Pocket Journal with Altered Pages

Hi lovelies,

I have different sized art journals to work with, but I always come back to the pocket sized ones. They are a practical size for art play, quick sketches, and making notes. Some of mine are dedicated to just one theme, such as "florals", "autumn", "faces" etc. 

At the beginning of this year I started a new project: altering the pages in a vintage style theme with fun tuck spots, journaling cards, collage clusters, tabs, and other interactive elements. I recently completed this journal and I wanted to share some of the pages here with a short explanation on how I created them.

First, I decided on the color palette, which I used thoughout the journal: ash green, misty blue, rose, gray and cream. Plus black, white and tiny touches of brown and ochre.

I painted, collaged and/or distressed all the pages. I alternated simple pages with pages that contained tuck spots for tags and note cards. This is to prevent the journal from becoming too chunky.  

A simple "trick" to make cards look aged is to brush them lightly with watered down raw umber ink and make a few splatters. In the example below I dipped a small plastic lid into the ink and stamped faux coffee rings. 

For embellishment I used torn paper pieces, washi tape, tissue collage, stamps and added cute tabs to a few pages. On each spread I left enough space for journaling. The journaling cards and note paper tucked inside can also be used for additional notes, thoughts, dreams. 

I'm really pleased with how this little journal turned out! I like how each page is different, yet the overall look is cohesive. I like the textured elements. Bonus: I used leftover paper scraps from other projects to create the collage and some of the journaling cards.

Thank you for reading along. Take care and Happy Friday!

Monday Moodboard

Hello everyone!

If you have not already guessed today's theme - it's "patterns". As a former fabric store owner I love all kinds of patterns, especially polka dots and gingham. I'm known for sporting bags printed with polka dots. Nautical stripes are also a firm favorite. My choices here include fun stripey earrings and a vintage gingham skirt. The scarf with irregular dots is so pretty and the tote bag would be a great choice on market days. Which one is your favorite?

Click on the links below for info.

1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4

Art Journaling with Art Prompt Cards

Hello blog friends,

I endeavour to make art every day, even if it's just a fifteen minute break in between work and chores, but sometimes I struggle to come up with an idea. This is where my handmade Art Prompt Cards come in handy. 

I shuffled the cards and then picked three. The prompts I chose were "shades of red", "make splatters" and "add stamps". On a whim I decided to film my process of impromptu art making and you can find the short video below. Don't forget to leave a thumbs up 😊

Whenever I don't have much time, I like to grab a few favorite tools, such as a brayer, grungy background stamps and paint pens. In the above collage you can see how I have built up layers with paint and stamps using the art prompts. If you look closely - in step four I made some splatters in a darker shade of red than the main red, which is carmine. (In the video I mistakenly said crimson).

If you have followed my blog for a while, you'll know that I often add face sketches to my art journal pages. Alternatively, I use this fun face stamp from Jane Davenport - and before you ask - it's been discontinued, but there may be some sets still available online. Just put her name in search + stamps. This face stamp in three sizes lets you create endless hairstyles, which I find highly entertaining. Should you choose to draw a figure the clothing options are endless, too. 

In my example: after stamping on a separate piece of paper I sketched in a short hairstyle and added just the top part of the body. Yes, my lady has lilac hair 😊💜 I also used my large alphabet stamp set to stamp some words.

A fun page created with the help of my art prompts and using some of my favorite tools! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a wonderful weekend ahead and Happy Easter to those that celebrate 🌸