It’s a 3-in-1 challenge! by Kerry Engel

Many of you have been using Creative Scrapbooker Magazine’s sketchy challenge as your inspiration-spring-board, creating some beautiful layouts and cards but did you know that you could use a sketch to inspire you in your art journal too?

I’m still relatively new to the art journal game. To be honest sometimes I look at all my yummy layers and colorful pages and while I love the techniques and I realize that it’s about ‘playing’ and exploring, at the end I wish that they made more sense.  Visual sense.

Visual sense for me starts at the beginning; when I think about the direction or movement that I want in my page. That’s where having a sketch as a launching point helps. I loosely used this months sketch to contain my techniques and create movement down the middle. I really liked how it turned out

I’m dedicating my new Scrapbook Adhesive by 3L Donna Salazar Denim Art journal to be my Sketchy Challenge Art Journal.

The heavy chipboard pages take a lot of abuse and they are really sturdy on their own. I can take out a page and display it as it stands up nicely, all on it’s own.

How I Built this Art Journal Page:

• Build a base.
• To start I covered the chipboard in gesso and then I tinted some modeling past and stenciled the words down the centre of the page. Trying to stay close to the sketch design.
• Add some color.
• Sprinkling Magenta Nuance Powder and adding water creates a layer of transparent clouds.
• 
• Stencil on some polka-dots with Ranger Dylusions paint.
• 
• Age it with a vintage tint
• I fell deeply in love with the Ranger Distress Collage medium. I used it to adhere some old book pages and tissue paper. It gave everything this warm glow.

Build the middle

• I stamped my title (Impression Obsession) on some brown tissue paper that I saved from a package (I can’t bear to throw out beautiful tissue paper, one just never knows when it will come in handy).  I was pleasantly surprised with how nicely the title stamped on the tissue paper and how the vintage tinted collage medium adhered it to my page. I’m going to have to remember that little trick. I used Timber brown StazOn ink.
• Final touches.
• That beautiful butterfly is from Impression Obsession stamps.
• 
• Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Donna Salazar Girlie Grunge line tied it all together. I topped my butterfly with their gold pigment powder for a subtle lush layer. And added some washing tap to create an embellishment area at the bottom.
• Southern Ridge Trading Company wood veneers pulled the top and bottom together.
• 

Supplies:

• Scrapbook Adhesive by 3L : Donna Salazar Denim Art journal, Girlie Grunge tissue tape, pigment powder, lace ribbon
• Ranger: gesso, texture paste,  distress vintage collage medium, Dylusions paint
• Impression Obsession stamps L13416, E17085
• Magenta Nuance powder
• Southern Ridge Trading Company wood Veneer
• StazOn Timber Brown ink
• Stampin’ Up! Gold thread
• Old book and tissue paper
• Word Stencil design– iheartstudio

Just to illustrate the traditional uses for the sketch I created a layout and 2 cards. I’m looking forward to seeing where your imagination takes you.

Supplies: BoBunny take a Hike Collection, Signo uni-ball white pen, Reflections Kraft cardstock, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares and tape.

Supplies – Simple Stories Love and Adore Collection, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares and tape

Supplies – Simple Stories Love and Adore Collection, Elizabeth Craft Designs embossing folder, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L  foam squares and tape.

Join our monthly Sketchy Challenge – we want to see your take!

Happy Scrapbooking everyone!

Kerry Engel

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