Ever make an art journal page where you don’t like it no matter how many layers you add? Nothing seemed to work and it had a lot to do with the serious mood I was in (and it was for no particular reason). Thankfully, something unexpected snapped me out of this headspace and suddenly I began to like the page.

Below are all the layers that I didn’t like. Not one bit. It’s interesting that as I’m writing up this blog post, I kind of like this now. It’s fascinating to me how what we create can look yucky one day and the very next day, the exact same thing can get a totally different response.

While adding these layers of loose color, the play came back. Why? Because of leftover bit of stenciling. I found an stenciled car, from my Coming and Going stencil, and that got me thinking about something completely unexpected. An old tv show with the silliest theme song intro. Keep reading to see how it helped!

Alcohol inks are usually used on glossy papers. That does create great effects but you can also use them on things like art journal pages to make quick and easy splatter. One reason I love using this more than paint lately is because of how quickly it dries!

What was the tv show that got me out of the serious headspace? It was Car 54, Where Are You? I can’t remember the details of a single episode but the theme song sure stuck with me from seeing reruns as a kid.

Ever since finding that stenciled taxi, the theme song to Car 54, Where Are You? was running on a loop in my head. Those lyrics are what I’m scribble journaling there, after all it does capture the spirit of how this page has gone.

Leaving the car white just wasn’t an option. After all, it needed some color! But blue, that would be historically accurate to the tv show, didn’t have the color pop I wanted. So I went with yellow making it look like a taxi again.

I definitely used a bit of artistic license here and that’s part of the fun of art play!

Here are the supplies used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. For example, I’m an Amazon Associate & I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you get a really good feeling knowing that you are helping keep the free tutorials coming!

Gel plates make great layers in an art journal plus they can make things much easier for you when you’re stamping with paint.

An O.O.P.S., an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly, happened with the gel plate with white paint. It wasn’t until the very end of the page that I realized what the opportunity in it was.

Stamping with paint allows you to have strong dark lines even when using a large or detailed stamp, like this one from Darkroom Door. The tricky part is getting the paint evenly on the stamp. That’s where the gel plate comes in handy as the ink pad. Just brayer the paint on the plate, and use it just like an ink pad.

If you’ve never stamped with paint perhaps you’re worried about cleaning the stamps. In the video, I share the easy way to get them clean.

This art journal page was all about my gratitude for my great aunt. A fiesty and fiercely independent woman who in 98 years experienced a great deal. All her steps forward as a career woman back when then helped make it easier for all women today. Thank you to each and every woman who paved the way!

The arts were always near and dear to my great aunt. She embraced creativity throughout her life so I stenciled these quotes from my Conversations with Matisse stencil. This brought back memories of a very Matisse inspired painting in her dining room that she picked up in Yugoslavia back when it was called Yugoslavia.

This was a colorful woman who inspired this page, so I had to get the rainbow on the stamped images. Using PanPastels, loose color was added to the page.

Did I seal the PanPastels? Nope. If I’m adding just a touch of them here or there I don’t take the time to seal that little bit. When I do seal them, I use a gel plate to do that too. I’ve a tutorial here showing you how.

More layers of color were added to the page with the gel plate. Just parts of the plate were used, after all, you have the freedom to use some or all of a plate.

If you’re new to gel printing or have ever felt frustrated with your gel prints then you might want to take a look at my workshops. I’ve got several that go deep into why the gel plate does what it does. This means you can fully understand your gel plate and use that knowledge to create the kinds of prints that bring you joy.

After all, the best thing about art supplies is the fun you can have using them!

Here are the supplies used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. For example, I’m an Amazon Associate & I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you get a really good feeling knowing that you are helping keep the free tutorials coming!