Dilly Beans Scrapbook or Journal Page

Yikes, the Fridays are coming fast and furious and this weekend unofficially marks the end of summer...bummer!  We'll still have lots of fun challenges at Dilly Beans, however and this week is a doozy; make a Scrapbook or Journal Page.  WWWAAAYYY out of my comfort zone.  I love the whole idea of art journaling, but have yet to sucessfully embrace the whole arty, inky, painty, collagey background thing.  I think I'm just too uptight.  Can't just let things flow.  I sure admire those who do, though.  So it should be no surprise that this is my third attempt at a background.  It's mostly done with Dylusion sprays, then a Spellbinders die cut from another sprayed piece.  The "road" is done with Distress Ink and a sponge over a Diane Reaveley mask.  Fortunately, I knew what I was going to say, a quote from Lewis Carroll, although that's not exactly as it's written in Alice in Wonderland.  It's more the gist of the conversation between Alice and the Cheshire.  Wish I had the talent or at least the nerve to  try some fancy hand journaling, but hey, it was already late in the game.  I've used #152 Alice, #153 the Cheshire and #358 Mushroom Set, printed, colored with Copics, fussy cut and glued to the page.  These still are some of my very favorite Dilly Beans images.  My teamies have done some fabulous work so I hope you visit the Challenge Blog for a little inspiration and come join us this week.  It really was fun.  And have a wonderful, safe 3 day weekend.

Tiddly Inks 2 Week Art Journaling Challenge.

Better grap a cuppa, this is gonna be a long post.

Our challenge this week at Tiddly Inks is inspired by our Wow Ya Wednesday artist Kate of The Kathryn Wheel and what a challenge it is! (for me, at least) Create an art journal page (or project) inspired by the multi media style so popular now. I'll be honest. I don't have a lot of paints and sprays and that kind of stuff because I really don't like to get my hands (and everything around me) dirty. And I'm a chicken, and a perfectionist, and if I don't like something I throw it away and start over, COMPLETELY over. The philosophy here is "There are no mistakes in Art". Tell that to my waste basket. LOL So actually experimenting in a bound journal is actually quite terrifying to me. I joined the Smeared and Smudged Art Journaling Group and I lasted 3 days and NEVER posted what I did on my blog. The group was very supportive, but what was supposed to be a fun and freeing experience caused me EXTREME anxiety so I dropped out. However, armed with the fab inspiration from Kate and the various links Christy provided for us HERE, I was ready to take the plunge again.

Okay, so maybe it looks like a little dip, because my page is really not as jam packed with doodling and whatnot as I would have liked... I started by slapping gesso on the page which covered up the lines and provided a base. Then I used Distress Inks in colors I immediately didn't like (was going for a sky and grass thing because I had no idea what the page was gonna be about, or what images to use.) Note to self: have a plan first.I hated it so on went another layer of gesso which muted it all (thank GOD!) Next some Acrylic Paint Dabber in Cloudy Blue and while the gesso AND the paint were still wet, I pounced it all with bubble wrap trying to get some texture. Then I had to let it dry. Hmmm... not very patient, so I blasted it with my heat gun.

Then I pretty much just messed around. Used more bubble wrap and Distress Inks with pretty much all of the blues. Stamped a Heartfelt Creations text background stamp with Perfect Medium and dusted with Perfect Pearls in the upper right corner. So it started to look like sky, or water. Took a look at my Tiddlies and came across Whaz'Up...or Down (currently residing in the Tiddly Inks Basement for a mere $1.00! Now you know I'm more of a cat woman, but these little guys captured what I've been feeling lately. (Read the computer generated journaling. No, I was just too chicken to try and write it by hand and possibly mess up after all of this!) I colored the little guys with Distress Ink and cut them out. I also added a compass mask and some stamping also with Distress.

Then I decided I wanted clouds so I got REALLY BRAVE and slapped on some Dreamweavers Embossing paste. What I didn't read was that it was translucent. CRAP! (thought it was white) so I looked in my drawer and grabbed some Sparklyfluff, sprinkled it on, and hoped it would stick. Yea, it did, but the pic doesn't show the sparkle...bummer. My only dilemma now was the balloon strings because I was pretty sure I couldn't draw over the Sparklyfluff. Couldn't find black floss either, so I opted for wire which was not a great choice, but what's a gal to do? So anyway, here's my page and I have to admit I had FUN! No, it's far from perfect, but it's okay. Now, if you want to see perfection, check out what my teamies have done HERE. And don't forget this is a 2 week challenge so you have plenty of time to muster some courage if you're a newbie like me. You may just find your voice. There are no mistakes in art.

P.S. Christy has previewed 2 new adorable images and a FREEBIE on her blog, so have a look HERE.