Project Art Journal: Page 3

Art is often all about letting the moment dictate what ends up on the canvas.  The same is true when it comes to art journaling with a collage technique.  The finished product looks polished and well-planned, but truthfully, this page was created with nothing but whimsy and a willingness to go with the flow.

Supplies:

• Various printed papers with text and patterns
• black, beige, and white card stock
• cotton string
• silver DMC thread
• silver eyelets
• eyelet setter
• silver accent hinge (most craft stores have these in the scrapbook aisle)
• brown ink pad
• hole punch
• paper piercer
• needle
• marker
• glue stick
• double-stick tape

Layer 1: Black Frame

Cut a square out of black card stock that is slightly smaller than the paper bag journal page.  Set it aside.

Layer 2: Collage

Cut a square out of white or black card stock that is slightly smaller than Layer 1.  This will serve as the foundation for the collage.  Basically, all the pieces of of the collage will be stuck to this piece!

Find six or seven different printed papers that have text or images.  I used a combination of printed scrapbook papers and pages from old books (the discard pile at the library is a great place to find a damaged book that would otherwise be thrown away.  Why not use it for crafting?)  Rip the papers haphazardly and in all different sizes.  This part is the most fun!

Grab a glue stick and start glueing the torn pieces down in random places on the foundation square.  Make sure they overlap and cover the whole square.  It’s okay if they spill over the edge of the square.  Once the glueing is done, it’s easy enough to take a pair of scissors and trim the excess.

Layer 3: Stitching

Draw a few random curves across the collage.  Have fun and let the curves create themselves.  With a paper piercer poke holes along the lines spacing them as evenly as possible and about the size of a small stitch.  Thread a needle (I used a basic sewing needle) with silver thread and start stitching!  See Page 2 for directions on how to do a solid paper stitch.

Layer 4: Quote Block

Cut out a small black rectangle and a smaller beige rectangle.  Measure and cut a piece of patterned paper that’s a size smaller than the black, yet larger than the beige.  Play with the size until it’s just right for an accent piece.  Attach pattern paper to black rectangle.

On the beige rectangle, pencil in a quote and go over it with a marker.  Crumple the paper and smooth it out.  Lightly drag a brown ink pad over the top to give it an antique look.  Attach quote to the black rectangle.

Situate the quote block onto the collage, slightly off-center.  Lay the hinge on the left hand side and use a pencil to make dots to mark where the attachment holes are located.  Set the hinge aside and use a paper piercer to poke holes.  Re-situate the hinge and use small brads to attach the hardware. The quote block should swing open and closed if all went well!

Use a hole punch to create two small holes on the right hand side, just above and below the corners of the quote block.  Affix eyelets into the holes and secure. Thread cotton string through the eyelets and tie into a little bow.

Attach the completed collage square to Layer 1 using double-stick tape.  Then take the whole piece and attach it to the paper bag journal page using plenty of double-stick tape along the edges and extra support around eyelet holes and hinge attachment.

All done!  Enjoy yet another beautiful page!

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Next time, be ready for loads of embellishments and fancy fibers.  Stay inspired!

c.b. 2011