Upcycling a Board Book into an Art Journal

I got the idea to upcycle an old board book into an art journal from this YouTube video by Ceri Griffiths. 

https://youtu.be/XijpQxrfh_8?si=7RH4uvZHCJKXcnuS

Ceri walks you through the process of removing the printed surface of the book to create a blank board book to journal on.

Inspired by Ceri, I thrifted a board book at my favorite Goodwill store and prepared it for art journaling.  Then I dug through my painted papers and other collage scraps, pulling out bits that appealed to my artist's eye.  I didn't use them all, but followed my Intuition, that tiny voice within, and started gluing down papers, adding text, drawings, tissue paper, whatever!

  The brown "calligraphy" below on the left is from a Wanderlust 2024 class with artist Eugénie Bilotte.  You can find Wanderlust - a year of classes in art journaling -- at Everything Art (https://www.everything-art.com/). 

The fern on the right is a gelli print on a book page.

I love black print on earth-toned papers -- from tea bags to old book pages and cardboard.  On some page spreads, I simply created a background of collaged papers.  I can add more later as the inspiration strikes.

Other pages came together with a focal point and a theme, like this bluebird & nest page about the revitalization & nurturing I receive from time spent in nature.

My favorite page of the entire book so far is this one, reminding me to follow my Intuition (rather than my inner critic, the Hobgoblin).  I mingled collage, hand-cut stamps, gold acrylic ink and ink pens.

The beauty of creating in an art journal is that you can use any medium you have, from pencils and ballpoint pens to bits of paper from your daily life, to stencils, stamps, paints ... anything!  

And if you find you don't like something you put down, you can paint or collage over it, shaping the page in a new direction.  Just listen to that quiet little voice -- your Intuition-- and follow what it says.  

I find my Intuition never leads me astray.

Happy Creating! 

Mark Making and Art Journaling in Wanderlust 2024

I enrolled in Everything Art's Wanderlust 2024 last November and have been enjoying the weekly art inspiration and instructional videos.  A recent session with French artist Eugenie Billotte invited us to look for treasure in our homes to create with.  

Of course, treasure could mean a wide variety of things.  I gathered words and pages clipped from vintage book pages, an old photo, and interesting papers like the textured brown paper packaging above.

  Eugenie walked us through upcycling and mark-making activities that I found freeing, relaxing, and calming.

After creating a small stack of decorated papers, we began working in our art journals.

Here's my finished page spread with a B&W photo I took one spring decades ago of blooming Bloodroot as the focal point of the page.  Nature is my treasure.  I love walking through the woods in the spring, watching birds at my feeder and listening to their songs.

I made a wheel with samples of the decorated pages I created in this lesson.

If you're interested in joining Wanderlust 2024, you can find information here:

https://www.everything-art.com/p/wanderlust-2024-artjournalingcourse

I played with the remaining words I had clipped from old books to make poetry.

And I took some of my leftover materials to create this little treasure about my excitement about an upcoming adventure.

I hope you take the time to play with art supplies, make an art journal page, or express yourself with words cut from magazines or books.  Making art just for yourself is a great form of Self Care!