Paper Craft Workshop: Art Journal Basics

Art Journals are easy to create

An art journal is a place where you get to express your thoughts, ideas, and feelings through any media that you want to use. It combines drawing, painting, collage, and even printmaking in different media as a visual diary. It is where you express your hopes, dreams, and goals visually.

It helps you destress and focus. It gives you self-awareness and power over your emotions, It helps you clarify your everyday challenges.

The basic platform for your art journal can be a sketchbook, a journal that you create, a notebook, or a book that you alter to create an art journal. Size matters. So if you like to work on a large surface, then a larger book is for you.

Make sure to select or create a journal that has a paper that will take a lot of weight in the media that you use. A mixed media paper is a great place to start.

Sometimes these journals have a theme to them. Other times, they just are an expression or a cit of your daily life.

Easy Art Journal Ideas

Start with an introduction of you, How to create an introduction page for your art journal (tombowusa.com)

Here are a few journal page ideas to get you started.

What items have you bought recently? Draw or collage them.
Draw a favorite childhood memory
Collect some flowers or leaves from your yard or on a walk. Write a bit about them
Fill a page with geometric shapes
Write words that say who you are in a crossword format
Create a page about your children and grandchildren.

Prepping Your Pages

You want a strong paper, especially if you are planning to use mixed media techniques. One of the ways to add strength to your journal is to add a layer of gesso to the page. Another way to strengthen the paper is to glue two pages together to create a stronger page.

Using Gesso To Strengthen Paper

Art journal
Gesso
Foam brush or paintbrush or an old credit card
Clips or paper clips
Waxed paper or parchment paper

Place pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper behind the pages you plan to glue together. This will prevent the glue from getting on other pages.
Use clips to hold back other paper and keep the book from closing
Apply the gesso onto the paper and spread with a brush, the brayer or the credit card
Set aside and allow to dry

Gluing Pages Together To Strengthen Paper

Supplies

Art journal
PVA Glue
Foam brush, paintbrush, brayer, or old credit card
Clips
Waxed paper or parchment paper
Paper towels

Placed waxed paper or parchment paper to cover pages you are not working on.
Apply glue between two pages
Spread glue until it covers the entire page. Use the brayer or paintbrush to cover a thin layer of glue from page tip to page tip.
Press the two pages together and use a clip or paperclip to keep pages together until dry

Creating The Base For Your Art Journal Page

There are so many techniques to use to create the base for your art journal pag0es. Remember, there are no strict rules for any of your pages. The idea is to express yourself and have fun!

Media To Use On Your Base Page

Spray paint-you can use glimmer, ink refills, acrylic paints
Water Colors
Distress Inks, sprays, and stains
Gesso in white, black, and colors
Distress crayons
Stencils
Embossing Paste'
Paper to decoupage

Different Brushes To Use With Acrylic Paints

There are a few different acrylic brushes to get familiar with. They will provide you with the best results. Understanding different brushes will help you create beautiful art journal pages.

Acrylic Wash Brush-This is one of the biggest brushes-Acrylic wash brushes are best known for covering large parts of canvas or paper quickly. Paint can be applied using a dry brush, but most artists will use a wash brush by first dipping it into some water to achieve maximum coverage quickly. You may also notice these brushes are also thicker than most other brushes – allowing for the brush to pick up the most amount of paint and water. These are great brushes to use if you need to “pick up” a little excess paint or water off the canvas or paper you are working on.
Angled Brush-This type of painting brush has an angled or slanted tip, which is why they are sometimes also known as slanted brushes. A slanted tip is useful for curves and to create lines.
The Flat Brush- Very closely resembles a was brush, except it is not as thick and the bristles are not as rounded. It covers a lot of space but gives you more control.
Fan Brush-Great for painting grass, trees, and shrubbery. They are good for blending, creating skies, and shading.
Round Brushes- They are typically smaller than flat or angled brushes. They have a soft round edge. These brushes are perfect for adding details to your pages.
Liner Brushes-This is a thin brush with long bristles, These brushes are used for fine detail. You can also use these brushes for lettering. You can use ink with these brushes.

Ideas For Your Base Art Journal Page

Start by adding gesso to your single or double page layout. Allow the gesso to dry. You can add color to the gesso by adding some acrylic paint until you get the color you want.

Decoupage Base Page Idea

Use any and all kinds of paper including papers from magazines, catalogs, old book pages. printed papers, cardstock, envelope liners. Whatever you have worked. Edge some papers with distress inks to make them stand out. Flick paint over the layout. Make sure to add some words too.

Using Acrylic Paint

Without giving it much thought, think of a color, paint a base coat of that color, and /or color variants of that color in completely random patterns on your page or double page layout. Add some stenciling. You can use embossing paste or paint, It is your choice. Use different tools to create different dimensions to your paint. You can use anything your imagination brings to mind. Forks combs, knives, q tips, cotton balls-be creative. Allow to dry, Then feel free to add doodles ir any embellishments you may have.

Watercolor And Words

Create circles of watercolors all over your page. As your circles dry, create words in them. Write short quotes if you would like. Create a theme for your page. You can use stickers if you prefer. Make sure to gesso the page unless you are using a watercolor paper journal.

Watercolor Background

Again you need to gesso the page unless you are using watercolor paper. Select three colors of watercolors. Put a bit of water on the page. Then color in a burst of watercolor with your three selected colors. Start with the lighter colors and then add the darker hues. Think of a word or a quote to add to your page. You can print something off of your computer if you feel shy about using your own writing.

Blend Distress Inks

Both the distress inks and the oxide distress inks are a perfect blend for an art journal page. Choose m many colors as you would like. Three colors make a good balance, Blend them in any shape or pattern that pleases you. You can use a brush or a pad to apply the inks to your paper. After you have applied them, drop small droplets onto the ink to create a design. You can also use a spray bottle.

Adding Layers

There are all kinds of things you can add to create dimensional layers to your pages. Try adding bits of napkins, paper towels, and dryer sheets. You can add cheesecloth too, add any ephemera that is pleasing to your eye,

You can add bits of string, buttons, washi tape, and bakers twine, You can add corrugated cardboard and more, Think out of the box and get creative.

This is just an introduction to art journaling. We hope that you will give it a try.