So far, all of the Art Journal Pages I’ve shown have been from my first art journal.  After completing all the pages, I decorated the cover (shown here).  I saved the cover for last because I knew that along the way it would get marked with inks and paints — so I let it get messy as I worked on the pages, and then completed the cover last.

I started with a double coat of metallic gold acrylic paint applied with a sponge brush.  To that, I added a clock image made with black paint applied through a stencil with a sponge.  Long ago, I had cut the cat clock image from a magazine, and it fit perfectly in the center of my stenciled clock so I Mod Podged it on.  I collaged another clock image cut from a magazine on the back cover and spine.  I rubberstamped images, words, and numbers using white, orange, and black acrylic paint.  (Be sure to clean your rubberstamp IMMEDIATELY when you use it to stamp acrylic paint because if the paint dries on the rubber, it won’t come off!)  I applied some copper 3D Stamp Paint to the cover here and there with my finger, and let everything dry completely before sealing the whole surface with two coats of Mod Podge.

Saving the cover for last was like frosting a cake!  I had a lot of fun making the pages in this journal and then finishing it off with an eye-catching cover.

(Stay tuned for images from my second art journal, starting tomorrow!)