My Journal by Craftytrog

Hello Stampers! We've had a few journal pages lately, so today I'm sharing how I decorated the cover of my very first journal, that I started at the beginning of the year. I was inspired by a gel medium resist technique that Dina Wakley shared in her book, Art Journal Freedom, which you can buy from The Artistic Stamper HERE.

To begin, I cut two pieces of Claudine Hellmuth sticky back canvas, to fit the front & back of my journal. I peeled off the backing paper, & stuck the canvas to a Craft Sheet, then used the gel medium resist technique from Dina's book, Art Journal Freedom, with one of  Andy Skinner's new stencils. When the Gel Medium was completely dry, I spritzed the canvas with water, before adding Dylusion Spray inks in London Blue, Calypso Teal & Squeezed Orange. Whilst the inks were still wet, I blotted them in my journal, to create a colourful background for a new page. I hate to waste good ink, & I love this background!

When the inks on the canvas were dry, I stamped the Ink Blot background, using Spiced Marmalade & Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. I attached the canvas pieces to the front & back of my journal, then used my finger to smear black Studio Paint around the edges.

Next, I stamped Neil Walker's Kiki on some cream card, cut her out, & inked around the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I smooshed some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink on my Craft Sheet, & used a water brush to colour Kiki's lips & gloves.

Next, I stamped my book title on a small kraft luggage tag, using stamps from Scrabble & Tags, Journaling Words 4, & Katy Fox's Numerical Plate. I used the Picked Raspberry Distress Ink to add some colour, then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I layered the tag over a torn piece of page from an old London A to Z, and attached both to the canvas background on the front of my journal. I then attached Kiki over-lapping the tag.

I randomly stamped the number column from Katy Fox's Numerical Plate with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, then I finished off my journal cover by adding some black & white Studio paint accents, using an old credit card & a couple of small lids.

Thanks for looking,

Alison xxx