Friday, April 7, 2017

Turquoise and Silver Mixed Media Journal Page Spread

Hello friends and visitors! Thank you for all your lovely comments on my recent posts. I'm doing the best I can to get around to see you all.

 My super talented friend Autumn (SewPaperPaint) invited me to join her and 6 other friends from around the USA to participate in a round robin journal project. Each of us made an art journal, and we each chose two colors to work in (you can see my journal covers here (my pages from my album will be posted in the future), Autumn's  blue and green pages here, and a wonderful tutorial for her handmade journal here). We complete a spread in our own journal and pass our journals on to the next on the list. It just so happens that I send to Autumn, but I won't get hers for many more months. For the journal I received to work in from a very talented mixed media artist Sheila Sams Mallow, we are to use turquoise and silver. These pages are so big! Oh, boy! I had artist's block for weeks! But a couple of days working out in the garden restored my mojo, and I was inspired to journal about God's gifts I see in nature.


Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, because I have soooo many photos to share with you), I didn't take any process shots. I wish not to bore you with my how-to, so feel free to just look at the pretty photos if you wish. I wrote this tutorial more for me than you, because I will never see these pages in person again, and I'd like to recall how I made them!

This page was a little hard to photograph because it was somewhat warped from all Sheila's beautiful mixed media work on the opposite side. I'm hoping to publish a post showing her beautiful pages and cover in the near future.


 I began by adhering torn vintage sheet music--'My Lord is Waiting in the Garden' to my pages and giving it all a coat of DecoArt White Wash acrylic and Golden Cobalt Teal fluid acrylic paints using a cosmetic sponge, blending as I went along.


Next I used a Prima stencil, black and white gessoes, and a cosmetic sponge. I adhered Tim Holtz Melange Tissue Wrap, and did some stamping using Picket Fence Distress paint and archival ink. I added texture using a couple of stencils (Tim Holtz and Recollections) and texture paste. While the paste was wet, I sprinkled with three different embossing powders--light blue, silver and silver tinsel. When the paste was dry, I heated the powder until the paste just started to bubble for extra texture.




  I used  Dylusion spray and DOX applied with a paint brush to color my butterfly and this time it didn't blend (so happy for that!), even without sealing--go figure! You'll read further along colors I used and the happy accident I had with DOX.

 

I love those splashes of color!



Background stamps include Tim Holtz 'Nature', 'Little Labels', 'Seamless Experience',  and 'Boundless Flight', BoBunny 'Rough It Up'. Many of the images include numbers, so Frilly and Funkie can 'Count Me In!'. I've included lots of close ups so you can see those numbers, Frilly and Funkie girls, because I made these pages with your challenge in mind.

I added more color using Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise spray and Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide. The yellow quickly turned to green here when it hit the turquoise because I didn't seal between the layers. I like the look, but lesson learned. I adhered some torn paper napkins and gave them, my title, tree branch, and the tissue wrap butterfly shadows with a watercolor pencil and water pen.


I love how some of the spray settled on TOP of the embossing here--so deep and rich.



'Blessed' chippie (a lone one I serendipitously found at AC Moore a few days ago) was given it's crackle with Distress Crazing medium and Distress Crayon in Walnut Stain.


You can spot a number 7 on the blueprint tissue wrap and some numerals from the post mark and measuring tape stamped images if you look closely at the photos above and below, although the stenciling does obliterate some of them.


I zoomed in on more numbers on the musical score and center of the postmark below.


And more...


I gave the same crackle treatment to the Tim Holtz (Bird Branch) branch.  I added a pair of blooms from a hoarded stem. Although I know they are not, they reminded me of the dogwoods so profusely flowering in my garden. It's a great year for dogwoods in Wilminton, NC this year! We just may have to swap out the name of our renown 'Azalea Festival' this weekend to 'Dogwood Festival'.  The azaleas have either all turned brown from our recent snowy/freezing weather a few weeks ago or what blooms didn't die have all blown off the huge shrubs today. Ditto with the camellias. I think I'll skip the garden tour this year. I digress...




My 3D butterfly is Tim Holtz Detailed Butterfly stamped in archival ink with Tim's numbers 'Reflections' stamp using the old kissing technique--I think that's what it's called. I colored it using Tumbled Glass Distress stain and Fossilized Amber DOX. These two products pair beautifully.

 


A few rub on's from my stash add the second part of my title, an underscoring flourish, and a few more numerals.


A splatter or two of watered down black gesso finishes my journal pages off. And into the mail it goes, off to Autumn where she will make a spread using the same two colors! I can't wait to see what she will make! What fun!





 I took some of these photos outdoors on a very windy day, so my flowers are flapping in the wind, and bits of tree debris have fallen onto my backdrop. 

