Paint

Heavy Bodied Acrylics – these are paints in a tube and they are creamy and cover well.  They are quite expensive but occassionally I’ll splurge and buy a tube.  The brand I can get here that’s least expensive is called Amsterdam.
Liquid Acrylics – Golden has a lot of colors but they are expensive and they are slick and sort of shiny once they dry on a page.
Craft paints work well for me and they are very inexpensive.  There are several brands: Delta, Americana, Apple Barrell and others are available at craft stores and even Walmart.
I like having a lot of colors and don’t like to worry about wasting paint when I’m playing in my journal so I use these.  They sometimes get gobs in the paint, but you can just pick them up and get rid of them.
Gesso – Again, Golden has some wonderful, creamy gesso but it’s very expensive.  I buy the cheapest I can find.  The brands vary, but they are all offbrands.  I buy a large jar or tub then take a small amount and put in a jar so that the large tub doesn’t dry out from opening it often.

Brushes

I have tons of brushes, but here are the ones I use the most.

1 in flat brush - for applying paint or gesso to large areas.
1/4 in. flat brush – the one I like is rounded.  It’s good for shading and filling in smaller areas.
Round brush - I don’t know what the size is, but the bristles are a little longer than 1/4 in.  It’s good for filling in smaller areas and doing details.
Liner brush - this is a brush with long bristles that’s good for writing with paint or painting lines.

Paper

My favorite paper is 120 to 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper.  It’s usually expensive but I buy  it when it’s on sale or when I have a coupon to Michael’s.
For journals I usually use a sketch book with regular drawing paper.
For printing images to paste in my journal, I use regular copy paper.

Journals

I cycle through using different type books to journal in.
Sketch books – the 9 x 11 spiral bound are the easiest to use.  I usually get the ones on sale or the cheapest ones which sometimes don’t have real sturdy paper.
Sketch books- right now I have one by PenTalic called the utility book.  It have wonderful paper but is bound like a book so it’s hard to write on areas on the page since it won’t lay flat.
Old Books - these are my favorite except that they wont’ lay flat.  But if you get one that isn’t too thick and has been used a lot, it will lay flatter than most. I like them because the text on
the page makes a wonderful background for painting and for writing.  I like to put a watered down coat of gesso on so the text barely shows through.  I have used science books that
have photographs or drawings that can be incorporated into the design of the page.
Comp Books - These are the cheap books you can buy at dollar stores or discount stores.  They usually have a black and white marbled cover.  If you gesso the pages first, they work great.
Magazines - If you find a well bound magazine that has nice paper it is fun to use.  You can use whatever is on the page for a prompt for that day.  Pick a picture or a headline and then gesso over
the rest of the page and create whatever you’re inspired to do.
My favorite paper for journaling is watercolor paper.  But I have found that it is always in those tear away pads.  I found one that was spiral bound and it was about 5 x 14 inches.  It was fun but an awkward
size to use for journaling.  I keep thinking I’m going to bind my own journal with w.c. paper but haven’t done that yet.

Transfers

Gesso – you can paint an image with gesso then lay it on your page and rub the back and it wil transfer the image to the page.  I’ve found that the cheaper the image in terms of ink, the better it transfers.
Gel medium – the one most people use is matte gel medium and it does work well.  But I have also used mod podge and decoupage glue with some succcess.

Two surfaces coated -
1.  coat the image with medium and coat the surface it’s going on.
2.   Lay the image on the surface and rub with a credit card, spoon, bone folder or something similar
3.  Leave it there  a couple of minutes (you will have to play with this time, because it depends on the humidity in your environment).
4.   Spray the image with water – get it pretty wet.
5.  With your fingers, rub the paper away.  Rub gently so you don’t remove the image itself.   The idea is to remove the paper from the back
of the image, leaving only the ink.  You will need to spray water again during the process – keep it wet.

One surface coated -  This method doesn’t lay down a complete image.  It only leaves part of it so it makes a cool, grungy look.

1.apply gel medium to the image only.
2.  lay the image on the surface
3.  rub the back of the image with credit card, spoon or bone folder
4.  leave the image only about 20 seconds.
5.  pull the paper up gently.

