Today I am sharing a tutorial on how to create this “A Few Predictions” Art Journal page. This is part of my Art Journal Chat series and marks Episode 2: My Most Toxic Workplace Experience. The chat takes place over on my YouTube Channel so you can listen over there. But over here on the blog, I’m sharing the tutorial for the “A Few Predictions” Art Journal page. For Episode 1, I share my cover page and have a tutorial available for that as well.
Couple disclaimers: I purchased all of the products myself (except for the Archer and Olive watercolors – they were gifted). Number 2 – I am using whatever I want. What I mean by this is, I normally try to limit my supplies but for my art journaling, I am using what I have. I’ve also previously shared what Art Journaling means to me. That is linked here if you are on this path too! Otherwise, let’s get into it!
Supplies
- The Sketchbook Idea Generator by Jennifer Orkin Lewis
- My Mellow Days B5 Magnolia Mixed Media Journal
- Tim Holtz Paper Dolls
- Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencil in Antique Linen
- Archer and Olive Jewel Watercolor Collection (NML10 for 10% off – affiliate link)
- Ferris Wheel Press Magical Metropolis and Blushing Mushroom
- The Pigeon Letters Studio Round Brush in Size 6
- Tim Holtz Paper Pieces Ephemera
- K & Company Smash Book Ephemera (discontinued)
- The Crafters Workshop 12×12 Stencil _ Hole Punch
- Recollections Embossing Powder
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink Embossing Dauber
- Recollections Heating Tool
- Dyan Reaveley Emphemera (discontinued)
- Vogue 2022 Fashion Show Special Magazine
- Washi
- Foam Tape
- Glue
“A Few Predictions” Art Journal Page Tutorial
Before we get started, I have to talk about this super fun book. It’s “The Sketchbook Idea Generator” by Jennifer Orkin Lewis. The pages in the book are divided into 3 sections – the subject, the medium and technique, and then the color palette. I thought it would be fun to use this book to generate a topic for this art journal page. My subject was a person looking in the mirror, the medium was watercolor, the technique was wet on wet, and the color palettes was soft yellow and iris.
Now, obviously I made a lot of changes to the generated prompt (while still incorporating parts of the prompt), which is important since it has to work for you. I do admit that this book can be super intimidating and this was my second attempt at generating an idea. As I went for a third attempt, I admitted to myself that I could just keep going but to stay the course and push outside my comfort zone.
I went through my stash of supplies, matching what I had to the prompt. Throwing it WAY back to 2012, I found some Smash Book Ephemera that I’ve been hanging onto forever so this was a perfect opportunity to use it.
Overall, I highly recommend this book, especially if you want to learn new techniques and push yourself outside your comfort zone.
1. Building the Background
For my “A Few Predictions” Art Journal Page, I decided to use the wet on wet watercolor technique to build the background. Starting with the Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencil in Antique Linen (you can check out my review here), scribble all over the outer edges on the page and then add water. Before it dries, add drops of the Archer and Olive Watercolor in Mustard by loading a brush with water, grabbing some ink, and dabbing it onto the wet Antique Linen color.
I used a similar technique for the purple center by using the Ferris Wheel Press Magical Metropolis and dabbing drops of the Blushing Mushroom for some sparkle. This was my first time using Ferris Wheel Press Ink and I’m excited to play and experiment more.
Once everything was dry, I didn’t like the rough transitions between the yellow and purple paint, so I added some washi tape. While this washi tape is translucent, I find it distracts the eye enough from the rough borders, so I stuck with it.
2. Adding Texture to the Background
Using the 12×12 Hole Punch Stencil and the Tim Holtz Embossing Ink dabber, dab the ink all over the page and the stencil. Carefully lift the stencil so you don’t smudge the wet ink. Next, suppress every anti-glitter urge and get ready to sprinkle embossing powder all over your page – making sure to cover the page with as much powder as possible.
Once you’re sure everything is covered, gentle tap your notebook on some paper to remove the loose powder. If this is your first time using embossing powder, know that the powder will stick to places where there is embossing ink.
By gently tapping and removing the powder onto a sheet of paper, you can pour the powder back in the container for a future project.
Next, grab a heating tool and start to melt the embossing powder. Don’t stay in one place for too long because you may end up burning the powder and your page.
Now, start to get your embellishments ready.
3. Creating the Mirror
Grab a postcard size piece of ephemera from the Tim Holtz Paper Pieces pack, and cut out the center to use it as a frame. You can even use scrapbook paper to create this frame, or decorate plain paper, whatever you have available! I rounded out the top. corners which mimicked the circles in the background and in the washi. Next, cut out a dress from a magazine, making sure to match it to the theme. Then carefully glue it in place, gluing the frame over top of the picture.
Using a person from the Tim Holtz Paper Dolls pack, add foam tape on the front of the image and stick it down so that the white is showing instead – looking like a person looking in the mirror.
For my page, the paper doll ephemera didn’t match the dress I had chosen. This is what made “A Few Predictions” perfect for the piece.
4. Adding the Final Bits
Finishing up our “A Few Predictions” Art Journal Page with the piece of paper that led to the name. I grabbed this from the Smash Book ephemera, cut the arrow to size and stuck it down using the foam tape. My idea was to have the person looking into the mirror and seeing their future self.
You can create your own heading using stamps, alphabet stickers, and/or printing and cutting it out.
I also cut out the Change quote since I thought it fit the overall theme and feel of the page. (You can use the above suggestions for creating your own change quote too.)
Finally, I add my borders to the page and consider it done.
“A Few Predictions” Art Journal Page Thoughts
Using the Sketchbook generator was a lot of fun and I may bring it back for future pages. As I mentioned above, it was intimidating and there was A LOT of trusting the process. My heart sank when the purple ink hit the page, but I managed to make it work and I love how this turned out. I’ve also really enjoyed chatting over on YouTube. So, if you are looking for something to have on in the background, or want to follow along with this tutorial, I’d appreciate it if you gave it a watch.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or comments, I’ll be happy to answer them. If you recreate this page, I would love to see it. Just tag me @natashamillerletters over on Instagram, or send me an email to share.
Thank you for your time today!
