So this year I have decided to challenge myself to make a set of cards, scrapbook page or journal layout using each of my stamp sets as I know I have some I rarely use! This week I am playing with the Off the Grid background stamp and decided that I needed to see it in art journalling mode to see if changed my mind and became a must keep!
A few weeks ago I had some paint left on my palette from other play and decided to start adding it to a page that already had a fair amount of pattern and stuff applied! I always add any bits that are leftover from other projects to random places in my journal and this had some paint, ink and glossy texture paste already applied through stencils.
So I added some pink, lime green and pale blue paint. None of these are expensive paints and all quite translucent which means that all the pattern and other colours are still very visible. I have no idea at this stage where I am going with this but I am loving the colour and the patterns.
The next time I went to play I decided to make use of some scrap paper I had used underneath an ATC project and as a palette for my paints… I drew some rough circles on the interesting colours and patterns.
Then I cut out the circles and started laying them out in the journal.
Love the contrast between the page and the circles… gorgeous.
I decided it needed more though and decided that circles would be the enduring theme. At the same time as all this play the lovely Helen lost her Mum and this very much was on my mind as I played in the journal… and certainly made me choose the quote for the page.
Anyway…. I smeared some gelatos in circles around the page and then added some gesso to them and created a few others with just gesso.
More gelatos added and smeared around… then time to add some black.
I used some Indian ink and a paintbrush to added the lines around the circles. Love the way this worked, even though it was scary that the black could go very wrong.
Next I added the Off the Grid stamp in archival randomly round the page.
Next I added the paper circles and adhered them with matt medium. I felt they needed more definition so out came the Indian ink again.
I added connecting circles and dots of the ink all around the page and then chose the quote.
I first hand wrote the quote using a fountain pen and purple ink but it didn’t work well enough so back to the ink and paintbrush again.
Love how this page came out and love the totally random way it developed. Love the grid contrast with the circles but still thinking that the stamp needs to go.
Well I suppose this is what this challenge is about … do I really need what I am trying out. And in this case even though I like it, no I don’t need this stamp.
Happy crafting!
Catherine
Late edit… my friend Chris commented to me that she like the use of white space in this layout… which I hadn’t thought about at the time of posting. Now you might be looking at my layout and thinking where is the white space… well the entire background becomes the white space whilst the circles become the none white space …and guess what the current Paperartsy
blog theme is… yes white space… as Darcy reminded us in the explanation and example post, white space doesnt have to be white, or devoid of pattern! So I am linking this to the challenge over there as an example of non white and not thought through aka unintentional white space!
Inkyfingeredcat 