March Journal Page - 12 Tags of 2013

I simply cannot believe another month has flown by and we're already into March. Has time always gone so fast? I don't remember it being this way.

Anywho, it's time once again for Tim Holtz and his 12 Tags of 2013. You can check out Tim's fantastic Easter themed tag here. You'll see all the steps and techniques he used to create it along the way.

As for me, I've challenged myself to create journal pages this year rather than tags. I also thought I'd submit this one to Tim's Tattered Florals Challenge going on now through March 22nd. Just have to use the Tattered Florals die and upload to his blog post. You could win $100 worth of goodies! I've already submitted one project (my Starbucks altered canvas) but there's no limit, so here goes another...

My journal page measures 6 x 8 inches and is Bristol (vellum surface, 100 lb. by Strathmore). There's a lot going on in this one, so let's take a look at how it came together.

I started with random stamping these images from various Stamper's Anonymous sets (listed below) using archival inks in browns and blacks.

Then to tone it down and age it, I brushed a light coat of Antique Linen Distress Paint over the surface and let it dry.

Here's where the Tattered Florals come in and also the scary part. I laid down several flowers cut from scraps of white card stock. Didn't glue them, just laid them there. Then gave them a shot of several colors of Dylusions sprays. So bright!

Quickly I pulled up the flowers and rolled a paper towel over the surface of my page to absorb the really wet stuff. 

And saved the flowers for later. I'll only use a few and save the rest for something else.

Once my page was completely dry, I inked over the surface with Vintage Photo on a blending tool, then Walnut Stain on the outer edges.

Love the layering effect here. See how the edges of the flowers are not crisp and clean? That's how I like it! It's the result of not tacking the flowers down before spraying. I didn't want a hard edge. If you prefer it cleaner, you can tack the flower down with repositionable adhesive before you spray.

Since my page is larger than the tags Tim is doing, I have to be aware of proportion so I opted to use the Baroque die with my bunny offset to the right. I cut this from the Seasonal Kraft Core. I think it's funny that it now reads SUSHI behind the bunny. It was sunshine. I sanded this piece to expose the Kraft Core and then inked it's edges with Walnut Stain.

This was a cool technique I had never tried. Again, be sure to check out Tim's blog to see how you achieve this look. For my colored tinsel, I used Cranberry alcohol ink. 

Remember the left-over flowers? I stacked up three of them and put a painted large brad in the center. For the metal flowers and leaves, I used Distress Paints like Tim did.

Since I don't have Tim's Tapered Fringe die (yet) I had to pull out my Martha Stewart fringe scissors to make the grass. I did this to two shades of green in the Kraft Core packet.

After gently sanding and inking the edges, I layered them on the bottom of my page, then gave the blades a bend and curl and a little trimming here and there.

My ribbon is colored with Victorian Velvet Distress Stain and tied around the sushi unit. 

I stamped Life is Good from the Simple Sayings stamp set. I seem to be using this one a lot! So many phrases to pick from.

I used a template and my Crop-a-dile to punch the holes for each journal page. You may have noticed this detail earlier in my photos. It's important to get those holes punched early before you start sticking stuff down. At the end of the year, I'll create a cover and put book rings to hold them all together.