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How to Make Art Journals from a Recycled Magazine- The Sustainable Souls Project

by | May 24, 2017 | Articles, Blog, Blog Posts, Mixed Media and Art Experiments | 4 comments

In the past, I found it difficult to begin art journaling. I struggled choosing the right journal. I worried about whether or not my work was good enough and if I would “ruin” the journal. At the beginning of this year, I decided to try my hand at making a journal. The first art journal I made from a recycled magazine enabled me to find the freedom I needed to create. I wasn’t spending any money and I liked the idea of “rescuing” a magazine from the trash. There wasn’t any pressure about messing it up and I found myself excited to create. If you are struggling with getting started in art journaling, this could be a solution for you as well.

For this month’s edition of the Sustainable Souls Project, we are focusing on recycling. I thought this would be a great opportunity to share my process for prepping a recycle magazine art journal along with some tips I learned from trial and error. In many ways, prepping is my least favorite part of the process but it is definitely a necessity. I now have about a dozen recycled magazine art journal in various stages. A few are even close to being filled with my art. I have debated about making the step to buy a journal, however, at this time, I want to challenge myself to finish out 2017 using just recycled journals.

The page I am sharing today evolved in several steps. It started off as a spread filled only with scrap white paper. I added an insert and then began making the flowers.
I began painting off and on throughout the day as I homeschooled my son. I filled the background with blue and then painted the roses in, leaving a few spaces blank here and there.
Once the paint had dried, I realized that I wanted a bit more detail. I began outlining sections with my black gel pen( I chose a waterproof signo uniball) and drawing in smaller flowers. Much of the work was done over the course of two nights while I was playing a video game with my husband. I needed something to keep me occupied during the search times and loading sessions between game matches. I mention this because I think it’s important to understand that an art journal spread does not have to be completed all in one sitting. This one was created in small moments, the bulk of which were less than 2-3 minutes at a time.
The resulting art journal spread is a very intricate pattern of flowers. I don’t feel that I am done with this yet. I may just add a bit of word art. However, I am tempted to paint a portrait and add some whimsical creatures throughout. For now, I have set this one aside until I can make the final decision.

There are many more recycled art projects to see. Be sure to visit the Sustainable Souls Blog to see the projects and find links to more mixed media art inspiration.

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4 Comments

  1. Laura on May 25, 2017 at 6:23 am

    I too have used magazines for journals. I love how you described your use. You are redeeming small bits of time…that pretty much takes care of our excuses when we say we dont have time to create! Great idea! Love your journal…Laura

    Reply
    • Christy Strickler on May 26, 2017 at 11:35 am

      Thank you, Laura! I hadn’t thought about it as redeeming small bits of time. That’s a wonderful way to think about it.

      Reply
  2. Tina Walker on May 25, 2017 at 2:17 am

    This is beautiful Christy! I love anything flowers but the recycled journal is the best part!

    Reply
    • Christy Strickler on May 26, 2017 at 11:36 am

      Thank you, Tina!

      Reply

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