Thankful Art Journal Page Using Sunflower Paper Napkins

• Sunflower Postcard Paper Napkin
• Planner Perfect Journal
• We R Memory Keepers Heat Gun
• Mod Podge Sealer for Paper, Matte (I used gloss finish but would suggest using matte)
• Mod Podge Brush Set Decoupage
• White Gesso Acrylic Medium
• Artists Loft Acrylic Paint, 36 Piece
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Brushed Corduroy
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Mowed Lawn
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Burlap Stencil
• Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte
• Stainless Steel Spatula Palette Knife, 5 pieces
• Embossing Kit
• Micron 01 Brown
• Various Art Brushes
• Acrylic Stamps from Close to My Heart, D1932 and C1866
• Recollections Embossing Pad with Refill (Michaels)
• Embossing Powder, Gold (Michaels)

To get started you’ll need to separate the paper napkin layers. Sometimes napkins are 3 layers, other times, 2 layers. Once you have the napkin separated, the only layer you will be work with is the top layer which is the printed sheet with the image(s).

There are two ways to isolate the image that you’re planning to use in your design. The first way is to simply and gently tear the napkin.

The second method uses water. All you do is wet a paint brush to delicately run a border around the image you want to isolate. By using this technique, you will have better control over what is included from the image. This is especially helpful if the image has a lot of detailing.

Once you decide how you want the napkin on the page, you’ll need to adhere it to the page. But before doing that decide if you want the napkin to have either some color or print behind it. If the napkin has white space and you adhere it to a white page, there will be “blank” area that you’ll need to fill in…or leave it as it is!

Use mod podge to adhere the napkin to the page. It’s best to first put a generous layer of mod podge on the page and then lay the napkin down. Then use more mod podge over the top of the napkin to smooth it out and seal it to the page. After the page is completely dry, now you are ready to layer your elements.

There are two kinds of gesso I use -clear and white. Clear gesso will give your page some grit or “tooth” as it’s called; while white gesso is great for adding white or light areas to your page. It’s also great for mixing with acrylic paint. Both types of gesso will give you a good base to start adding layers.

For my page, I used white gesso just on the parts of the page that was not covered by the napkin. I didn’t need to cover the whole page because the journal book I use is a good quality paper and will easily hold various mediums.

Once you have a good base on your page, you can start adding in acrylic paint colors. You can apply them using a brush, a sponge, a dauber or really anything that will give you the effect you are working towards. Don’t be afraid here to “get wild”. If you mess up, no problem! Simply use white gesso to cover it up and start again.

It was at this stage that I also added in the green “leaves”. I say that loosely because they were supposed to look like leaves and they ended up looking like green globs. To tidy them up, I added some gold acrylic paint in the shape of a leaf in each green area.

Still not satisfied, I then used my brown micron 01 archival ink pen to draw a leaf pattern offset from the other two leaf elements.

The next layer you can add is rubber stamping. I used acrylic stamps from Close To My Heart. They work perfectly and I love how easy they are to clean and store. Since I already had some sunflower stamps, I chose those to add into my page.

Using stencils is a great way to give dimension to your journal pages. I chose to use the Tim Holtz burlap stencil with some texture paste to create some dimension. You simply use the craft spatula, grab up some texture paste and run it along the stencil. Wipe up any excess.

I just love this stencil and used it to create my October journal intro page. The plan by using this stencil was to hopefully detract from those green globs.

After the texture paste dried, I used bronze acrylic paint over the tops of the burlap stencil.

As the page was getting filled I wondered where I would journal on it, or even if I wanted to journal on this page. It’s not a requirement to journal on every page you create. But, I did have a quote stamp I wanted to use because as the page developed it took on an autumn or fall feel to it. That quote reads, “begin each day with thankful heart”.

I decided to create a small journaling space by placing some torn brown craft paper on the page and folded it in half. Then I used the banner style acrylic stamp from the same sunflower stamp set with Tim Holtz mowed grass (green) ink stamp. My most favorite part was using an embossing kit with the quote stamp with gold embossing powder. I’ve had that kit forever and just hadn’t used it. But, today was the day that changed and now I’m hooked!

The last step in creating this art journal page was to use a leaf shaped acrylic stamp to create some die cuts that I scattered between the two pages. This journal page is now finished and ready for a short memory or journal note.