Using catalogs as art journals

One of my favorite retailers sent me their newest catalog and the weight of the paper in it was so great, I decided it would make a perfect recycled art journal. Below is a step-by-step of one of the pages I created…

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comThe Crafter’s Workshop provided me with some product to create this project. This post also contains affiliate links. The opinions I share are solely my own.

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comAs usual, I gathered up some of my favorite stencils (I didn’t use all of them), acrylic paint, white gesso and matte gel medium…all from The Crafter’s Workshop collection of products.

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comA quick, messy layer of white gesso gave me a more neutral background on which to work.

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comNext up was some mark making and journaling with Jane Davenport’s Mermaid Markers. These watercolor markers reactivated with each layer I added but I loved the result. However, keep that in mind for your pages if that bothers you.

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comThe 6×6 Fantasy Sphere stencil together with green paint gave my page a restful focal point.

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comMy word for the year, Flourish, is always resonating in my mind. So the 12×12 Jungle Vines stencil helped bring the concept onto the page even though that is not what I was focusing on! Love that about art journaling…

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comSome doodling because it doesn’t seem like me if I don’t include a bit somewhere!

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comI used a few Neocolor II crayons to deepen the background color here and there, and also to add a gray shadow to the leaves.

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comI usually add any wording directly to the page I’m working on but this time I used a trick for those of you that hesitate a bit at doing that! I stenciled the words onto a piece of deli paper. That way, if it came out poorly, I could redo it as many times as I needed! I used the 12×12 versions of Julie’s Words and At The Beach to create my own phrase that fit my sentiment for the art journal page and what I was feeling at the moment. I then used matte gel medium to adhere it to the page.

Art journal page in a recycled clothing catalog using stencils from The Crafter's Workshop • AtopSerenityHill.comAs a bonus, here are two more pages I created in my recycled catalog art journal. The paper is just great to work on. Next time you need a new art journal, try your recycle bin! You just never know…

Thanks for joining me today…

Consie

The Crafter’s Workshop Design Team Member

5 thoughts on “Using catalogs as art journals

  1. Une très jolie page ! le seul “catalogue” que je reçois encore est la vue de la commune, faite sur un papier épais.. jamais je n’aurais pensé à le recycler de cette façon ! merci pour cette bonne idée !

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