E is for Evidence.

An evidence page is a page in your Art Journal or notebook where you break out new stuff, like this washi tape, and use it for the first time. I did it when I bought deko tape too.

Trying out all the tapes in my Moleskine diary and writing about them.

Using your new materials is a way to keep them for yourself, as “evidence” that you once had them. When they are all used up and gone one day you can look back at the page and remember. I think it makes new material feel more “your own”, like a part of your stash, your stuff. You can try them out and see how they work on a page. Testing. Enjoying. Saving.

What I mostly wanted to know was if you could write on the washi tape and how transparent it is…

With my regular writing pen the washi tape is a bit too plastic to write on, but with a marker it will be easier. The transparency of the tape is nice, as you can see, and it is just what I was expecting. I think I will enjoy playing further with these tapes in all my books.

Here is another Evidence spread in my diary:

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Let’s make library pockets!

When I made my Owl Journal I mentioned the importance of adding at least one pocket on the inside of each notebook cover. If you don’t have those plastic corners you can make your own Library Book Pockets. I like the old fashioned feel of this form, but you can also use small envelopes or fold your own paper pocket of course!

If you have a pocket in your paper stash carefully take it apart and copy its form to a new paper. Then cut it out, glue it together and adhere to your inside cover. Easy and fun project.

I like to use all kinds of pages for my pockets. Painted papers or cut out leftover pages from altered books, especially if they’ve got fun patterns or illustrations already on them. You could use yellow envelope paper for that authentic library look…

Pocket Inspiration Links

• Library Book Pocket Template - the one I’m using when I make library pockets is from Mirkwood Design’s (found a few years ago!). There you’ll find a huge collection of Templates to download, print and use in your paper projects. Like the Hexagon Petal Card - love this one!
• Templates from Creature Comforts - always pretty designs. Includes pdf-files with library pocket, standard card and gift card!
• Michelle’s Pockets - a look into various journal pages using pockets - great inspiration here!
• Library Card Pocket Album - isn’t this project cute?

I mentioned in my previous post how I altered the second batch a bit, allowing myself some creative freedom. I took the time to colour in all the little me in the sketch of me and Smilla. I have a jeans skirt on, but after a few of those I changed the skirt colour because I got bored with the blue skirt, and also gave myself pink hair, just for fun. I need to play more with my coloured pencils, colouring is fun. On the labels I splashed watercolour paint, making little colorful dots. Just having fun with it.

Some benefits of zine making

• I have proved to myself I could pull it together and make a zine
• I have learned that I have a lot so say about the subject of art journals and maybe even to teach others, at least to inspire and show my love for art journaling to fellow crafters
• I have also learned that I can create assembly line style and make “a product” - and also to enjoy the mindful repetition of that process
• As the first ten copies were part of the I love zine-swap I got ten yummy zines in the mail back. Being in the swap resulted in new online friends, inspiration, information, tutorials - and little pressies… Happy times indeed!
• I have to admit, that selling zines and earning money is really great when you’re not used to that.
• It has also been self-esteem boosting, selling the zine and getting requests to re-list it when it sold out. You guys who bought it don’t know how much I needed that boost. Thank you! Will you buy my next issue?
• Swapping! I have done a few swaps and trades with other zine makers which has been super fun. Now I will eagerly await Ninox first zine that she is swapping with me!
• The feeling of sharing, connecting and being apart of the online community is bigger after I made this zine
• Bonus: I have finished a whole roll of blue wallpaper that I didn’t know how to use… I have used it to make envelopes for the zines when shipping them. And also a wallpaper sample book was used for some zine covers. It has been standing around here taking up space for quite a few years now…

A tactile product

Someone asked me if it would be available as a PDF-download here on my site, but it will not. As you can see from the images above a huge part of this zine are the handmade parts. The deal is partly in the actual hands on making of the product. The stapled in paper inclusions (not one exactly like the other), the sewn cover and cut out label, the wallpaper cover and the away-from-the-computer feel and read.

The tactileness of it all is what I enjoy most, if we don’t count the writing part. Or the reading it myself part. E-zines can be great, but that was not what I wanted to create this time. I wanted to create a b/w photocopied zine in a small size, and that is exactly what I did. :-)

More images:

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Making a zine is a lot of fun, and it includes many steps even after all the text is written, edited, layouted and printed…

Decorating the covers of the first batch with scrapbook leftover papers, sewing on papers like it was fabric patches.

Stapling together papers with a stapler that does not open wide enough.

Cutting out backside blurb to glue onto the wallpaper cover.

Then printing and cutting out the title label for the front of the zine…

Indeed, there are a lot of steps when making each zine. I noticed this again while making a second batch of zines for my Etsy Shop once batch #1 was sold out. And I noticed that I enjoyed each step. The machine sewing, the cutting up wallpapers, the paint splattering and colouring. I think it was calming to me, knowing the steps. Thinking about it mindfully and as a labor of love. I was so mindful the second time when making it because I know how to assemble everything already.

