Videos

Video: Using DIY Collage Pages in Your Art Journal

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Today I am sharing one of my favorite practices with you-collage.

I say it all the time but there is just something I love about tearing and gluing down bits of paper. Sometimes I will clean up my desk after a project by picking up all the little bits of paper and gluing them down in my journal. I love using a wet glue for this like matte Mod Podge or regular white glue diluted with a little water.

Today I am sharing a process art journal page from start to finish using the DIY collage pages we made yesterday.

I started off by going through my pages and choosing several that I felt like playing with. I didn’t over think this process and just chose ones I liked.

Then I started tearing some pieces from the pages and gluing them into my journal. Again I didn’t really think too much about this and just had fun.

Once the pieces were glued down I dried them with my heat tool and decided to add a drawing as my main image. I had been sketching faces in a new journal I received at Christmas and I used one of them as my inspiration. I took just a piece of printer page that was on my desk and began sketching with a water soluble pencil. Once I was happy with my sketch I added some color with my watercolor pencils. Originally I thought I would activate them but I decided I really liked the sketchy look so I left them.

I used a glue stick to apply the image to the page and then took some green craft paint to paint around her and the opposite page, pulling all the elements together. Then I took another of the collage pages and cut a heart out of the page to add to my left side page. Before gluing down I added some book page behind the heart and cut out the word “love” from the dictionary to add.

I am really happy with this page. I am always hesitant about my drawing skills but that’s exactly why we should draw! Adding as many handmade elements to our journals personalizes them in a really unique way and helps to build our confidence in our own creativity.

I hope you enjoy watching the video below. If you have any questions please let me know!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Music by Ben Camden – Take Me Away – https://thmatc.co/?l=8E9D24E7

Facing the Blank Page: Getting Started Art Journaling

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I was thinking about ideas to share with you today. I wanted to offer something unique and different but one of my most popular videos was about breaking in a new art journal and it reminded me that we can all use some inspiration.

I still sit down at my journal and think, “now what?” Sure some days creativity pours forth and I have lots of ideas but other days I just feel stuck. I may not like anything I am making or it might all blend together into a muddy mess. Days like these can make showing up at our journal again feel a bit like work.

Whatever the reason, it can be challenging to know where to start when you are looking at a blank journal page and I wanted to share a few ideas on how I get started.

One of the simplest ways for me is to use a journal that isn’t blank. If you watched my Word of the Year journal video you saw that I made some painted pages for my journal. This is so much fun because when you sit down to work you already have color and texture-some of the work is already done for you.

Another way I like to start out is to write out whatever I am thinking or feeling. It could be worries, gratitude, or song lyrics. You can just scribble on the page to give yourself a starting point-something so it’s no longer blank. If you are really feeling stuck-maybe you are worried about messing the page up-then I would say take a marker and scribble. Intentionally mess it up and then you have an opportunity to fix a mistake.

Paint is one of my favorite ways to get started. I love to cover a page with my favorite color. I start off messy using a card or scrapper tool and then add a few of my favorite paint colors. I almost always follow this up with collage. Not because it’s the right way but because I absolutely love collage. I find that putting down some color, collage and then random scribbles helps my brain to start seeing pictures. That’s usually when the page starts to take shape.

Another thing I just love about collage is that if I make mud or just a huge mess in general-I can cover it up with cut up images and glue. There is always a fix for a page-even it’s to cover it up or gluing 2 page together and pretending they were never there!

In this video I am going to share just a few little ways to get yourself started when you are facing a blank page. If you have a brand new journal that you have been nervous about breaking in-why not grab it, 2 or 3 of your favorite materials in your favorite colors, a magazine, junk mail or an old book, some glue-and let’s have a play. I used a heat tool to dry in between layers but cut it out to save time on the video. If you have any questions about the materials I used please comment below.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Music by Saint Stephen – 50’s Milkshake – https://thmatc.co/?l=352EAE2D

Video: Making a Mini Journal

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How are you? If you listened to yesterday’s podcast you know that I have been struggling this week with anxiety and I found that my creativity was a support during a really difficult time.

A support, not a permanent fix or a magic band aid but it did offer a little rest, a lightening of the load for a time and for that I am so grateful. I am passionate about how our creativity can support us through all areas of our lives and I hope that, wherever you are right now, that you are able to feel supported and cared for.

Today I am working on a mini journal that I am sending off as an art swap. Myself and a fellow artist will each make a journal and send it back and forth through out the year adding bits and pieces to each journal until we have a completed journal each. I did this for the first time last year and we are just finishing up those journals and I am excited to see where this one goes. I will have 2 on the go this year and it should be a lot of fun.

I decided to try a smaller size journal because I have so many papers this size and I thought they would add lots of color and interest to my journal pages.

