Finding Inspiration to Art Journal

Hello Inky Friends, today I am writing about where to find inspiration for your art journal. As it is Thursday, you know it is my turn on Topflight Stamps! Sometimes the mood or time to be creative strikes, but inspiration to break out that blank page is no where to be found. The simple solution for me, is to get an idea from a challenge site. Even if you don't feel you can participate for whatever reason it helps to narrow the focus and is a good jump off point.

 

I decided to play in my My Favorite Book again this week, just art some stress away! I am loving how chunky this book it getting! I'll show you later in the post. 

I chose the Mix Media Monthly Challenge site to inspire my page. Their challenge #42 this month is Silhouette. I used the Seth Apter die Sunburst to create my silhouette image. 

I thought my journal page would look great with these Crafty Individuals stamp sets. I used this stamp called Floral Postcard.

 I wanted to make a secret journal spot so I also added this stamp Tall Wild Flowers. 

 

I used water color to color my stamped images. On the Tall Wild Flower panel I adhered notebook paper to the backside for my journal spot. 

I don't have a full tutorial this week but I will show you how I made this cute hidden journal spot. Really simple but it allowed me to make my page interactive. Once the water color was dry on the Floral postcard image it was adhered to my page.

Using a couple of strips of washi tape to create a flap was a simple way to add more interest & that secret spot. 

I added a cute resin bee as sort of a tab. You can check out how I made my bee here. 

 

I am loving how chunky this book it getting!!! Can't wait to get it finished and make a cool cover. Well that is it for this Thursday. I hope you had fun & get a chance to get inky!

Making a Resin Bumble Bee

Welcome to a quick tip on how to make a resin bumble bee. Usually when I play with resin I almost always have left over. Rather then waste it pouring into an available mold always is the better option. That leaves me with a container of finished resin pieces so when a quick embellishment is needed they are ready for the picking. 

I will have an upcoming post on how to pour resin into molds. Please read the resin directions included in the box. Not all resins are mixed the same way & that will help avoid mistakes.

Simply paint your piece using black gesso. This is better for resin then acrylic paint as it has more tooth & is designed to adhere to your substrate. Let it dry naturally. I don't use a heat gun when working with my cured resin pieces. 

Last step was to color my cutie using a combination of metallic paint & wax. I used Finnabair Art Alchemy products by Prima. Simply paint the bee & when it is dry add some wax to give it extra shimmer. That is it super simple embellishment. 

I adhered him to the edge of a stamped flip card in My Favorite Book to use as a tab. Check back tomorrow to see the full page. You can see the tutorial of the project where he landed here. Thanks for joining me for this quick tutorial & I hope you get the chance to play with left over resin soon!!!

Supplies:

Resin by Resin Obsession

Mold by Plaid

Metallic paint & was by Prima.

Resin Obsession Book Marks for Journals

Hello Resin fans, I have a full tutorial over on the Resin Obsession blog on making book marks. This is a really fun project that is fairly easy, it just takes a bit of time. 

These projects made from different types of paper resin, which I will go through step-by-step. A great way to use up your ephemera pieces, project life cards, tissue paper, book paper etc. I had a lot of fun experimenting to see how the different papers reacted to the resin. I hope you hop on over & join me!!

Eileen Hull Journal with Bo Bunny "Life in Color".

Hello Journal Fans, I am back today with another fabulous Eileen Hull Journal using Bo Bunny's Life In Color. It is an eclectic, seriously fun line with great colors. I also threw in a little of their Faith line which has the same color scheme. Some of the pieces were also jazzed up with Therm*O*Web foil, I have a tutorial for you on this. Eileen's theme this month is to use the Heartfelt Collection. So I used a number of dies from this line. Grab a coffee or your die cut machine & let's go!!

Life In Color Eileen Hull Journal

 The challenge for me with this line was, how to do a book using a multi-themed product. It came to me, a "Favorite Memories" Journal. A place to put a collection of memories. I can put a photo or ephemera if I have no photo. The versatility of these journal books is amazing, love my growing collection! 

Crafting from my couch.

Crafting Injured! 

You never know when inspiration will strike. In this case I was stuck on the couch with a running injury. I spent the day watching Supernatural- one of my favorite craft-to series. It is amazing how much can be done while vegging in pain on the couch! *There is a supply list at the end of this post.

 

Foiling with Therm*O*Web

Let's Add Some Foiling!

I really love this Faith-light bulb. It was so easy to add foiling details. Heat laminator for 10 minutes. Simply use the DecoFoil Pen & go over the grey highlight on the bulb. Top with a foil sheet, color side up, sandwich between parchment paper & run through your laminator. You can also use your die cut machine, see a video on this here. 

