Dragonflies

The inspiration for this page is Dragonflies. When I first started art journaling I explored the internet to learn more and I recall finding a beautiful dragonfly piece that someone had created. So I thought it would be fun to create my own, drawing from my memory to incorporate the things I loved about the piece; from what I remembered it had a yellow theme and included a doily and circle effect and squiggles around the dragonflies. So with my challenge sorted I set to work and here’s the page I created!

To start with I used Liquitex matte gel medium to adhere rectangles of decoupage paper to the page. I stamped the doilies using a grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker as ink and for the circle details used three postage label stamps, a dot stamp and black Archival Ink. Then I smooshed and splattered diluted yellow and gold Spectrum Aqua markers and the same grey Big Brush marker on the top. I also stamped a Kaisercraft Sketchy stamp using a sepia Spectrum Aqua marker. As a finishing touch to the background I sprinkled lemon Colourcraft Brusho powder and spritzed with water, this is a really fun technique where you ‘ooh and aah’ as the colour literally explodes on the page in front of you. It really intensified the yellow and merged with some of the other inks I had used, which I like. I stamped the dragonflies using an Eco Green Crafts stamp and Archival Ink, then using a black Uni Pin marker I doodled squiggles around them. The coloured dragonflies are rub-on transfers which I outlined to make them pop out more. I also used the decorative leaf border on the page to add vertical dimension; it is from the same transfer set. To finish I stamped a couple of words to describe my dragonflies and added some vintage looking alphabet buttons to title my page.

It just so happens I have a metal dragonfly in my garden, it sits in my flowerbed and ties in beautifully with my page. As the theme over at Art Journal Journey (AJJ) this month is “In my garden there is…” I’m happy to be joining Yvonne and the others over at AJJ again.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Spectrum Aqua Artist’s Markers (Gold, Yellow, Sepia, Slate)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Colourcraft Brusho Crystal Colour (Lemon)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Dovecraft Curiosity Corner A5 clear stamps (Lace and Doile DCCS009)
• Kaisercraft clear stamps (Sketchy
• Eco Green Crafts recycled rubber art stamps (Petal Party #04309)
• Woodware Craft Collection Francoise Collection (Flower Style FRSWS003)
• The Works clear stamps (CR0274/TW3)
• Vivi Gade Skangen Decoupage Paper (Art No: 25561)
• Royal & Langnical Tip of the Brush Rub-on Transfers (Insect Collection #TIP-1484 RUB-ON)
• Home Bargains self-adhesive letters (Love Letters Item code: 22738)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium