Tuesday Tips and Techniques: Luscious Layers

Nothing makes a journal spread more interesting than lots of luscious layers of colorful, textural goodness!  Here are the steps I took to make such a spread.

The first layer was a coat of super heavy gesso applied with an old credit card, followed by a layer of yellow and fuschia colored tissue papers applied with Mod Podge.

Another thin coat of gesso was applied to tone both pages down.

The next layer was orange craft acrylic diluted with about 40% water, brushed on and dabbed off with paper towel.

That was so much fun, another layer of craft acrylic, this time in "Christmas Red", was applied in the same fashion.

Don't EVEN think about throwing that used paper towel into the garbage!  After it dries, it can be peeled apart, torn and applied with Mod Podge into a new background!

Once the background was dry, it was time to look through the picture file to see what I was inspired to use for this spread.  "HOT" has been the name of the game and what everyone seems to be talking about.  I'm inspired to get it out of my system!

Once I knew in what direction I was headed, it was time to add some writing to the pages.  Using a red, Pitt brush tipped pen, I repeated the phrase, "It's so hot!", over both pages.

I adhered my images to the pages with Mod Podge . . .

and used water soluble crayon and Prismacolor pencils to add heat rings around the sun, give definition to the clouds, and add temperatures that we've had over the past 4 weeks.

I added some gooey, drippy paint to "melt" the word, HEAT, added a slight bit of journaling at the bottom of both pages, and this spread was complete.

Here's a spread I completed earlier in the week.  It's layered in an even more playful manner, using drippy layers of artist acrylics, scribbling into the wet paint with my fingernails, and darkening the images that I could see in the paint.

Get out your supplies and have fun layering, and as always, remember to "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"