My Heart Goes 'BOOM!' - A Scrappy Journal Page

It's FRIDAY!!! WOO!

I like a Friday...it leads to weekendy time and I do like a weekend. Are you well? Have you had a good week? I hope so - I hope it's been FABULOUS!

Sooooo, it had been my plan to scan in some of my mum's pics for you to enjoy, but I'm having a few tech issues so I think that might have to wait 'til next week. Hey-ho. Instead, I have a little journal page process again, using some hand-painted backing papers.

I love making my own patterned sheets. Most of them are the result of cleaning brushes and stencils or using up excess paint from a project. The addition of a bit of doodling over a page filled with colour turns a sheet of scrappy mess into something fun and very useable. 

For this page I chose the scrappiest of the stack I had - ta-daaah!

Scrappy. I want to prove that you can make something arty from something scruffy you might be tempted to otherwise throw away.  I also used the cheapest paints I had, some craft acrylics and some paint testers from the local hardware store.

I prepared a page in my journal, gessoed the surface (just a thin layer) and then added a warmer colour of acrylic paint as a more even base coat. I cut some rough heart shapes out of the backing paper, choosing sections which would look arty and interesting. Once the hearts were cut out, I was left with a lot of scraps which I tore up (torn edges collage better that cut ones) and stuck down to make a colourful background -

I blended the elements into the background by finger-painting some bright colours around them. To make the hearts 'pop' I used a black Inktense pencil and a litte water to add an outline, then used matte medium gel to adhere them to the page in a way that kind of makes them look like they're exploding out from a centre point -

I also added some of the offcut strips to make it look a bit more animated, then some more pencil around the elements to define them and make them stand out. I used a black gelato crayon to add a border to the page - it smudges beautifully!

I wanted to add a quote...something....but nothing comes to mind at the moment. The good thing about art journal pages is that there's no pressure, and as I like the way the page turned out I've left it for now..I can add text any time I like.

 This is only a small journal and it's not full BUT it's amazing how easy it is to fill one like this with your art. I know that art journaling can seem daunting, but it's really cool when you can flip through a book that YOU have filled with YOUR art, I promise. I use this journal when I want to do a 'process page' so you may have seen some of the pages in earlier posts but I'll collect them all in one place for an easy browse! Here they be:

There are a couple of pages not included above as I can't scan them tonight and have filed the originals....SOMEwhere.....told you I'm having tech issues! I just wanted to prove that it doesn't take much to make a few pages look like a book that will be something REALLY special for you and the people with whom you share it.

I hope you have some fun making your own papers and collage elements - it's so easy and a LOT of fun! And I hope this has been helpful. Thank you for visiting - thank you to everyone who leaves a comment! It's such a motivation and I send you all loads of love and big hugs from Shroo :) xxx