Welcome everyone - I was over on the DecoArt Media Design Team blog last year with this very grungy Andy Skinner style HeArtfelt journal. All the details can be seen over there and you can be transported if you click HERE.
To keep all my work in one place I have now added all the details below.
I made two cover panels using Andy's mega crackle technique (link to Andy's tutorial here) using DecoArt media fluid paints and mediums. Just look at the MEGA crackles that appeared.
On to the focal embellishing of the cover. I took a piece of card big enough to take the skull and dipped it in watery washes of sap green, titan buff and burnt umber drying between each layer.
I stamped the skull and just had enough room for the specimen plate as well.
Take a piece of greyboard cut to size to fit the journal panels and draw where the cut out skull and specimen plate will go. With a palette knife add some texture sand paste around the edges. Let it dry although it can be helped along with a heat gun.
Then paint over the whole piece with black gesso.
Now take a stiff bristled brush and dry brush with white gesso - you can see here where the stamped pieces will go ....
.... and the same with yellow iron oxide but keeping it to one edge all the way round.
Repeat with sap green and phthalo blue ....
.... and lastly some quinacridone gold.
...the second is burnt umber mixed with straight yellow oxide.
Next I turned my attention to the stamped pieces and added some watery quinacridone edges and painted a little inside the skull to help them blend in with the plaque.
When they were dry I glued them to the plaque and gave it all a coat of ultra matte varnish.
Back to the mega crackle panels, I dabbled watery washes of the same three colours used on the stamped pieces and spritzed the areas with water before drying each colour separately.
I then made a dirty glaze to seal the surfaces using one of Andy's recipes - find it about 3/4 of the way through this video HERE.
At the same time I edged a quote chip with quinacridone gold and sealed it with the glaze.
I had a rust making session creating four nuts and bolts and some rusty card to die-cut some decorative elements. I chose this one and gently rubbed over some lavish green metallic lustre.
Going back to the journal covers I overlapped and struck the spines together with redline tape and gave them a coat of white gesso. When it was dry I stamped the crackles using black archival ink and then repeated the steps of dabbled washes and dirty glaze (see above).
Sand the edges of the panels and ink them with ground espresso distress ink and adhere them to the covers and assemble the elements on the front cover of the journal.
Cut papers to create inside panels and also cut and score a thin one to cover the inside of the spine. Add elastic to hold page inserts.
Make up little 'booklets' of papers and pockets to tuck under the elastic.
Some of you will have seen that I am now a proud member of the Andy Skinner Creative Team and I'm looking forward to making samples with lots of his new products that will be coming out over the next few weeks. Stay Tuned.
hugs Brenda xxx
Products Used:
Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber
Media Fluid Acrylics
Sap Green
Media Fluid Acrylics
Titan Buff
Media Fluid Acrylics
Paynes Grey
Media Fluid Acrylics
Quinacridone Gold
Media Fluid Acrylics
Phthalo Blue
Media Fluid Acrylics
Yellow Oxide
Media Fluid Acrylics
Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide
Media Crackle Paint
Media Texture Sand
Paste
Media Black Gesso
Media White Gesso
Media Ultra matte
Varnish
Metallic Paint –
Metallic Lustre Lavish Green
Americana – Weathered Wood
Supplies Used:
Assorted Brushes
300 gms White Cardstock
Strong double sided tape
A piece of greyboard
Andy Skinner Stampendous Skulldogery Stamp Set
Andy Skinner Andy Skinner Industrial Elements Bolts/Washers sheet
Items for embellishments
Journal and papers
A Quote Chip
Crackle stamp
Black archival ink
