This is the first double page spread in my brand spanking new Strathmore hardbound journal! It took me forever to start using this. It wasn't the page that scared me, it was the whole damn book! I paid good money for this book and I didn't want to ruin it! Yikes! I have another one too, a bigger one, and man, is it Huge! A full 8.5 x 11 which makes a humongous double page spread that I don't think I'm ready for. I know, I know. It doesn't sound that big. I just may stick to single pages in that one, we'll see. But this little journal is very easy to work in and a page can be done so quickly that you don't really have a lot of time to think...and that's a good thing.
I was both pleased and surprised (shocked!) at how this page turned out. I didn't use any gesso at all, and just laid down some misc. pieces of paper and old background pages. I then used acrylic paint for the background and the stencils. Of course, I got some Dylusions Ink Spray in there on the doilies, then I painted the stencil areas with it and finally shook some over the whole page. Believe me, I didn't have a clue what I was doing or where I was going, I just went. In the end it was missing something, until I found the perfect girl in an old magazine, and she really shook things up. I love when that happens!