My Passion for Art Journals
But when I'm not at my computer or looking after my kids or cooking or working or cleaning house then I'll be playing with my glue, watercolors, pastels, pencils and scissors.
I love to journal. I also love to make art. Best of all I like to combine the two in my ART JOURNALS
**Please note: All images are copyright. Please do not use them elsewhere**
You don't have to be good at drawing or painting
Many people say they would love to be 'arty' but they aren't creative. What they really mean is that they are scared to try and draw or paint in case their efforts are ridiculed. What a shame - all that potential creativity going to waste.You don't have to be an 'artist' to enjoy creating art.
I've always enjoyed sketching and painting. My pencil studies aren't too bad but my painting is horrible! I still love to dabble in watercolors and solved the problem by using them in background washes for my journal pages.
Here's a sketch I did about a million years ago.
I can use a glue stick - can you?
Usually I will create a journal page in this way:I use watercolor paint to create a background. With a big brush I stroke color down the page, adding in water to lighten or more pigment to deepen. I add in other colors too so I get an interesting effect.
Then I will add some collage. I keep a stack of cutouts from magazines, greetings cards and junk mail so I rifle through my pile, looking for something interesting which suits my mood and looks good against my background. I play around for a while moving the pieces about to find an arrangement that pleases. Then I whip out my trusty Pritt Stick and glue those little devils into place before I can change my mind.
I may add a border to the page. It could be more collage or very often I'll use my favourite Neocolor II watersoluble crayons. Sometimes I will 'zentangle' a border... but more on Zentangles later.
I use soft pastels to create a glow around the collage and border. I also use metallic pens to dot and squiggle and liven up the border some more. Sometimes I will pre-draw lines on the page ready for my journal entries.
A finished page... well it might not be finished yet. There's always room to add a word, a thought or a pattern.
My favourite sources of inspiration
The Decorated Journal: Creating Beautifully Expressive Journal Pages
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/20/2009) 
Artists' Journals and Sketchbooks: Exploring and Creating Personal Pages
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 11/20/2009)
Art Making & Studio Spaces: Unleash Your Inner Artist: An Intimate Look at 31 Creative Work Spaces
Amazon Price: $16.86 (as of 11/20/2009)
Alphabetica: An A-Z Creativity Guide for Collage and Book Artists (Quarry Book)
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 11/20/2009)
The Decorated Page: Journals, Scrapbooks & Albums Made Simply Beautiful
Amazon Price: $17.95 (as of 11/20/2009)
You can use any paper but watercolor is best. I use Fabriano Artistico HP because of its smooth surface. I buy large sheets, cut them to size and bind them with metal rings.
5 packs of 10 Fabriano Artistico Extra White Sheet 22"x30" 300gsm (140lb) Hot Press
Amazon Price: (as of 11/20/2009)
Fabriano Artistico Traditional White Watercolor Block
Amazon Price: (as of 11/20/2009)
Zentangles
What they are and why I love them
Zentangles are doodles, repeated patterns. They are usually made with black pen on a white background but not exclusively. There are some beautiful colored examples around.The term 'Zentangle' was coined by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas when Maria described her experience as she created her art as feeling 'timeless, freedom and well-being'. Rick told her she was in a meditative state and so Zentangles were born.
Zentangle Homepage
Maria is right, they do take you off into some kind of altered state. When I began drawing them I couldn't stop. When my chosen horse won the Grand National, I treated myself to the Zentangle kit and immediately fell in love. Now I don't do so many but it is lovely to incorporate a little Zentangling into my journals.
Here are four of my Zentangles.
I really enjoy using them as borders for my art journals.
See all the splashes and smudges. They don't bother me one iota. I like my pages to have 'character'!
The best Zentangling pens!
Sakura Pigma Micron Pen Set 6 Per Package, Black Ink
Amazon Price: $15.98 (as of 11/20/2009)
Pigma Micron Pen 005 Brown .20mm
Amazon Price: $0.99 (as of 11/20/2009)
Pigma Micron Pen Set - Multi Color
Amazon Price: $8.98 (as of 11/20/2009)
Sakura 1/4 Milli Meter Pigma Micron Pen Set #01, 6 Per Package-Black, Red, Blue, Green, Brown, Purple
Amazon Price: $15.88 (as of 11/20/2009)
Sakura Pigma Micron Pen Set 3 Per Package, Black Ink
Amazon Price: $10.02 (as of 11/20/2009)
More images from The Ragged Edge's 'Unfinished Journal'
This journal is a unique project. I decided to create the pages in stages until I had a finished journal ready to write in. One day.. I will get round to writing in it!
119 Prompts for Your Journal
by Marelisa
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byDo you journal?
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Reply
- eclecticeducation eclecticeducation Nov 20, 2009 @ 12:01 am
- Really cool! I'm going to lensroll this to my Artist Scrapbook lens.
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Reply
- Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Nov 17, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
- I had to come by and bless this lens! I love it!
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- d-artist d-artist Nov 13, 2009 @ 3:50 pm
- love this lens!.....5* I have many art journals and am glad I kept them...I doodle a great deal on envelopes, scratch paper, etc. I cut the ones I like, keeping them in a art scrapt book.
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Reply
- Light-in-me Light-in-me Nov 10, 2009 @ 3:45 pm
- I just love this lens, I love art all kinds of art and you are so creative.
Beautiful lens, I enjoyed my visit.
Robin :)
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Reply
- stargazer00 stargazer00 Nov 8, 2009 @ 5:17 pm
- I LOVE your Zentangles. Really fascinating.
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- Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Nov 7, 2009 @ 2:10 pm
- I had to book mark this lens on my computer. I want to do journaling like this. I lensrolled it to a number of my lenses as well.
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- Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Nov 7, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
- I journal but it looks nothing like yours. I just write. This stuff is great! It reminds of SARK. How do you do those pages? I love them!
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Reply
- Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Nov 7, 2009 @ 2:03 pm
- I journal but it looks nothing like yours. I just write. This stuff is great! It reminds of SARK. How do you do those pages? I love them!
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Reply
- KarateKatGraphics KarateKatGraphics Oct 28, 2009 @ 1:11 pm
- whoops...and of course it's a perfect lensroll for Coloring Books for Adults, too :)
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- KarateKatGraphics KarateKatGraphics Oct 28, 2009 @ 1:08 pm
- 5* and a favorite! Love the zentangles! Rolling this to Stocking Stuffers for Artistic Kids, as I think a fresh new journal would be a great stocking stuffer for an artistic adult (like you!)
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The Ragged Edge
Lensmaster theraggededge has been a member since July 9 2009, has rated 762 lenses, favorited 54, and has created 44 lenses from scratch. Bev G donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "Zentangle". See all my lenses
My Bio
Writing, blogging, Squidooing, tarot reading, art journaling, Zentangling, home educating mother of three. Living in a small village in South Wales... for the time being.
"Life is a series of delicious moments." Abraham-Hicks
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What is a Zentangle? In a word, a doodle. A structured, contained doodle. The term 'Zentangle' was invented by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas when, one day, Maria described her experience, as she created her art, as feeling timeless, free and engender... view lens -
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by theraggededge
Writing, blogging, Squidooing, tarot reading, art journaling, Zentangling, home educating mother of three. Living in a small village in South Wale... (more)
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