Abstract Collage in my Junk Journal

Hello lovelies,

it's almost two weeks into February, and I naively thought I'd see some signs of spring to brighten my day. Alas, it's more of the same with icy winds, grey skies and rain. The birds have been busy at the feeder outside my studio and I'll need to replenish it, and our resident squirrel seems grateful for the nuts and seeds I put out. He/she is quite shy, and I can never get close enough to get a good picture. 

Personally, I have a lot going on at the moment, so I'm grateful I have my art to turn to when I feel overwhelmed. Time and again simply playing in my journal with collage, a bit of paint, a few colorful crayons and my favorite stamps has a calming effect on my mind. I thought I'd share my recent art journal pages here. 

I was short on time so I grabbed my handmade junk journal, with pages that already have some background patterns on them. I don't mind making a "mess" in this journal. I find it rather freeing to slap on paint with my fingers and there is just something relaxing about tearing pieces of collage paper...you can see some of the process below:

I have a bunch of "collage fodder" at the ready, such as leaves, flowers, mushrooms and various stamped images that I make in batches when I have time to spare. They make great focal points in my journals or on cards. If you haven't seen them already, check out these short videos:

In the below close-up you can see how I chose a mix of papers and patterns and played with lines and other marks. Variety is key and instantly makes the page come alive. I like adding uplifting quotes.

The full quote reads: practice reckless optimism and kindness.

I felt more energized after creating this art journal spread. I like the juxtaposition of lights and darks, round and angular shapes. Splatters always make for interesting marks. If you'd like to watch the full video (around 4 min.) click here.

As always, thank you for reading along. Perhaps I have inspired you to try some "messy art" for stress-relief yourself! Have a beautiful day wherever you may be.

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Easy Cut & Paste Collage Art in my Junk Journal

Hello everyone!

In one of my recent private workshops we made a fun little collage with leftover scraps of paper and simple tools. My motto is always use what you have, recycle and upcycle. I created the left page as a demo and I thought, why not share my technique with my fellow bloggers :)

Below are the steps to create a similar page. I worked in my handmade junk journal, but any journal or even a loose sheet of paper will do.

In the first step I gathered my supplies, which consisted of my basket with paper scraps as well as a box of crayons, my favorite stamps and a couple of paint pens as well as some basic supplies like scissors and a glue stick. I like tearing my papers, but cutting them works fine, too.

I chose papers with interesting markings, usually gelli prints or painted papers. In the next step I added stamps in random areas and made some marks with a purple crayon to harmonize with the purple already present on the collage. I also swiped some black paint on the page with my finger.

While I left the page to dry, I prepared my focal image. First I stamped a text stamp on a piece of regular white paper. Then I placed a leaf stencil on top and dabbed black paint all around it. Once dry, I carefully cut around the image, leaving a narrow black edge.

Finally, I adhered the cut out leaf image along with a sentiment to my collaged page.

I hope you enjoyed this beginner-friendly tutorial. You can easily change things up by choosing different collage papers, making a variety of marks, adding more stamps and a different focal image (my workshop participant's pages all looked unique!)

Thanks for visiting!

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Grungy Art Journal Page with Watercolor Flowers

Hi everyone!

Although popular, I'm the first to admit that watercolors are actually my least favorite medium. However, I was intrigued by this small five pan set by Kuretake, which is relatively new here in Europe. Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors are an upper end brand, but I was lucky to get the set on sale. The set includes Aurora Red, Aurora Pink, Aurora Orange, Aurora Blue and Aurora Violet plus an empty pan for mixing.  At first I was sceptical, as the paint in the pans looked drab, but once activated with water they have a wonderful granulation and color dispersion. You can see this effect on my swatches in my watercolor sketchbook. It takes a bit of experimentation, but I feel the more water is added the better the color effects! It's best to not manipulate the water and just let it air dry. Once completely dry, the full two-tone color dispersion can be seen and admired. Side note: The colors are definitely not as bright as on the package.

Of course, now that I have them I will need to use them. I wanted to create something in my junky handmade art journal. So I grabbed some watercolor pencils, a few acrylic gouache paints, some crayons and some favorite stamps. I opened the journal and chose a random spread with pages that already had some colors and marks on them. I started by loosely putting down some colors with a flat brush. 

I continued brushing on paint. I used a sky blue, light turquoise, prussian blue and rose. I also used my fingers to blend in some white. I made some marks with a black crayon and added some splatters with white acrylic ink. This "playing" is just so relaxing, and since it's done in my junk journal there is no pressure to create a masterpiece.

