So excited to be working on my art journal!
And although it’s not just straight cutting and pasting for me, I find it a very relaxing exercise to actually piece together my layouts. Now, this is just how I do it. I am a strong believer in everyone having their own style in terms of journaling and every other craft. Even in make up. What works for one might not necessarily work for another – and that doesn’t mean that one method is better or one method is wrong and the other is right. Like they say, different strokes for different folks.
My first attempt at art journaling was a hodge podge of pages. Then I tried a composition notebook. It didn’t quite work out for me because you can’t really paint on that thin a sheet. Secondly, pasting layouts was a little cumbersome and made the notebook itself misshapen.
Then I heard about altered books. I picked one of the discarded books from my boss’s library, a business book that was a recent print. That was my first mistake. The newer publications, apparently, are now glued together and not sewn the old fashioned way. A third of the way through the book, it started to fall apart on me. My remedy was to actually put masking tape between pages – more so where I was either painting the entire layout (Which was most of the book), or where I needed to insert more than one sheet. (I will attempt to pull together a video to show how that book turned out.)
When I decided to “end” that book, I was at a loss for the medium of my next journal. Sketchbook? Plain journal? Discarded notebook? I still need to rebind the book but it was quite a fulfilling project and I wanted to do even better with the next one.
I actually started putting together discarded manila folders I had cut to size, but when I tried to “bind” pages together, It was turning out to be a little heavy. I wanted something that I could bring with me as I worked on it without having to carry a tome. That’s how I came upon the decision to piece together portions of the book as I went along, and then compile them all into a book when the time was right. (That means either when the year is over, or when the book is thick enough – whichever comes first.)
I wanted to be able to spend my lunch hour in some quiet corner just working on an entry. It was important to me that the journal was easy to take along. A junque journal seemed a good idea – but I still had to have a base-size. I had lots of paper choices, and I decided I would use some upcycled file tab dividers which I had cut to 7×11. (Had to trim off the tabs, and the side where the holes were.) I wasn’t planning on using these pages throughout, but I was pegging my book on that size. I could easily pull together writing pads, laid paper, manila folders, or any cardstock. As long as it came out to a 14×11 layout. The paperstock wasn’t too thin and not too heavy. More importantly, I could draw on it with a signpen and there was no bleed to the other side. I also think this paper is thick enough to absorb a good coating of acrylic paint and even watercolor if I choose to use it.
I connected the pages with another page folded in half. I could have kept the “connecting page” smaller, but I wanted the “thickening” to be well distributed.
It may seem like a lot of work, but I am quite happy with the choice and it’s really working out. I’ve event started working on a multi-page cut out spread where I’m using cardstock.
It doesn’t really take much effort. 15-20 minutes a day is a good minimum. I don’t confine myself to doing a layout a day – I think that’s too much pressure for an activity that should be relaxing. Sometimes I get stuck on a layout and that’s just fine. And there are other times I find myself working on several layouts at the same time. For now, I’m happy that it’s taking shape. If it goes on in stops and starts, I’m fine with that. As long as I keep it and pick it up again eventually. And this time, I mean to.
Related Post: The “Why” of Journaling
Gotham Chick 