Creating An Art Journal Page Collage With Magazine Cutouts

It's been a hot minute since I posted and even created anything that was new and I have to say I have been museless (is that even a word?!) for quite a wee while now. I'm not sure what it was exactly but it was a severe funk non the less.

Determined to pull myself out of it and get creating again I pulled out a compositon book that had been languishing and got creative with a simple collage piece.

Change your scenery

I couldn't bring myself just yet to dig out my full art journal so I changed things up by using this gridded book I had bought a long time ago. If you've been following me you will know that minimalist is not in my vocabulary but there is something about the gridded squares that make me feel like I am not leaving too much white space even when I am!

It's really an art journal graph

This collage was super simple and easy to bring together because the whole compositon was built on two intersecting lines, a graph line if you will. Keeping the elements moving along an intersecting vertical and horizontal line brings the eye along of a nice little journey

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Now with more Ugh!

A few wee mistakes on this spread which you will see in the video. A few things I would definitley change and do differently next time. You can spot where these are in the video  because I tell you all about them! I was cursing the rub on that's for sure.

I worked around these mistakes though and while I am not 100% happy with elements of the spread, I created it and that was far more important to me than having something that was perfect!

Don't forget to subscribe!

As always don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already when you watch my video! If you enjoyed it, please give it a thumbs up and even better, leave me a comment to tell me what you enjoyed the most about the video!

Let’s dig a little deeper!

What if there was something that could help you work though identifying your style and give you some great ideas of ways to grow it? Wouldn’t that be great? Well my friend, I got your back! I’ve created the “Map Your Style Workbook” and you can get it for free from me right now!

The workbook is broken into two sections. Firstly we look at your style and how to identify it with a series of excercises. The next section takes the elements of our style we already have and works on ways to grow it more, to push you (gently!) outside of your comfort zone!

So what are you waiting for! Join me and help Map Your Style right now!

Use up your paper stash in your Art Journals

When working in my Art Journal one thing that never fails to spark my muse into action is my collection of paper scraps and ephemera. Diving into a big pile of gelli printed papers, found scraps and little bits sure makes my art heart super happy!

Check out the first part!

This is a follow up to my video post How to organise your Art Journal and stay inspired! I shared in this post how I organise and select paper pieces to work inside of my Art Journal so if you haven't visited that post hop over there now and then pop back here.

I got a really great response to that post and so many of you asked me to show you what I did with the little pieces I selected so this tutorial shows you just that!

Use your scraps to inspire

I used the colors found in my selected paper ephemera to inspire my color pallete for this journal spread. I love to use this method as sometimes staring at the blank page or the box of paint can be overwhelming! Using what you've already put down is a great way to get creative.

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Rummage Away!

Honestly, sorting through my boxes and bags of papers and bits is one of my most favorite things to do and I know it will be for you as well. Just diving in and re discovering things you had forgotten or little bits you had stashed away for just the right project.

The little gold hearts I added in this spread had to have been sitting there for at least five years! You just never know what you're going to uncover!

Don't forget to subscribe!

As always don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already when you watch my video! If you enjoyed it, please give it a thumbs up and even better, leave me a comment to tell me what you enjoyed the most about the video!

Let’s dig a little deeper!

What if there was something that could help you work though identifying your style and give you some great ideas of ways to grow it? Wouldn’t that be great? Well my friend, I got your back! I’ve created the “Map Your Style Workbook” and you can get it for free from me right now!

The workbook is broken into two sections. Firstly we look at your style and how to identify it with a series of excercises. The next section takes the elements of our style we already have and works on ways to grow it more, to push you (gently!) outside of your comfort zone!

So what are you waiting for! Join me and help Map Your Style right now!

How to Art Journal when you're too scared to start

So it might surprise you to hear this but I wanted to start Art Journaling for about a year before I actually picked anything up and made anything inside of a journal. I was scared, scared of so many things but mostly of not being good enough. It's so funny all of the silly things we think inside our heads isn't? Well let's get over whatever is stoping you from starting together ok?

1. Go get a journal

So it might sound really obvious, but you need something to work in when you sit down to create right? Assuming you've not started yet it can be quite daunting to try and figure out what kind of journal could be right for you, too many choices!

I felt the same when I was looking at journals so you know what I did? I jus went ahead and bought a cheap and cheerful one. My reason behind this was that I didn't care that much about it so I didn't mind if I messed it up a bit, I wasn't to afraid to get started in a super fancy journal.

