Debs Palette (Deborah Stephens) : And so the adventure begins

"And so the adventure begins" is a very fitting title to use on my very first project on this new design team adventure for iCraft Australia. This art journal page was a lot of fun to make as I had been given a whole bunch of new products to play with, who wouldn't like that?

This page was created with lots of iCraft chalk paint and a Layering stencil (iCraft supplies used are listed and linked at the bottom of this blog post) and a few background stamps, a collage butterfly element and a sentiment sticker from my stash to finish it off.

I started by taping my paper to my worksurface with a low tack tape and then put down a layer of chalk paint in random areas with a paintbrush until I couldn't see white on the page anymore. I then sponged some of the same paint colours with the Layering Stencil number 8562. I would start in an area with the purple paint for example, then extend it out with the stencil to cover areas that had contrasting chalk paint underneath like yellow. I then stamped a range of small background patterned stamps in Archival ink as I knew I was going to apply more paint and water later and I didn't want the ink to smear.

I then drew in some lines and circles with a light pencil. I used a wash of cream pie chalk paint with water and painted with rough up and down brush strokes around these elements so it pushed the vibrancy into the background more and made the circles and plank elements I had created pop more. I always dried between layers. I used a light wash of chalk paint colours to apply darker colour to the bottom of the circles to create some depth and shadow. I also used a variety of texture and script stamps with archival ink in many colours to stamp inside and in between the circles. I also used a Stabillo All pencil to scribble roughly around the circles and to define the vertical lines. I went over this with a fine tipped brush and water to activate the pencil as it's water soluble. I also shaded a little between the circles with the pencil to create more shadow and activated with water and brush again.

To finish off, I fussy cut a butterfly collage element and glued it on with a sentiment sticker. I also used a white gel pen to add highlights to the circles and outline the sentiment to make it stand out more.

I hope this Art Journal page inspires you to get out your paints and stencils and start journaling or just to have a play! Much thanks for looking at my project.

Deb Stephens