Summer Fun Art Journals

When I was at Christy Tomlinson's Art Retreat, we made these amazing art journals out of scrapbook paper, and I have been itching to make more ever since. This one above is an art journal I made for myself over the summer. I can't wait to add paint and pictures to this baby and create a beautiful scrapbook/ art journal. It's a great place to paint, sketch, explore new art technics, add photos and more!

If you are a scrapbooker like me, you probably have a ton of scrapbook paper hanging around and chances are you won't ever use all of it. Some paper might not be your style any more, or you thought you'd use it and never did. Or maybe you have papers that you love, love, love and want to use in a new a fun way. Well gather some of the scrapbook paper together and we are going to make some fun art journals!

These are great for adults or kids. Today I'm going to show you some art journals I put together and they I'll show you how my kids had fun painting and being creative in their art journals. It's a great summer project! Give your kids the gift of some fun messy art time!

Here are the supplies you'll need to make your very own art journal. 

1) 12 pieces of scrapbook paper- I like to mix prints and solids. And don't worry if your paper is not double sided, it's nice to have white spaces in your art journal too. 

2) Cording & a needle

3) Awl- get one on amazon here 

4) 12 in x 18 in sheet of water color paper 

This is the watercolor paper I used. I got it at Micheals. 

Pick your favorite piece of paper, the one you want to see first when you open your art journal. Fold it like this, so you can see 2 thirds of the paper and 1 third is folded behind. 

Then get another sheet of paper that will show 1 third over the font of the paper you just picked. Fold the paper and nestle them together. 

Next you are simply going to continue folding papers over with the 1 third to 2 thirds ratio and nestling the papers together. Make sure all the papers cross the center, so when you sew it together all the papers will catch and be sewn together. 

See how I keep adding paper. This is what my art journal looks like laying flat. I keep adding papers to the middle, with one third on one side of the center line and 2 thirds on the other side of the center line. You can do this part of the process how ever it makes sense to you. You can work from the center up or start in the middle and work back. 

If you want to change it up, fold a paper in half, or add smaller papers. Just makes sure everything tucks in nicely and will be sewn together. 

For the last step. Get your watercolor paper and fold it in half to create your cover for your art journal. 

Next get your awl and poke 5 holes through all the papers down the center line. 

Then get your needle and thread the cording onto it. Then sew the art journal together. I always start in the middle and end in the middle, but you can do it whatever way works for you. 

To see a  quick prices video of how I put it all together, check out my Instagram feed @julianahallcreates

I totally love pretty patterned paper and it's so fun to layer these use! Here's a peak and some of my favorite pages from some art journals I've made. 

And here's one I did for a boy too!

Here is one my daughter has colored, painted, journaled on, and had fun with. 

With this art journal, anything goes. I don't give her any rules, or correct her if something doesn't look right. It's her place to be creative, to play and have fun. She likes to color, use stickers, paint, and even do chalk. She also will journal or write stories. I just love peaking into her art journal!  It's so cute, playful and beautiful. 

Art Journal Day

So grab some paper and make your very own wonderful art journal. I'd love to see what you make. Use the hashtag #JHCreatesartjournals and be sure to follow me on Instagram @julianahallcreates