I'm sharing my journal pages with 7 other round robin friends and these fine challenges:
Lost Coast Designs Challenge #35-Favorite Background Technique  layering with stenciling, stamping and splattering

Thank you for stopping in today and for all your amazing comments! I read and appreciate each one of them!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily


25 comments:

  1. Wow, Sara Emily, absolutely stunning!! The colors, the layers, the texture, every single thing is spectacular!! I love the design and the details!! It's so gorgeous!! Love, love, love!! Have a great weekend, my sweet friend!! Big hugs :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  2. These are really beautiful Sara, full of stunning details, I would never have thought to add embossiing powder to paste, but I will certainly give it a try now! It's a very lucky person that's going to receive these pages. Thank you so much for sharing with us at Lost Coast Designs Portal to Creativity, and have a wonderful weekend. Sue xx

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  3. Um... OH MY GOSH! Girl! I was so afraid you'd be freaked when you saw the sizes of some of the journals, but let me tell you som'em! My girl rose to the occasion! Yes she did! Oh my goodness, you never cease to amaze me with these fantastic layers and details. I adore this and if your spread in my journal (in December...) is anything like this I will be one happy happy girl. So much fun and so much beauty! Hugs, Autumn

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    1. I am the one feeling blessed to get to hold and admire this IRL for 45 days! Yip yip! So thrilled to see your pages featured in the top 3 at Creative Artiste! Yay for you!!! Hugs, Autumn

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  4. Incredible layers, superb visual textures and beautiful added elements Sara, your pages are exquisite nod Autumn will adore them I'm sure. Have a great weekend xxx

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  5. Amazing work, the colours and design are beautiful! Thanks for joining us at Penny Black and More and good luck!
    x Daniela (DT)

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  6. Wow, Sara Emily, this is truly amazing and gorgeous!! The turquoise and silver are beautiful, and your butterflies and adorable bird (on an awesome branch) are just perfect. I just love everything about this! You did a fabulous job with adding all of the textures. What a fun project! Hugs :-)

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  7. WOW! absolutely Bluetiful! heehee
    Truly a gorgeous spread Sara Emily! That Prima stencil is one of my all time favorite go-to's! and it shows so rich in that silver!
    Glad the garden inspired you, I Love the beauty of nature in this!
    hugs,Jackie xx

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  8. This is stunning, love the colour tones and the beautiful silver embossing adds such a richness to the pages. So many gorgeous details and layers. Sounds like you're also enjoying the Oxide inks now.
    Hugs, Avril xx

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  9. Gorgeous work and definitely out of your comfort zone, stylewise...
    I love those silver swirls!
    Hugs
    Samra
    Paper Talk with Samra

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  10. Sara, I can so relate to missing mojo... wish I could get mine back, but yours is back in full swing if these pages are anything to go by!! Love the blue and silver theme, the stencilling looks amazing and I just love the gorgeous butterflies and the bird is such a lovely touch! Beautiful work!! Hugs, Anne xx

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  11. Gorgeous! Love the colors,especially with the silver.

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  12. A really beautiful journal spread and love the colours, many thanks for joining us at Penny Black and More challenge.

    B x

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  13. Fabulous pages! Sara rich in beautiful detail, texture, colour and meaning! You kicked that artistic block into touch and created pages to be proud of. hugs x

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  14. What a nice spread, Thank you for joining the Lost Coast background technique.

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  15. Gorgeous colors and journal pages! Love the silver accents and beautiful images. Thanks for playing along with us in the Frilly and Funkie Count Me In Challenge!

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  16. Wow, wow, wow! This is a show stopper! I love the beautiful turquoise/silver color palette with those pops of color thrown in. This is such a gorgeous mixed media piece! And you know how much I love my birds! Thanks so much for sharing with us at the Count Me In Challenge on Frilly and Funkie!

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  17. Stunning colours and pages. Wow!! Thank you for joining us at Creative Artiste this month. Hope to see you beautiful art work back here again soon. Judy DT

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  18. This is such a haven of techniques all rolled into a wonderfully designed project. Thank you for blessing us with your artwork here at Word Art Wednesday. We are midway on our current challenge and I hope you join us again. Leaving you with the inspiration of God's Word found in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 which tells us, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love." Have an awesome week.

    JO ANN
    http://jatterburycreations.blogspot.com

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  19. Gorgeous, gorgeous detail!!!! Thanks for playing along with us at http://creativeartistemixedmedia.blogspot.com.au/

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  20. Thanks for all the photos, Sara. They really show off your amazing work. I really love all the texture especially the silver swirls. Such beautiful eye candy! Thanks so much for playing along at STAMPlorations Mixed Media Challenge. Good Luck! ☺

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  21. What a fun idea Autumn had and such a neat thing to be part of. Awesome sauce use of the blues and the pops of silver are exquisite. Anyone would be more than happy to have this in their journal spread. You take the cake for trying new things and succeeding every time dearie. Lovely details and those butterflies and beautiful! Fantabulous design! Hugz to you muffin! ~Punkin

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  22. Lovely, intricate work on your pages! And what beautiful backgrounds you have created. Thanks for joining the Lost Coast Designs Portal to Creativity monthly challenge!

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  23. I love your palette, and all the textures and depth and layering you achieved with this lovely piece! We are glad you played along in the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity "Favorite Background Technique" challenge.

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