This visual journal page was primarily created using bleeding tissue paper. But, it wasn’t created in the way you may think. Read the backstory, supplies, and how-to below.
THE STORY
We were wrapping up another week at the wonderful, Hilton Head Island, beach. I enjoyed quality time with my family and the sun, while I worked on my tan, played on the beach, and consumed book after book. Overall I was well relaxed.
My relaxation ended the second to last day of our trip. My parents decided it was time to shake things up a bit and do something different. They rented two jet skis, I couldn’t wait to try them out.
My parents doubled up on one, while my brother and I doubled up on the second one. As we began climbing on, getting ourselves settled in, my nerves began to take hold. I decided I wasn’t ready to drive first. Ramsey should be the first to go. I climbed on the jet ski behind him and readied myself for an adventure. I felt less nervous knowing I could sit back and relax in the beginning stages. What I didn’t know was by being my brother’s passenger, rather than the driver, my nerves were about to go into overdrive.
All went well at first. We slowly pulled out of the marina and putt-putted our way to open water. The no-wake rule, until we hit the larger area, kept my brother at bay for the first leg of the trip. However, as soon as we hit the open seas he went full throttle. My laid-back posture, hands resting on the back of the jet ski, was immediately replaced by squeezing around my brother for dear life, feet slipping off the bottom, my butt bouncing on the seat, threatening to fly right off.
I tried yelling, screaming, saying his name, trying to get him to slow down. The swishing, the rushing wind took every word with it, as I came to terms with my situation.
By the time he slowed down my entire body was exhausted, less from fear, and more from every muscle in me tensing up, trying to stay on the jet ski. I was ready for my turn, and my revenge. It began with a nice slow loop at first, then hit the throttle, sending my brother into the same situation he placed me. I felt more secure in the driver’s seat. Knowing I had full control. I had the handlebars to hold onto, and my brother anchored me on the back. Unfortunately, my speedy ride didn’t faze him on bit, he had the time of his life.
We continued to switch off, and every time he took control I prepared myself for another, possibly life-threatening ride. In no time it was time to head back to the marine. I was incredibly tired and sore the next day, just from trying to stay on the jet ski while my brother drove like a crazy person. Despite the fear he placed in me I still had an amazing time, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
I’m pretty sure you almost killed me once or twice… but it was worth it…
SUPPLIES
- Visual journal
- Rubber cement
- Scissors
- Bleeding tissue paper
- Water
- Colored pencils
- Sharpie
HOW TO
To create this visual journal page I wanted to make a very nautical feeling page. I decided the best way to accomplish this was to use water-based materials, something along the lines of watercolor or bleeding tissue paper. Eventually, I decided bleeding tissue paper would work best. However, rather than simply squeeze the pigment out of the paper, I decided to use the actual tissue paper in my book.
To do this I took a stack of different shades of blue and green bleeding tissue paper and splattered water all over them. I set it out on my counter until it dried. Once dry I carefully separated the layers and fell in love with the results. The dark and light blues bled colors into each other, creating pops of color, areas of white and gray. The green sheet had a beautiful pop of white and yellow among the tie-dye sections of green.
I took the paper and cut them into strips. Next, I glued the green strip, using rubber cement, 3/4 of the way up the page. I left a small space, then began gluing the layers of blue paper. I overlapped the blue and varied the amount of space I left before adding another layer. The result was a wave-like, tie-dyed ocean. It was just what I envisioned.
Next, I began working on the jet ski. I looked up a picture to reference and began sketching it out on a white sheet of paper. Next, I added color, shadows, and highlights, using colored pencils. I glued the completed jet ski drawing the right side page. I added some ripped-up book pages, to look like foam on a wave, and overlapped a strip of tissue paper, to make it look like it is sitting in the water.
Last but not least I added sharpie words to the space between the green and blue tissue paper.
CHALLENGE
Create a visual journal page using bleeding tissue paper. Try stacking the paper, wetting it, letting it dry, and gluing the actual tissue paper in your book. Have fun!
Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog! Help me spread the word about my blog and visual journals by sharing on your social networking site of choice. Check out more visual journal blog posts here. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and TikTok for weekly visual journal demos. Until next time!
Related Posts
Leave a Reply