Anouk (Creanouk): Inspiration is everywhere

Hello beautiful artist, Anouk here today to share another fun art journaling page. I'm a very intuitive art journaler, but sometimes I crave for some sort of inspiration to get me started. For me, inspiration can come from anywhere. Sometimes it's just the mood that I'm in or I get inspired by a song that I heard on the radio. A few months ago I even got inspire by the colours of a toy that my son played with. Inspiration is a weird thing, isn't it. It can hit at any random moment. So it would be no surprise to you when I tell you that this particular page was inspired by a shampoo bottle. Yes. You read that correctly.
When I was brushing my teeth and thought about this blogpost my attention was drawn to the shampoo bottle. I suddenly noticed the gorgeous etiquette with a watercolour print. I just received these two beautiful stencils from Stencilgirl® and thought it would be an amazing fit.
So the next morning I took my idea to my art desk and and I created this page.

Stencils used

Loose Mum (M334)

Stitched Flower (M325)

01. Base Layers
 

As always I'm setting up my base layer with Gesso and Collage.

Because I wanted to use watercolour in a later stage I began with a layer of Clear Gesso. But when I started collaging I figured that I didn't want to cover up the spine with paper so I applied a very rough blended layer of white gesso on top of the packing tape that was already there from the binding.

02. Modeling Paste

Next I applied a thin layer of Modeling Paste through the Loose Mum (M334) stencil on the upper part of the page.

03. Watercolour and Stencilling

I wanted to create an abstract watercolour effect with some (almost) hidden stencilling. I wanted the lower part of the page flow in a soft way. So I grabbed the Stitched Flower (M325) and applied the watercolour through the stencil. Then I grabbed the stencil, who was still wet, and stamped it directly on the page.

To create more flow I add some more watercolour and dabbed it clean through the stencil with a baby wipe. I kept playing with it until it looked the way I wanted and realised that I didn't like the colour green. So I grabbed some coffee and I blended it until it had the colour that I prefered.
 

04. Gesso is my best friend

The left side of the page was a little too harsh for me. So I grabbed the Stitched Flower (M325) stencil again, and this time I used a little bit of White Gesso to soften up part with the watercolours on the left. The best part about stencilling with Gesso is that it becomes translucent when it's dry. This creates a very beautiful effect when you use it on top of watercolour.

05. Stencil Butter

TWC Stencil Butter is a hard favourite of mine. My inspiration had some beautiful golden pattern on it so I knew I had to incorporate that somehow in to my page. I also love to use a stencil in a few different ways on my page so it was no hard to decision to use  Loose Mum (M334) for this finishing touch. 

06. Finishing Touches

I have a few things that I always do when I'm done with a page. Some things are such a part of my process that I do them without thinking. I always make a few marks with my pencil, splatter some ink and of course add a few words.

And here it is! My page that I why inspired to make by a shampoo bottle. Inspiration is everywhere! I hope that you enjoyed this page and that it can lead to an inspiration on its own. I also made a reel that I'll share on Instagram.

Productlist

Handmade journal

Vintage Music and Book Paper
Tea Bags
Type Writer

Amsterdam White Gesso
Amsterdam Clear Gesso

Amsterdam Modeling Paste
Mod Podge Matt Instant Coffee Prima Marketing Tropical Watercolours

TWC - Stencil Butter Champagne Gold

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Thank you so much for reading my blog post. I hope that I have inspired you to create today! My name is Anouk or Creanouk on social media, and I'm an all-round creative from the Netherlands. I love art journaling because I can put my heart and soul into it. You can find my work on Instagram and Youtube.

Doodlicious Distractions with Lizzie Mayne's Half Moon Slant Stencil

http://lindakittmer.blogspot.ca

 Hi, Linda here and I'm excited to be back today to share with you how I used Lizzie Mayne's awesome Half Moon Slant stencil to create a framework for some lettering and doodling fun.










I've been craving some good doodling distraction lately, and when I saw this stencil I just knew it would be perfect to get me started on hours of play!

I began by using the lines in the stencil to trace some rows of those 'half moons', creating the slanted spaces in which I planned to write my quote.  Since the spaces in the stencil are very skinny, I moved the stencil to create larger areas in which to write.  I liked the idea of the slant though, so I created large wedge shapes for my text (sorry there aren't better shots of this stage, but the pencil just didn't show up well).











I traced all of my pencil lines with a permanent black pen and then began filling it some spaces along the border with doodles. I also filled out some of the lettering at this point to add more interest and definition to the words.

Using Inktense pencils and a water brush, I coloured in the page with the bright watercolour pigment.

Does anyone else suddenly crave gumdrops as they look at this? 

I considered stopping at this stage, but as I said at the onset of this post I've been in the mood for some doodling lately, so I just couldn't seem to stop myself...












This stencil was perfect for tackling the blank page and helping me create a wonderful framework for this great quote!

  

Thanks for visiting today!