Textured Journal/Sketchbook Pages

I posted yesterday about adding texture to cheap canvas fabric to jazz it up a bit.

Today I'd like to address paper as a different substrate to use with your molding paste.

I almost always use the Exact Vellum Bristol paper (67 pound) paper from Wausau. I also use a 110 pound paper from the same company. I am constantly amazed at just how much abuse the 67 weight paper can take! I wet it, emboss it (thank you Nancy!), texturize it, paint it, write on it, sew on it and just generally love the heck out of it - and it still holds up!

Today this is what I have done so far.

I added a layer of light molding paste, using my fingertips and palate knife to add texture to it.

Let this dry completely.

I noticed that, on a couple of areas of the page I had added more molding paste than others areas, causing the page to become wavy. This doesn't always bother me in my sketchbooks/journals but this day it did.

So I grabbed another page of the same paper and stitched them together. I also stitched around each indiviual section of the folded page to add more interest. This would later prove to be a great design bonus.

I used my Golden Fluid Acrylic Paints to make a wash. I applied the first color in a very random manner. It really doesn't matter with the color combo that I used which one goes on first, as I went over the entire page a couple of times. In this example, I used Phthalo Blue(Green Shade) and Phthalo Green(Blue Shade). There are a couple of areas that you may be able to see a shimmery sheen on the front of the page. These areas have a little bit of a pearlescent liquid acrylic ink. The color is "waterfall green". Like I said, I like to use whatever is within reach on my studio table...

You can see the machine stitching on the page as well. I use the stitch as a drawing tool. It's not necessarily about the actual sewing process but the texture that the stitch provides for me.

Here is where the bonus of adding the stitch BEFORE painting comes in -

Look at how the paint has seeped through the holes made by the needle and thread! Isn't that a great look for the back of that page?!  I like it. 

I hope that I can remember this in the future and use it in a more conscious manner instead of accidently benefiting from it...

Although that is nice too!