Excited to Join the Mix Media Monthly Team!!!

Hello Inky Friends, I am thrilled to announce I have been asked to join the Mix Media Monthly Design Team!! This is a wonderful group of designers who create amazing inspiration every month so I will have to bring my A game!! In case you are not familiar, Mix Media Monthly is a challenge site that has a photo prompt every month. You link your blog creation to the challenge & can win prizes! Please check out the rules to be eligible, they are on the challenge post below the Design Team inspiration.

Here is my project for the month of January. I made a mini art journal. As it is my first project with this team,I thought I should introduce you to my quirky side, as in interpreting prompts in unique and inspiring ways. 

First to the January Challenge. 

Silver & blue is a favorite combination of mine & I love the idea of "Ring in the New" this prompt of course can be interpreted in many ways. For me it meant MAKE A NEW ART JOURNAL!!! The snow, bells & ring naturally conjured up a vision of mermaids. Did I mention quirky? Just in a mermaid mood so stretched the theme a little, LOL. You will see as the post goes on just how much I was inspired by the challenge. I mean bells & mermaids = unique art!

Love All Things Art Journal.

I have quite a few in progress but really enjoy using different substrates in my journals. That makes it a challenge, so the idea of using a journal, that the pages can be added to, as they are completed is fabulous. Working on individual pages with a Gel Press for example is much easier then in a pre-made book. Eileen Hull has a new die out that allows you to do just that. I started with a piece of mat board cut 4 1/4" x 6", you could choose to make whatever size you want. 

 

I started with a stencil, crackle paste & texture paste. Scrape the paste through a stencil on the mat board that has been pre-gessoed. Cutting the edges first leaves you a guideline to keep the mat board clear in that area.The Book Binding die is used to cut the edges of your project and works with binding discs. The bonus, because it is a steel rule die it will cut through heavier material like mat board, thick cardboard etc. You can see a video of this die on my Instagram here.

Bring On The Color!

Once my pastes were dry, color was adding using PaperArtsy Infusions. They are wonderful pots of powder that react with water. I stuck with blue/green as the theme. 

Next up was to add in the silver. I used Prima waxes for this & just put some on my craft mat then used my finger to hit the high points & scuff up the background a bit. Some snowflake sequins were added, hee hee...

Time To Add The Pages.

I have stacks of Gel Press paper which were cut using the binding die. These are a great place to start. My pages are already to move on to the journal building phase. 

All that was left was to put the book together & add some embellishments.  My quote was inspired by the challenge. Pearl bling was added to the snowflakes to mimic the bokeh (white balls of light). A starfish charm was added, love charms! 

The chain acts as a closure & opens in the back of the book. This worked better as I really wanted that starfish on the front. Bells are hanging from the chain. I may add some more small charms or beads. 

 

Here is a shot of the back of the book.  You can see how the binding just clips on & the fun thing is finding discs that match the project. I actually took these off a planner from last year- yay recycling. 

Inside the book is paper cut from a 6x6 paper pad by Kaisercraft. I made a pocket and took some tags from the pad to insert in my pocket. Adding washi tape adds a little pizazz. 

Inside the book is paper painted using a Gel Press. Some of the back sides are white which gives me a clean surface to add paint to. 

Here are 2 pages that had paint on both sides so they are ready to turn into journal pages. This is a great book to have when traveling. All I need to bring is ephemera & journal pen, some stamps. Hum...

Lastly how about a close up of that luscious crackle paste with silver! Love the texture that adds. Well that is it for my 1st Dteam post. I hope you enjoyed it, if you have any questions please leave them in the comments section. Thanks so much for joining me today!! Go get inky. 

Supplies:

• StencilGirl- Mermaid Stencil & Masks by Jessica Sporn
• Eileen Hull Bookbinding Die by Sizzix
• Mat Board by Sizzix
• Infusions by PaperArtsy -A Bit Jaded, Royal Blood. 
• Art Alchemy Wax by Prima- Brushed Iron & Turquoise Satin
• Crackle Paste & Texture Paste by Ranger
• Disc rings can be found at office supply stores, planner supplies or old planners
• Gel Press 5x7 Gel Plate
• Paint by DecoArt