My reasoning went something like this... 

"I'll buy an el cheapo book and if I like it and it's something that sticks I'll invest in something better that I can grow in"

Many, many, many journals later I would say it worked! 

2. Use what you have

Don't go out and spend piles of money on a whole load of art supplies right off the bat, you have no idea if you're going to love it (spoiler alert, you will!) and you might even go buy things you have no idea how to use or feel intimidated by.

When I first started out I had a bit of a collection of scrapbooking supplies and some really old acrylic paints. So I bought a couple of cheap brushes and I started from there. I built my collection gradually over time, one Liquitex Paint Marker at a time! 

Some great supplies I am sure you have to hand or can get for very cheap are;

- Felt tip pens - these can often be used with water to create really cool effects

- Magazines / Catalogues - These are everywhere and are a great source of color inspiration and collage material

- Children's Art Supplies - if you have kids you have everything you need in the house already to get going I am sure. Glue sticks, glitter, paints, gel pens to name but a few. If you don't have kids there is no reason you can't go to the store and pick up one of those large art sets made for them. These are a great inexpensive way to try out a whole range of supplies.

3. Don't get sucked into the Pintrest black hole

Ok, we are all SUPER guilty of this one (double hands up for me!) and it's so easy to do. We type in "art journal ideas" into Pintrest and then six hours later we emerge from the black hole 

Having a style doesn’t come quickly

I know I said I wasn’t going to use that quote but you have to give your style some time to develop and you can only do that from making, making and making some more. Trying on different styles you like and taking things from it that work is so important.

Let’s dig a little deeper!

What if there was something that could help you work though identifying your style and give you some great ideas of ways to grow it? Wouldn’t that be great? Well my friend, I got your back! I’ve created the “Map Your Style Workbook” and you can get it for free from me right now!

The workbook is broken into two sections. Firstly we look at your style and how to identify it with a series of excercises. The next section takes the elements of our style we already have and works on ways to grow it more, to push you (gently!) outside of your comfort zone!

So what are you waiting for! Join me and help Map Your Style right now!

how to art journal when you are too scared to start

So it might surprise you to hear this but I wanted to start Art Journaling for about a year before I actually picked anything up and made anything inside of a journal. I was scared, scared of so many things but mostly of not being good enough. It's so funny all of the silly things we think inside our heads isn't? Well let's get over whatever is stoping you from starting together ok?

What is a style?

Ok so let’s look at what the official definition of the word style is;

Style - noun

1. A particular procedure by which something is done; a manner or way.

2. A distinctive appearance, typically determined by the principles according to which something is designed.

What I find so interesting is that some of the synonyms that come up when you look at style are things like technique, method, approach, system, form and practice.

When I think of the word “style” in terms of art work I think of something that makes someone’s work stand out from the feed as their own. So when you’re scrolling through the feed on Instagram or facebook you know it belongs to them.

But where is my style?

It’s so easy to to feel like we just don’t have a style because we see all these other people out there who so clearly do. You know the people I’m talking about, the ones we see posting all the time and you know straight away it’s theirs.

Looking for your “style” and lamenting about it is one of the main things that I hear about online, especially with people who are just starting out. It is easy to look at people who have been creating for longer than us and who have what we feel is a style already.

And don’t worry, I won’t be telling you “don’t compare your start to someone else’s middle” because that’s just not helping anyone really is it?

Look at your work as a the whole body, not individual pieces

So if we look at some of the synonyms again associated with Style we can start to find some areas to look at in our own work.

Is there a particular technique that you reach for again and again? Gelli Printing, watercolours, acrylic paint or stamping?

Do you always start your page in the same way? What approach do you take when you open up a blank page? If you start to look at how you create from this point of view perhaps you can see a little bit of a tiny baby style beginning to emerge.

Having a style doesn’t come quickly

I know I said I wasn’t going to use that quote but you have to give your style some time to develop and you can only do that from making, making and making some more. Trying on different styles you like and taking things from it that work is so important.

Let’s dig a little deeper!

What if there was something that could help you work though identifying your style and give you some great ideas of ways to grow it? Wouldn’t that be great? Well my friend, I got your back! I’ve created the “Map Your Style Workbook” and you can get it for free from me right now!

The workbook is broken into two sections. Firstly we look at your style and how to identify it with a series of excercises. The next section takes the elements of our style we already have and works on ways to grow it more, to push you (gently!) outside of your comfort zone!

So what are you waiting for! Join me and help Map Your Style right now!