Artsy Fartsy Knit Wit: Week 20 - Use a paper napkin in your background

Well, after a long, stressful week, it was nice to have a go in my art journal. Our prompt for this week, at Artful Journeys, is to use a paper napkin in our background. I have a love/hate relationship with paper napkins. I mean, really, they aren't all that great for getting something clean, but that's what you get when you're on the go, right? Then there are the paper napkins with designs/pictures on them....they're even less useful...UNLESS you are using them in your art!! Paper napkins have 3 layers...the printed layer, then 2 others...and we just want the printed layer. In order to get that, you have to separate the layers....well, the back layer comes off quite easily. It's the middle layer that does NOT like to leave it's little printed friend. I have found the easiest way to separate the middle and front, is to lick my index finger and rub it against my thumb, then pinch the napkin and SLOWLY separate my thumb and finger. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries, but it's what works best for me.

So earlier in the week I received a cute little cocktail napkin from a member of one of the groups I'm in. Beautiful butterflies all over it. So I knew I wanted to use that in my spread. From there it was just a matter of what else I wanted to throw down onto my pages. I can't give you an exact supply list, sorry, as some of the things I used came from happy mail, or as extras in one of the swaps I participated in, but I think I can come close.

So, of course, there was my Large Dylusions journal, Liquitex acrylic paints in Medium Magenta, Titanium white and Amsterdam paint in Turquoise. drywall tape, tissue paper, Tim Holtz photo booth images, book pages, Tim Holtz rub ons, some sort of material stuff with glitter on it, a rubber stamp with black archival ink and of course my paper napkin.

Once I painted my background, I went thru and painted some circles onto the page, but alas, they were WAY to dark, so I cut some circles out of a book page and laid them over the painted circles, then painted on top of them. Then I came thru with my drywall tape, weird material stuff, book pages and tissue paper, just tearing and laying shit down where it seemed like it needed to go. There was not a lot of "planning" with this spread after the napkin was picked out, I just let it happen.

Now for my napkin, I didn't follow the usual rule for putting them down. I laid down some glue with my trusty UHU glue stick, then laid my single layer down on top of the glue, gently smoothing as I went. I like doing it this way, because I tend to get pissed when I can't write over the top of my work. Then a little while later, I came back to my napkins and began pulling(tearing) at the edges of the napkin that weren't glued down, ripping away the leftover and leaving behind part of the napkin and creating a look that I really like.

The Tim Holtz photo booth pictures actually came into play as an afterthought, as I thought that my spread was lacking something....and I was right. The minute I laid those 2 pics down on to the spread, I knew they would finish it for me.

I have included a bunch of pictures below so that you can see the various elements and layers used along the way...I hope you find some inspiration here, and thank you so much for stopping by to look. Don't forget to leave me some love!

Here is a shot of the entire spread.

A shot of the left page

A shot of the right page.

A close up of the butterfly napkin on the right page.

And on the left page.

A shot of the drywall tape painted with turquoise paint, and that weird thick paper like material. You can't see it in the picture, but the design on it is white with glittery silver accents.