Thursday 5 January 2012

My First Journal Pages

I am so excited - this new year is bringing all sorts of new arty adventures for me and this is one of them.   My first attempt at art journaling. I've always been interested in art journals but never had the confidence to give it a go. I'm a stamper - enjoying the safety of an already 'drawn' image that I just have to add colour too. I've always enjoyed messing about with inks and making my own background pages, but an art journal has always felt a bit daunting... BUT - inspired by The Craft Barn's new challenge and some great tutorials I've had a bash.
The Craft Barn's theme is 'Buildings' which we can interpret our own way. I dug out the one stamp of a house I have and because it also says welcome I came up with the idea of welcoming the New Year in with some resolutions for me at Home!  I don't normally do resolutions because I'm rubbish at sticking to them, but thought if I made them part of an ongoing project I might stand more chance.  
I kind of lost track of what I did to the page - I started with a layer of Gesso and added distress stains and then just spritzed, inked and used some background stamps til I was happy. I added the stamped houses, both directly to the page and on torn scraps which I inked. I used a couple of free Craft Stamper magazine stamps - I don't have chandeliers in my home but thought they added a bit of glamour - and I only look like this first thing in the morning ! I added a touch of sparkle round the edges and some shimmery stars just to give it that New Year celebration feel. I also used my 'new from santa' Dymo label machine - it's only one of the basic embossing ones but I love it and anything that stays still long enough gets stuck with a name tag!
I'd really appreciate your comments - please speak freely, tell me if you think something doesn't work, as a first attempt I'm quite pleased but I want to learn how to improve.

As well as the Craft Barn I'm sharing this at -

Allsorts - New Beginings
Gingersnaps Creaqtions (Random Redhead Challenge) - Candelabras. Chandeliers and Candles
Fashionable Stamping  - Anything Goes with your new stash (My Dymo Label maker)

Thanks for stopping by....Esther xx

19 comments:

  1. I love your page Esther, that's a great house stamp and I love the colour scheme you've used. There's quite a few of us 'beginners' doing this challenge! xx

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  2. A great start to art journalling Esther, so pleased you are having fun. x

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  3. Hi Esther, You have made a beautiful page I love the colours and the house is a great shape. You are not alone I'm very new to journaling it's fun isn't it!! I love your resolutions, best of luck, Gay xxx

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  4. a great first page Esther, I love the layers and the colours, Great way to start the new year, Debi x

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  5. Great page and welcome to the AJ world. I'm glad you enjoyed it and look forward to seeing more of your pages.
    Thanks for joining the fun.
    Izzy (from the craft barn)

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  6. What a fun page - I love the thinking behind it. That's a great house stamp.

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  7. Fabulous page Esther - keep thinking I'd like to have a go at Art Journalling also but still haven't taken the plunge (I'm very good at talking myself out of things lol)

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  8. This is great Esther, I hope you have a lot of fun with it - journalling is something I've never tried. Maria x

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  9. Hi Esther, I havn't tried journalling yet - I love what you have done, your page looks gorgeous

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  10. This is fabulous! I love the combination of inks, paints, stamps, and hand-written journaling. Very inspiring. Thanks for playing along at Gingersnap Creations!

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  11. Know just what you mean about venturing away from the stamp Esther, scrapbook pages always scare me by their sheer volume.

    But looks to me as thought you have captured the style here perfectly and so many little elements of interest.

    Thank you so much for sharing with us at Allsorts this week, good luck and wishing you a Happy New Year.

    B x

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  12. What a brilliant start. I have just painted my first journal cover, but haven't got any further. You have inspired me!

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  13. Its a great first page, you have added so many interesting elements. Thankyou for sharing it with us at FSC this time.
    Yvonne/Meggymay

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  14. Hi Esther, This is such a beautiful first venture into journalling. One of the best parts of what we do is to challenge ourselves. I love your sense of adventure...all the best.
    Thankyou for joining us this fortnight at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.
    Dot x

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  15. LOVE IT Esther!! What a great stamps, lovely houses... and the colors are just a joy to the eye!

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  16. A fabulous start to your journal Esther, looking forward to your future pages.
    xxx Hazel.

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  17. Wow! What a great page, can't believe it's your first! It's really gorgeous!

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  18. This is a lovely page and the colours are beautiful. Dianne.

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  19. Great start in your art journal carriere! Beautiful pages! Like the layers you've made.

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Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts - they make me smile x

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