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Be Strong Card Journaling

Hi friends!  Today I've got a little mixed-media meets card making project to share.  When I showed it to Mark, he called it card journaling  (art journaling on a card), which made me giggle, but it's a good description of what it is.  I'm really excited, but also a bit nervous to start art journaling, so I decided to break down my first few attempts in a size and format I'm familiar with.  Here I used the small butterfly and flourish images from Blue Skies and a sentiment from the coordinating Always on My Mind set.


I absolutely loved the process of making this card.  I got all sorts of messy, stepped outside of my comfort zone and added my own handwriting (which is something I rarely do because I think it's too imperfect).  After I finished I actually carried the card around with me for several hours!!  I felt such a feeling of accomplishment... like I'd just taken the first step to becoming the artist I want to be.  I felt my own opinion of my artistic-ness (if that's a word) rise a few notches... and that hasn't happened in a very long time.  Oh what a feeling!  And over a week later, I still have a sense of pride when I look at this card.  I think that's how we should feel every day!  Like we're learning and growing and trying new things and stretching ourselves so we're ready to take on the things we dream about accomplishing.  It all starts with one small step!  Dream it, DO it!  {grin}

The Making Of:
This was mainly me just playing around with new products to see what they do.  I've now learned a few techniques that would have blended my colors a bit better (like blending the pastels with a wet paintbrush instead of my dry finger!), but I've always taken the dive in and read directions only if it doesn't work the first time approach. {grin}  I started by painting some Gesso on kraft paper, then sketching the heart.  I added color to everything but the heart with Neocolor 2 wax pastels and Shiva paintstiks and just blended them with my fingers.  Next I added the color to the heart and embossed the sentiment from Always on My Mind with black archival ink and clear detail embossing powder. 

To add a little texture, I ran just the corner of my page through my paper crimper, then scraped on a little light molding paste over parts of the crimping and the long edge of the card and colored over the dried paste with a Shiva paintstik.  The butterflies were then embossed and colored with Copics and I added a few of the flourishes from Blue Skies with Versamark and clear embossing powder.  I finished off with a verse that was on my heart down the side and some doodling under each of the butterflies.  Oh, and I re-outlined that heart to make it stand out more, then roughed up the edges, mounted on black and then on a kraft card base to finish it all off.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Blue Skies, Always on My Mind (Verve Stamps)
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Basic Black (SU!)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMark, Shiva Artist Painstiks, Neocolor 2 Wax Pastels
Accessories:  paper corrugator (Marvy Uchida), Clear Detail Embossing Powder (Judikins), Gesso (ProArt), Light Modeling Paste (Golden), paper distresser (Tonic), Black journaling pen

15 comments

Jen Shults said...

I love this! I can't wait to see what your art journaling looks like. I just started as well and I'm loving it. I love everything about doing it. It's a bit freeing some how. It's scary, no doubt, but freeing. And I love that I don't have to share it if I don't want too.

The texture of your card is amazing! I love the way you used the stamps and the paint together as well as the handwritten/drawn elements. It's just lovely! Wonderful idea to combine the two... card journaling... FANTASTIC!

Jodi Collins said...

This is SO super cool Julee! I totally LOVE it!!!!!

Marisa said...

I can hear you purring with joy all the way over here, Julee :) - and it's not Katie LOL! So glad you are having so much fun and stretching yourself - you go girl!!

I did that five or so years ago when I started to stamp. Me and my "one creative gene" took a plunge into a world I had so little natural talent for and never expected to be in! Still love the feeling I get when I complete a card I am happy with (even after any strife involved in getting to the finished product LOL!) and even more joy when I can encourage someone by sending it to them :) Used the Prov 31 PJ for a sympathy card last week - yup, fit perfectly to honor a wonderful woman. Your fabulous Verve gives me such joy to work with - happy sigh, and a huge hug :)

Luanne said...

So unique, and adventurous! It's wonderful and I love it!

Anonymous said...

I have a dear friend who was diagnosed with a very rare cancer and starts a clinical trial this Friday. This is such a perfect card and although I do have the stamp set do not have the supplies you mentioned in my artistic stash (Shiva paintstik or molding paste) I am hoping to work with what I do have - pastels, crimper, and ink pads to case it with some justice. Beautiful card and thanks for your encouragement and sharing your creative talents :)

Tanya said...

Oh I think this is beautiful! Yes, it's very artsy, so fun! Kinda reminds me of an altered book I made a few years back, that was really fun!

Debbie Carriere said...

Julee, this is sooo cool!! Love all the texture & colors & different mediums - a wonderful start to art journaling!! Can't wait to see what else you create :)

Keva said...

Julee, I really love your new "outlook" on everything. It's refreshing to read your posts. This card is really awesome. So much to look at and I love the different colors. Also, your handwriting is really nice. :)

suzieq23 said...

I just love the card! In fact I am in the middle of a art journaling class with christy tomlinson called She Had three Hearts. We are just in our first week but it is amazing, fun, and I just cant wait to start. She is a marvelous teacher and this is the
2nd class i have taken from her. Perhaps you heard of She Art Girls? anyway love your card and it has given me some inspiration for my first page. thanks

suzieq23 said...

so I just went to where you purchased some of your media and you took me right to Christy's store! Guess you do know about her classes!

mel m. m. mccarthy said...

Ultra gorgeous. Love the exposed corrugated-ness of it. WoW!

Judy said...

Truly beautiful art work. You inspiring. JudyOR

Jessica Diedrich said...

DITTO to pretty much everything that Jen said it's amazing and the texture is super cool! I'm telling you- this mixed media stuff is gonna have me in trouble, LOL! LOVE all of it so much!

CreativeMish said...

You did a great job. I love the altered art look

Colleen G said...

I've been roaming around your site...wasn't planning on saying HI - but I just burst out laughing when I read you carried the card around in your pocket! That is sooo FANTASTIC!!! Loving this mixed media! Great Card.