FREE Art Journaling for Less Sample

I thought that since I finally have internet access for a couple of days I would pop in and say HI to all off you. What have you all been up to? Did you do any art journaling lately?

I still have my store open ( Twisted Scrapper Boutique AJfL ) so be sure to check it out. Might be some new products you haven't seen yet. I added a few new items over the past couple of months. So be sure to check it all out.

If you just happened on the site I would like to introduce you to my products. You  can get a freebie here: Art Journaling for Less Sample

Feel free to browse around the blog and the store. Everything here on the blog is free for you to browse through, no membership required. And if you decide to try some of our challenges/prompts, please feel free to share your images at our Flickr group. 

Less Mess Art

When I talk to people about digital vs. hands-on art journaling I almost always hear the same thing. People like art journaling digitally because there is no mess.  Such a shame, because I really feel that a part of the whole art journaling experience is to be elbow deep in paint, gesso, glue, etc.

Before we left our house in Arizona I loved getting up in the morning, pull on my paint stained clothes and go to my craft/art desk and dig in. Not worrying about if the paint spilled on the desk or spattered on my clothes. It was such a wonderful feeling to just lose one self in the art. Moving into an RV has really changed all that. Now my craft/art desk is also a dinner table. I only have a small space for clothes so had to eliminate much of my "painters" clothes. And last, we don't just have an unlimited source of water for cleaning.

Then, how do I do it? Carefully, very carefully. I do not use acrylics as much as I once did. Water colors are easier to clean up. If I use mist paints, I take it outside to the picnic table. And use a lot of little boxes to store my art supplies. One box is an assortment of my favorite pens, markers, etc. Another box is full of ziplock bags with various collage fodder sorted by type. I have many more larger tubs with paints and other supplies, but I only pull those out if I restock my little boxes or if there is a specific item I need that is not included in my small boxes. So when I sit down to art journal all I need is my two little boxes. If I along the way decide to use inks or any other specialty item I go get those from their storage, and then put them away as soon as I am done with them. Keeping clutter to a minimum.

For keeping clean, and easy clean up I use paper plates, plastic cups, baby wipes, paper towels, Q-Tips, wax paper, etc. I like to use these items because when I am done with my art I can wrap everything up and toss it in the trash can. Yes I know that is not very eco-friendly of me, but if the choice is to keep my sanity or saving the planet, well I choose my sanity, and this is (hopefully) just temporary.

I place the wax paper over my work space and tape it down with masking tape. Easy to remove and fold up without spilling anything and toss in the trash when done. I use the paper plates as paint palettes. I usually have two large plastic cups. One has a little water in it. Not a whole lot. Just for dipping my water-soluble crayons and such. The other cup I use for trash. Paper towels and baby wipes are used for constant cleaning and the used pieces are placed in the trash cup. Q-tips are great for smearing of glitter glues and such and totally eliminates the stray glitter from going every where.

For adding a lot of color to a page without the mess I use my water-soluble crayons, water color pencils, Inktense pencils, Bombay inks, and homemade color mists. I also use a lot of collage fodder (some printed from collage sheets, and some are originals), washi tape, and magazine clippings. For writing and detailed work I use a selection of cheap pens, coloring pencils and ink.

Art journaling with less mess can totally be done. With my setup I can clean up inside of 5 minutes. As long as I always put away what I pull out. And put it back as soon as I am done using it. Sort your supplies so the items you use the most are easy accessible, and the rest is sorted in ways where you can access it without much fuss.

These are my two boxes. They can't hold a whole lot, but they are easily carried around to where I need to sit and do my journaling. The Journal on top is my doodle journal.

This is the content of my box of various supplies. The supplies that I use the most. I have a whole lot more, but I use these everyday.

And this is my box of collage fodder. I use this a lot to add texture to my pages.

I hope that this little article will inspire you to try art journaling, even if you don't like the mess, or simple do not have room for the mess in your life. It can be done with both limited space and limited clean up.

Challenge - Criticism

This challenge can be done digitally or hands-on. Have fun!

I was reading through a book of Mini Messages (cross stitch patterns), and came by one that just jumped out at me.

"To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."

I kept going through the book but went back to that little "mini message" again and again. I think we have all wanted to do or say something that wasn't looked upon as "politically correct" and kept it to ourselves out of fear of criticism. I also think we have all at some point stayed away from trying a new technique, or even color scheme in our art, because it was different from what we normally would do or what the mainstream is doing that we just didn't feel comfotable doing it. Just because we worried about what others might think about us or maybe even say to us (criticism). Because of this we are never really showing the world who we really are.


For this challenge I would like you to look deep inside you and think of something you would love to say or do, but never have simply because you thought others might think less or differently of you because of it.

Make an art journal page.

If you are not comfortable about doing this, remember that you don't have to share your page with anyone but yourself. Scrapbooks are for others, art journals are for you.

If you are stepping out of your technique and color comfort zone, there is really nothing to do but just DO! Don't worry about what others think. This page is for you. Not your family or friends, just you.

