I wanted to participate with this month’s crusade challenge by Michelle Ward called back to back, but I didn’t have a way to make color copies easily. It’s about using the same background, but working on them differently. I decided instead to start a new spread of my journal, by applying paint and smashing the pages together, so I get a mirror image of the same colors.

I am just using simple craft paints here, squirting a bunch randomly on one side. It turns out I put on a bit too much paint though…perhaps I should have watered it down!

You can see that there’s a whole lot of paint on the smashed pages and I didn’t want to waste it all, so took a few more pages to duplicate the effect and spread out the paint more. It’s a good way to save paint and sort of “start” other journal pages by smearing paint on them.

Here you can see all three copies and still there was a nice layer of paint on all of them, even after spreading it around.

I decided to work on the two sides of the pages different, one light and one dark to see how they would turn out differently. A bit of collage with scraps of paper and tags, my favorite little embellishment to add in. Certainly a very light versus dark look I have going on here…I am just loving the textures and weird reactions of the paint more than anything else.

I added some journaling in the end, but pretty much left it this way with the light side and dark side contrasting each other. Bizarre to think the underpainting is exactly the same mirror image, but now it looks totally different.

Here are some detailed shots…I just really love the funky texture that developed when I put the watery black paint over the original colors. Very cool. It’s not the same effect on the lighter side, so it’s nicer to realize the difference with this experimentation.


I definitely had a lot of fun with this challenge and can’t wait to see what others have done…yay! Go on and check out the crusades to join in yourself with a little bit of fun art journaling play.



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36 Comments
*very* cool results and I love how you were able to alter the inspiration/original idea to fit what you could do. I love those paint colors, too.
Thanks so much! Yeah, I had to twist it to fit what I could do…don’t have a color photo copier in easy access!
A fabulous way to create duplicate pages with a little serendipity thrown in. Luv the black over the metallic paint.
Thanks so much…I agree it’s super fun and you never really know how it might turn out
I realized after the fact that watery paint or ink might work a lot better…like those ink blot tests!
Linda – what a clever solution to make multiples for this crusade. LOVE how you created two very different finishes on the pages – so cool to see side-by-side, each with their own strengths. Terrific close-ups! I’m partial to the right side – the black really ramps up that metallic. THANKS for sharing with the team!!
Thanks Michelle…thank you for inspiring every month…I love these little learning experiments with each crusade! Yes, I’m also partial to the dark…haha….
What a clever idea, Linda, and I love the contrast of your light page with the dark page. Thanks for showing the close ups. They really show up the texture.
Thank you for stopping by…it’s crazy how in real life the texture is so much more interesting too… goes to show that some things just have to be seen up close and personal!
Great idea! I love the play of light and dark (and that metallic paint with the black is genius!) Very cool!
Thanks! I guess metallic with black is just super cool!
Wow, sure looks like fun.
Thanks, definitely fun to just play!
Great way to get copies! I love what you did with the light and dark contrast. A super spread!
Yeah, I went overboard with the paint…but it ended up okay…haha…old fashion ditto method!
really clever idea for getting multiples! both look great, but i would prefer the right one a bit more!
Thanks so much! I agree, the black seems to be winning over everyone
Linda,
I liked seeing the progress and outcome! I just listen to the latest craftsanity and heard your name as one of the sponsors that was so great to hear “I know her wonderful blog!”:)
kt
Thanks so much and how lovely you recognized my name from the craftsanity podcast…I’m a longtime listener and love the interviews so just wanted to contribute by being a sponsor!
Umm…that is so great!!!!! I love it. I most especially love how you created a light and a dark side….so many things that can mean
Thanks so much, Dawn!
Hey crusader! Neat idea, and it worked out great to make your own copies, I wouldn’t have thought of that. Love your finished results on both sides!
Thanks for stopping by…definitely the low-tech way to make copies!
I love tags – but I have never used them on a journal page before, only on their own. I LOVE this idea and will definitely have to try it out.
The light page looks so ethereal while the dark page looks so rich and delicious. Amazing how different the one background can turn out.
Oh you can definitely collage in items to your journal page…I have to find some smaller tags to use as well, because the ones I have are pretty large! Hope you have fun trying it and thanks for your lovely comment!
Very interesting results. I like how you did each side differently. Very cool!
Thanks, kari!
Molto belle le tue pagine!
grazie mille!
Great way to make pages! Love both results,but the metallic really pops out on the black side.
Thanks so much, Helen. The metallic and black is really a great combo, I agree…gotta experiment more with that for sure…I should note that it’s a watery black too…not totally heavy body.
Tag-riffic pages Crusader! Happy creations from germany, tj
Thanks so much!
Great way to do the backgrounds and I love the final two pages.
Thanks, Rosemary!
Far out! They turned out *so* different. Just goes to show how much the underlayers can be transformed. Very cool…
Thanks so much for stopping by…it’s definitely cool to explore the layers and what shows through…very fun!