Answering a Question

I’ve been answering this question a lot lately: What do you need to get started with art/junk journaling? And, I have great news for you…not much! Junk journaling in particular is an anything-goes kind of art, and you can start with the bare minimum. You need a journal or sketchbook, some glue, and paper. Scissors are optional because you can tear most collage material. Where to get collage material? Here are a few ideas:

Advertisements/ junk mail
Old letters
Recipe cards
Magazines
Newspaper clippings
Postage stamps
Post cards
Books
Tickets
Labels
Wrapping paper/ tissue

I’ll give you another hot tip: find a reasonably priced thrift shop, antique store, or flea market. You can get vintage or antique books for next to nothing in some of these places, as well as other ephemera. As for the journal/sketchbook, if you want to buy one, I like the Ranger Dylusions Creative Journal, or, if you want to use a lot of wet media, the Handbook Journal Co. Watercolor Journal. The Handbook journal is my go-to sketchbook, while I call the Dylusions one my “BS” book. I literally use them to wipe paint off my brushes and to try new things out. They’re relatively inexpensive and have a mid-weight cardstock, so they can take a lot of abuse.

We don’t all have a lot of money to spend, however, and so I also want to mention that you can use an old book for your journal. If you’re going to be gluing a lot of material, try to find one with thick paper. If you can’t, glue a few of those suckers together and you’ll be good to go. Creating art doesn’t have to be expensive. I’ve seen amazing work on cardboard.

As for art journaling, you’ll want a few more supplies. Here are a few ideas:

Gesso
Glue
Acrylic paint and/or paint markers and a couple of paintbrushes
Pens and pencils
Collage papers
Stencils and/or stamps

If you’re on a strict budget, I’d buy or make the journal (you can use an old book as mentioned above) and some paint, glue, a brush, a pen and/or pencil, plus some collage papers. That’s plenty to get you started. You can always expand your kit as you go.

I’ll go ahead and get this out of the way too: I’m not a fan of craft paints for a multitude of reasons, BUT if that’s what you already have, use them! If you’re going to buy paints, I highly recommend Liquitex Basics for journaling. They’re student-grade paint, but they use the same pigments as their professional paints, and they dry to a satin finish. I love them for painting book pages as well. You can, of course, also use professional artist-grade paints. Just don’t let anyone tell you that they’re a must for an art journal ;) My favorite brand is Golden, but I also use Matisse Flow quite a bit. And though I love the Basics line from Liquitex, I’m not as crazy about their artist-grade paints. I’ve had too many of them dry out prematurely, and in all honesty, I hate the bottles that the soft body comes in. That’s just my personal preference, though.

Last but not least—and especially if money is a concern—you may want to avoid buying supplies at places like Michaels. I went in for a last-minute Christmas gift last year, and the prices were shocking. They’re in a retail space, so I suppose it’s to be expected to some degree, but…wow. Do yourself a favor and shop at an art supply store. If you’re in the US, my preference is Blick, but I also occasionally buy from St. Louis Art Supply and Jerry’s.