Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1

This is my very first multi-media art journal layout which I’m very proud of and I had a lot of fun creating. I’ve created a separate post throughout the process of creating this layout so if you’re interested click the links provided to be taken to the post which will describe the process for what was captured in each photo.

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 1 – Apply Gelatos Colour

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 2 – Gesso

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 3 – Center Stencil

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 4 – Ink Accents

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 5 – Brown Tags

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 6 – Coloured Tags

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 7 – White Gel Pen Accents

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 8 – Distress Ink Ribbon

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 9 – Tying Ribbon to Tags

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 10 – Adhering Tags

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 11 – Stamping Flowers

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 12 – Adhering Flowers

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 13 – Gesso Accents

I hope you’ve enjoyed this creative process and encourage you to explore your own creativity by enjoying your own multi-media art journal.

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 13 – Gesso Accents

Again I was going to call the layout complete but then as I looked at the page I thought the white was just a little too bold against the distressed inks of the tags. I wanted to tie the whole layout together a bit more so I decided to do that by using some plain white gesso to create some accents.

I used a paint brush just to paint a couple portions of the edges, I still wanted some of the splodgy purple to be seen but I wanted some really bright crisp white sections too.

I then used the Tim Holtz Dot Fade stencil and added here and there some gesso dot patterns. Even going over some of the tag to really try and draw it all together. I was really happy and proud with this finally final result!

It is my first ever multi-media art journal layout and I had so much fun and did so many different things. To anyone that hasn’t tried art journaling before, I highly recommend it.

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 12 – Adhering Flowers

I adhered the flowers to the photo frames using both glue and foam squares. I wanted a bit of dimension on the arrangement of flowers. Such as on the bottom left square pictured, I have the large purple flower raised up on foam squares so I can tuck the leaves and the yellow flower behind. I think it just makes the flowers flow better and creates more interest.

Once both photo frames were complete, I adhered them to the page using gel medium. That stuff is strong as a glue!

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 11 – Stamping Flowers

Originally I was going to just stop at the sentiment tags and call the layout complete, but I decided I didn’t like the gaps in either corner so I thought I would make a photo frame and have flowers inside it. This embellishment really didn’t turn out how I had originally thought, but I’m happy with the end result even though it wasn’t what I had envisioned.

My original thought was to to cut a piece of white card stock in a rectangle shape and use distress ink on it and then cut a smaller piece of black card stock in a square and place it in the top section of the rectangle to make it look like a photo. And then when I was rummaging through my supplies I found some pre-made photo frame embellishments that my mother-in-law bought for me.

So I thought, ‘yay – time saver I’ll just use that instead’. The white frame part was very glossy though, so I didn’t think the ink would work to well on it and I was having second thoughts about using the inking technique again anyway. I thought it might just make it all blend in too much or be too repetitive.

So I left the border crisp and white and then I cut a square of white card stock and placed it over the black to create an all white background.

I stamped a whole bunch of flowers on scrap pieces of white card stock using the Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Set of Stamps “Flowers On My Mind” from the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit 2015 (which I totally loved, by the way, and has been my favourite so far).

I stamped them in the matching yellow and purple colours using the Tim Holtz Distress Ink in the Mustard Seed and Seedless Preserve. I stamped the leaves, also from the the Simon Says Stamp “Flowers On My Mind” stamp set, using the Tim Holtz Distress Ink ‘Mowed Lawn’.

The stamping was a bit rough and splotchy, but I kind of liked the effect so I didn’t try and touch it up or fix it at all. I used a pair of scissors to fussy cut all the flowers and leaves out and then I started to arranged them on the two photo cards I had.

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 10 – Adhering Tags

The next step was to adhere the sentiment tags to the page. I used Faber Castell’s gel medium. I covered the bottom placed it down and just had to go over the edges a little. The only tag to give me a little bit of trouble was the ‘to make’ tag as the right-hand side corner above the bow kept trying to stick up. It took a little negotiating, but eventually I was victorious!

“ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 9 – Tying Ribbon to Tags

I didn’t want the bows to be all uniform on each tag for example to have each bow in the top left corner. I think it would be boring and also look odd on a page that has a lot of randomness to it.

So each time I picked up one of the four sentiment tags I hole punched two holes on a different area of the tag.

When I was finished, I was quite proud of my creation. （￣ー￣）

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 8 – Distress Ink Ribbon

While I was at work, I had the idea that I would hole punch a couple of holes in each tag, put a ribbon though the holes and tie a bow. I wanted the bows to be purple and yellow to match the theme.

When I was at home, I searched through my stash and I didn’t have any yellow or purple ribbon. (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ

In the search for the purple and yellow ribbon, I found some white ribbon that my mother in law had gifted to me. I remember reading on the Distress Ink packet that it can be used on fabric so a brilliant scheme started formulating…(¬‿¬)

Alternating the inks starting with purple, I started dying the white ribbon to the colours I wanted. I was actually really pleased with how it turned out. And it was super-fun to do so I definitely plan on dying ribbons with Distress Ink again in the future.

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 7 – White Gel Pen Accents

When I had five minutes spare before taking myself to work, I thought I do a little bit more on the sentiment tags for the multi-media art journal layout I’ve been working on.

To add a bit more interest and make the letters pop a little more, I used a white gel pen and I drew a line to the contour on the left-hand side of each letter.

Multi-Media Art Journal 1 – Layout 1 – Part 6 – Coloured Tags

Picking back up with the tags, I decided to use the Tim Holtz Distress Inks I had used when doing the stenciling, Mustard Seed (yellow) & Seedless Preserve (purple).

I used the Mustard Seed in the center and darkened the edges using Seedless Preserve. The result was a lot more vibrant and I believe suits the page a lot more. I was happy with the result. It’s fun to make creative ‘mistakes’ when crafting as you get to redo and retry things. I enjoyed problem solving and brainstorming the idea of the sentiment tags.