Journals, Gelatos and Paper Punches

I now have quite a collection of paper punches - circles in all sizes and a few squares too. I love using cut up and punched paper and have searched every nook and cranny in my studio to find all of my old paper. Using old paper for cut-ups in a junk journal is a fabulous way to repurpose paper you were never very fond of.

 

This pink paper with big lips has been in my stash a very long time, it works great for a dress for my paper doll and as a border on the adjacent page. The paper doll has been glued to an envelope in my junk journal that I stamped and colored with Gelatos. The sheet music page is actually a fold out with additional cut papers on the inside.

 

This is black cardstock and an old calender page in one of my junk journals. I love the simple beauty of the stark white and yellow on the black page. All I used was a few circle punches and a glue stick.

 The flower side of this journal page is a greeting card I gessoed, then used black paint to sponge on a stencil pattern and colored with Gelatos. The house journal page is a piece of poster board which had previously been used, I gessoed it - added a few stamps in Staz-On brown and colored with Gelatos. When I adhere paper to a surface which has been colored with Gelatos I use a liquid glue such as Elmer's Glue-All.

I have also been experimenting with cutting tools, next post I will give a few tips for how to use some of these tools to come up with fun and funky shapes.

Paper Cut-ups for Art Journals

 Loving the Mid-Century Modern Designs. I recently ordered the book Mid-Century Modern Patterns with artwork by Jenn Ski. These shapes are perfect for using up my scrap papers.
Just got out my scissors and hole punches and started making shapes. It was fun to build upon each page.

         I used black and brown cardstock as well as the inside of an envelope for paper cut-outs.

 Blue cardstock in one of my Smash journals, I cut shapes from the page itself then added cut and punched shapes with black, brown and turquoise paper.

The trick to building all the images and layers on each page is the glue....my oh my how I struggle with glues. I have tried glue sticks, Elmer's Glue-all, Modge Podge, Golden Matte Medium, spray glues, adhesive dots, double stick tape, Zip-Dry....everything I can get my hands on. There is no right glue to use for everything.....Zip-Dry is a favorite of mine for the heavier papers. Glue sticks are great for small images and lightweight papers. But to tell the truth I use them all at some point......the great experiment continues - still seeking the best all around glue!! Open to all suggestions.

Gelatos on a Paper Bag Journal Page

Rita Barakat is a fabulous Mixed Media artist.....she uses Gelatos by Faber Castell in a lot of her work... I love,love Gelatos. When you subscribe to Rita's newsletter she often includes an art video in which she demonstrates products and comes up with some cool things to do with them.

 This week she was using Gelatos....she made some beautiful cards.  I got out one of my Recycle/Smash Art Journals and turned to a fold out paper bag page to try Rita's technique using gesso, stamps and Gelatos.

 

Scribble Gelatos all over the page, add water and blend with a paint brush.

Rita painted one of her colorful girl characters to put on a card, I decided to paint a funny pocket watch to collage onto my journal page.

I love using cut paper shapes in my journals, this is the finished page...image from a magazine, black paper cut-outs, pocket watch painted on watercolor paper and gel pens.

Mail art is fun!!

      Remember when mail had so many possibilities, a handwritten letter from grandma or holiday photos finally developed and mailed from your aunt. If you were a really lucky kid a birthday card with a $10.00 bill!! Not so much anymore, ecards are awaiting you in email, you can check out the family photos on Facebook and god forbid you send money in the mail cause it never seems to reach it's destination.  Why is that anyway?

Front and back of large envelope.

     I really enjoy working in my recycled junk journals so why not treat mail as art. Instead of decorating a page in my journal I decided to work on a few envelopes to have handy for mailing.There is a whole movement devoted to 'mail art'. I must admit I have just gotten on this bandwagon....I chastise myself for not sending more cards to friends and family. Maybe now I will be better about mailing those holiday and birthday cards.

Front of envelope, bird and leaf images are napkins.

     I wanted to share a few of the art mailings I have done over the past week. I always begin by looking for book pages, sheet music, napkins or old wrapping paper to apply as the first layer. An artist friend of mine, Judy Evans, always seems to find the most wonderful napkins and she shares them with our local art group...thank you Judy!!

Napkins, sheet music, pattern paper, ledger paper, tissue paper and an old piece of my art applied to envelopes with matte medium, ready for gesso, paint and stamps.

      Using napkins as a focal point makes it so easy to create a beautiful envelope without a lot of work. Just slop it on with some matte medium, wait for it to dry - add gesso, paint, stencils, and stamps. I usually add a final coat of matte or gloss medium to seal it.  If you have beautiful handwriting or a calligraphy pen add the name and address by hand as well, or simply apply a label with name and address. 

Flower and flapper girl napkin peeking through after gesso, paint and stamps.

       Try it....surprise someone with a special piece of art delivered to their door. Next time you send a real birthday card add some art to the envelope first.