Instructions 

What better way to play with new glosses, stamps, and stencils than by making a fun page in your art journal? My favorite way to start a page is with collage papers, and then build the layers from there.

Step 1: Start by collaging random papers onto your page. Here I used some papers from the Collage Collective and Collage Sparks, as well as some pieces of Collage Tissue and glued them down with Gel Medium. 

Step 2: Next, cover the page with a thin layer of white gesso. Don’t make it too thick as you’ll want the papers to peek through. Then, before the gesso is dry, use a Stabilo pencil (or regular pencil if preferred) to make some scribbles into the paint to add some texture. 

Step 3: Once the gesso is dry, spray or drip glosses onto the page. Here Papaya, Sunshine, Taffy, and Tangelo were used. Let the colors mix and flow together. 

Step 4: Now for some stenciling! First, use a lighter color like White with a stencil (for this step, the Flowing Petals stencil was used). Then, add some contrast by using a darker color. Here Tangelo was used with the Frond Coaster. 

Step 5: While everything is drying, stamp some images onto plain collage tissue using archival ink. Tear around the images with your fingers rather than cutting them out as this helps hide the edges when adhering them to your page. 

Step 6: Using Gel Medium, adhere your stamped images to the page. Add some extra pizazz by using some complimentary images from the printed collage tissue collection. 

Step 7: Add some details or doodles using a Posca paint pen. Then, add a focal phrase and with Media Glue. Finally, add some splatters to finish it off!

 Hello! My name is Laura Dame, and I have been a mixed media artist for 9 years now. I love to play and experiment in my art journals, and also enjoy dabbling in abstract, collage, and floral artworks. My family and I currently live in Austin, TX, and you can often find us out camping or enjoying nature. You can find me on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram at @lauramixedmedia. Check out my website for more information and artwork.