3 easy handmade art journals

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I shared a handful of my favorite watercolor techniques for any age? Well today I am sharing with you one of my favorite ways to put all that hand painted paper to use- making art journals. 

When you teach for a living you end up with a CRAZY amount of samples, demos and paper (even canvas and fabric) full of techniques. Since I have a hard time throwing away any type of creative project, I have boxes and drawers filled with all kinds of colorful hand painted paper and surfaces. One of my favorite ways to put these papers to use is to transform them into art journals.  And today I am sharing three of my favorite ways to make three really fast art journals that don't require a lot of technical or complicated steps.

SEW

Using a sewing machine to bind paper, fabric and even canvas into simple little journals is actually my favorite method because it is so fast and easy, WAY easier than sewing by hand. The only obstacle is binding a really thick stack of papers- using a sewing machine lends itself to creating small(er) sized journals.

I start by gathering my paper. Sometimes I will trim it to size, while other times I make use of all the different sizes.

Then I create a front and back cover. Typically I will use heavier paper- watercolor paper, card stock or even cardboard. I love sewing with paper and will often make use of tiny scraps to create embellishments with my machine

Next, I create little stacks of paper. I've been sewing journals for years so I have a good idea of how thick of a stack my machine can handle but for beginners I like to recommend sewing a test stack of scrap paper.  TIP: I know many people people get nervous about sewing anything except fabric but I am here to tell you that sewing through a stack of heavy paper is not that scary. The worst that will happen is a bent or broken needle :)

Last, I simply sew a zig zag stitch across the top or side of my stack and just like that I have a simple little journal all ready to be altered!

GLUE

I'm gonna be honest- sometimes I am lazy when I am crafting and I just want things to be fast and easy. And that is why I LOVE using hot glue to bind paper into journals. It is fast and it gives me that instant gratification that I crave in a project!

Again, I start by gathering my paper into a stack. For this technique it is handy to make sure all the paper is tightly lined up (clipping it all together with a binder clip will keep things in place). 

Then I spread hot glue all over what I want to make the binding- I use a scrap piece of cardboard to really smooth and spread out the gluet. The hot glue amazingly binds all the papers together!

Last, I will glue another piece of paper over the top of the binding to cover up the glue. 

The result is a really fast little journal- I like using these journals to throw in my purse for on the go doodling, to give to Lucy or even for my grocery and to do lists.

BIND

I have WAY MORE leftover handmade paper than the average person so I have been looking for ways to turn all my paper into art journals that I can offer for sale in my shop. Since I have no patience for traditional book binding, I finally splurged on a punch and binding machine called the Bind-It-All (no I was not paid for this mention! I did my research and this product fit my budget and my needs). At $45.00 this was one of the best supply purchases I've made in a while!

The Bind-It-All makes it SUPER easy to measure, punch and bind all kinds of paper.

I start by gathering my paper and then using the Bind-It-All to punch through the paper. It will punch through just about anything and I've found that it will punch through about 3-4 heavy duty pieces of watercolor paper that has been painted.

After all the paper has holes, I create a front back cover from chip board then insert a spiral Owire and clamp it shut. 

This binding method has enabled me to create a lot heavier duty art journals with lots and lots of paper! 

And I've got a batch of these journals over in the shop HERE (it's been a great way to clear out all those sample papers and make room for new ones)!

updates from the studio

I have been crazy busy over here and while this time of year I am typically in the middle of an online class, this time around I decided to clear my schedule and spend more time creating some unique handmade goodies for the shop. While I love teaching, blogging and working on a variety of projects for other people, my #1 love is making things. In the coming weeks and months I will have all kinds of fun stuff hitting my shop and today I wanted to give you a little peak!

As you know I have been sharing posts about my pottery past and my potter parents but I have also been collaborating with my dad! I am super excited and grateful to have such a talented dad to help me out. He has been throwing pots for me- the first batch I requested a tall cup that could be used for drinking or decor or supplies or flowers. 

I have been glazing the cups with all kinds of pretty designs. The process is crazy time consuming because I am putting my heart and soul into each and every one. This batch is ready to be fired in the kiln then they will be hitting the shop and I will make an announcement very soon!

Andy and I have also been busy creating handmade art journals. I have SO MUCH paper from left over from projects and demos and I am always looking for ways to use that paper! Andy has been binding all my paper into some really cool one of a kind art journals and I can't wait to share the entire collection.

