Fish-Inspired Paper Crafts

They say, you can find inspiration everywhere. That's very true, as long as you pay attention. This week's craft began with a Cantonese lunch on a sunny Sunday: 

I was drawn to the fish icon on the chopsticks packaging. I saved a few and took them home.

If we open up the packaging, there's a fish on both sides. Here's how I turned it from blah to TADA!

I made this journal page based on the prompt: "Imagine you're a child
that you deeply care about. Write a letter of reassurance to them.
Be encouraging, give praise, appreciation, and love."

I incorporated the fish on an art journal page...TADA! 

I used a limited palette of blue and aquamarine paint, as well as white and silver pens. I mimicked the flow of water with my strokes. I also added some words of encouragement, following a prompt from Kasia Avery's book "Creative Wanderlust."

Here is the art journal page in detail.

Another way I used the fish was adding it on this handmade bookmark...TADA! It's made from recycled cardboard, paper remnants, paint, and baker's twine -- a technique that I used in some of the other bookmarks I made in the past. 

I didn't forget to decorate the other side of the bookmark, too.

The final project I created was this journal...TADA!

The cover is made from foam board that I decorated with the fish, hand stitching the word "journal," and polkadots made from white pens. The inner pages are made from brown packaging paper.  

So you see, ephemera like chopsticks packaging can be a jumping off point to crafting something cute and turning blah to TADA! 

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More Blackout Poetry

A while back, I shared the process of blackout poetry.

It's taking a page printed with words (like a magazine or old book), choosing a few words to make your own poem, and blocking-out the rest of the words. Usually a marker will do, but to add an artistic spin, I use paint.

Here's what my page looks like. It looks a little blah.

I'm embellishing with a stamp and ink.

This is from a set by Jane Davenport.

With a brush pen, I'll style her hair.

Add some flowers.

The words I chose fittingly describe this lady...TADA!

Stationery Made from Junk Mail, Revisted

Last month, I made some stationery out of junk mail:

It looks like a matching set with a bird theme. I used paint, collage, and washi tape to turn junk mail from blah to TADA! 

This envelope used to be a credit card mailer that I painted and decorated with collage. 

This greeting card/folder was an election flyer before the transformation that involved paint, collage, and washi tape.

When we open the folder (upper part of photo), there are pockets on each side...TADA!

Why don't we make a few items we can tuck inside the pockets?

Handmade bookmarks (or gift tags) and stickers are what I had in mind. Here's how I made them:

I made some plain tags by using an existing gift tag as a template that I then traced on white cardstock. I cut them with a pair of scissors and made a hole on the upper part of the tag with a hole punch.   

For the stickers, I used plain sticker paper. I used a paper punch to make these circles, but tracing a round object on the paper and cutting them with scissors should work as well. 

Since we have a bird theme going on, I'm using these cling stamps, an acrylic block, and an ink pad to decorate the tags and stickers. 

I randomly stamped the image on the stickers and bookmarks. I glued on some collage (paper from an old book) on the bookmarks for added visual interest. 

Same process, different bird...TADA!

I added some thin black ribbon through the holes of the bookmarks. 

Then I neatly tucked in the bookmarks and stickers inside the pockets of the folder. It reminds me of stationery sets that you can buy at a store!

By adding a handwritten card and personalizing the envelope, this little package is on its way to brighten someone's day.  

And that is how I turned junk mail, plain cardstock, and sticker paper from blah to TADA!

*****

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A Junk Journal Made from a Brown Paper Bag

Hi there and thank you for stopping by!

Brown paper bags are readily available from shopping trips and takeaway meals. I always save them and turn them from blah to TADA! 

I've used them as the main material for collaged gift bags, painted gift bags, tiny gift bags, and DIY envelopes. I have so much of them in my stash, here's another idea I came up with:

I made this tiny junk journal...TADA! Essentially, a junk journal is a booklet made from recycled materials and is used like a scrapbook.

First, I started with a brown paper bag that I opened up by cutting the seams so that it lays flat like a piece of gift wrap.

Then I cut them into long rectangular strips like this.

I glued two rectangular strips together to make the pages heftier. I used regular white glue. 

Then I folded the piece into squares (if necessary, trim any excess paper to form a perfect square).

Here's how I added color and texture: abstract art using watercolor, a wax seal, a ribbon closure using left-over twill tape, and collaging with paper remnants. The blank yellow pad is an easy way to make a label (ex. title of the journal or who it's for).

This is what it looks like inside:

As you can see, it reveals a wish or affirmation (made with alphabet stamps) for the recipient as a new page is opened...TADA!

A junk journal filled with sincerity. That is how I turned a brown paper bag from blah to TADA!

*****

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A Sketchbook Practice: Travel Journaling

How's it going beautiful people?

To flex my creative muscles, I've been doing a regular sketchbook practice. 

This is what a use: an inexpensive spiral-bound watercolor sketchbook. Like many of you, I was always intimidated by the blank page. But by learning from books, art classes, prompts, and regular practice, I've learned to look at a blank page more as possibility rather than dread. 

One of the ways I like to fill my sketchbook is by using it as a travel journal. It serves as a nice souvenir from a vacation and it combines the things I love -- photography, collage, lettering, collecting, and watercolor. 

Abbey Sy is someone who has an extensive collection of travel journals. This photo is from an on-line class I attended where she demonstrated how she builds a spread in her travel journal. You can check out her work on her YouTube channel.

Abbey Sy also wrote a book called "The Art of the Travel Journal" that came out in 2022. It's filled with tips on how to start and sustain a travel journal. Here are some of my favorite ideas:

1. Create a travel art kit that has everything you need, is compact and ready when the travel bug bites. This is my travel kit and it contains: a pocket watercolor tin, a small sketchbook, water brush, pencils, pens, glue, scissors, washi tape, and an envelope for ephemera. 

2. Postcards as travel journals - whenever you're in a new destination, pick up a postcard from the souvenir shop, address the postcard to you and write down some anecdotes or trip highlights. Then mail the postcard to your home address. It serves as a nice memento from your trip and a collection of postcards (strung on a ring binder or stored in a dedicated postcard box) will tell the story of all your  travels.

3. Gather proof of your travels - these include tickets, maps, brochures, packaging material, coffee sleeves. These are called "ephemera" or printed matter produced for a specific short-term use. When we add them to our travel journal, they a longer-lasting use and will always remind us of our journeys.

4. Get creative with collage journaling - combine the ephemera you've collected on the pages of your travel journal. Abbey reminds us: there is no right or wrong way to collage. The simple act of cutting and pasting is the only thing you need to know to start.

5. Remember what food and drink you tasted during your travels by including these in your travel journal. It can be through pictures, written descriptions, and even sketching. These don't have to be perfect, just enough detail for you to remember them. It would be good to include the address, too, in case you want to return or recommend them to fellow travelers. 

I can only agree with this quote from the book. Travel journals help develop our creative vision, is a form of creative expression, and the process promotes mindfulness, intention, and reflection.

Travel journaling is one way I turn a blank page from "blah to TADA!"

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