T-shirt transfer paper - This is paper you can buy at craft stores, office supplies and discount stores

1. Print images that will look cool with the background showing through.  I always print several images on one sheet so I don’t waste the page on one image.
2. Cut the image out
3. Pull the paper backing from the image
4. Apply gel medium to the surface where you want to place the image

DO NOT rub the top of the image, because the gel medium will lift the ink off.  Once it’s dry it will be okay.

“I value …[choose one to three values]… because …[reasons why these values are important to you]. Accordingly, I will …[what you can do to live by these values].”

“To develop and cultivate the qualities of …[two to three values/character traits]… that I admire in …[an influential person in your life]… so that …[why you want to develop these qualities].”

“To live each day with …[choose one to three values or principles]… so that …[what living by these values will give you]. I will do this by …[specific behaviors you will use to live by these values].”

“To appreciate and enjoy …[things you want to appreciate and enjoy more] by …[what you can do to appreciate/enjoy these things].”

“To treasure above all else …[most important things to you] by …[what you can do to live your priorities].”

“To be known by …[an important person/group]… as someone who is …[qualities you want to have]…; by …[some other person/group]… as someone who is …[other qualities]…; …”

Pens

Ahhh, any journaler is always on the lookout for pens that write over paint and elements.

Jelly Roll by Sakura

I love these pens!! The regular ones write so smoothly and write well over acrylic paint, and over gel medium. The regular white one is very opaque and write great on dark colors.
I bought a set of the Souffle ones.  I don’t know if they come in different sets (colors), but mine has two teals, two pinks, purple, yellow, orange, white and gray.  The white one isn’t
nearly as opaque as the regular Jelly Roll white.  But the gray is awesome!  It looks just like pencil. It’s flat and works so well for shading letters.
There are metallic ones that have very bright colors for writing on dark backgrounds, and come in lots of colors.
They also have some shadow ones.  They come in colors and when you use them on absobent paper each letter is outlined with either gold or silver, depending on what pen you buy. For
example, if you buy green/gold, when you write it’s green letters outlined in gold.  If you use them on a painted surface the gold (or silver) overcomes the color.

Uniball Signo 207

These are clickable pens that come in about six colors.  They have a fairly fine point but will write well over acrylic without skipping.  The way you can recognize them in the craft or discount
store is the package says something about preventing check fraud.  When I write with black, this is the pen I always use.  The pink and green ones are vey light colors which I dont’ care for, but
the blue and purple are nice dark colors.

I have tons of pens, but those are the two I use the most.  I use Sharpies a lot, and any opaque pens or markers I can find, because I like doing dark journal pages and regular pens don’t show up on dark colors.

Adhesives and Sealers

Gel Medium - this is an expensive product but works very well for gluing papers in a journal,  doing transfers, and sealing pages.
Liquid Medium – this is similar to gel medium but is liquid.  It is fine for gluing and sealing but not as effective for transfers as the gel medium is.
Liquid Decoupage Glue – this is like Mod Podge or other brands, sometimes called decoupage glue.  This is less expensive and works fine for
gluing paper on pager and sealing, but isn’t very effective for transfers.
I buy the gel medium just for transfers, and use the less expensive glue for gluing and sealing..

Other Supplies

Watercolor crayons – I have NeoColor II crayons.  They are very versatile.

Color with them and then spread the paint with water on a brush or with baby wipes
Dip the crayon in water and paint with it
Rub a wet brush on the crayon to pick up the paint
Rub wet crayon on a rubber stamp
Use them without water, just as a regular crayon

Watercolor pencils – There are several brands and all work well, even the cheap ones.  I have a large Derwent set that I love.  If you like them , you might want to also invest in a set of Derwent Inktense pencils. They have very strong pigment and when water is added the colors are truly intense just like ink.

I mostly use these pencils to color and shade my drawings.  I’m better at drawing with pencil than painting.  With these you can draw then use a small brush with water and get the effect of painting.
You can use them to color a background, or color in blocks on a page.
Anything you’d do with a colored pencil can be done, then if you want to smear the color around, use water.

Oil Pastels – These are similar to crayons but are creamier with more pigment.  They are short and stubby so you don’t have as much control as you would with a brush.  They come in water soluble type too that are used in a similar way
to using the watercolor crayons.  I don’t remember the brand of my oil pastels but my water soluble ones are by Portfolio and they are sold at Staples and Office Depot.

