Words Matter Art Journal Process
The beginning of a new year (and a new blog!) has me taking a second look at some of the craft items I keep in my crafty space. Not that I am going all “Marie Kondo” on my craft space, but I realize that the quantity of some items keeps me from really finding what I need when I need it.
As a scrapbooker and Bible journaler, I have more alpha stickers than I could possibly know what to do with. I use them all the time, but as certain sets begin to become sparse, I rarely grab for them. When you are missing all the vowels, it sure is hard to create a word! As I sorted through my alpha stickers, I came across several sets that I knew I wasn’t going to reach for anymore. But, I thought it was a shame to waste good supplies, and passing on very incomplete sets to someone else didn’t seem like a viable option. That had me thinking…what could I use all these incomplete alpha stickers for?!?
Enter my art journal! Art journals have no rules, so who needs vowels? I pulled out my trusty art journal and began sticking alphas all over my next spread, one set at a time.
You can see how the layers began to build up. It felt fabulous to not have a plan, but to just start sticking alphas randomly across a page!
Unintentionally, the spread began to take on a heart shape, which seemed appropriate with February upon us 🙂 The layers built up slowly, and I did kind of like the layout before I added paint. It intrigued me, but I knew it wasn’t quite done. I covered the entire layout with clear gesso in hopes of sealing down the alphas and creating a uniform surface that would take paint well.
Months and months ago, I purchased some Finnabair acrylic paint that had a great metallic look to it. I started with two different gold colors, “Dragon’s Eye” and “Unicorn Hair”. How cool are those names?!? Using a sponge brush, I dabbed the paint around the page and over the top of all the alpha stickers. It took patience and several layers to cover the alphas completely. After applying the two golds, I felt there needed to be a third color to add more interest and depth, so I reached for “Butterfly Spells” in the same paint brand. The gorgeous pink added just the touch I was looking for.
With the page feeling more and more complete, I knew I needed to decide what to put in the center of the layout. I considered just filling it solid with more alphas, or attempting to add a brush script quote of some sort. But, by that time the coats of paint were rather thick, and I wasn’t sure that I had a pen or marker that would do the job. In the end, I grabbed alphas and spelled out “Words Matter”. This was one of the themes from my pastor’s Sunday sermon last week, and it is a phrase that has been floating in my head all week long. Definitely felt like a fitting title for this art journal page.
This was another fun technique for my art journal, and the result really surprised me. I think this is a fabulous way to use unwanted or incomplete alpha sets, and would make a cool background on a scrapbook or Bible journal page as well. I can’t wait to try it again in a couple of months when that alpha stash is begging to be thinned out!
Do you have incomplete alpha sets that this might work with? How about puffy stickers or enamel shapes that might be in a less desirable color? Give it a shot!
Keep it creative,
-The Scrappy Wife
