creativeGIRL is one of those books that lingers in your head long after you put it down–if you can put it down. The day Danielle Donaldson's book arrived in my office I must have opened it about a dozen times, either sneaking a peek at her stunning artwork, or leafing through to find yet another technique I wanted to try.
The first technique that caught my eye was creating a watercolor stash–painting papers with watercolor to have on hand for upcoming projects. Danielle says this practice is not only helpful when she's feeling overwhelmed or stuck, but also gives her "a multitude of starting points for future work." Such a brilliant idea for when you want to create something, but your muse is out getting a triple latte, and you don't know where to begin.
I grabbed some old book pages, printed tissue, pattern pieces, and a vintage map, and randomly painted them with watercolor.
One of Danielle's background page techniques is to use a hand-cut stencil to create a repeating pattern that is filled in with watercolor. I started with a pre-made stencil that I traced lightly in pencil in a page in my journal.
I filled in each area with various shades of watercolor, allowing some colors to bleed, as Danielle suggests.
Another of her tips is to add salt to the wet watercolor to achieve a mottled effect. I also flicked some paint from my paintbrush.
I used the background papers to create abstract hand-cut layered flowers, which I stitched together with embroidery floss and embellished with a white gel pen. I then glued the flowers to the page and painted in stems. I cut leaf shapes from the paper stash and glued them on.
I absolutely love my journal page, and I had a difficult time putting my supplies away–I wanted to create another page right away. There are so many techniques and projects in this book that you can dive into immediately. No special skills are required!
If you haven't gotten Danielle's book, now is a great time! We're offering a creativeGIRL inspiration pack that includes the book and a signed print of Danielle's cover artwork. I guarantee that both will inspire you for a long time to come.