art journal layers

In the midst of juggling the hustle and bustle of life, it was good to take a few moments this morning to just breathe. I've been learning more about mixed media and art journaling techniques, and Jenni's new products are the perfect fit for exploration. They are amazing for creating layers on your pages! From the stencils for backgrounds, to the rubons, washi and sequins -they work so well to build texture and depth into your projects.

One quick tip to create this watercolor style background. The chicken feed reinker creates a beautiful shade of gold when you drip several drops into a cup or on a tray, then add just a few drops of water on a wet broad, flat brush. Using broad strokes, gently brush over the graphic feather stencil. Remove the stencil, and either allow to dry a bit, or hit it with a heat gun. After I had finished places my feathers on the background, I added a few drops of cough syrup reinker to the leftover ink to create a blend. Using a slightly wet brush, I gently went over my entire background. The bleed from the feathers turned out beautifully.

After my background dried, I was free to start layering.

And finish with a bit of doodling.

As I have embraced allowing imperfections in my life {yes, I'm a perfectionist - especially in all things business related}, I've found that I have embraced the freedom of art journaling more and more. Hope you're inspired to try some of it, too!

~ Leah