I know what to do, and still altered the process slightly because I could. And yes even the address label writing and envelope folding and taping was enjoyable, because by then I knew that the zine had been sold. I knew each zine would be sent out into the world and read (!) by someone who is interested in the same thing that I am interested in: Art journaling. And that is knowledge is extremely nice and a powerful feeling.

As previously promised, and for those of you interested in zine making, I have written a bit about the creative process of making a first zine. It’s not a tutorial because there are plenty of those around. I’m a beginner, no expert. A happy beginner mind you. So read on for some more thoughts from yours truly.

Mulling it over

I have been thinking about making a personal zine for several years now. A few years ago I bought Teesha’s zine Play, and since then I’ve gotten a zine here and a zine there in swaps, giveaways and blog contests. All of them unique and interesting. The idea of my own publication have been percolating in my mind, simmering around…

I recently finished writing an article about The Creative Process. In the research for it I learned more about the importance of mulling over creative ideas for a while. It is a big and important part of the process that we need to allow time for. Without time the idea might not be ripe enough or we ourselves not ready to birth the project. The mulling over sometimes takes part in our subconscious and maybe even in our dreams. I’ve called my slow approach to some ideas procrastination and even fear, but maybe it is just how it should be… I have recently learned that I am too hard on myself and don’t give myself enough credit for the things that I do. That will have to change! The zine swap really helped to push me into action with a firm deadline!

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It matters not how strait the gate
how charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul
/William Earnest Henley

After going XL on brown paper I decided to go extra small (XS) with another experiment! What I did was tear the big painted sheet down to smaller pieces. Fold the paper four times across and then rip the folds using a ruler. You will have four strips of paper that you then fold again and tear once in the middle;

You will create papers for a booklet journal easy and fast this way. No measuring needed, it’s not that kind of book as Mary Ann Moss says. But if you are curious my papers are approximately 20×14 centimeter (7.8×5.5″). That paper is then folded in half once to create the book pages - for a wee booklet journal!

I only used four of the pages to make a single signature booklet. I sewed the pages together using green embroidery floss. From the one big painted brown paper I got more material than I used in this book, but maybe I’ll do another of these books later.

Front and back pages with collage and some writing. Skapa is Swedish for Create. I’ve written in Swedish on the inside pages, just random thoughts to fill the pages. It’s an experiment book, a first try. Making small books are super easy - and super fun! Almost instant gratification.

And they are fast to fill up with favorite images, doodles, words and thoughts. I’ve only got the last spread left to fill.

These are the spreads, enjoy!

Quote from the poem and movie with the same name Invictus.

A blue and purple owl, and thoughts of the night.

A small print of the Owl Collage I made and sold recently, plus deco tape and more random thought on what I like, like painting with acrylics.

DIY thought: That what is important to you, you should make sure you do today! Q: What is important to you? Answer in your own journal, XL, XS or normal sized. Just think about it, will ya?!

Affirmations on my mind, thoughts I need to be reminded of; to remind myself of again and again and again.

Tiny words telling the story of how this book came to be born.

The last spread, waiting for black ink scribbles.

I’ve been wanting to make a Brown paper Journal for ages, and now I’ve made a wee one. Once I saw Judy Wise’s tutorial on used grocery bags for her Crumbled paper Journal. Even better than plain brown paper is crumbled up brown paper, because when you paint it you can see the creases as a soft pattern. That will be a next journal project.

In the meantime I’m still stepping up the scale, painting XL. What are you doing?

XSXSXS
XOXOXO

Remember these? Some of the papers I was filling with colours turned into postcards, some sent out, others waiting for stamps and/or occasion. I love how they look:

And while the sewing machine was out, I made two fabric postcards too:

Fun fun fun! What did you make today?

The magenta diary is full and the new one is slick black, which at the moment feels too dark. I want pink, playful and fun, so I made a new cover for my new diary, a bit like the patchwork notebooks that mom and I made last summer (tutorial here). This one I’m calling The Owl Diary, and it’s perfect for March and spring feelings… Bring it on! :-)

I’ve used my own background paper (scanned and then printed on laser printer) and my own illustration of an owl (watercolor painting from my Art Journal that I scanned, printed and cut out). You can use any thin paper you have around and add an image that speaks to you. Make yours your own. Here is a little tutorial to get you started….

1. Find a cheap black notebook (found on sale somewhere) and two A4 sized papers that I made. This notebook has yummy blank pages and one of those closing rubber band, just like I prefer ‘em!

2. Last time some of the papers didn’t stick to the cover so this time I sanded the gloss down a bit so the glue could grip better.

3. What you will need more than that notebook? Right, some pretty paper that you want to use as a cover, scissors to trim of edges and cut the paper to a manageable size, matte acrylic medium (as the glue) and a paint brush to apply the glue. Fun image to add last. Glossy varnish to finish it off.

