Art Journal Page

The first page in a journal. Somewhat daunting - very scary.

I have had this blank journal for awhile.  It is a mixed media journal.  It is laying in the area where I do my mixed media so when I had gesso left over I would smear it on the page.  I have two pages that are prepped like this. 

Tonight I started my first page.  When I read the monthly Take the Challenge with Mou on the Faber Castell blog - to create a project related to Time.  

I scribbled some different colors of Gelatos on the page and then smoothed them out with a wipe.  

Currently I am not too happy with the look but I know it can be changed very easily.  I deepened the color with more Gelatos and spread the color with my fingers so more of the pigment stayed on the page.

I found this great image of an antique alarm clock at The Graphic Fairy and printed it on copy paper.  I cut it out and added it to the page with gel medium. 

I then took different stencils and distress paint and added some texture around the page.  My favorite turned out to be the orange paint with the square stencils.  I liked it so well I put it on in several different areas of the page.  I also painted in the edge of the paper where the spiral was. 

I am always afraid to write or stamp directly on a page because of the chance to ruin something.  I decided to write my quote on tissue paper.  I love how tissue paper just melts into your background with gel medium.  (sorry my picture of the handwriting on the tissue paper did not turn out).  I wish now I had written it larger and it was darker.  

I took a Tim Holtz stencil that had numbers on it (a page about time needs numbers on it).  I laid the stencil on the page and used the Big Brush through the stencil to add the numbers in 4 different spots.  I also stamped some circles (I love this little circle stamp from Judith).  I painted the inside of the circle with a Dina Wakely acrylic paint (my only tube).  

I keep feeling the urge to add more to the page but I like the page the way it is.  

Some things that make my soul happy are my daughters, my mother, the rest of my family, my neighbors, playing with my paper, and the thought that in about 15 months I hope to retire.  On that note thanks for stopping by.