Background

Just a quick post today with my entry for the Simon says stamp and show challenge: background.
I had lots of fun doing this even though it didn't seem to come together just the way I wanted.
I even did another spread in my journal, which I like, but somehow just doesn't seem to be about the background. I guess, neither does this one, but I feel there is enough left of the background stamping to qualify =).

I started out with a page where I had tried my hand at image transfer using PVA glue over a gesso background. Not overly succesfull I might add. I had put the page aside because I didn't know what to do with it. 

Last night my daughter was playing with her art journal and mixed way to much pink paint, so I offered to use the left over paint in my book.

I applied the pink paint all around the transferred image. Them rubbed on some dark brown paint with my fingers. Followed by white. I then stamped a stamp all over the pages in sepia archival ink.

I applied some gold acrylic paint with my fingers and glued another picture to the right page. Then rubbed some white paint around the edges of the picture and accented the white edges of the transferred image again.

I then wrote a quote I found online somewhere, that I felt was appropriate with my trial and error approach to this page. "If you are willing to do something that might not work, you are closer to being an artist." 

Now I don't know about the artist part, but I was definitely willing to try something that might not work. I decided to write the text by hand with white paint. And that did not work...well the sentance was there, but I didn't like it. So I made it gold, then traced around it with a darker pen, doodled on it with white and then added some dots in white, randomly.

Next I used the same stamp I used in the background to edge and accent the page with gold embossing.

I even tried to apply some embossing to the letters, wich did somewhat work.

I do like how it turned out. Though I wished I had done the lettering differently, so they would fit in more with the rest of the page. I love how the pictures came out and how the embossing compliments the rest of the page. So yeah, you win some you lose some, when you take a chance. I definitely learned a lot from this page and had a lot of fun doing it.

I will now go and see if I can get ready for the Elf Fantasy Fair on saterday. Where I will use my iPhone case altered book for the first time. I haven't been able to sew new victorian gear, so my old stuff will have to suffice. I problably won't have time to write any posts till after, so I wish you all a very nice weekend.

I hope you liked it and thank you for watching.