Question and Answer Post...

Hey everyone!  How's it going?  I set aside this post to answer some of your questions.  I hope this is helpful!


Deli Paper

What is it?
Deli paper is that stuff that sandwiches come wrapped in sometimes, when you get them at the deli.  It's more translucent than butcher paper, and less waxy than wax paper.  It's also different from parchment paper.  It's become one of my favorite go-to tools lately!

Where do you get it?
You can get it on ebay, and probably other places online too.  I got mine from amazon.  You get a HUGE amount.  Here's a link. 

Kabnet Dry Wax Deli Paper

 

The cool thing about deli paper is that it's translucent, but tougher than tissue paper, and it's super thin.  It's awesome for collagework for these reasons.

The clouds on this journal page are acrylic paint on deli paper.  I did it with a gelli plate, but you could just as easily use a paint brush or your fingers.  I cut them out and glued them on with a glue stick.  They melt right into the page...

 In this example, I drew the girl on deli paper with pencil, and then glued her onto the page.  It's a great way to make sure you have the drawing how you want it; before commiting it to a painted page, where it's harder to erase...

The surface is more waxy on one side than the other, but even the waxy side is not as waxy as waxed paper.  (I managed to get the word waxy 4 times in one sentence - wow.)  I don't prep the surface, but be aware that some things work better than others with this paper.  Acrylic paint works great.  Copic markers work great.  Water-based markers don't work as well.  You just have to experiment a little bit.

 Here's the same journal page after acrylic paint and colored pencil was added to the image of the girl...

 

I also put deli paper in between my journal pages when I'm working on them, to catch spill over paint.  Then you can actually use those painted papers for collage later.

There are so many things you can do with deli paper it's amazing.

If you are interested in learning more about this awesome stuff, I highly recommend Julie Balzer's workshop called "Getting Started with Deli Paper."  It's chock full of ideas and Julie is an awesome teacher.  It's very inexpensive too.  Click here to find out more about the class.


Pan Pastels:
I use pan pastels in my big grid journal to create colored backgrounds.  Brenda asked if I fix the page after using the pan pastels.  I don't fix the pages.  I find that if I take a paper towel wrapped around my finger and rub the pages really well, the excess pastel comes right off and then what's left doesn't smear.  If I'm using pan pastels on a page in my regular art journal, I will cover the page with a light coating of gel medium or clear gesso to stop smearing.  I don't use spray fixative at all because of the toxicity.

Finding the time to create:
Emie asked me when I find time to work in my journal.  Usually what I do is take a nap after work, so I can get a little energy back, and then I work in my journal in the evening, when I get up from my nap.  I usually finish one spread each evening during the week.  I stay up too late, but for me it's worth it.  On the weekends I work on Project Life.  I don't have kids at home, and I have a husband who is super supportive of my creative time.  He has his own projects he likes to work on, so it works out perfect for us.  Less laundry gets done.  The house is more dusty than it should be, but that's okay with me.

I hope this info is helpful.  I also got questions about where I draw inspiration from, as well as what my process is for working in different journals.  These are both great questions that deserve a post of their own.  Those will be coming up soon!

Please always feel free to leave questions in the comment section.  I love to hear from you!

Thanks so much for visiting, and I will see you again tomorrow!!!