Art Journal DLP Week 38 Silhouettes

September Theme
Journaling with Photos
September 19
Art Challenge: Silhouettes
Journal Prompt:  There is no shadow without the light...

For this challenge, I knew exactly what photo I wanted to use.  A few years ago while fishing at Jenx Lake near Big Bear, California, I was sitting there taking in the scenic surroundings watching a blue bird foraging for some food.  I remember trying to get a good shot of him and as he went to fly away I snapped the button on my camera.  It has always been one of my absolute favorite photos that I have ever captured.  This photo went perfect with the art challenge of using a silhouette, and fitting with the journal prompt of no shadow without light.   

I printed out the photo with my inkjet printer, which I found out last week through trial and error that it is best if you spray a fixative over your photo because the matte medium, or modge podge you put on top the photo will smear the color in your photo. This week I sprayed the fixative first and had no problems.  Lesson learned.  After it had dried I adhered my photo copy to the page using Liquitex Matte Medium.  I used Tim Holtz Distress paints for the background, and Tim Holtz "Burlap" stencil with Ranger texture paste.   Recollections Alpha stamps were used for writing out the journaling prompt.  
   

Thanks for checking out this weeks layout in my Documented Life Project.

Happy Crafting!

Krystal

Art Journal Week 37 DLP - What makes your heart sing?

September Theme

Journaling with Photos

September 12

Art Challenge: Digital Imagery & Design

Journal Prompt:  What Makes Your Heart Sing?

Zazu is what makes my heart sing every day.  Meet my 2 year old Congo African Grey Parrot.  She recently had her 2 year hatch day on September the second.  A hatch day for a bird is the equivalence to a birthday for humans. I have hand raised this little gem since she was 6 weeks old.  She is so loving, chatty, and smart, most of all she has such a special place in my heart. When I seen what the journal prompt was I knew that I was going to pay tribute to her this week, which lead to her being the star of my layout.  

For the art challenge of using digital imagery and design, I first started with this photo I took of Zazu while we were outside enjoying the sunshine together on my I Phone. I used a photo editing app to edit and crop the photo.  I then uploaded the photo to my computer. 

As some of you may know from previous blog post, I have a Silhouette Cutting Machine and use it all the time!  There is a Silhouette Design Software program that you can download onto your computer that goes with the  Silhouette machine.  With the  Silhouette Design software I was able to upload the photo edited of Zazu and put a floral frame around the photo.  Next I had a watercolor image uploaded to the software. I then searched the Silhouette store for a scallop border, once I found one that I liked I uploaded the scallop border image with the watercolor imaged and made about 6 scallop borders that I wanted to put around the pages.  

Once I had my images ready to go I sent the designs to the printer, and put the photocopy of them on the sticky cutting mat and loaded it into the machine, then I sent the designs to the Silhouette machine to cut out around each of the images for me.  After all my digital images were designed, and cut I began putting down tissue paper by Tim Holtz to cover the background.  

Next I Put down a few different layers paint, drips and splatter.  I wanted to add some texture, so I used a few different stamps in the background.  Next I adhered the scallop borders around the pages with a matte medium.  

Then I adhered the photo of Zazu, and the alpha stickers to the other side of the page that read;  "Zazu you make my heart sing." Afterwards I used a white sharpie to doodle around the scallop border and the floral frame, then using a black fude ball pen I out lined the letters, and doodled circles inside the scallop border, and with that called it done.  

Thanks for stopping by, I would love to hear from you, so please comment below.

  

xoxo

Krystal

Photo Transfer - The Documented Life Project Week 36

September Theme

Journaling with Photos
September 5th
Art Challenge: Photo Transfer
Journal Prompt:  From Here to There

Can I please just start off by saying, how much I loved doing this challenge! Every Saturday on my local PBS station there is a T.V. show called Scrapbook Soup, and on this show I had watched a segment of them doing a photo transfer using packing tape.  I never had tried this technique up until this weeks challenge.   It was pretty simple and turned out good on the first try. 

Steps for photo transfer:

1. Print an image using a laser printer. (The Image I used was from a 1960 Fashion photographer named Sir Norman Parkinson.)

2. layer strips of transparent packing tape over the printed image,*Be sure to overlap the tape. 

3. Take the image covered in tape and submerge it in a dish of water. The image was printed on a heavy card stock, and I soaked the image for about 1 minute.

4. Begin rubbing the paper off from the tape with your fingers, until all paper is gone

5. Voila! You will have a photo transfer.

After making my photo transfer I put down some "book text" tissue paper. For the background I used some of the Tim Holtz Distress paints, and a pop of pink liquid acrylic.  Martha Stewart, and Recollections flowers were used to embellish the bottom of the page, and to help fill in the gap at the bottom of the photo transfer. 

The quote used on my page went with the journal prompt "from here to there".  I wanted to print it out off  the computer, cut down the paper and layer in onto the page. 

I wanted to give the page some texture, so I used a Tim Holtz Stencil with some Ranger texture paste to get the raised ruler look at the bottom of the page. The page was still looking bare, so I sprayed a paper doily with some pink tattered angels spray mist, and gold Color spray from Heidi Swapp. I went around the quote and doily with a brown Faber-Castell Pitt Brush marker to help blend it all into the page, and give it some shadow. Calling this one done.

I love the look of doing this photo transfer method.  There are many other ways to do it out there but since I had already seen this technique done and it seemed to be the easiest I had to give it a try.  I can't wait to try this again on other projects and on other journal pages.  For someone who can't draw (like me) the photo transfer method takes your creating abilities to a new level! Thanks for visiting my page today, below I have posted my process video for making this weeks layout.  Please Like, Comment, and Share, I want to hear from you!  

Happy Crafting!

Krysal Barto