Simple Things Matter Most - Mixed Media Art Journal Page - Imaginarium Designs & "Cracked Glass" Frame Tutorial

Hi There! Today, I am sharing a mixed media Art Journal page created for Imaginarium Designs! I used lots of different media on this one - mists, paint, gelatos and some coloured molding paste too! I made this page to remind myself that it isn't the big gestures that matter - it is the little things you do with your children that make a big impact - such as my weekly trip to the library with my son (which he loves) or taking the time to be a parent volunteer on a school field trip! 

I started out this page using Finnabair's 6x6 Doily Mask with some Light Molding Paste mixed with Luminarte Primary Elements Pigment in Mandarin Blush. After that dried, I used Finnabair's 12x12 Fishnet Mask with four colours of Lindy's Stamp Gang mists (Starbursts - Cocoa Bean Copper (SS-18), Edelweiss Moss Green (SS-21); Wild Honeysuckle Coral (SS-22); Lindy's Stamp Gang Moonshadow Mist - Van Dyke Sepia (MSM-24)). I am entering this Art Journal page in the Lindy's Stamp Gang October Color Challenge - I tried to get as close to the colours on the mood board as possible (orange, purple, green and black) - with some brown neutrals and coral tones thrown into the mix! The silver 'mesh' you see on the page (mostly on the left side) is actually some leftover plastic fencing from our garden.

For the title, I first cut the Simple Things Matter Most title into two separate pieces, then I painted each secition in a colour a gradient (purple>coral>orange) with three colours of Luminarte Silks Acrylic glaze (Pomegranate, Coral Berry and Spiced Pumpkin). The frames were coloured with two different tones of green gelatos and then coated with Ranger Crackle Accents - I have a simple tutorial on this technique below! Here is a close-up of the chipboard elements of this Art Journal page.

Imaginarium Designs Chipboard Used

Simple Things Matter Most - IDP0031

Oval Frames - IDT0002

Other Materials Used
Drawing Paper; Masking Tape; Plastic Mesh Fencing; Light Molding Paste; Luminarte Primary Elements Pigment - Mandarin Blush; Prima - Finnabiar - 6x6 Stencil - Doily; Prima - Finnabair - 12x12 Stencil - Fishnet; Lindy's Stamp Gang Starbursts - Cocoa Bean Copper (SS-18), Edelweiss Moss Green (SS-21); Wild Honeysuckle Coral (SS-22); Lindy's Stamp Gang Moonshadow Mist - Van Dyke Sepia (MSM-24); Jolee's Boutique Lace Border (French General); Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze - Pomegranate, Coral Berry, Spiced Pumpkin; Prima - Finnabair - Clear Stamps - Harlequin and Book Page; Memento Dye Ink - Tuxedo Black; Prima Sunrise Sunset Paper - Corona; Faber-Castell Gelatos - Pistachio and Lime; Ranger Crackle Accents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cracked Glass" Frame Tutorial

I thought I would also share a really simple photo tutorial as to how I created the frames on my Simple Things Matter Most Art Journal page.

Supplies:

Imaginarium Designs Chipboard 

Two Colours of Faber-Castell Gelatos (I have used Pistachio and Lime)

Water

Ranger Crackle Accents

1. Start out with your Chipboard and Gelatos.

 

2. Randomly colour the chipboard with the two colours of gelatos.
    (Looks pretty horrific right now, right? Don't worry - it gets a lot better!)

3. Lightly blend the gelatos together with a damp finger (not too wet - or you'll smudge all the colour together and you won't get the two-toned effect we're going for). You may want to add a little more of each colour here and there until you get a good two-toned appearance. It is pretty subtle right now - but wait for the next step!

4. Coat the coloured chipboard with a generous coat of Ranger Crackle Accents. And then wait for it to dry (and wait and wait and wait.....You can use a hair dryer to help speed this along but I don't recommend using a heat gun - the intense heat tends to make the wet chipboard smoke.....I speak from experience.)

5. Finally, the finished "Cracked Glass" frame on the Art Journal Page - isn't it pretty?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, thanks for sticking with me to the end of this long post - I hoped you like my Art Journal page and tutorial! Don't forget to leave a comment on my post on the Imaginarium Designs Blog for a chance to win some fabulous Imaginarium Designs chipboard!