4. Cover the front with glue and press the cover down, get as many air bubbles out as you can. Cut away the corners and bend in one edge at a time. Be careful not to glue pages together though! You can be finished now, if you like it like this! Pretty neat! Mine is pretty and pink, but not very exciting right? Time to experiment a bit…

Well, what the heck now? If you look at the back where the rubber band is attached I didn’t do a very good job covering this because the paper shrunk a bit. Bleh-ugly and irritating.

5. Fix “the glitch” with another piece of paper or ribbon. This pink one mom got at a flea market. She thought it was fabric and when I told her it was a plastic ribbon she gave it to me. Yay, I love this colour so much! I’ve been using bits of it in my Art Journal, on postcards and other projects.

6. At this point I decided the pink was a bit to pale and this notebook needed something more… Owl right? Yes, a little baby owl (guggla) that I just painted in my ongoing watercolour Art Journal. I printed the scanned image and cut him out with sharp scissors.

7. Once I had him glued down (add matte medium both to glue it down and on top of your image) I integrated him into the cover even more with pink crayon around the edges. I also added the words “dear diary” that I found in my stash and the plastic ribbon all around the front too. Lastly I varnished the whole thing with glossy decoupage glue (all I had on hand). That last layer will make sure it doesn’t get dirty or any edges rips when handled. Plus, it makes the whole project shine. I’m happy.

Finished!

It’s not perfect as you can see, but who cares. It’s pink. It’s personalized. It has a cute owl, roses and pretty pink ribbon. And potential. It’s mine and I like just fine.

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Ah, tissue paper. It’s the wrapping tissue I’m talking about, that thin, translucent paper used for packing, wrapping, or protecting delicate articles. In Sweden it’s called silk paper (silkespapper). I don’t have a huge collection of it, but the plastic folder I have containing tissue papers is a little treasure among other papers in my stash. The reasons I love it so much are mainly:

* It’s transparent therefor perfect for layering in collage
* I like the feel and sound if it: it’s so thin that it rustles when you touch it.
* It’s extremely cheap if you’re collecting it at birthday parties and Christmas gift un-wrapping of gifts!

Plain tissue paper with a brownish tint (I think this one was found in a shoe box once), and some polka dots that I’ve actually bought at a craft store (not free but still I had to have it, I adore polka dots!).

Last month I made Paper Cloth using fabric and tissue paper that eventually ended up as really cool layered looking Postcards. If you want to make paper cloth check out my tutorial for inspiration! It’s messy but fun. And now I’ve got another reason to enjoy tissue paper - I’m paining it to make pretty background papers! First a layer of gesso, then some paint. Amazingly fun to do!

Look:

The crusade to paint on tissue paper has been a revelation. How can painting on something so fragile be so fun? I have no idea so don’t ask me. Its just fun. Fun fun fun! Just try it for yourself and see if you like it.

When the paper is wet its difficult to handle, but once it has dried it becomes stronger and more fabric-like. I bet it would be fun to sew into this material. I’m going to try that next. I’m also experimenting with the transparent gesso (!) I bought for Suzi’s class. Cool stuff. There are always many more experiments to try. I hope I will never sit down and say: what to try next? Horror!

Anyway, whats next? I once bought some big letter stamps and almost never used them. I tend to forget my stamps. Today I took them out and stamped some letters on the painted tissue paper because Michelle Ward suggested it. Her favorite way to used painted tissue is to cut out stamped letters from it. I thought that sounded like a fun idea.

Tadaa! With black acrylic paint I stamped these letters. You were supposed to “have a plan” for your page but I seldom do. I forgot what my plan was anyway when in the flow. I love getting into the flow process of creating a colorful journal page. The result looks like this:

Tissue paper experimenting, first page. More detail photos below.

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10×2 postcards in a pile….

Both my mom and I went with roses for our postcards. Who can resist the look and feel or roses, even if they are only 2D? And we both went ahead and sewed in papers, though I added paper to fabric and mom added fabric to paper… Mom’s postcards are romantic pink roses in shear fabric, mine are cut out illustrations from a book on a base of paper cloth as you saw in yesterdays post.

She sew her fabric in place using the sewing machine, in a free form embroidery style, and then added decorative borders that her sewing machine has around the edges of all her postcards. Beautiful, right? Quite shabby chic if you ask me!

I told her any artist should sign their work, and so she did. I’m so happy she wanted to be apart of the swap.

Two of her postcards that I scanned in for her. You can view the rest in the Postcard group on flickr. :-)

I used paper cloth as the base for my postcards, you can learn how to make your own in the Paper Cloth Tutorial I posted yesterday. After I ironed the paper cloth to flatten it a bit I cut out ten postcards, using a knife and ruler. Then I got sewing on them. The rose illustrations are from an old favorite book that I cut up, and then I sewed a seam all around to attach the postcard backside that I printed on cardstock. Voila!

Here are all of my cards scanned:

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