Joan is journalling in Rose's "Bird" Journal

As this was the first Journal of the round and as Rose had not done a page herself apart from her introduction, I was going to be the first to do a page in it and I was a bit nervous about that first drop of paint.   I love this little book, it is so cute and neat and not anything like the big recycled journals, I usually  receive in these sort of collaborative journal swaps.

Anyway I dived in head first with some lovely Dylusion paints I have recently bought, but first of all I gessoed both pages.  I had tried the paint on a couple of other items prior to this and I loved the way it blended and dried so quickly.  I used Lime green, another green, a blue and a yellow. It did not blend as easy on the gesso as it does just on paper. Then I stuck on a couple of pieces of paper with some bird related text. When dry I used gel medium to attach a napkin I had made myself using one of the white pieces from a bought napkin . I had  used a some bird relate text and a few small bird pictures to make the napkin. That become lovely and translucent over the paint.  I also attached a piece of a bought napkin with some flowers and one bird on it,on the right hand page.

 

I then added some more paint and some spray dyes  here and there. I did not like the piece of tissue with the yellow bird partly showing above, so I covered it up.  I then drew (very badly) a couple of other birds, The yellow one was a copy of a bird on one of the bird postage stamps  Rose has on the cover. I then added a little more paint and some highlighting etc. I collaged a flying owl on left and covered him with a dimensional glue to protect him and to give some texture to page,  I highlighted the piece of paper that was straddling both pages from the second layer with a coat of thick white gesso and used some stick-ons to repeat one of the sayings that had been on the background napkin.  "Birds of a feather flock together".   I forgot to take a photo at this stage. Next day, I stamped a little flower and used pens to outline. I stuck some beautiful feathers I have had for about twenty years on bottom right hand corner and some text I had typed on a transparency to the right.    I hope Rose likes it, I sent it to Lisa ( next in line) yesterday.