She Dreamed ~ art journal

It's been a while since I played in my art journal so I listened when it called me even though I didn't have a single idea as a jump off point. I started out with a gessoed double page spread to which I applied embossing paste through the Dylusions Diamond of a Border stencil.

Once that was dry I applied yellow-green, yellow ochre, and two shades of blue Pan Pastels randomly over the embossed background, blending where they met. Still no ideas....hmmm. The journal was sprayed with a fixative because I wasn't sure where I was going next.

I tore two solids from Authentique's Strong paper pad and glued them to the pages  along with a layer of torn canvas. Ranger Archival Coffee ink was used to stamp Unity's Cooped Up Notes on both the paper and the background. Inktense pencils were used to shade next to the overlapping papers and spread with a waterbrush. Forest Moss Distress ink was used to tone down the yellowish green Pan Pastel in order to make it suit the papers and images to come. It also helped to grunge up the background which was the look I was wanting although I still didn't know why. Brown Big Brush pen was used to edge the pages, making sure that it overlapped the front periodically.

The two large images plus the hat come from Tumblefish Studio's collage sheets...love 'em! I started with the woman, Sylvia, who looked wistful and a bit sad to me. She seemed to have a story to tell. She didn't seem to be having fun so I decided to help her out with a silly hat and whimsical friend.

That led me to create the message which I then computer generated and matted in black. The typewriter keys images were purchased on Etsy (I think) and were fussy cut and given a good coat of Glossy Accents for shine and dimension. The images were fussy cut, lined with black Big Brush pen, and adhered to the pages.

A length of lace trim was tucked under Sylvia's elbow to lend a vintage and perhaps formal touch. I think she isn't allowed to be silly very often. The piece cut off of the trim was adhered below it. A stray length of black border cut with an MFT die (and yes, it was sitting on my desk) was cut into two pieces and adhered to each page.

Both slightly watered black gesso and white gesso were used to make the rings scattered around the pages.

A hand charm was adhered with Glossy Accents so that it's pointing to the beginning of the sentiment and emphasizing the word SHE. Lots of doodling with a Chocolate brown Zig Writer, some green stamping with a star from Autumn Leaves, and my favourite TH splatter stamp in Coffee Archival ink completed the pages.

Thanks for visiting today and helping me show Sylvia that she needs a little fun in her life every day. And really, don't we all! I'm hoping that she will find a way to infuse a little into her life regardless of the expectations placed upon her by others, by herself, and by her own responsibilities. I hope you have a little fun ...or a lot...today, too.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Some of the products I used on this project can be found at eclectic Paperie. Just click on the thumbnails below:

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso	Claudine Hellmuth Studio - Black Gesso	Dylusions Stencil 9x12" - Diamond of a Border	PanPastels - Landscape Colours - 7 Color Set
Authentique - Strong 8x8" Paper Pad	Unity Stamp Co. - Cooped Up Notes	Distress Ink Pad - Forest Moss	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pens - Neutral
Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - Black	Inkssesentials - Glossy Accents 2 oz.	Archival Ink - Coffee Ink Pad