Gel Pens and Watercolor Crayons

I am still busy with tons of projects - class samples, graduation cards,button fairies, and ATC's for my ongoing "Elements" swap. I recently completed one of the three elements to which I have committed. The background was created using a stencil that I colored with Glaze gel pens. After the ink dried, I colored with watercolor crayons, blending with a damp towel. The Glaze marks create a resist with the watercolor. I have been enjoying playing around with this combination.

NOTE: This is not meant to be insensitive to those taking lithium or those with psychological issues. I really just wanted to use these 2 stamps together for Lithium.

A Little Keepsake...

So, the picture isn't that great (taken with a cell phone and fuzzy). But, it was a fun remembrance page to create for my "Beauty Best Friend", Sonja. She'll be moving to St Louis to be near family.

I do not often show usage of patterned paper. But, this is one of (if not my) favorite manufacturers, Graphic 45. I used the reverse of an image sheet as the diamond motif background. The female images were from a companion page in the line. I added a bit of glitter and Glaze pen as accents. I have a lot of ephemera (that I need to use more frequently), thus the addition of the vintage labels.  It is a fun combination of vintage looks!

Art Journal Fun

This was a playful double page spread I made. The background on the left was created with strips of various background papers and tapes. On the right page, the inner part of the page is a resist - water soluble Pastel over Glaze pen outline. Both techniques could be translated to a variety of projects, including cards and ATC's.

And now for Something Completely Different...

I am taking a card and scrapping break this weekend, and participating in a series of art journal classes taught by my friend, Kelly Kilmer. She always has great classes, techniques and loads of information packed handouts. A fun little technique I learned is illustrated in the page (in progress) below:

The focal image on the above page is from a retro comic book (I think it was Millie the Model, or something similar). After cutting her out, I used a stencil and a Sakura Glaze pen for the yellow dots. Once it was dry, I colored with water soluble oil pastels, blending with a damp paper towel. The Glaze pen resisted the pastels for an interesting effect. Cool, huh?! (Thanks, Kelly!)

This next page also uses a couple of different materials that I had not combined before today.

The bird image was cut from a bird book. I added some sheet music for much of the background. There rest is tape (you know how I love tape!) and transparencies. I really like the combination together - particularly the clear background tape!

You could use both of these great ideas on cards and scrapbook pages. Something different can be quite fun.