Pastel Chalk I like using chalk because it gives a subtle color.  You can buy the little sticks at craft stores rather inexpensively.  But the new thing is “Pan Pastels”.  They come in yummy colors but are expensive. I don’t have any yet, but am
dying to try them!

• • Backgrounds in pastel are very soft and subtle
  • Outlining images or areas to make them shaded
  • Going over a page or area to make it look distressed

There are all sorts of things I might use at different times such as credit cards to scrap paint, rulers, compass, rubber stamps and the like.  But the supplies I’ve listed are what I use day to day in my art journal.

Trip to Michael’s

I don’t have a Michael’s where I live so when I get to go it’s a real treat.  I had a few copies of the 40% off coupon but you are only supposed to use one per person per visit, but I forgot something and went back to pay for it, and the nice lady let me use a second coupon!!  Woo hoo!!

I got a white Jelly Roll pen!  Actually I bought two because I knew I’d use them up quickly.  It’s the plain old Jelly Roll Medium, and it works great in my journal.  It’s very opaque and writes a normal size like any regular pen.  It flows smoothly and doesn’t gum up or run.  I think it cost $1.39 which is a great price for a white pen!!

I also found these great markers!  They are called Opaque Stix by Marvy.  This picture I found is of the metallic markers.  I didn’t get that set.  I got the regular set which has black, white, green, blue, pink and purple.  They are just like a regular marker, like a Crayola marker.  But they are opaque!  They are water soluble so they don’t have a strong odor, and they write very smoothly.  They aren’t completely flat in color like Sharpies are.  And they don’t bleed through the page.  I am very impressed and hope that they will come out with more colors.

I paid $5.99 for the set at Michael’s.  I found them at this site where you can buy them individually, including the metallic ones for $1.09 each.

Click to enlarge

I got some cool stuff in the dollar bin, too.  For 50 cents I got this cute weekly planner.  I’m inspired to actually look at it and use it since it has such bright colors!  I scanned a page and plan to print some out after I’ve used all these up.  I got a neat background rubber stamp for 50 cents also.  And I got a huge tub of gesso.

It is so fun to have new supplies.  Nothing like opening a fresh container of gesso that isn’t all dried around the lid.  And, since I’ve actually been painting and collaging, I don’t have to feel guilty about buying new supplies.

New Class Begins Tomorrow

The Personal Symbology class begins tomorrow.  If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late. It doesn’t require any special supplies.  If you do any type of art, you already have all you’ll need.   It’s a four week class and it’s only $25.  Read more about it here.
I am excited about this class beginning.  I haven’t taught any of my classes in quite a while, so I’m looking forward to the interaction and fun.  This class is a lot of fun, because you always learn something about yourself that you didn’t know before, and it’s fun to see where symbols show up.

If I could only have three things to work in my art journal, it would have to be gesso, acrylic paint and Sharpies.

I always start the background of each page with either gesso or fluid acrylic paint.  Sometimes I put a coat of gesso and before it’s dry, add some paint and blend them together.  Sometimes I put one color of paint on part of the page and then one or two other colors for a multicolored background.

If I use a medium or dark color for the first layer, I’ll then use gesso on rubber stamps over the paint.   For a more monochromatic look, I take the same color as the background and add a little gesso to lighten it and use that on the stamps.

I never buy white paint, I use gesso for any white I need.   I also use gesso if I want a textured background.  You can apply it with a putty knife or credit card or pallette knife and have some great texture.

I buy the cheapest gesso I can find.  I have used the good Golden’s and it is yummy.  But because I use so much, I just get the cheap brand so I don’t have to be sparing with it.

I feel the same way about acrylic paint.  I have Golden’s fluid acrylics as well as some heavy bodied tubes.  The tubes are very rich and creamy and if I could afford them, I’d use nothing else.   The fluids by Golden have a rubbery feeling, shiny surface when applied to sketch paper or watercolor paper, though so I don’t like them as much as the cheap craft paint type acrylics.  And, again, they are so cheap that I can use as much as I want without worrying about the cost.

I use Golden’s gel medium to seal everything, so I dont’ have to worry about the paint chipping or fading.  And the craft paints come in so many colors, you rarely have to mix them.

