AJ PanPastels Wise Men

I am posting a page I completed in my Art Journal (AJ) using a variety of Christmas stamps by Tim Holtz, and a Stampendous Santa stamp.  I once said I had no current plans to get into the PanPastels and now I teach how to use them.  Yep, I got hooked and now I am constantly devising new ways to use them.  I love this art medium for mixed media!

If you haven't used PanPastels before, they are simplest to explain as a type of chalk called pastel.  They are a soft refined pastel pigment powder that is compressed into a jar that seems almost creamy.  However, the binding agent used in these pastels is unique in that the dust content from usage is extremely low, while the pigment is a higher artist quality.  The price point is initially higher, but their longevity helps even the score.  You can use these with a variety of tools & products, but the Sofft Tools are my favorites...besides using my fingers.  They apply like a paint, but don't need any water.  Oooo, and did I mention clean up is a breeeeeze.  Keep an eye out on my blog, as I'll be sharing more about these little beauties, including tutorials & videos -- hopefully in the new year. 

Regarding today's mixed media page:  believe it or not, this page layout is super simple to complete -- you're basically just working in layers. 
1.  The complete background is a light dry wash of PanPastel. 
2.  Randomly stamped with several TH stamps using VersaMark.  I lightly went over the stamped images with a slightly darker pastel shade.  (TH stamp sets:  Shabby French, Reindeer Flight, Letter to Santa)
3.  Sprayed Krylon's Workable Fixatif over the pages and let sit a few minutes until dry.
4.  Stamped the Angel & Joyful Christmas (TH Joyful Song) again with VersaMark, and heat embossed using Ranger's Chinese Red Antiquities, and Stampendous Aged Silver (I love the tarnished silver look for this page).
5.  Using black Archival ink I stamped the Wise Men.  I didn't apply too much pressure to the stamp so that the image would be somewhat mottled. 

6.  For the Santa image (by Stampendous),  I stamped the Santa image with black Archival ink onto copy paper before crumpling it up.  Then opened it up and created a dry wash of pastel.  I love how the paper's creases picked up an extra "shadow" of color.   I used the pointed Sofft Knife with various colors of the PanPastels to "paint" the Santa.  Finally, I ripped the edges, sprayed it with the Fixatif, and adhered it to the page with Scotch Quick Dry adhesive once dry.


That's it.  Most projects & page layouts can look overwhelming to re-create when you first see them.  But if you break it down by layer, it really makes them very do-able. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope your day is beautiful!  Lisa