And of course I've got a big batch of my canvas pouches coming to the shop very soon!

I love turning my drawings into stamps and I have 5 new rubber stamp sets hitting the shop in the next couple of weeks. I always draw and design things that I would use in my mixed media projects and I am pretty sure all of you are going to like using them too!

As if all these handmade projects aren't enough...I am hard at work filming new online classes that I will announce in the coming weeks and months- I've got some fun stuff planned!

I can't wait to add all these new goodies to the shop- I will be rolling things out in the coming weeks all the way up to the holidays so stay tuned for shop update announcements!

If you are curious about what I am creating or to stay up to date on my projects you can always hop on over to Instagram HERE or sign up for my newsletter (just enter your email into the "subscribe" box in the top right hand column of my blog).

a peek inside my sketchbook

Sketching is a big part of how I practice, work through ideas, experiment and relax! You can view all of my sketchbook peeks HERE

shrink plastic rings

I love shrink plastic! There are so many different ways to put it to use and one of my favorites is using it to make jewelry.

Creating simple statement rings from shrink plastic is an easy way to create one of a kind creative rings (that make perfect little gifts).

I start by drawing circles and then I draw and doodle inside of those circles. Keep in mind your shapes and designs will shrink a lot- like 50%.

I bake my designs in a regular oven for about 30 seconds at 350 degrees. The directions typically say to bake anywhere from 2-5 minutes but mine always seem to shrink up within 30 seconds.

Once I remove them from the oven I glue my disks (using a heavy duty glue) to ring backs.

For more shrink plastic DIY projects check out my bangles, chunky rings, earrings and statement necklace

around these parts

lucy paint nails from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

I am pretty much smitten with Instagram and it is a place where I am able to document, show and share a more personal look into our life (without words).You can follow me HERE for a peek into our daily happenings.

getting creative on the wall

Yesterday I shared the wings that I painted as a backdrop for our Halloween post and today I thought it would be fun to share a peek into the process and share a few tips and insights into painting a wall!

wings from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

The first time I painted a wall was my sophmore year of college in my first apartment (which was a dump). I painted a quote and little mural above my bed trying to pretty things up. Since then I've been smitten with painting walls. As you know I love to work large but working on a wall is beyond large and can be a huge undertaking but there is nothing better than using creativity to turn a wall into art. 

As I shared a while back my painting large post, painting big- as big as a wall requires a lot of paint! When I work on a wall I almost always purchase quarts (or gallons) of house paint in the colors I will be working with. While a lot of my creative process is about  being spontaneous and working in the moment, when I paint a wall I actually take time to at least plan out my color scheme so I don't waste paint.


TIP- When I use black paint to doodle on the wall I mix my paint with a little bit of water. I have found that when I am doing a lot of line work with a brush I like my paint to be a little watery- it makes things go quicker because I don't have to keep reloading my brush with paint.

Using creativity and art to transform a wall is a great way to add something special to a room in the house but not everyone is crazy like me and willing to a paint mural in the master bedroom! I like to recommend starting small before making a big commitment. Painting a small batch of color or pattern on the inside of a closet, a door, a wall in the garage or even in a spare room is a great way to get your feet wet painting a wall.

TIP: If you are not at all ready to paint a wall in your home, try working large. A giant piece of canvas, wood or even sheet rock are all surfaces that can give you the same feeling and scale as a wall. A faux wall is another option- I can't paint the walls in my studio space so we created hollow, moveable walls that I use for painting.

There is no right or wrong way to paint a wall (in my humble opinion) so don't be afraid to use your favorite mixed media, drawing or painting techniques. Stamping is a great way add fast decoration, doodling or line drawings can create the look of wall paper and color and expressive painting techniques can turn a wall into a piece of fine art!

TIP: If you are not comfortable working spontaneously on the wall, try creating a scaled down version of your idea or even try using a projector to get your design up on the wall.

And the best advice I can give when it comes to painting a wall is... THAT IT'S JUST PAINT! It is so easy to get caught up in making things perfect or stress about decor decisions. But really, pretty much anything can be painted over (and over and over). This is my favorite part of painting walls-  a can of white paint or primer makes it possible to change it up and begin again.