Instructions 

Botanical stencils and masks are back! I am SO EXCITED! And I am loving these stamps, especially the circles. Let's play around in our journals and see what comes out!

Step 1: Crack open the blue journal and find a watercolor page. Spread some white gesso over the whole page, but don’t worry if you miss some spots. You can use a paint brush or a scraper tool - I used the edge of a texture tool.

Step 2: With a paint brush, spread some paint along one side of the page. Here, Mustard, Raspberry, Stoked, and White Gesso were used.

Step 3: While the paint is still wet, use a baby wipe to wipe away some of the paint through a stencil.

Step 4: With Archival ink, add some stamping to the background. This grid stamp is perfect for adding texture.

Step 5: Choosing contrasting colors, stencil botanicals onto the background with a mini blending tool. (I wanted to keep the white space on this page, so I made sure to keep my painty and textured elements on the right of the page.)

Step 6: With black Archival Ink, stamp a bunch of circle faces onto a peice of cardstock and cut them out. We won’t use all of them now, but they’ll be on hand for later!

Step 7: Cut some string or thread in various lengths. Attach some of the stamped images to the string by folding one edge around the string and adding Ultra Thick Gel Medium or a staple. Attach the strings to the page with Ultra Thick Gel Medium or a staple at the top and bottom.

Step 8: Add some pink to the cheeks of the stamped faces with Raspberry acrylic. Adhere some collage tissue with Gel Medium. Find a phrase to add from the Typed Ledger Papers or Collage Collective/Sparks and adhere with Ultra Thick Gel Medium. And finally, add some splatters with White Gloss.

 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.