Once satisfied with my background, I set the journal aside to focus on my focal images. I stamped some floral motifs on a white sheet of paper and colored them in using small round brushes in size 4 and size 6. While the images were still wet, I went in with my watercolor pencils to add some details and enhance the flowers. I set these aside to dry completely. 

Now that I've experimented with the Kuretake watercolors I must say, that while I appreciate the color dispersion and granulating effect, I find that it is not as pronounced on a small area. The colors are probably more effective as a background wash or when painting sky or seascapes. I felt the two-tone effect did not show up as well on a small and detailed image like those above.

Anyway, back to my background. I stamped some of my favorite grungy stamps in some areas. And once the flower motifs were dry I cut them out, but I wasn't too precise about it, as I was just going to stick them on my junk journal pages.

I adhered the floral images on the pages with a glue stick and also added a little sentiment. "Progress not Perfection." And indeed, I made some progress as far as painting with watercolors goes. Controlling the amount of water seems to be of paramount importance. I feel these granulating colors will be fun to use on larger areas. Good to know for future projects!

Thank you for reading along and I hope you enjoyed my little art journal demonstration. And if you missed it - a quick reminder that I launched my mini workshop last week. If you are interested you can click on the button in the side bar or follow this link.

Fun & Easy Messy Art in my handmade Junk Journal

Hi lovelies!

It's been so grey and rainy these past few weeks, that I was craving some color. I wanted to make some easy art, that I could fit in between my chores :) That's where my handmade junk journal comes in handy. Since the pages are made with leftover papers, underpapers, junk papers etc. they mostly already have some color or marks on them. A good starting point. For this project I actually used my fingers to "paint". Basically, I chose a couple of my favorite paint colors and randomly smeared them on the page. I guarantee this is so much fun! To see the entire process, scroll down to view the video.

There are not many tools required for this art page. Any journal will do, if you don't have a handmade one. Then pick your favorite paint colors, a couple of wax crayons, and maybe a stamp or two. For my focal point I picked one of my pre-made collage leaf images. If you are interested, you can watch this short video on how I made these.

Fun "finger painting" process below.

Step One - Use your fingers to spread the paint on the page.

A pea-sized dollop of paint will do.

Step Two - I sometimes scratch into the still wet paint to reveal color beneath (optional).

Step Three - Making marks with a crayon.

Step Four - Stamping.

I simply adhered the focal image and a title to the page with a glue stick. Another finishing touch I like to make are splatters! I made some with white acrylic ink on this page and I think they add another layer of interest to the page. Thank you for reading along and I hope my art page has inspired you to try this yourself. Enjoy!

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Art Journal Spread with handmade Collage Fodder

Hello artsy friends!

On most days I like to make some art, even if it's just 20 minutes of enjoyable art play in my handmade junk journal. One such session resulted in this colorful and messy page! The papers in my junk journal already have some color on them, so this gave me a nice starting point to create a background. I did some mark making with my creamy crayons and added a few bits of collage. I stamped my text stamp in a few places for interest and texture. As a finishing touch I adhered some colorful leaves as a focal point on each page as well as a title.

Here's a step-by-step:

Step 1 - There were already some blue marks on the pages, so I spread some more blue - a bright sky blue - on both pages. 

Step 2 - I used my fingers to spread the color on the pages to get a unique "messy" look.

Step 3 - Next, I added acrylic ink in burnt sienna and used a small brayer to spread it around.

Step 4 - I spread some more ink around - in bright pink. I also grabbed my creamy crayons and made some random marks. Colors used: black, light orange.

Step 5 - I grabbed some paper scraps and collaged them in some areas on the spread.

Step 6 - using my text stamp to make marks in some areas for interest.

If you would like to know how I made this junk journal, check out this video:

Finishing touches: I glued down colorful leaves and a title to each page.

The point of this mixed media art play is not to create a masterpiece. It's to simply enjoy putting down colors, making random marks, using your favorite tools - yes even your fingers - and since it's done in a junk journal there's no need to be precious about it. Just make art the way that pleases you. I guarantee you will feel re-energized afterwards :)

Here's a quick video on how I made my collage fodder:

I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Tutorial: Colorful flower collage fodder

Hi everybody!

I like to make batches of floral paper embellishments - also known as collage fodder - for future mixed media projects, card making or junk journaling. 

To make these you'll need acrylic paints in the colors of your choice, a couple of text stamps, crayons and your favorite floral and leaf stamps. The process is quite simple! You can watch the whole video here:

If you're watching on YouTube, do give me a "thumbs up" - this will help my video reach more people to enjoy it. And if you have any questions you can ask them in the comment section or here. I read and appreciate every comment :) 

Have a beautiful day, wherever you may be 🌺🍃🌸