Monday, November 25, 2013

TECHNIQUES for Art Journaling 2- T Tuesday




More ideas for Art Journaling techniques:
  • Seasonal Themes- Whatever the weather or season, it can be a topic for a journal page.  These pages (above) are done in an altered book of 'Seasons', and seemed appropriate, since we are celebrating Thanksgiving this week in the U.S.  The art work is done on brown craft paper that was crumpled up and then smoothed out.  I painted the images in craft acrylic paint, and the green leaf border at the top was created from hand-carved stamps. The text reads: "give thanks...for all that we are and all that we can become...for moments of Beauty, for truth, and for joy..."  


  • Collage Scraps- Whatever scraps of delicious papers or images you haven't been able to throw away, those are great elements for collage!  Above, are some bits of watercolor paintings, pen doodles, and even a photocopy of a drawing that I had previously drawn. I also love to use bits of scrapbook papers, greeting cards, food packaging, junk mail, envelopes, fabric scraps, and the occasional magazine image. 



  • Combine your own art work with collage- Above, one of those tiny paper collages from scraps, combined with fabric and watercolors.  The green leaves in the foreground were drawn on a separate paper, then cut out and glued to the page...and the only text on the page is my signature and the date.  Below, the collage creates a border around the text.






  • Use a Quote: Above, a quote from Maya Angelou. TV and radio quotes and also song lyrics are favorite sources for text on the journal page.
  • Use "Challenge" art work- If I participate in a challenge or a swap on-line, I sometimes have an 'extra' copy of art work left over...sometimes a person drops out of a swap or I purposely made extra, "just in case."  Those extras can be adhered to a journal page. I often use a decorative tape to create a hinge-fastening the art work into the journal, so that both sides can be viewed. If you don't have decorative tape, you can easily just use glue and a strip of paper or fabric.





Top, the Linen and Lace 4x4 collaged with fabric and stitching. Below it, a detail of the Anniversary swap page flipped open to reveal text and designs beneath it in the journal.



  • Sketches of Future Projects- Art Journal pages don't have to be 'finished' works of art. Sketches of ideas for paintings, or drawings of things you want to make are always good to record.  Ideas have a way of disappearing from our minds if not recorded! The above necklace was an idea to make from fabric and beading, inspired by an on-line image of a metal necklace from Africa.
Linking up with Bluebeard and Elizabeth for T Tuesday at Altered Book Lover.  Please visit to see what else is happening this Tuesday! 



♥ ♥ ♥


11 comments:

  1. I LOVE that leaf stamp you carved. It is incredible. Maybe one of these days you'll write a tutorial on how to carve stamps (grin).

    Your techniques are so meaningful and I'm going to incorporate some of them in my collage AB I'm working on. Of course, I won't be adding any hand drawn beauties that you are famous for, but the collages are so interesting and useful.

    Gotta love the coffee mug and the quote. Coffee is what gets me through the day, morning, noon, and night. So, I can really relate to your journal page.

    Thanks for joining T today, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy T Day to you!! I enjoyed reading all these helpful tips on art journaling. Your pages are beautiful, great quotes too!! That Give Thanks page is wonderful and fun, using crumpled brown paper is a great on a background.
    What a sweet little mug you did for T day, made me smile!
    Thanks for sharing and helping us get creative. Hope you can share more of these ideas with us.

    Happy early Thanksgiving!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. These journal pages are beautiful. I particularly liked the collage page and was amazed that it was all collaged. I loved your ideas for journal pages, very inspiring.
    Happy T Day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! You have been so busy!! Lovely pages and the coffee quote almost made me spurt mine of my keyboard!! ;) Happy T-Day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. what a beautiful collection of varied projects! I love them all but the richness and depth of the top two are just super!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi! I didn't have time to write a T-Day post today (due to pre-Thanksgiving busy-ness), but I still wanted to stop by your blog to see Part Two of your journaling tips. Thanks for all the good ideas! Hopefully I'll be art journaling again soon. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the great ideas and reminders of all the things we can use for collage. Enjoyed the quotes, too. Hope you Thanksgiving is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great art journalling pages I especially love your collage page.
    Happy Thanksgiving

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your art journal pages are inspiring. As I've said before (here or elsewhere) I keep meaning to start an art journal, maybe with enough posts like this I will actually do it.

    Darla

    ReplyDelete
  10. So nice of you to share these wonderful techniques with us. Your pages are so interesting; this is something I would really like to try.
    I know I am really late, but happy T day!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love all your work! Beautiful! I really love your drawing for T Tuesday!.... sooooo precious! I'm bookmarking your blog right now.

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments. Leave me a note and Thanks for visiting!