Art Journaling Again

It’s been a long while since I did any proper art journaling and to be honest I think I may have been in a bit of a mixed media fog for a while now! I just needed a little nudge which came in the form of a parcel from Clare at Paper Pen and Plan containing a few Prima goodies. A Mixed Media Album, paints, brushes and texture tools waiting to be opened.

I spent twentyfour hours with it all on my desk while I had other things to get on with, all the while itching to make a start.

Eventually I cleared some space and started to lay some paints on a page to overcome that first page anxiety. The pages are thick enough to stand up to my Impasto paints and that’s no mean feat either! Using the Prima texture brushes I could spread paint where I wanted and create some cool textures with the combed ends.

I decided on adding a collage over the painted base and using the Prima butterfly stamps to complement the large moth image from my collage stash.

The feather was one I’d picked up somewhere and had been longing to use on a project for ages. Stuck on with some gel medium, I tacked it down further with some machine stitching then added a bit more here and there – just because I could!

I finished off with a smear of sparkly Unicorn paint and black Raven paint also from Prima to contrast with the paleness of the page.

I love it. I’m delighted at how the journal pages stand up to all the different materials without any warping or buckling, and the spiral binding makes it easy to lay flat or push a page under the sewing maching needle.

I think this has been the kick start I needed to get me creating journal pages again.

Jaine x

Collage Workshop

I was very fortunate to be able to give another workshop to the ladies of the Mosaik group recently, where we explored collage art using paper and fabrics. It was a requested theme so I definitely felt the pressure to deliver what they’d asked for.  The ladies embraced the theme whole heartedly and threw themselves into creating collages with found objects and pressed leaves and flowers. The results were beautiful.

I used tea bags, book page, some paint and organza as well as a little hand sewing.

These three I added to my junk journal which I think I’ll be using for collages from now on. Why not keep your own junk journal of collages or just to press flowers and leaves, it’s a lovely way to treasure the memory of a favourite walk or garden plant. Dried tea bags too can be beautiful in a background, adding a little vintage feel on a page. I use the smallest bits of paper sometimes as a tiny splash of colour can really lift a collage.

I hope you have a go for yourself as it’s great fun to do and so easy.

Have a good weekend

Jaine x



Studio Sunday, Black Hearted!

IT’s a stormy Sunday here in Luxembourg with the wind and rain lashing outside, but inside it’s cozy and warm and I don’t feel bad about spending it in the basement studio cutting and sticking and doing what ever comes naturally!

Collage on Prima Mixed Media insert page

It started with a simple clearing out of my bits and pieces cupboard and ended up with a collage page made using tea dyed paper, tea bags and a leaf collected on a forest walk. I love a bit of collage and picking up this leaf one day last week, I knew what I would do with it. I adore the black pages in this mixed media journal from Prima and I’m considering painting all of the other pages black too. However that would mean I’d not be challenged by the other pages in the journal which are vellum and Kraft as well as white.

This week I posted on the WOW! Embossing web site with a few hearts made using one of the new TRIOS collections. Read the full blog post here.

It’s not that I’ve a black heart inside but I love a bit of drama and cutting these hearts and mounting them on black created just the right sort of drama I was looking for. The particular set I used is called Confetti and consists of these three fabulous colours which contain flecks of silver powder. The effect is stunning.

I did make a card with a more conventional coloured background but I’ve plans for these black hearts so watch out! The new Trios will be in the shops from March and the other collections are just as amazing.

On a different note, another heart from last week is this one for the new February Facebook challenge which is hearts, pink, red and anything else in between. You can discover the other amazing projects here on Facebook.

I love a bit of black for creating drama and showing things off so amazingly. I hope you do too?

Happy Sunday everyone

Jaine x