I had all sorts of great ideas of how I was going to fill my Sketchbook Project with all sorts of splashy watercolor… that is, until it arrived.  It has the absolutely thinnest paper I’ve ever worked on!  But I one of my goals was to use the sketchbook as-is.  No adaptations.

But I want color!

I thought of using colored pencils but I really wanted full backgrounds full of vibrant pigments.  I recently read Alisa Golden’s book from a few years ago, Painted Paper, where she promotes the use of acrylic ink dry-brushed across the pages.  Acrylic ink, NOT acrylic paint.  It doesn’t leave a plastic feel to the paper so the pages won’t stick even in humid weather and she claims it will be easier to write on.

Brilliant!  Well, believe me, even the driest dry-brush completely warped the paper.  Ah-ha!  I’ll iron it flat!  Amazingly, it worked.  I tried different techniques on each spread.  Some I brushed, some were stamped; I even hand cut a stencil from a cereal box and spritzed diluted ink onto the page.  Each time I ironed the pages dry and flat… ish.  They make a wonderful crinkly sound when turned.

Now I have a book filled with vibrant color.  Just what I wanted.

Hmmm… now to fill the book!  I’m going to pour myself a cup of peppermint tea and get to work.  These are the 2014 Official Themes: Strange Neighbors / Borders and lines / A simple place / Accidents / Found! / Dudes and latitudes / To the last page! / First aid kit / Say words out loud / Paper airplanes / This list… / Atlas of… / Greetings from… / 32 Days / This is not about you / This is not about me.

I’m thinking an atlas of…….