DIY: Paint Chip Art Journal

I started a series on Art Journaling awhile ago. Then we moved into a new apartment and I kind of let that fade away without getting to some of the finer points. Consider this my attempt at trying to rectify that somewhat. Here you will see how you can turn a stack of just about anything (in this case, sample paint chips) into a bright shiny new art journal.

To make this style of journal you will need:

A stack of old paint chips, or any kind of old paper/cardstock (playing cards would work very well)
a hole punch
binder rings

That's it! Start by deciding where you want your holes punched, and use one card to make a template. You can use this for punching all of your holes in your cards in the same place, simply line up your template on top of your unpunched cards (I only do a few at a time) and punch your holes in the same spot as the original. Then, secure your book together with the binder rings. The thing I love about this style of journal is you can start small with smaller rings, and then if you decide to add more pages later, just graduate to a larger sized ring and add more pages as needed. It also makes it easy to remove a page without tearing anything out. Binder rings...another office supply I like way too much. :)

One great thing about paint chips, is if you are having some trouble thinking of something to draw/write/etc. in your journal, each color has some fancy name that you can use as a jumping off point. Maybe you will draw a tropical lagoon on the card aptly labeled "tropical lagoon", maybe you will decide to make a collage of items in a certain colorway on another page to match (or contrast!). Also, while you can find paint chips in many sizes, most are very manageable as far as fitting a finished book into your pocket or bag to carry around with you everywhere you go. :)


I save everything, so I had a large number of paint chips on hand. If you don't but would like to make this project, ask at a local hardware supply store if you can take some paint chip samples without buying paint. Other options you could use are: playing cards, the fronts of old greeting cards/thank you notes, scrap cardstock pieces from old projects, cut up cereal boxes, etc.

Art Journaling: Adding Pockets

While not at all necessary, at some point you might find yourself wishing your art journal had a pocket or two. There are tons of different ways to do this, and as with everything else in art journaling: none of them are wrong! One of the easiest ways to add a pocket, in my opinion, is to sew two pages together.

Start by cutting one page a little shorter than the other. This isn't really necessary, but I like being able to more easily get things out of my pockets, so having the front of the pocket shorter than the back helps.

Next, decide how you will join your pages together. Glue and tape will also work, but I decided to go with a sewn pocket. To make it easier to stitch together, I used a small hole punch to pre-punch holes. I could have sewn without pre-punching as well, but this helps to not tear my pages and weaken the pocket.

I used an embroidery floss rather than thread to make a sturdier connection. Just weave it through the holes, and knot off both ends.

The finished pocket. If you like the look of the thread wrapping around the outside of the pages rather than being in straight stitches, feel free! There is no wrong way to make your art journal.

I decided to cover the back of my stitches with washi tape. It gives the back of my pocket a nice border and covers my knots and stitches. You would never know the front of the page had a pocket sewn in.

Another great pocket method is gluing envelopes onto your pages. You could use the tutorials I have here or here to try making your own, or simply buy envelopes in any color or style you like and glue them on to your pages. I sometimes add a photo corner onto my envelope to help hold it shut, or you could make a button closure like I do in my gift card envelope tutorial.


If you aren't quite sure what you would put in your pockets, here is a list of things that I have filled mine up with in the past:

Recipe cards, or recipe pages torn from magazines
Paint chips
Leaves and pressed flowers
fabric scraps
needle and thread
paper with quotes on it
photographs
stencils
or maybe one of my favorite little extras: Stickers

I got these little beauties from a Sanrio store several years ago. I think the Little Red Riding Hood theme is what draw me to them, I just love it.


What are you going to fill your pockets with?

Art Journaling: Easy Felt Cover

I'm starting out easy in my Art Journaling tutorial series, as I've been out of commission with a really bad cold. This felt cover is a cheap and easy option for covering a sketchbook to use as your journal. I like this on any sketchbook with a wire binding because it keeps the binding covered so it doesn't snag on things when you put it in a purse or backpack to carry around with you, but still allows you to open your book all the way so it can lay flat on a table. Here is a very rudimentary diagram for you to check out:

Essentially, you just need one long rectangle of fabric (in my case, felt). You will fold on the dashed lines to create pockets for the sketchbooks original front and back cover to be inserted into (just sew along the top and bottom after you fold and voila-pockets!). You could also use 3 separate pieces of fabric, a main body and two separate pieces to sew on to create the pockets, just make sure you leave room for your seam allowances. Since everyone might have a different sized sketchbook, just make sure you measure the dimensions of your sketchbook (don't go by what the cover tells you-my 6"x6" sketchbook was actually a tad larger when I measured). Add enough extra for your seam allowances (I leave my raw edges on the outside since I use felt, so my seams are only 1/4", yours may be 1/2" or anywhere in between).