I sewed them together with a simple pamphlet stitch and then added some embellishments and goodies to get them started. Just about everything in this journal (including the papers) came from my Lollipop Box Club subscriptions so if you like what you see be sure to visit Lisa’s shop-I have a link in my sidebar. She also has a great YouTube Channel & Patreon that I highly recommend.

The journal is so cute and I cannot wait to see how it evolves over the coming months. I’ll be sure the share a video flip when it’s all completed.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog-if you have any questions please comment below and I will be happy to answer.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

Music by Saint Stephen – 50’s Milkshake – https://thmatc.co/?l=352EAE2D

Video: Let’s Make Some Unfinished Art Journaling Pages

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Hello everyone I hope your week is off to a great start.

I’ve been struggling with some anxiety lately and time in the studio today really helped re-focus my attention. I worked in my Creative Business Journal doing my first 4 page spread. I shared this journal in a previous video that you can watch in this blog post.

Today I decided to a play with my ink sprays that have been collecting dust. It was a lot of fun-even with some jammed nozzles. Initially I thought I was just going to make some backgrounds but then I decided to add a little collage as well. Combined with some quick stenciling, tissue paper and some acryllic paints and I had a really fun time.

The key for me was to just have fun. I had to let go of wanting to make a perfect page or even create a unique video to share on my channel. While I want to make interesting content what I really want to do is to share my process in the hopes of inspiring you to make some art each day. Even if you feel you can’t do a lot or you aren’t an artist it’s really worth giving yourself a few minutes each day to play with paper and color.

Want to join me? This video is just about 5 minutes long. Why not get out some supplies, your favorite cuppa and let’s create together. If you do-please comment below and tell me what you made-or better yet link to your blog so I can hop over and see!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Let’s Make a Cardboard Journal

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Today I have a fun upcycling project for you.

I don’t know about you but I love taking things that would have been recycling or trash and turning them into something fun, useful and pretty at the same time.

Years ago my mind was blown when I watched a video that showed me I could make a journal from a cereal box. I am totally in love with the idea of making something from every day items around the house.

Today I am using a similar package to make a very simple journal. I cut it to size (in my case just under 6×6″) I add some gesso, paint and a bit of collage and bind it all together with some ribbon using a 3-hole pamphlet stitch.

It’s a great project to do if you have limited supplies, time or maybe an overabundance of cardboard you would like to use up. These would make really sweet valentine gifts for kids to give their friends or maybe add some photo memories and give them to a loved one.

I hope you enjoy today’s video. If you follow along and make one yourself please do comment below-I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

 

Video: Art Journaling in My Word of the Year Journal-January

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I am in my studio today and working in my Word of the Year Journal.

As of writing this my page is in what, Juliette Crane calls “the ugly stage.” My brain is busy judging it and telling me, “you can’t share this page-you need to make it look better!” It’s so hard when we feel stuck in our creativity so I thought it might be helpful to share what I’m doing.

I reached a point where I needed to let things dry before I moved on so I took a walk-dropped off my rent check, used the restroom then came back into the studio-made another coffee, and sat down to work on something else.

This may not seem like a plan but in my past experience, when I take a little break and come back, I realize that the page isn’t as bad as I thought and I often have some new ideas and a resurgence of energy to keep going.

Sometimes, I still feel stuck and that’s alright too. In those cases you can:

  • Turn the page: Leave that page for now and go to another page in your journal and start over.
  • Cover it all up with paint or gesso. I love gesso for this-it’s almost like an eraser on the page and you can start over. Depending on the page, some of the colors and textures from your first attempt may still show through giving you some great dimension
  • Collage over it: Often times when I am feeling stuck in my own abilities to create art collage is a cozy blanket that restores faith in my own creativity. Not to mention you can be inspired by the images you are using. When I started this page I was looking for some collage elements and I saw quite a few sketchy faces in the magazine and that inspired me to do my own.

Even though I wasn’t loving the page that I was creating-I was still enjoying the process. This is the first spread I have done in my Word of the Year journal and it felt so nice to be playing in this journal. If you watch the video below you will see that when I came back to the page-it completely changed. I ended the page with adding my favorite symbol-a heart. I also plan to go back and add a small note about what I am feeling about my word and what’s going on in my life at the moment.

I thought about working in this journal from front to back but it just didn’t feel write so I am going to write down the date and then add my note so I have a reference of what was going on in my life at the time. This is going to be a really big year for me personally and professionally and anchoring in my word and watching how it supports me is going to be so much fun.

I love this practice because it’s more than just picking a word and thinking about it here and there. It’s really connecting with the word and what it means to me and how I am actively applying it to my life. Have you picked a word? I would love to hear your word and if you are journaling along with me.

Wishing you a lovely day!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante