Inside Views - Part 1

Inside Views - painting a cardboard book.  The theme for The Sketchbook Challenge this month is "Views."  So this is my interpretation.  This is a 2-part post. 

I used a regular cardboard book, and cut out additional windows on each page.  My vision is to have a view through to the next page.

Paint the entire book - page by page with Gesso; even if the book says it is "paint ready"- the Gesso will help give the book more stability during the painting process.  I used clothes pins on the tips of the pages to keep them from coming in contact with one another during the entire painting process.

The paint that I used was Craft Smart Acrylic Craft Paint from Michaels (inexpensive).  I painted each page a different vibrant color.

After I painted the first two pages, I realized that I should have masked out the windows to keep them white. So use post it notes to protect the windows from the painting process.  You will remove them later.

The next step was stenciling each page with a contrasting color and a different stencil design.  I used this cool Color Box dual round brush, that I've had forever.

It may look a little messy to you, but I am not aiming for perfection here.  It will add to the charm of the book when it is finished.

The 3rd layer of paint needs to be another contrasting color, so that all of the layers show through one another and give your house depth.  I used a rubber comb to achieve the designs.  Paint, and comb immediately, while the paint is still wet.

Use the comb to make patterns in the paint - swirls, straight lines, curves and just have fun with it.  You can use a paper towel to help with the drying process, by laying a single sheet across the page, and then removing it immediately.