Project Art Journal: Page 5

Robert Frost has long been a favorite poet of mine so its only fitting that one of his most famous lines should end up in Project Art Journal.  For this page, chalk, print, and black silhouette come together to breathe new life into Frost’s timeless words.

c.b.w. 2012

Supplies:

• Card stock
• Printed paper
• Pages from a discarded travel book
• Crafter’s chalk (Craf-T Decorating Chalk is the best)
• Black ink pad
• Tree stamp
• Decorative fibers
• Gold thread
• Spiral clip
• Paper slicer or scissor
• Double-stick tape
• Standard scotch tape
• glue stick
• marker

Layer 1: Foundation

• Cut a piece of card stock into a square slightly smaller than the paper bag journal page.  The color doesn’t matter as it will be entirely covered up.

Layer 2: Sunset Sky

• Rip a page or two out of a discarded travel book.  Use an eye shadow applicator to cover the pages with chalk of varying shades of yellow, orange, and pale pink.  Randomly apply the colors and blend the edges of each color together.  Note: Be careful not to smudge them all together or you’ll end up with one weird color instead of a variegated effect of multiple colors.
• Tear the chalked pages into strips.  It’s okay if the tears are irregular, so have at it and don’t worry about straight lines.  Tear the strips into smaller pieces.
• Use a glue stick to attach the small pieces to Layer 1.  Allow them to overlap and let the colors play until you find a nice combination.  Keep going until approximately 3/4 of the square is covered.  If any glue is peeking through the seams, let it dry before moving on to the next layer. Tip: When attaching pieces, let the pieces hang over the edge of the square.  You can always trim them to fit after you’re all done glueing.

Layer 3: Trees

• Stamp tree silhouette about halfway down or wherever it looks balanced.  Be sure to ink it really well and push down with enough pressure to overcome the different depths of the layers.  My page ended up with a few “cracks,” but not enough to make me start over! I actually like that little imperfection. Alternative: Clip an image from a magazine and paste it into place.

Layer 4: Quote Block

• Measure and cut a piece of printed paper to fit Layer 1 edge to edge.  Tear the top edge to a height that meets the bottom of the stamped silhouette.   Again, an irregular tear gives it much more character than a straight line.
• Write out the quote in pencil and then go over with a black marker.
• Attach to Layers 1, 2 (make sure it lays over the remaining sunset sky pieces), and 3 (right the base of the stamped image) using double-stick tape.

Layer 5: Embellishments

• Add decorative fibers along the left-hand side and attach the ends to the back of Layer 1 using standard tape.
• Attach spiral clip to fibers.
• Weave gold thread loosely through decorative fibers and around the spiral clip.  Attach ends to the back of Layer 1 using standard tape. It’s okay to let it roam free with curls and movement – the effect fits nicely with Frost’s quotation.
• Attach the completed piece to the paper bag journal page using double-stick tape.

Enjoy your beautiful page and stay inspired!

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For previous Project Art Journal entries, please see my sidebar or search “Project Art Journal.”

c.b. 2012