Paper, Mixed Media, Art Journaling Craftalong 2024

[geekgirl]

This craftalong is for anyone who enjoys or wants to start making mixed media/paper art. All skill levels can participate.

*art by @Smmarrt *

Post questions, comments, and share your mixed media art, paper crafts, art journaling spreads, etc.

We will host art journaling zoom meetups where we will play a video and journal along with it. It’s a lot of fun and you don’t usually need to have to have all the supplies listed in the video. Also, anyone can feel free to host a video session! find a video, post a time, and send the meeting link out!

Quick Links

• Previous Craftalongs
• Monthly Prompts
• Common Supply List
• Resources about Mediums
• Drawing Faces
• Free printable and/or public domain images
• Making decorated/painted papers for collaging
• Gelli printing
• Masterboards
• Art-along videos we’ve done

Monthly Prompts

January
February

Prompt Ideas

Previous Craftalongs

2020 Paper and Mixed Media Craftalong and some of 2021
2021 Paper and Mixed Media Craftalong
2022 Paper and Mixed Media Craftalong
2021 Art Journaling Craftalong
2022 Art Journaling Craftalong
2023 Paper, Mixed Media, Art Journaling Craftalong

Common Supply List

suggestions from geekgirl
Click to see original post
Please don’t feel like you have to go out and buy any of it. One thing I love about art journaling is that you can use whatever you happen to have.

But here are some things that are useful:

• Gesso
• Heavy gesso/texture paste/modeling paste – you can make your own texture paste.These can be used interchangeably
• acrylic paint - Liquitex Basics is a decent mid-range brand
• Stabilo ALL pencils . Write on just about any surface
• White and black gel pens . Signo Uni-Ball pens are generally good
• Staz-On black ink pad
• Mixed Media or water color paper – 100-140 lb. But really you can use most anything.
• Water colors
• Paint brushes and triangular makeup sponges
• Stencils (you can make some simple ones with scissors and paper)
• Stamps (you can make some simple ones with fun foam or use things like bubblewrap)
• Things for background texture : drywall tape, joint tape, masking tape, tiny bits of lace and ribbon, book pages
• Glue . My 2 favorites are Scotch 2-way glue applicator and Art Glitter Glue (it’s not actually sparkly)
• Faber Castell gelatos or gel crayons
• Baby wipes
• gel medium or collage pauge.
• acrylic inks

Trashy/recycleables to save:

• different sizes of bottle caps to make circles
• small boxes I can unfold (like boxes that eye drops or ibuprofen comes in)
• the backs of packaging - the cardboard piece with the hole at the top that hangs on racks
• tags - gift tags, clothing tags, tags from tea, etc
• small bits of lace, ribbon, thread, yarn
• envelopes
• notebook fringe

Recommendations from other Lettuce Heads

Per @AIMR

• tubes of water color paint, creamy like acrylics or use water for watercolor effect.
• watercolor pencils can be shaved to make your own magicals powders

Per @photojenn

• Neocolor II water soluble crayons
• Heat tool - you can also use a hair dryer but a heat tool will dry your pages without also blowing everything around on the table. I recently upgraded and it’s so much nicer!

Resources about Mediums

All about gel medium
All about gesso
Homemade texture paste
DIY Texture Medium
Mixed Media Dos and Don’ts

Drawing Faces

Drawing simple whimsical face by Toni Burt
Learn to draw artistic faces by Dina Wakeley
Learn to paint artistic faces by Dina Wakeley
Pencil sketch on mixed media background by Toni Burt

Free printable and/or public domain images

Maremi’s Small Art Free Digi Papers
The Graphics Fairy
Wikimedia
Vintage Botanicals
National Library of Australia
Gutenberg
Pixabay
Smithsonian Open Access
Smithsonian Institution Flickr
NASA Hubble Heritage Flickr
The British Library Flickr
Old Book Art Illustrations for download
Pinterest for Les Vieux Jours Vintage collage resources: photos, etchings, drawings and more.
USA Library of Congress Flickr
USA Library of Congress Photo Archive online portal
Reusable Art
Karen’s Whimsy
Creative Commons Cultural Contributors for art and music

Making decorated/painted papers for collaging

Painted Paper Collage and Painting
Making different mixed media papers for collage
How to create collage paper quick and easy

Gelli printing

The Basics by Birgit Koopsen
Gelli Plate Techniques Using Repurposed Items and Leaves
Gel Print Stencilling 101

