I fell a little behind in posting and there is a lot of variety to the pages in this post. I hope you find something that speaks to you. This first two page layout was from a few days that were difficult, but I love how the journal pages turned out. The indigo bunting that was in our tree was here so briefly. That glimpse and so many other joys of spring and the support of friends and family lifted me up during my difficult times. Can you see that in these images? I also LOVE how the Inktense pencils worked with the stencil. The prismacolor markers didn’t work very well on gesso covered page, but the coffee cup has an interesting look to it.
Playing with ink and water and inexpensive watercolor pencils.
The title for this post came from the card on the right page of this last layout. The pages aren’t posted in chronological order and this last one is from Mother’s day. My husband gave me this beautiful card. There are a lot of layers to these 2 pages.
lunanista 
I love the flowers on your Mother’s day post. So very pretty.
Do you water down your gesso at all before you apply it? I have found that when I apply gesso straight from the jar it is quite thick and doesn’t make a great base for painting on.
Thanks for the kind words! I usually just use gesso right from the jar, but I really like to apply a thin wash of it watered down over photos. You can make a lot of different textures that way. I do it for using photos in cards and I think I have done it in some of my journal entries. Sometimes I also mix it with either paint or gel medium. I’m still learning about all my supplies. I used to do a lot of art all the time but with young kids and work I had to leave everything but the basics behind. Now that my boys are more or less grown and I can’t really work anymore I am really enjoying exploring all the fabulous new supplies out there! I have only used one brand of gesso so far and I’m thinking there may be some variation among different brands.
First word that comes to my mind while looking at your pages – authentic. I feel that I’m actually on a journey with you. I’ve noticed that some art journals pages are nothing more than layers of techniques that showcase trendy supplies or materials. But your pages are expressive and real.
Thank you for your kind words on my blog! Have a creative day!
Hey thanks! I think that may be because I’m walking this path for myself. I have been so pleasantly surprised by the interest and support I have found. But I do the journal to help me live my best life. That being said I do so love new techniques and art supplies! I have been happy to find so many lovely blogs to keep the expression and ideas fresh.