickers, you could use actual clippings from old books.

Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a lovely summer day!

Xoxo Riikka

Instagram: Paperiliitin

Blog: Paperiliitin

YouTube: Riikka Kovasin

Flip Flop Book with ESN {by Keren Baker}

I recently learned about the explorer, inventor and conservationist Jacques Cousteau and when I sat down to create this project, his inspiration teamed just perfectly with Sara Naumann's stamps and I created a somewhat unusual front cover to my Flip Flop book.

I would normally pick two main colours and add a pop of colour with one that's directly opposite on the colour wheel, but I wanted a tranquil marine theme and decided to leave the more bold colours alone.

I had lots of 'backgrounds' to complete, but I began with the final page, and this was just on a piece of White Board with lots of dry brushing and using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in Baltic Blue, China, Heavy Cream, Green Patina, Lawn & Duck Egg Blue.

I stamped out multiple images from the Mini 118 set with different coloured inks. I had this idea of making a focal point in a wreath using cut out images, but I really wished that I'd just left it like this and used this whole sheet as a background !

I wanted to use Grunge Paste in a couple of ways. I haven't stamped on it for quite some time. It's an easy technique that delivers high impact. You'll need a substantial substrate to add the Grunge Paste onto.

I used White board, (PaperArtsy have great packs of it). Spread the Grunge Paste in an even layer. The temptation will be to add a spray of water onto the stamp to help ease it out of the Grunge Paste but don't, as it'll make it more liquid-y and not show the stamp details up as well.

Just make sure that you clean your stamps straight after stamping with the Grunge Paste so you don't get it drying in the stamp crevices.

I also created a small piece that looked like the ridges on the sand when the tide has gone out. Leave them both to dry.

Sprinkle on your Infusions over the dried stamped piece; I used In The Navy and A Bit Jaded. As the Infusions have two different crystals that react with water at different rates, if you want more colour and less brown walnut crystal, you need to dry the piece once the desired colour has been achieved. I just used a heat gun to dry it off quickly.

I wanted to use multiple layers to open out for the book. Using translucent and clear surfaces would encourage people to look through and discover the other layers, so I dug out some acetate and Grafix Duralar. It's easy to stamp on one side using a permanent ink like Stazon and then use colour on the reverse.

For layering using acetate, add the colour that you want to be in the foreground first (on the reverse) and then add the other colours. This was supposed to be echoing waves as I wanted to add it over the Grunge Paste 'sand' layer.

Using the main image from Sara's Eclectica 59, I added the paint on the reverse. The Duralar has partial translucency and enough to be able to see a soft colour showing through from the back.

 

Having thought about Jacques Cousteau and his work in the oceans gave me the idea to have the front as an underwater mask.

I added another layer, putting one of the stamp set's quotes and adhering another stamped shell underneath.

You can see the soft effect that painting on the reverse gives.

Each layer opens upwards or outwards.

I used circles as much as possible, so there was a consistent theme. I echoed the 'bubbles' by using brads and eyelets.

I also used some metal tape to attach several of the elements to the book. If you closely at the photo, you can see some of the metallic shimmer spray that I sprayed over the top.

This was placed on the back; my failed focal element. It brightened up the back at least !

 

It would be easy to add in a few more flip/flop layers and have them left blank in order to add notes or photos. As Scrapbooking seems to be having a resurgence, maybe we should be printing off our photos once more!

I'd have liked to do more with the idea of looking through the layers, perhaps using a porthole styled frame and lots of layers.

It's a great way to add in texture and layers easily without having to plan too far ahead. Do give it a go !

Thanks for being here today,

Keren x

My Blog

Facebook 

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest