More VBS and More Art

So, I decided that trying to make enough Gelli Plates for the VBS youth project of making a book was not going to be feasible.  I decided instead that we would just use stencils and spray some acrylic paints that I put in little spritzers.

First, I sprayed the paper with water and then with paint.

After that dried a bit, I added a stencil and sprayed the green paint.  When I lifted the stencil, the first layer of color showed through in the flowers, which was my goal!  :D  I like it when a plan comes together!  :D

After the paint dried, I used another smaller stencil and stencil brush.

You can't have too many butterflies, right?  :D

So, here is the front and back cover.

Next, I used the same technique as the front for the inside of the cover except I didn't spray the paper with water first because I forgot!  I actually like this side better because it is not as muted as when using the water because the paint soaked into the paper and remained stronger in color.

So, here is the cover folded in half.  I outlined the large butterfly and dragonfly with colored pencils to help them stand out a bit against the background.

The cover will take a day and to fold, punch, insert and sew the pages in will take another day.

The last project for the youth will be a version of the Witnessing Bracelet, using more beads and threading them together differently than usual.

I've been working on VBS stuff so much the last couple of weeks that I decided tonight was time for me to do something for me!  Selfish, I know!  :D

So, I found this journal at the thrift shop sometime last year and just have never done anything with it.  But, recently I ran across some Christian graphics by Emily Burger of Emily Burger Designs.  I was inspired by her work and decided to use her inspiration to put stuff in this journal.

So, here is what I did with the first pages inside.  The quote on the left reads:
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."  by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  I used an embossing element as a stamp along the right hand side.  The diamond shapes were made from a stencil I created, printed and then laid a piece of overhead projector transparency over and cut out by hand!  What a royal pain!  But, I sure like the stencil!  I used a piece of paper towel to shield the quote as I sprayed ink onto the page.

And I love how this turned out!  The circles is from another stencil I created using a circle punch.  But I couldn't do a whole sheet because the transparency plastic kept jamming the punch.  The words and the hearts are the inspiration I used from one of Emily's designs.  The word strips were printed onto a 4x6 neon yellow index card.  I cut the words out and then put some red ink around the edges.  I did the same to the edges of these pages.  LOVE it!