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! 

Rusty November Planner Pages

Inspired by a recent Wanderlust 2024 class, I chose rust-decorated paper to collage for this week's planner. 

The process began with layering rusty pieces of metal, vinegar water and a variety of papers in an enamel pan, and leaving the whole mess for 24 hours or more.

The rusty metal imparted its rich colors -- siennas and ochres -- much like the dead meadow grasses and oak leaves still clinging to the trees outside my studio window.

The mingling of earth tones with black print and creamy old paper have a beautiful appeal to my artist's eye.

I tore pieces from some of the papers without thinking about it too much, then glued them down with Yes paste, a thick, archival paste I use for a lot of projects.

All that was left to do was to add in the dates and appointments with black ink pens and a Pentel India ink brush pen.

I love starting the day with art!

You can find more information about Wanderlust 2024 here:

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

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!

Making my Wanderlust 2024 Art Journal

I'm participating in Kasia Avery's Wanderlust 2024, a whole year of art journaling prompts and instructions.  You can find out more about it here:

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

Rather than buy a new art journal, I chose to make my own.  I had the recommended 140 pound watercolor paper on hand, as well as an old book, an awl, a craft needle, and some heavy cord.

I began by cutting out the body of the book, being careful not to damage the binding.  I left the end papers for their beauty and charm, even the title page.

Then I reinforced the binding with fiberglass tape. You could also glue on a strip of fabric.

I selected my papers, cut them to fit the binding, and folded them into four signatures (segments) of four papers each.

Next I made a pattern with a scrap piece of paper, marking where I wanted to punch holes for the bindings.  I punched four sets of holes in the binding of the book cover.

I clipped each signature/bundle together so that none of them slipped, and I punched matching holes in the crease of each signature of pages, using the pattern I'd made.

I threaded the craft needle with heavy cord I had bought at the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, and I sewed each signature individually, starting and finishing inside the book, and tying off the cord in a couple of secure knots.

Here's a link to a YouTube video by Johanna Clough that shows the entire process I went through:

https://youtu.be/fM9sRSLLADE?si=ChP1YBMOB-x1L6Tj

I finished the book, and am delighted with the friendliness of the vintage cover and endpapers.  It feels like a place I can create without being too precious and "perfect" about my work.  Of course, we all know there's no such thing as perfect in art making!

It felt good to gather items I had on hand rather than make a special trip to a craft store to spend money on a new item.  I gave new life to an old book and came away happy with the artmaking experience and the final product. That's what I love about upcycling and making it yourself!

If you're curious to make your own book, it's not as hard as it might seem.  Watch a YouTube video and give it a try.

You can do it!

Wanderlust 2024 with Kasia Avery

If you've read recent posts, you'll know I've been taking inspiration from UK-based artist Kasia Avery, through her Care December and other online classes.  Her enthusiastic & encouraging teaching style makes art journaling exciting.

 I signed up for Wanderlust 2024, a year-long series of weekly art journaling lessons & downloadables, to keep the inspiration coming.

Here's a step-by-step look at my first Wanderlust class with Kasia!

We began by selecting a color scheme for the first spread.  Kasia provided a great deal of background information and tips on picking colors to make pleasing art.  She went into depth on brushes and techniques for each step of the process as well.

Once we had our materials and our color palette, we began with a relaxing technique for writing our word of the year in India ink all over our blank page spread.

As soon as the ink was dry, we added acrylic paint in big, sweeping strokes over top of the first layer.

We selected an area of the spread to make our focal point, and added more intuitive brush strokes.

More paint, some scratching back into wet paint and a little collage came next.

As I added more colors and marks, I kept some music sheeting and junk mail scraps on hand to spread excess paint onto rather than rinsing it away in water.

Acrylic paint is basically plastic, so it's best not to flush it down your drain as it can build up and clog pipes.

I found that having extra papers painted in my chosen colors made it easy to add collage bits to the spread to create texture.

I finished with some hand-stamped words.

I'm learning and enjoying the unfolding process of art journaling.

If you're interested in joining Wanderlust 2024, there's still time!  

Follow this link: https://www.everything-art.com/p/all-courses-everything-art

Scroll down through the courses to Wanderlust 2024.

Of course, you don't have to join this class to create an art journal. Art journaling can be as simple or complex as you want to make it.  You can tear pages out of old magazines and glue them down, paint papers, and layer on different media from watercolor pencils to ink to acrylic paint. Simply follow what interests and inspires you in the moment.

Happy Creating!