Finally, I love Sharpies for so many uses.  I nearly always write in my journal with sharpies.  They will write over acrylics and gesso.  If the paint hasn’t been dry for a while, the tip of the Sharpie might get covered with paint and stop writing, but if you rub it on a paper towel it cleans right up.

I also like Sharpies for outling designs that I paint on the pages.  It’s much easier than outlining with a brush and paint.  If you use Sharpies on a thin page it will bleed through to the other side and possibly to the next page.  To prevent the bleed through, use a coat of gesso or paint first.  If you don’t want to do that, you can cover the bleed through with black gesso!  To write or draw on black gesso use metallic sharpies or a white-out pen.

I have been going to garage sales and thrift stores for years.  It started out of necessity but now I continue to shop at these places because I get awesome stuff for nearly nothing!!  Lots of my friends say they never can find anything at thrift stores so I thought I’d share with my readers how I do it.

1.  Know your stores

Go to all the thrift stores in your area.  Spend some time checking out what they have and what their prices are like.   They aren’t all alike by any means!

Thrift stores  have different specials and sales on certain days of the week.  Make note of what each store has on sale on what days.  For instance, my two favorite stores have clothes half price on Wednesdays. They have certain days that knick knacks are on sale, and other days accessories, etc.

2.  Know what you will use

If you feel overwhelmed when you walk in the door it’s probably because you dont’ know what you want to find.  Think about the things you typically look at when you go to the craft or art supply stores.  Do you focus on beads/jewelry?  Or do you like scrapbooking supplies? Maybe you prefer paints and brushes?

When you enter the thrift store find the area that most closely fits the category of things you use a lot in your art.  Because I’m a mixed media artist, and alter lots of things, I check out the books, games and jewelry first.

3. Know what you’ll pay

It helps to know what the things you use in your art cost new.  If you find a Scrabble game at the thrift store and it’s marked $10 is that a bargain?   If you sell your art, consider what you’ll have to charge to cover the cost of buying these supplies.  I would never buy a brand new Scrabble game to use in my art. And I wouldn’t pay $10 at the thrift store either.  But I would pay $1.

After you spend some time in the thrift stores or at garage sales, you’ll get a feel for what is often available. The things that are more abundant are cheaper.  So you might pay a little more for something you’ve been looking for and know is hard to find.

4.  Know what you are getting

Always check everything closely.  If it’s a game, open it up and see what parts are still there. If it’s a book, make sure the pages aren’t scribbled with crayon.

I sometimes get so excited at finding something that I grab it up and don’t really think it through.  Will I really use 25 lotto card with simple children’s pictures of objects?  Probably not but I have an abundance of them because I didn’t think before I threw it in my cart

5.  Know how you will use the items

This last tip is possibly the most important.  It is so exciting to find such great things so cheap that it’s tempting to buy anything that catches your eye.  I have bought many things and then realized I had no way to attach them, or clean them, or it was too big or too small – you get the idea.

Once you get the hang of thrifting you’re going to get obsessed, trust me   So just expect to buy a bunch of stuff you’ll end up throwing out.  That’s okay.  But once the newness has passed, go to the thrift store or garage sale with things in mind that you need for current projects or ideas you want to implement.  It will save in the log run on the cost of organizers

Here is an example of one of my recent Great Finds.  This was a small tin and I paid 99 cents for it.

I love the grungy look of the tin.  I may use it for a project later but right now I’m using it to carry my journaling supplies.  I can fit small scissors, glue stick short pencils, watercolor crayons and a sharpener in it.   The little wooden circles and the dice I will use on some frames I’m making from found objects.

The little backgammon board is totally cool looking.  I scanned it to use as an image for backgrounds. Here it is.

It’s about 4 inches square. Isn’t it a great image?  This alone was worth 99 cents!

I’d love if you’d share with me and my readers in the comment section any great finds you’ve found while thrifting!!

How cool are these?!  I found them here

I have a crush on colored pencils anyway, but in these awesome cardboard tubes, aren’t they just the best?

I know nothing about this company, but I’d order them just to find out.  And I don’t know exactly what the exchange rate is for the British pound but they don’t look terribly expensive.  Of course, shipping might be a deterant.

But it’s still fun to see new supplies, isn’t it?