Good morning! I know that for some of you, mixed media makes you nervous. Listen, I get it…but you have no idea how much fun you are missing by not giving these journals, paints and molding paste a try. So…today, my goal is to show you how EASY it is to create a mixed media journal spread. You do not need to have a lot of product to do these spreads. If you have paint, molding paste and some stencils with a few scraps…that’s all you need.

I made this spread last weekend when I was bored and I didn’t really want to scrapbook a layout. But I wanted to play and get messy. I found the “Believe you can and you will” sticker in my stash and thought, I love that! I need to put that on a journal page as a good reminder to myself.

To begin this spread, I painted the stitched cardstock journal page using the Ooops! My Bad Haute Mess Acrylic Paint. You don’t want to completely cover it using the paint. Allow some white to peak through.

Once it’s almost completely dry, add some of the “Drop Dead Gorgeous” paint. Again, leave some white showing. You can paint over the first layer of paint.

Next, use a palette knife to spread on some of the ” X-rated” paint. I like using the palette knife because it creates a different look depending on how hard you press on the palette knife when scraping across the page.

Once the yellow is dry, use the Haute Mess Molding Paste and a stencil to create some fun designs! I like using this technique because it really brings the colors out!

When applying the Haute Mess Molding Paste across the stencil, be sure to hold the stencil in place so it does not move which will cause smearing. Also, make sure to spread a good amount of paste over the stencil and go over the stencil in one direction. I normally spread the paste from top to bottom in one fluid movement. Then, I repeat this process until the entire stencil is covered. Once the entire stencil is covered, you can carefully scrape any excess paste off the stencil to add it back to the jar. Carefully, lift the stencil off the journal page and let it try for one hour.

And here it is… amazing, right!? And super fun!

To complete the spread, I hand-cut a buttefly image from patterned paper and then used my fingers to rub the paint on the butterfly to create a neat, blended look. Then I used Yes Paste to glue the butterfly to the center of the page. Once the glue was dry, I used foam squares to add the “Believe you can and you will” sticker to the center of the butterfly using a few foam squares. Then I fed a piece of ribbon through the metal key and adhered it to the center of the butterfly using a  Heavy Matte Gel. I added a few spashes of Turquoise Glimmer Mist and White Spray Ink just for fun.

That’s all there is to this journal spread! Think you’re ready to make one of your own? I can’t wait to see your creations in our gallery!