For this piece I used a brayer with leaves from the garden.  

  used a brayer with stencils

Don't let the simple appearance fool you.  A brayer is an art journaling secret weapon.  

If you're looking to unlock endless creative possibilities in your art journal, a brayer is your new best friend.  

We often use a brayer when we are doing art journaling.  These clunky workhorse tools are incredibly versatile and can do a variety of tasks.  

A brayer is a multipurpose tool that looks similar to a paint roller.  Using a brayer insures consistent results when inking, gluing, printing and painting.  

There are different kinds of brayers:

hard rubber brayers are perfect for embossing, inking and gluing

soft rubber brayers are ideal for inking stamps or to lay ink to paper directly from inkpad

acrylic brayers are rigid - they can be used to smooth glued papers with damaging the roller 

sponge brayers soak up a lot of paint and a good tool for filling in large area or over mesh or stencils

Paint & Ink Application:

spreading paint smoothly on monoprinting or gelli plates

creating unique backgrounds by blending paints, inks, and other mediums

Printing & Mark Making:

inking up rubber stamps for crisp impressions

turning natural materials (leaves, feathers, flowers) into printing tools

wrapping the roller with string or rubber bands for textured mark-making

Adhering 

smoothly adhering ephemera to your journal pages

With a bit of creativity, the humble brayer becomes an extension of your artistic vision, allowing you to explore a world of textures, patterns, and effects in your art journal.