To be a little fancier, I decided to use 4 shades of blue and sew them together to get my rectangle. This gives me an ombre effect on my cover going from lightest to darkest.

Once you sew up your felt, you simply slide your front and back covers into the pockets you created. I made my pocket flaps about 4" wide so they cover up a large portion of the original covers, and ensure they stay on my cover.

Here is my cover, all sewn, slipped on and opened up. I kept this pretty straight forward. If you wanted, you could add a closure like a strap with velcro or a snap. I will probably make a much more detailed tutorial once I'm feeling 100% over this cold I have with tons of variations on what you can add to it.

If you are real lucky, like me, when you go to open your sketchbook and start measuring to make your cover, you will find a cute little note like this from your husband that has been sitting inside for a week. :)

Art Journaling: Supplies

I know a lot of people who list journaling as something they'd like to do. Sometimes it is even a New Year's resolution. These same people usually talk, at length of how they started out pretty well, but eventually puttered out. Maybe "dear diary" journal writing just isn't your style! With one successful series behind me (on embroidery techniques) I have decided that March will be the month of the art journal! There will be lots of other projects too, but for those of you interested in journaling, and specifically art journaling: get ready for some awesome ideas, tips and tricks to make this a successful year (or month at least) in keeping a journal.

I have compiled this little list of supplies that you may want so you can follow along in March with all the great journal ideas I have for you!

To start, you will need the journal itself. I typically opt for some sort of sketchbook. To make it something I use more regularly, a small size that can fit easily into any bag, purse, etc is key for me. I also like my journals to have a coiled wire binding. This way, I can fold the whole thing open and lay it flat on a table, hands free, if I paste in a recipe or project idea I want to look at while crafting/baking etc. later on. Don't limit yourself though, If you want to paste your ideas into an old book (I'm a fan of science type journals: botanical survey books can be great!) feel free. The beauty of an art journal is you can be as free with it as you like! Just have some kind of book. You can even hole punch paper and use loose binder rings to fasten it together as you go (great if you like using varieties of paper for different media--you can insert watercolor paper just as easily as graph paper or copy paper).

Next, and especially if you have had trouble sticking to any kind of journaling in the past, find supplies that make you WANT to journal. I found these great woodless colored pencils the other day and I can't wait to use them!

I also typically have gel pens in several colors around the house, I love the way they feel in my hand when I write, so I want to write a lot! I also recommend making yourself a decorative (as well as protective) book cover. I like to use felt or other fabrics, in bright colors. Keep your journal where you will see it and the bright color will draw your eye and remind you to pick it up and write! SO pick out a fabric, felt or decorative paper you would like to see on your cover (you can also recycle the cover of an old hardcover book from a flea market if you'd like).

Have a large stack of magazines you have been meaning to get rid of, but you just can't bring yourself to do it because you know there was something in there you had to keep? Well, flip through them, tear out the things you wanted to keep and save them aside. We'll be adding these to your journal in several fun ways :)

Pick out at least one art or craft supply that you have never used before but would like to try. I purchased some stickers and my first roll of Washi tape the other day at collage and plan on using some of the tape to embellish pages throughout my journal. This is a great time to get a sample set of oil pastels, paints, stamps, stencils, etc and try them out!

Have a variety of papers to incorporate. I always get scrap book paper and cardstock when I find it on sale. Often, I have so much I don't know what to do with it: Embellish pages in your journal, make envelopes to add to pages as pockets, cut out fun shapes and more!


Some optional supplies you may want:

markers
graph paper (especially handy for quilters/embroidery buffs)
various glues
rulers
scissors
crayons
pencil sharpener
binder clips (make some fancy ones like these!)
paper punches (edge and corner punches can make your finished journal look extra cute with decorative edges)
Ribbon (decorate pages or use it as a bookmark)
tape
stickers
stamps
ink pads
paints
paint brushes
Buttons, velcro, etc to make a closure on your cover (there will be tutorials on this stuff later)
needles and thread (you can sew paper too!)

Gather up your supplies and get ready for some fun! Tutorials start on March 1st!