Masterboards

Links from LettuceCraft:
Tutorial by @Reinikka
Tutorial by @Magpie
Tutorial by @geekgirl
Masterboards by @Bunny1kenobi
Masterboard by @GMPNQ
Masterboards by @Bunny1kenobi inspired by @GMPNQ
Masterboards by @Reinikka
Youtube links:
Masterboard technique using gesso resist
Layered Masterboards
Collage Masterboard from scraps

Art-along videos we’ve done

How to make Collage Paper by Jackie Schomburg
Make Your Mark - Creating Collage Papers from Scraps by Kylie Coo Studio
Mixed Media Art Journal Page with Watercolor and Collage by Susanne Rose Art

People to tag when there is an art journal zoom:
@kayrun
@Edel
@Lynx

[geekgirl]

The first prompt for 2024

“Folklore across the Continents”

interpret that any way you wish!

[geekgirl]

And our first art zoom of 2024 will be January 8th at 7pm Eastern time.

Instead of a completed piece of art we will be making collage fodder

(I can’t get the video links to work any more unless I hyperlink them)

Video 1
Supplies:

• Paper = can be ANY kind. can be scraps, any sort of art paper, can have marks on it, etc. can be book pages, magazine pages, junk mail, tissue, paper bags, etc
• acrylic paints
• catalyst wedge, brayer, old credit/store card. something to scrap paint with

Video 2
Supplies:

• papers from video 1 or any other paper scraps
• acrylic paints, esp black
• gelatos, pastels, pencils, etc
• paint brushes
• palette knife/ plastic knife, credit card
• bottle lids/ corks/ thread spools
• sponges, makeup sponge
• any other random items to make marks with
• non-reactive pens, esp black and white

here is a screen grab from the 2nd video. you can see she uses all kinds and sizes of papers

• I’m in

[Edel]

Wow, thanks @geekgirl awesome work.

It’s already 2024 here and I’m looking forward to spending some of it with you guys on crafty zooms

[jemimah (Kirsten)]

Yay!! Happy new year I’m excited to make more art stuff with you guys soon!!

[Lynx (In a world where you can be anything, be kind.)]

I’ll try to be more active this year. Love the theme.

[AIMR (Linda -In the year 2025, I am happy to be alive! :us:)]

Your ink pieces are so inspirational and beautiful!

[Lynx (In a world where you can be anything, be kind.)]

Thank you. Here are all three pieces trimmed to 4x6.

[AIMR (Linda -In the year 2025, I am happy to be alive! :us:)]

oh my…I need to learn how to do those!

[geekgirl]

such vibrant colors!

[Lynx (In a world where you can be anything, be kind.)]

I’m just playing around seeing what I like.

[photojenn (Jenn)]

Love the colors you’re making me want to get out my alcohol inks!

[Lynx (In a world where you can be anything, be kind.)]

I ordered more! I’m going to choose 9 to put in this when it arrives:

[photojenn (Jenn)]

Looks fun, I should be able to make it! I haven’t made anything with collage papers in forever but that’s never stopped me from making more papers

[geekgirl]

Hi @Myrthena
The links I posted are to YouTube videos so they will be available anytime you want to watch them.

The zoom will just be us watching the videos together and following along and that won’t be recorded.

There will be other zooms. Usually the most popular time is 2 or 3 pm on a Sunday afternoon but sometimes we change it up a bit.

If you make anything from the video links we would love to see it!

[geekgirl]

free challenge in Febuary

Jump-Start Your Creativity in 2024 | Mindful Art Studio

[geekgirl]

continuing from the 2023 thread…

@Edel

I didn’t do the new years thing, but I’d love to hear of any inspiration you find @geekgirl

One lady did a slot and tab book and I had not seen that method before. So simple.

One lady did continuous line drawings, which I’ve done before but she did them on nice card stock then watercolored them and made little pockets to put them in.

Looking forward to watching the videos, where I can fast forward! I don’t always enjoy the live classes, much prefer to be able to mute or fast foward or play at a faster speed.

[jeanneleigh (Jeanne)]

Love those color combinations!!

[photojenn (Jenn)]

@geekgirl

I don’t always enjoy the live classes, much prefer to be able to mute or fast foward or play at a faster speed.

I’m kind of the opposite, I like them as live classes because I see it as an event but I’m highly unlikely to ever go back and watch the videos.

[geekgirl]

Here is my journal page for January’s prompt.

I already had a lot of the back ground done.
I chose the Australian Aborginal tale about the rainbow serpent.

Before anyone asks where my snake’s head is you can choose your answer:

1 - it’s off the left side of the page
2- it’s an abstract piece that’s just meant to represent a serpent

I added some 2024 comments to myself in white gel pen around the snake in messy writing not really meant for me to reread.