An Art Journal Page: from start to finish

Hi, hi, hi.

Well, it turned out that some of you were indeed interested in me posting a tutorial on the kind of pages I've been making in my Learn Something New Every Day journal. Which was nice, because really, you could have just shrugged saying "Meh. Whatever." when I put the idea out there!

So, for those of you who'd like to see how this page came into being:

Then this is for you:

I should just maybe say:

• It's not an in-depth look at art-journaling or scrapping or even LSNED in general;
• It's just a look at the process behind constructing a page for this particular journal [although seeing as how I'm a bit in love with the style it's going to appear in other journals without a doubt];
• It's a bit of a photo-heavy post - just so you know.
• If you'd find it beneficial to scrap lift / journal-lift straight from my page and produce a very similar page of your own - to get you started - feel free - that's what I've made the tutorial for.

Step 1:  Prepare a base layer with mixed papers: 
As I've mentioned several times now, I prepared the first layers of all 30 of my LSNED journal pages in advance of getting to the 'interesting' bits.

Glue approx. 3 roughly cut or torn sections of paper in a fairly random manner on the page of a notebook.

I used:

• an old book page;
• the inside of a security envelope;
• a scrap of patterned paper;
• Glued down with Daler Rowney 'Matt Glaze Medium'.

Once I'd done this on all 30 pages, in advance, I knew I had a fighting chance of getting this 'daily' project completed.

• It meant I could sit in front of the TV, or at the dining table with relatively few supplies at hand, as I already had a workable base. However ...
• I've also been made aware that this style of working could be useful if you're a crafter with a disability, as it's a way of breaking a page up into manageable chunks.

Thanks so much to the commenter who brought this to my attention as it perfectly draws together my two-strand working life: crafting and working with people with disabilities. I'd be thrilled if this method of working means you feel comfortable making a start, knowing that it can be done in stages as and when you want to or feel able to.

Step 2: Look through magazine clippings, catalogues and ephemera for focal images to suit the theme and feel you'd like the page to have:

Step 3: Select the ones which fit best or which speak to you most.

• Trim around them and experiment with where they'd work best on the page.
• Glue them down.
• [I mostly only ever use a plastic glue-spreader rather than a brush as it means I don't have to have any water handy - I just wipe it with kitchen roll or let the glue dry on and pick it off when it gets too bulky! It saves time and is easier to manage if you're working quickly or on your knee in front of the TV!]

Step 4: Add additional, interesting scraps of paper/labels/ephemera - in colours which match what you've glued down so far:

• Try overlapping some of your magazine clippings with these new elements;
• This helps pull everything together, anchoring your images rather than having them floating around.

Step 5: Sift through magazines, catalogues, old books etc for wording which suit your theme / feelings / thoughts for the page:

• Look out for key words or phrases which can help tell your story.

Step 6:  Look for words or phrases you can combine to create your own sentences:

• Glue them down, again try overlapping existing snippets for a more interesting composition:

Step 7: Cover up some of the text on the old book page with white acrylic paint:

• Again - due to laziness and impatience - I don't often bother with a paint brush for this type of thing;
• I use the glue spreader, a scrap of card ... or my fingers.

I also added some streaks of paint at the bottom and along the side.

Step 8: Flick ink at the page!:

• If you don't want ink on your main images cover them up first;
• Remove the applicator/pump/dispenser thing from a bottle of spray ink and tap it with your finger to spatter the page;
• This delivers more individual spots of colour than if you just misted the page in the 'proper' way.

Step 9: When everything's dry add a few more themed words - using stickers:

• Amongst others, I turn to sheets of 7Gypsies '97% Complete' stickers a lot for journal pages and on cards, layouts ... everything!

Step 10: Doodle around some or all of the words you've added to the page: 

• This can help to incorporate it into the overall page - rather than have things dotted around;
• Actually 'doodling' is probably a kind word for what it is I do. Let's just call a spade a spade and say it's scribbling with gel pens:

Step 11: Add the 'journaling' part of the 'art-journaling': 

• You don't really need any fancy pens or supplies for this;
• I run strips of cheap Correction Tape across the page [an idea I saw somewhere!] and write on them with a black Biro.

And that's it! A completed page:

I hope you've found something useful or interesting here, if there's anything else you'd like me to ramble on about ... just let me know.

And if you use it to help you create a page of your own ... let me know about that too ... and I'll pop by and grin at you!

Edited to add: As this post contines to be so popular, I've now blogged 'An Art Journal Page: from start-to-finish No.2' which you can read here.

AND:

I have published a book of my 'Snipped Tales' - the tiny snipped text collages as seen on this page - it's available through my Etsy shop - alongside lots of paper kits perfect for mixed media work. 

See you soon.

Julie :-D

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