If your fear is in the journaling (something you have feared saying or journaling about out of fear of criticism) one thing you can do is hide your journaling on your page. At least the first time around. Make the challenge into a two parter. Today make a page where you journal about what's on your mind. Talk about anything without fear of someone judging you. Then paint over it. Finish your page. Think about how it made you feel to write what it was that you never have had the courage to write before. Feel better? No one will ever see it! No criticism! Now when your page is done start a new page. Repeat the process, but do not hide your journaling. You can blend it in some, but do not hide it. Finish your page!

Remember this does not necessarily have to be about "political correctness", it can also be about changing your style in your art. Maybe a secret about you. Or just a feeling. Anything that you feel you have never been able to express because you feared criticism.

Art journaling is about looking in to your heart and soul. Into those corners where you have hidden away feelings, thoughts, and maybe that dark side of you that you wouldn't normally  let out.

This is where I normally would ask you to post your page to our Flickr Group but because of the nature of this challenge I will leave it up to you if you would want to or not. No pressure!

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The Journey!

Make your own color mists...

I have been having some extra fun this past week playing with color mists and stencils. I saved some money by making my own mists and so far I feel they work just wonderfully. 

I know there are many ways to make your own mists, such as using water colors and acrylics, but I tried something I haven't tried before. Easter Egg dyes. A few years ago I bought a Easter Egg Dye kit. I never used it and when we were simplifying our lives to get ready to go on the road I threw out the whole kit except the little dye tablets. It had 5 little tablets: pink, orange, yellow, blue, and green. 

You can buy these little 2 oz finger tip sprayers for about a buck. Fill them about halfway with water and drop a tablet in. Shake well and you are ready to go. You can add more or less water depending on how intense you want the colors. I only had the one pack of tablets, but I plan on raiding the grocery stores once the Easter Egg Dye kits hit the shelves again. 

For stecils I used a few found and a few bought. Alphabet stencils are always fun and make for a cool prepared background. And of course sequin waste looks great on almost any page. My favorite stencils though are the found ones. I like to use plastic canvas, especially the circles. Those are fun and if you layer them you can get some cool effects. This week I also used some of my many silk flowers. Pull them apart so the leaves and petals can be flat on your paper and spray away. 

It the photo at the top I used silk flower petals. I first layered a few different flowers and sprayed with the blue mist, then removed the petals and added a few sprays of pink and yellow.

Here are a few more pages that are now ready for more fun (collage, paint, journaling, etc).

Do you make your own color mists? Want to share your recipe? Please feel free to leave a comment, we would love to hear from you!

Word Droppings - FREEBIE

I shared these Word Droppings a few months ago, but thought I would share them again with those who didn't have access to them before.

There are a total of 4 different Word Droppings. Each come in both black and white.

You can use these for some of the challenged posted here on the blog. 

[DOWNLOAD HERE]

Sharing pages...

We had a quiet New Years Eve here at the park. We played board games during the day, ate some good food, and then watched DVD's at night. The new year started with us all getting colds, sore throats, and coughs. Rudy and Ben are doing great but I am still dealing with a cough. Oh well. We are all doing much better though and that is all that counts.

Since the New Year, I havent had much energy for art journaling, but I do have a few pages I made just a few days before that I would like to share with you.


Peace - Just a simple page made with watercolors, collage, and plenty glitter.


Chaos - This page started out with a bunch of colored dots. Then I painted over with watercolors. Added a doily, and wrote 'Chaos' in chunky letters.


Proof - Not really sure where I was going with this one.


Dream - I used a lot glitter glue on this one. Doesnt show much in the photo though.


Smile - When life gives you a thousand reasons to cry, show life you have a thousand reasons to smile.

These pages are all from my little 'owl journal'. They are more like doodle pages really. Some of were made on a previously made background, some not. Mostly I am just trying out tools. Various coloring pencils and crayons. My favorite tools are still watercolor pencils and crayons, but I am also starting to enjoy using wax and oil based crayons.

Have you done any art journaling, visiual journaling, mixed media or doodle journaling in 2013? Would you like to share? You can share your image (digital, hands on, AND/OR hybrid) at our Flickr group.
You can also find some inspiration in my online store Twisted Scrapper Boutique.

These posts are made from my Android Tab, and photos are taken using my Android phone. I am without a computer at the moment, but trying to get back to "normal" using the tools I have :)

Just don't do it...

It is the beginning of a new year and we are all excited to get started on new things. Especially all the 365 projects, the index card a day, the ATC Daily projects and so on. I start at least a couple of these projects every year, but not this time. I have never finished any of these projects so why set myself up for failure again. Nope, not this time. I am going to spend 2013 finishing up all previously started journals and hopefully work on a few new ones.

The last few days I have worked on the covers on a couple of larger size journals. A 7x10 inch and a 9x12 inch journal. They are cheap Canson Mix Media journals I bought at Michael's BOGO sale a few days ago. On the smaller one I did put '2013' on the cover and I plan on it being my main journal for the year.

That is the only commitment I will make for 2013. No promises of making 365 ATC's, or write so many journal pages. I alway end up disappointed in March when I realize I am 2 months behind. So this year I just wont do it.

Do you have plans for a year long project? Have you made such commitments before? If so, did you finish it?

If you decide to follow me into a 2013 without daily promises, but still would like a little help in means of prompts, ideas, and challenges you can always check out some of my past challenges and of course check in here regularly for new prompts and challenges.

Hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve. If you must venture out, please be careful!

And remember when art journaling it is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. The journey!