Get "You" Into Your Art Journals (Part 1)

"A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin;
what else does a man need to be happy."
~ Albert Einstein

Paging through my art journals, I find a lovely, colorful, worn-edged, eclectic collection of shapes and sizes, a mixture of bound and loose pages. They feel wonderfully familiar. Give this a try. Grab several of your art journals or journal pages, and really look at them. Are they like a pre-packaged cake mix, or do they represent you? Forgive the odd analogy. Or is it a parable, homonym, antonym, query, syllabus, haiku? I can never remember. But I digress.

Here are some easy ways to get more "you" into your art journaling. Then pop over to Get "You" Into Your Art Journals, Part Two!

1. use your own handwriting, even if you don't adore it

2. include your favorite lyrics

3. find quotes that you adore

4. use color combinations that make you happy

5. carve your own stamps to create unique patterns

6. include lists from your life

Any other ideas?

Click on to read Get "You" Into Your Art Journals, Part Two!

Comments

[Terri @ Pringle Hill]

Use doodles, drawings and favorite pictures too! Hugs, Terri xoxo

[Vanessa]

You make all of your pages look so effortless and beautiful. I love them all!

[jo]

i'm loving your journals - one question: how do you keep the pages from sticking to each other?
i'd love 2 know :)
thanks again for the inspiration!!
-jo

[gypsy]

Jo... the secret is to place a sheet of parchment paper (I use Reynold's parchment paper, the type you bake with) between the pages that stick. I keep the paper in for a few months. Some pages won't stick at all, and others will stick for some time. I don't coat my pages with any fixatif, but that is something I would like to research when I get a chance. Hope this helps! ~ Tammy

[Michelle]

Hi Tammy
Love your site and your journal pages and all the great tips and ideas - thank you so much.
A cheap fixative solution is to use hairspray.....probably not as 'archival' as the art store expensive stuff but i'm happy with it in my journals and it doesn't seem to have any ill effects.
cheers
Michelle