Let Freedom Ring Art Journal Page Using Paper Napkins

• American Flag Paper Napkin
• Art Journal (I use and love Planner Perfect Journals)
• Mod Lodge Matte
• White Gesso
• Acrylic Paint Tube Set (deep red, metallic white, phthalo blue and silver)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• 3-in-1 Craft Glue
• Foam Brush -or- Decoupage Brush
• Flat Head Paint Brush 10
• Foam Mounting Tape
• Pigma Micron 01 Archival Pen
• Unfinished Wood Stars
• Close To My Heart, Stencil Pack 3
• Embellishments (see step #8 to see what I added to my pages)
• Pictures, images, Declaration of Independence (printed on regular printer paper)

For this next step I needed to separate all the layers of the paper napkin. The key here is to gently separate all the layers so you get down to just the main paper napkin that has the image on it. Be sure to keep the other layers as you can use them in future art projects.

Next, I made sure to cut down to the size I needed the printed image of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell.

For the background, I used an image that I pulled off the internet. It was printed on regular copy paper. I had this idea in my head that I wanted the Declaration of Independence to be a transparent background behind the American flag Napkin.

It didn’t necessarily turn out how I envisioned in my head but that’s the beauty of a creative project. It’s completely unique to you!

Next I brushed a layer of mod podge directly onto the journal pages and placed the background image down. Once I was happy with the placement, I brushed another layer of mod podge over the paper image.

Craft Tip: If you are using a good quality paper journal then you would just use mod podge on this step. If you are using a journal that doesn’t have good quality paper (one that won’t hold different mediums well), you will want to start with a layer of gesso first to give the paper “grit” or “tooth” to hold the other layers of mixed media you will be adding in.  

While applying the top layer of mod lodge I used my brush to lightly press down on the paper image to help seal it the journal page. Then I allowed my pages to completely dry.

There is a reason I chose to use a background image to my page. If there was nothing behind the flag all I would see is the white page (behind the paper napkin). Typically when you use a napkin for mixed media art journaling you are placing it against a book page which already has type or pictures behind it. The idea is to allow the words to peek through the napkin.

Again, using mod podge I applied the flag paper napkin. This is a delicate step because the paper napkin is so thin. I just took my time and it went down easily. Then I allowed the page to completely dry.

Next I put down a layer of gesso over both pages. This step helped to lightly mute out the background and the flag. If I wanted more of a ‘white out’ effect I could just add more gesso. Once finished with this step I definitely wanted to make sure I allowed these pages to dry completely. So I let my art journal pages dry overnight.

At this point, if you run your hands over the page you can feel the “tooth” that resulted by applying the gesso and mod dodge. When I cut my background image I made the mistake and cut it too short which left a border around my two pages. But, this mistake also turned out to be for the best.

To cover up this mistake, I used phthalo blue acrylic paint along the page border. I made some areas of the border wider than others so that it felt more organic instead of forced. But, this blue border came out much brighter than I wanted so until I figured out a solution, I just moved onto the next step.

At this point, I took some time to layout the remaining embellishments because I needed to know where I had room to apply my texture paste. I also took a picture of the layout with my phone so I knew where I wanted the remaining elements to be placed.

Next I used three different stencils and my texture paste to create areas with dimensional texture. I placed raised crosses in the upper left corner, raised arrows in the lower right corner and finally raised vertical stripes in the lower left corner.

See the stripes in the lower left corner? Notice they are not in the finished design? Keep reading to find out what happened with them.

Next, I painted the crosses with metallic white acrylic paint; the arrows with a silver acrylic paint and finally the stripes with a deep red acrylic paint.

Once the stenciled textures were dry, I went over both pages with a wash of silver acrylic paint. That helped to tone down that bright blue and it really helped add even more dimension to the pages.

While my journal pages dried, I made three embellishments to add to my pages.

1. Let Freedom Ring banner. I tore a medium weight craft paper to the size I wanted, lettered the words, stamped some small blue stars on either side of the words, added some red dots with the micron pen and applied it to the page using foam mounting tape.
2. Typewritten Banners. I used my trusty pink We R Memory Keepers typewriter to type on regular copy paper the phrase ‘home of the free because of the brave’ then I cut them out separately and used some 3-in-1 glue to add them to the left page.
3. Red, White & Blue Stars. I had some small wood stars in my craft stash and painted one each in red, white and blue acrylic paint. Then I applied them to the left page using 3-in-1 glue.

I loved the full flag in all its’ glory on the right side; but felt the left side was just this big area that needed something. Using the three embellishments above worked perfectly.

Here are the final steps to finish my mixed media art journal pages.

Remember the red vertical textured stripes mentioned above? Well, nearly four weeks later, I finally figured out how I would fix that corner because I just didn’t like how they looked. That fix involved removing texture paste.

Let me tell you, taking texture paint off a page is not a good idea. It took a while but I was able to scrape most of it off. But since the texture paste went all the way to the bottom edge, I did rip parts of that lower left corner. So I was now left with a big hole and partially missing paper.

To fix that corner, I decided to use an image of the liberty bell. I print one off on regular paper, tore two of the four edges and glued that down using 3-in-1 glue. Luckily, these pages directly followed the first page of the journal because I had a plan to use scrapbook paper on the very first page.

Once I fixed this corner I had to start and finish my first page as well because the glue from the liberty bell needed something to adhere to on the opposite page. So in a sense, I had to reconstruct the bottom corner. But I took my time and everything came out perfectly in the end.