Travel Themed, MIxed Media Covered Composition Book/Journal

Hi there.

 And welcome to summer.

I can hardly believe it. Time for travels...either

on the highway or in our dreams!

 

In my previous post, I talked a little bit about our lovely little place

that we treasure. It's in lovely Ohio and we have lots of family

and friends there. It was awesome for so many reasons.

I will share some of that in the future.

 

Before I left, I was inspired to make this journal from

one of those dollar composition books. Maps are so interesting

and fun to use for any kind of crafting. And it seemed to fit the season.

I had picked some up at The Penney Mall Antique store.

 It's an old J.C. Penney building

that is jam-packed with antiques and collectibles!

 

ANYWAY...

 

 

 

I really like this quote and thought it fit for my travel theme.

I covered the book and then used gesso to cover some of the details.

 

I tend to make more feminine projects and I was trying to make something that

was a little more neutral. I'm not sure if I succeeded or not.

Opinions are welcome!

 

The over -colors (not sure what you call that) or layering colors were

chosen to just blend with the background.

 



This little air mail and UPC symbol came from a small package

that I had gotten from Singapore. I can't even remember

what it was. I kept it though, because I might like to use it

sometime. The small dot texture here was achieved by

painting over tulle.

 

 

Last year my brother had brought some old typewriters

to throw in a dumpster that we had rented. My daughter and I

were somewhat mortified because we love old stuff...

and anything vintage. She kept the pretty blue which still worked.

The other had some pieces missing and so I pieced it out.

I salvaged the key covers and I took the ribbon and reels out.

I thought for sure that I could someday find a use for the old

ink-stained ribbon. 

Well... I haven't used it yet but while I was working on this journal,

and looking for textures to add to my art here, I thought of the

reels. And so here you see the red wheel-looking shape.

 

I dipped it in my red paint and it left that cool looking image.

I was thrilled! It was just what I was looking for.

I am such a junk collector.  But I can't help myself. I

see possible potential in almost everything.

 

The star was a small rubber stamp. Which was very exciting.

That was something that I had never done before but wanted to try.

I was very happy with how the image came out!

 

The small dots are from a small nail dipped in white paint.

It's so fun. You can use just about anything.

 

The lightish brown spots in the bottom right hand corner are from

bubble wrap that was pressed into a brown stamp pad.

Aaaannd...

I dipped the edge of a plastic palette knife into some mixed paint and

gently rubbed it on the paper to make the small green lines!

 





 

Just below that small piece of burlap on the right, there's

a very faint image of 123. I wanted to use some numbers but not too dark.

I just dipped my rubber stamp in white paint.

 Trying to get the right mix of subtle color and bright images is something

that I like to try to make happen.

But I'm not sure if I'm getting it balanced.

 

I would love to have a real artist

critique my projects and give some honest opinions and advice.

I'm just out here on my own learning from

books and online stuff.

 

I'm very grateful for what people share

but I would love to connect with some

folks who share my passions!

However, living in this remote area

doesn't make that easy.

 

 

 These dark green marks were made with the head of a very large

spike dipped in paint.

 

 

Here, you can actually see some of the map peeking through.

More paint on tulle to create the speckled look.

 

 

 This process took about a week because of drying time,

life and waiting for direction on design.

 

I did some layering with gesso, paints and scraps of paper.

The punched out butterflies and burlap.

I had to work carefully so as not to over-saturate the paper

too much at one time. Because even with the gesso, the map

paper was crinkling a bit from the moisture.

 

I forgot to take photos of the inside covers. They are covered with

the chevron paper. I always make the inside match the binding.

 

Working with mixed media is such a creative process.

This is my second project and I'm

hooked!

 

I would love to hear about your travels, projects and would

 gladly receive your constructive criticism!

 

Thank you so much for stopping by.

 

Wishing you happy, safe travels

and a very fulfilling summer.

 

Tamara 

xo