I don’t know about you, but May has my head spinning so far. With the array of end-of-school activities and programs, Mother’s Day, summer preparations, and volunteer commitments, I have been feeling overwhelmed and not at all full of joy. But, as a pastor at my church often reminds us, many of our stresses are truly wrapped up in the management of blessings. There is always joy to be found! I decided to spend some time journaling in Psalm 118, to remind myself to take a few moments, look around, and rejoice!
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” –Psalm 118:24
You can check out my process video here:
Fewer things make me happier than playing with new art supplies, so for my birthday, I treated myself to new Distress Oxide Ink sprays. Not knowing if I would like them or not (spoiler alert…I did!), I stuck with only two colors to try them out. Sprays are a fabulous way to create a background for a page, but they most definitely bleed through Bible paper. And, they won’t just bleed through one page…they will bleed through several! So, it is important to take a few precautions. I began this page by prepping it with clear gesso. I am currently using Liquitex Clear Gesso. It is not my favorite gesso, but I unfortunately purchased a big container, so I am stuck with it for a while.
The gesso left a texture feeling on the page, which actually worked pretty well for the mixed media techniques I was planning on using. I sprayed the two colors of Distress Oxide spray across the page, and also added a Dylusions shimmer spray in yellow. The combination of the two was so interesting. The Distress Oxide sprays look chalky and oxidized as they dry, while the Dylusions left a beautiful shimmer. I added some water to the page and moved my Bible around to create some cool drip effects. The background turned out so fun and bright….capturing that JOY!
I wish I could say that my page prep worked, but alas, the colors definitely bled through the page. That does not bother me though, because I will just use those colors when I end up journaling on the back of the paper. If the bleed through bothers you, I suggest multiple layers of gesso, and really letting them dry thoroughly before using the sprays.
My next step on my mixed media background was stamping. I used two stamps from the Illustrated Faith “Mark Maker” kit to add texture to the background. The Archival black ink worked well for breaking up the strong color just a bit. Additionally, I used a stamp to set off the verse that I was focusing on in my journaling. Sometimes I hear people that feel like these clear stamps just don’t give great impressions. I have had more success though when I’ve made sure there is a very hard surface beneath the page, so you may want to give that a try!
To add more dimension to the page, I added a mixture of metallic paint through a heart stencil on three sections of the layout. Working in groups of three creates a nice triangle on the page that is pleasing to the eye. The metallic did not stand out too much from the bright colors, but it did tone it down ever so slightly.
The last step for this page involved hand lettering. This is a skill that I am slowly but surely working on, and although I still have a long way to go, I am loving the progress that I am making. I hand lettered a large “Joy” and then added the words “Find the…” to complete the title. A bit of journaling, a tab cluster, and a date stamp completed the page!
I love how fun and light hearted this page is. The bright colors are a wonderful reminder that there is joy in every day, we just need to open our eyes to see it! Have you tried the Distress Oxide sprays yet? What did you think of them?
Keep it creative,
-The Scrappy Wife
Supplies Used:
- Illustrating Bible
- Liquitex Clear Gesso
- Distress Oxide Sprays – Picked Raspberry & Spiced Marmalade
- Dylusions Shimmer spray
- Metallic Paint (Handmade Modern from Target)
- Heart stencil
- Illustrated Faith Mark Maker stamp set
- Illustrated Faith Joy Journey stamp set
- Black Archival Ink
- Clear Acrylic block