Welcome to Week 13 in our year long Art Journal Adventure.  Where did the time go – it’s the end of March already?  Here’s the thing: it’s not too late to begin.  Whether you start right here at Week 13 or jump in and start at the beginning and work you way through the weeks.

It’s also not too late to join the AJA Facebook group.  Bonnie and I would love to see you mosey on over there and take part.  We have a really nice collection of women who are kind and supportive of one another.  And there’s some fantastic art being shared!  If you would like to join, please click here and ask to join.  That’s simply a formality since the group is “closed”, which is a Facebook thing.  Everyone is welcome.

Ideas for page spreads come from many places: a photo, product I want to try, a technique I’m experimenting with, or even something as simple as a quote.  Last week Faye sent an email with one she thought I would enjoy.  I read the mail, snickered at the quote, and almost instantly the idea for today’s page popped into my head.

The quote:  She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten.

If you know me, you know this is about as perfect as it gets.  In a matter of minutes I was off and running, putting paint over the gesso that was leftover from last week’s debacle.  You may recall I had an idea that didn’t pan out, so I punted and went in the complete opposite direction, eventually using only one half of the page spread.  That left the right side of the spread for this quote.  I spent about an hour creating this page; everything simply fell into place.

I knew I wanted a character walking, with the glitter trailing down in a cloud behind her and more having settled on the ground over her footprints.  I ended up using The Bird Edgar and though she has a male name, she’s definitely female in this situation.  Perhaps I’ll temporarily rename her The Bird Ernestine?

The background for this page uses Dina Wakley’s Media Paint and the same technique from Week 11.  If you click here, you’ll go to that post and be able to view the video I referenced there.

For this page I used Blackberry Violet, Night, and Turquoise.  Remember, there is already Gesso on the page which is what allows you to easily spread the colors with your fingers.

Turquoise goes on first.

Then Blackberry Violet.

And finally, Night.  I always work from light to dark with this technique.  The background was what I was looking for, and I like it, but felt it was lacking something.

Because I still haven’t put away the new Finnabair Art Alchemy Paints, I used it with our Small Wonky Layered Circles Foam Stamp to add some pattern to the background.   If you spread the paint on a nonstick surface or palette and use your finger to smooth it into a thin layer, you can tap the foam stamp into it to “ink” the color on the stamp surface.

I used Aqua-Rose and think the background is better now.

Here’s Ernestine, colored with Ink Sprays loaded into Tim’s Detail Water Brush.  There’s not enough reflection to really see it, but she has Stickles on her wing and tail.  (of course she does!)

And here’s the quote Faye sent me.  I printed it from my computer and then cut out the words.

If she’s to have glitter trailing over her footprints, she needs footprints!  Simple little feet.  A straight line with three toes made with a Black PITT Super Fine Point Pen.

The placement is set and I’m just about ready to glue everything in place.

And there she is, leaving a trail of glitter in her footsteps!  I used Stickles and just scootched the color around to make it appear as though the glitter was settling behind her, into a little cloud of sparkle.