Love Art Journal Page

Hi there!  It's Ronda here today with a colorful art journal step by step for you!  I love layers.  I love LOVE so why not combine the two using Karen Burniston's Love Sizzlits Die Set?

I started with a 9 x 6 (half of a 9x12 piece) watercolor piece of paper coated with a little bit of black gesso.  Next, I die cut 7 "love" out of the other half of the watercolor paper.

To add some texture, I grabbed my scraps stash and started layering vertical strips.  It's a great way to not only add texture but to use up all those little bits and pieces you have laying around.  I also added in some old book & almanac pages.  It's good to vary both the length and width of the patterned paper. Don't worry too much about the colors because it will have a thin coat of gesso over it.

Layer in the love die cuts, placing some behind and some on top, overlapping a bit to create depth in your piece.  I laid out the piece to get a feel for how it would look.  Here's a great tip, take a picture to remember placement.  I usually use my cell phone so I can quickly reference back to the photo.

Once I figured out the rough placement, I began gluing the pieces down with matte medium.  I know some of my pieces shifted during the gluing but i was okay with it.

Once all the pieces were glued down, I painted a layer of white gesso over the entire piece.  I made it thicker in some areas and thinner in others.  This gesso layer really helps when you are adding in color over top of the piece.  Note* I only used 6 loves on the background and set one aside for later.

I love adding in layers of color.  I sponged on the various layers until i liked the background.  The great thing about paint is you can always cover it up.

Remember my mask i created a couple weeks ago on this Picture This blog post?  I couldn't help but to use it again.  I dabbed bits of white paint through the mask to create another layer of texture.

I love paint splatters and drips so i added some teal drips and splatters on the page.  The page needed a little something more so i dipped into some black paint and added in a few more sprinkles.

The finishing touches are important.  To finish this piece I added in some stamped grunge grids, some leftover hearts covered in almanac pages, and some hand drawn doodles and stitches.  I also placed the leftover Love die cut on the center of the page and outlined it using a black pen.

I hope you have a LOVELY day!

Sizzix Sizzlits Die Set 3PK - Love Set Tim Holtz Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die - Washer Border Sizzix Big Shot Machine

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Surfaces: Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mask Sheets
Paint: Liquitex Basics, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints
Stamps: Tim Holtz/Stamper's Anonymous Ultimate Grunge 
Mediums: Ranger Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso & Matte Medium
Ink: Ranger Ink Jet Black Archival Ink
Pen: Signo Uni-Ball Vision Roller