I also added foil to my chipboard feather. This is not a perfect technique but works pretty darn well & is fast. Simply cover the chip piece using a paint brush with DecoFoil Transfer Gel (I missed a few spots), place your foil sheet color side up on top of your chippie & run through your Sizzix die machine following the Thinlet sandwich as in the video link above. Use a smooth plate on top of the cuts in your plate will transfer onto your piece. I kinda like that so you can see the texture in mine. You can also do this using the Decofoil Pen if the surface is not too big.

 

Foiled SRTC Chipboard Feather

 You Can Emboss On Foil!!!

I could have repeated the step above to fix the sketchy areas (in a different color foil probably) but I decided to distress by adding some paint that I used on the spine. Wanting more I also used a stamp & heat embossed in black. I was very excited that heat embossing on the foil worked! I also covered my final piece in decoupage glue to protect it. I am very happy with how my chippie ended up looking & will definitely be doing this combo again!

Embossing on the Spine, Love this Technique!

The spine was simply painted in acrylic paint and embossed with Fractured Ice. I love the way this emboss powder turns the paint grungy and yet has sparkle too. I used elastic for my binding so my pages would slip in & out to work on it. There are 3 signatures but I can add a forth, with 5 or 6 papers per signature. Lots of tabs which are included in the collection- I love tabs!
If you need here is a tutorial on how to put the Journal together.

Adding an thick decorative elastic that wraps around the back of the book helps protect the embellishments on the front while keeping the book closed. I added an eyelet at the top & bottom of the book running the elastic thorough them & adhering with SuperTape. 

Here is the back of my book. I used the packaging from the Chipboard Stickers and adhered a card cut from cardstock, along with a piece of washi tape. Isn't that peacock elastic from my stash cool? Keep an eye out for decorative elastic.

My cover was done fairly simply using paper and ephemera from Bo Bunny but also using Eileen's flower die with Resin Paper. You can find a full tutorial at Resin Obsession on how to make these amazing embellishments here. 

 

Quick Peek at the Inside!

The inside cover, totally love this double pocket & it was so easy to do using Eileen's Notebook Pocket Die. The back pocket is using the die cut with paper. The front pocket was simply cut from paper and a tab from the Banner's & Pennant's die was adhered at the top. How cute is that?!!  You will see a bunch of these tabs throughout the book.The tiny star is also from that die.  

Here are the tags from the pockets. This pic was from Creativation 2017 with Eileen, & Suzie as we were setting up Scotty on the show room floor. We had forgotten to bring a t-shirt to work in so nabbed up matching Yoda t's which were perfect for manual labor! The sentiment "Do or do not there is no try" pretty much sums up set up day!

 

Here are a few pages in progress! Love that these paper lines come with a vellum sheet. I simply sewed the edges of the vellum, adhered it to my page & made a pocket. Made a tag out of the paper & added a tab using the banner die. Love that it is a different way to top a tag. I will probably stamp a quote on the vellum- so cool.

 Last pic on this epic-ally long post! The left side, another pocket using a vellum sheet with a banner tab at the top. Forgiveness is a card from the paper, sewn and adhered as a pocket. Apparently I am in the mood for pockets & tags! On the right shows the bottom of a tag with that so awesome banner die adhered as a tab.

I will be sharing updates on this book as I work in it! Thanks for joining me here today & remember to check out Eileen's blog to see what my team members have done this month. Also be sure to join Eileen's Fan Club on Facebook where you can play along with us & win prizes!  
 

Supplies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix dies - Journal 

                                  -Sketchy Flowers & Leaf

                                  -Notebook Pocket
                                  -Banners & Pennants  
                                  -mat board

Bo Bunny- Life in Color: Cardstock, Vellum Paper with foil, Chipboard Stickers with Glitter, Cardstock Stickers.

               - Faith: Noteworthy Journaling Cards

Resin Obsession-Super Clear Resin

Southern Ridge Trading Co.- Drifting Feathers

Emerald Creek- Fractured Ice Embossing Powder 

Therm*O*Web - DecoFoil: Transfer Sheets in Lapis Watercolor, Aqua.

                      -DecoFoil Pen & Transfer Gel

                      -SuperTape & Zots Glue.

Dylusions Paint- Lemon Zest, Fresh Lime & Vibrant Turquoise

Carabelle Stamp- Une Regard sur mon Histoire

Dynamo Label

Making Resin Obsession Flowers

Hello Blog Land, I am here today with my first post for the Resin Obsession Team. I am very excited to be joining and having the chance to further explore Resin making!! I will be entering this in the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge which is too perfect a theme- altered embellishments! 

Hop on over to the Resin Obsession blog to check out my full tutorial on how you can make Resin Paper with napkins and turn them into these colorful & eclectic flowers! Also check back later today to see what I put these fabulous flowers on!! 

Also I hope you join in the current challenge over at Mix Media Monthly! 

Thanks for joining me & have a lovely inky day.