Horace's Background Tutorial

Hello there, it's your favourite bear blogger, Horace here, I'm giving a tutorial to a willing and rapt audience!!

I'm taking inspiration from one of my favourite crafters, Dyan Reavely, and following her background tutorial on Youtube. Don't let the other bears know this though, they think I'm naturally creative!


As with any journal creation. I started with a blank page. After spreading a wipe clean mat over our very light duvet cover, I chose 3 Dylusions mists; Bubblegum Pink, Vibrant Turquoise and Squeezed orange.

First, I spritzed my blank page with water, then sprayed my mists in lovely big blotches randomly on one side of the double page.


I spritzed a little more water, to allow for blending, then closed my book, to spread the inks to the opposite page. I find a good way to do this is to use the book as a seat.


After opening up the book, I had a lovely double spread of cool colour. I dabbed off the excess ink with kitchen roll.


Voila. A (very) basic background.


Next, i opened the lovely new Dylusions alphabet stencil purchased at the bears favourite craft shop- Papermaze, and spritzed through it in random places, onto the misted background. I carefully took the mask away from the page, and pressed kitchen roll into the stencilled area.


This lends a ghosting effect to the page, which I love.


I repeated this on the opposite side then dried the page with a heat gun, I then spritzed once again through the stencil, this time using Turquoise mist.


To the basic background I added some journalling in alphabet and number stamps, and some random images, which were Paperartsy stamps sent from a lovely friend for Christmas.


To make the journalling really stand out, I paw-drew around the lettering in white gel pen.

I was so pleased with my tutorial, and finished page, that I couldn't wait to show my interested audience.......oh!



Never mind, you can have a close up instead. Make Every Day Count, by Horace.





With love from the bears.