Harvinaisen Kaunis Elämä: Art Recipe March 2022

Hello friends,

I love the soft mood board of March Art Recipe; it is soothing and gentle, warm, and light. (I am seriously thinking of framing it into my studio wall, to remind me of good things.) So, it was very much a joy to come up with a gentle project. Which is how I ended up creating covers for a tiny little journal, only 7cm x 9cm. I wanted it to feel like dried rose petals; something fragile and delicate you almost hold your breath when you touch it and leaf through it.

Here’s how I did it.

I created the album covers from thick, heavy cardboard, and covered them with Flutter Tissue Paper, using Soft Matte Gel as glue. Then I primed it with white Heavy Gesso and painted the album with Vintage Roses Mica Powders, inside out, using Soft Matte Gel as the medium I mixed the powders in.

I also dyed the laces with the same powders and let them dry completely. Then I used Soft Matte Gel to attach crocheted vintage lace onto the cover (and ribbon for tying the journal) and let it dry again completely.

I made a simple composition using a bit of coffee dyed cheese cloth, a mica powder dyed lace bit with a clay rose bud mould and a piece of Mechanical Thistle Chipboard I cut from a larger piece. I primed the clay rose and chipboard leaf with gesso, painted them with the same Mica Powders I used earlier, and added some Ochre Matte Wax to get a dried rose look. Then I attached them with Heavy Body Gel. As the final touch I added a hint of very diluted Tiger’s Eye Stone Jewel Paste here and there to get an understated glamour into the piece.