Harvinaisen Kaunis Elämä: Open Me Carefully - Art Journaling for Finnabair

Hello darlings,

My Quiet Moments journal has got a new page that I want to share with you!

My Quiet Moments journal is my very special journal where let my heart tell what it has to say. I pick some inspiring elements like a dried flower from our garden, a bit of lace, or a quote that feels perfect there and then, and try to capture those little moments in life that makes it so precious. Which means, I want the journal to reflect the fragile beauty and light of life, without forgetting there wouldn’t be light without darkness.

The journal is a Finnabair Art Daily Square Journal, 5.5 inches, 14cm in size, so it is perfect size for this kind of purpose, where the main element is a dried flower, or a quote typed with a vintage typewriter.

My way of journaling is very intuitive, so I had no clear vision what I was going to do, except for using some vintage dyed lace and soft, creamy colours. You can follow the entire creative journey in my long, tranquil video, where I tell you how, why, what, and a lot more along the way.

I roughly planned the general elements for the page and their composition, glued a 7 Dots Studio paper on the background, and started to layer vintage paper bits and used tea bags on the pages, attaching them with Soft Matte Gel. Next, I primed the pages very lightly with Heavy Gesso, and after the pages were dry, I sewed and glued laces where I wanted them to go.

I ended up choosing Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) as the dried flower for my journal spread. It’s one of my favourite flowers with its soft, gentle look and we have had it in our garden for years, but I fell head over heels in love with it last summer, when I learnt that it is actually a very powerful medicinal plant and most of all, that it symbolizes hope and strength. It instantly got a firm top 3 position in my favourite plants list!

Of course, I wanted a matching quote, something reflecting the fragile, yet hopeful message of the journal spread, and ended up using one of Emily Dickinson’s poems. I had written the quote with my vintage typewriter on Japanese rice paper, which suits the task perfectly and kind of blends into the page. I attached both the Pearly Everlasting and the quote to the page using Soft Matte Gel.

Next, I needed to decide the colour theme, which wasn’t that hard, as Pearly Everlasting and the laces kind of demanded soft beiges and cream. I mixed a light paint mix using Impastos Snow White and Linen with just a merest hint of Pitch Black and Dark Chocolate for depth and added only a very light coat of paint onto the page, blending and wiping most off with a baby wipe.

Next, I added a bit shadowing into the page edges and around the dried flower with Liquid Acrylics Burnt Sienna, Umber, and Ink Black.

For highlighting, I used the new Winter Release Gold Metallic Flakes and using Gilding Glue I attached just a tiny amount of gold flake traces here and there, applying some new Sage Leaves Matte Wax on top of the gilding, to make it look more aged and worn.

And the journal spread was finished. It truly whispers the message of hope and strength with the soft colouring, with the light, gentle gilding, and with the soft Pearly Everlasting.