Square Page on the Loose

When I started art journaling I used spiral bound books found in the book shop. Loved those journals! Then I moved on to altering vintage books, something that I still love. The way I fill a page varies with day form, and on book binding technique, page format and paper structure in the book that I’m currently using.

Then I learned how to bind my own books which is time consuming but super fun. I so love filling my own handmade books!

In all that time I never thought I’d enjoy working in an art journaling way on loose pages, even though I have seen that others do that all the time. I thought I’d be loosing the whole idea of art journaling – the chronology, the possibility to turn the page, to move on, the documentation aspect… but things change, and so does my taste!

Last year when in a rut I cut out square pages for a spiral bound journal, but instead of binding it together at once I filled some of the pages before binding them. And I loved it!

Loooove loose page art journaling right now! Who would’ve thought?

I love the freedom of it!
I love that I can pick any kind of paper, at any time. That I can start 10 pages and not finish any of them. That I can decide what order they will appear later. That I don’t have to include certain pages if I don’t like it later, or don’t want to (though I keep almost everything).

Love that I can include a postcard in between pages when I do bind the finished book pages together. That I can fill the page all the way to each edge and then punch through it with the binder machine! Like this page:

Collage frame

If you want to try it, I suggest you decide on a format and pre-cut a couple of pages to keep close at your desk. Then grab one and start filling first one side, then the other and see how you feel about it. Paint, glue, write, cut, play!

Have fun!

I’m going to show you
the finished cover + spread of my own Smart Journal volume 1 too. But first let me know, have you tried working on loose pages? How did it work for you?