USING PHOTOS IN ART JOURNALS

(transferred from kaywallacescrapbooking.blogspot.com, dated 5-15-2012)

I was so happy with the result of my last art journal page that I was motivated to try another.  With Mother's Day this week, I decided to create a page using a photo of my mother.

If there is an easy way to do something, I will find it!  I have read a lot recently about transferring photos to other media (for instance, packing tape) for using on art journal pages.  Since I work a lot with paper  in both scrapbooking and cardmaking, I figured why not just print the photo onto paper!  I am happy with the result.  First, the finished page:

Now, we'll inspect the details and I'll show you how I arrived at the finished page.  As is usual for me, I prepped my page with Gesso (an excellent paper primer) and let it dry completely--it just takes minutes.  I then squeezed out a bit of acrylic ink into my paint palette and added to that an equal amount of water to thin it.  Using a brush, I covered the entire page with horizontal brush strokes

I had already decided on the elements I wanted to use and spent a few minutes pushing them around the page until I was happy with the arrangement.  I had also decided I wanted to construct the page by laying these elements, so needed to decide on that process as well.

I decided to "anchor" the page by adding the largest element first.  I added Mod Podge (an adhesive) to my page, then quickly added the dictionary page with the definition of mother.  I decided to fold this element a couple of times both to reduce its size and to add interest.  I then covered it with another layer of Mod Podge (this time, using it as a sealer).  

I added the lace ribbon next because I wanted it behind my mother's photograph.  It is actually "lace tape," which means it comes with an adhesive back.  For this reason, I neither prepped the surface nor needed to seal it.

The next layer was to be my mother's photograph.  As I mentioned, I did print it on "copier" paper in a 3"x4" format, then tore the edges to add interest.  Due to its size, I Mod Podge'd (is that a verb??) the back of the photo, then placed it on the page.  I then added a layer of Mod Podge to seal it.

The next element to be added was the clock--or, rather, "half" a clock.  (The first half had been used on a card many months ago, and I was happy to be able to use the second half here!)  

If you check back to the finished page above, you will notice that I later added some of the background paint to the clock because it seemed too crisp and clean).  

The finishing touches came by way of a pen--recording both the dates and the page title, "Mom."  The arrow came as an afterthought, but I immediately liked it because of its color!

Thanks for taking this walk down Memory Lane with me!  I appreciate that you have come here to view my blog, and hope you will leave a comment to let me know you were here.

Cheers!