Connections Hey y'all! It's Katie here with my tutorial for the Season of Connections! Have you ever had a penpal? I used to have half a dozen of them when I was a...
How to make an envelope journal
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Art Journal Catalysts
Bookbinding
How to make a folded accordion book about everyday details
Connections One of my most favorite ways to include my life in my journals is to make the mundane magical. I love taking the day’s routine and drawing it out with color and...
Using Commonplace Books as a Weapon Against Perfectionism
Failure The last time I counted back to see how long I’ve been keeping commonplace books, I thought it’d been about twelves years or so, but since then I’ve found...
One World – A Mixed Media Concertina Art Journal
Ubuntu Basic Supplies: Large sheet of smooth medium weight paper like Arches hot press - 22”x30” 90lb/185gsm Fluid paints in favorite colors like Golden Fluid Acrylic Paint Brayer...
Bookbinding Secrets with Kiala
Bookbinding expert, Kiala, takes us step by step through binding a journal.
Creating a journal of the tides of your year
Nature Hi Get Messy friends. It's Elizabeth here with my final tutorial of the year. And what a year it has been. I have been so grateful to connect with you, and have been so...
How to make an accordion folded journal
Fairy Tales Surprise! It's Misty! Normally Vanessa kicks off our seasons but she was kind enough to switch with me for Season of Fairy Tales so I could show y'all how to make...
Easy watercolor tiny book
Hey messy people! Nina here. When you’re taking on a huge project – like a daily challenge or a 30 lists album – it can prove quite necessary to take a shortcut on some things. Like the...
Creating and filling an accordion album
Hi everyone, Tanyalee here from the Creative Team. I'm going to give you an insight into my process for a journal page. Not just any journal page though, an accordion album using...
How to make an easy journal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6MTr2A5j1c
How to make a pop up art journal
Fairy Tales Hello lovelies! It's Ashley here with a fresh new tutorial. As you know, fairy tales are full of ups and downs, twists and turns, trials and triumphs, much like...
How to staple large zines
This is one of those ‘a-HA’ moments. I could never figure out how to staple together pieces of paper that were too big for my stapler to reach. I saw this on the net somewhere a few...
Make an upcycled journal from gift wrapping supplies
Hi there everyone, it's Tanyalee here with my final tutorial post for the 2016 Get Messy Creative Team, I have loved every minute of my CT duties and look forward to what 2017 brings....
Art Journals from Found Materials
One of the best aspects of art journaling is that there are literally no rules. None at all. This applies even to your journals. Let me back up. I know most of us all started art...
Make your own notebook using pamphlet stitch
Hello, Get Messians! It’s Vanessa here to help you kick off this Season of Messy Lists. I am definitely a Lister and I love making notebooks to house them in. I’ve met a lot of people...
How to bind a vintage book into a junk journal (no perfection needed)
Bind your own journal using an old book… as old as you’d like. With a lot less perfection than you think you need.
How to make a paper bag junk journal
Home Char DeRouin Char is an artist, designer and maker whose work is abstract, intuitive and organic in style, with a no-rules approach. She is influenced by experiences and...
Welcome
Welcome to the class!
Lesson 1 – Pamphlet Stitch
We are going to start with a simple, but versatile stitch that will enable you to quickly start creating your own beautiful, handmade art journals.
Lesson 2 – Long Stitch
The long stitch is a beautiful yet simple way to bind your signatures into a cover. You will be attaching the paper to the spine of your book. The width of the spine and its strength will determine how many signatures you can add into your book.
Lesson 3 – Coptic Stitch
The Coptic stitch is an open spine binding. This means that you only need covers, not a book with a spine.
Lesson 4 – French Link Stitch
This stitch is very decorative one and is at the top of our list for difficulty. Just like the Coptic stitch, it allows your journals to lie very flat. Because the open spine is so pretty to look at, I tend to bind thicker journals with this stitch.
Bonus – Three Hole Pamphlet Stitch
This is the easiest way to bind leftover paper scraps into a great little booklet that is incredible versatile.
Closing Thoughts
Further bookbinding resources
Season of Starting Intentions
Starting Beautiful artist! Welcome to the Season of Starting. No matter what kind of starting you are doing, I'm excited for you. The first week of a season is dedicated to...
Make a quick accordion art journal
Creativity For this season, I thought long and hard about what type of journal would work best for my journal's theme: A Wrinkle In Time. I wanted something that was very...
DIY a Mini Selfie Scrapbook with Paint Chips
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Lesson 1 – Assembling the Book
How to assemble your own chosen papers into a simple art journal.
1.2 Preparing the Journal
how to choose, and prepare paper for a handbound journal
1.3 Binding the Journal
how to bind the journal using threaded saddle stitch
Prepping an Altered Book
In the video, I show you how to take pages out of your book by finding the signatures and by ignoring the signatures. I demonstrate how to prepare a page for paint with gesso. I also...
Resources for making an altered book
We're giving the prep an entire week in the season. Use this time to prepare the cover and pages, then share your book on Instagram with #getmessybook. For some people, this week will...
Staggered junk journals
Home Page through the pages of Char's Season of Home journal, and hear its story. In the video, Char also shares a few other ideas for journals she's made in the past, thoughts on...
Japanese Ledger Binding
Reflection Learn how to create a beautiful art journal with a quick and easy binding. The Japanese Ledger binding looks impressive but it’s very simple and can be made with an...
Postcard Multibook
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The Bloom Book
Bloom#gmseasonofbloomAfter a severe winter full of rain, snow and wind, nature is reborn and shines for us in a stunning beauty. Blooming in spring and...
01 – Making a Gratitude Journal
In this lesson, we will start off by creating a beautiful cover for out gratitude journal. We will then select a wide variety of papers and bind them together using a really simple...
06 My Story
Your handwriting. The way you walk. Which china pattern you choose. It’s all giving you away. Everything you do shows your hand. Everything is a self-portrait. A diary. Your whole drug history’s in a strand of your hair. Your fingernails. The forensic details. The...
The Bloom Book Cover
Bloom#gmseasonofbloomLet's get messy with color and bloom the cover of the Bloom Book. Using collage elements, lines and color, create a happy, shining...
The Scaredy Cat’s Guide to Color
Download Save this mini workbook to your computer, print it out, and let it accompany you on your artistic journey this season. Your guide Caylee Grey Hyperbolic journaler and imperfect artist, Caylee Grey is also a wife and mother from South Africa. Caylee is the...
Rory – Origami Zines
Fold and crease your single page zine in new ways, and use the literal unfolding as a visual journey through your own history or personal layers. When I started making zines in the 1990s, riot...
05 My Worth
Set yourself up for heart-led creating. Smell the flowers. Pick a few. Close your eyes in the sun. Take the murdered flowers to your workspace. Feel the earth at your feet. Notice the details. Breathe in. Make a cup of tea. You're ready. What does my mind...
SOUL
Self#gmseasonofselfDownload the Season of Self: Soul Sidekick Save this file to your computer, print it out, and keep it inside your journal to spark journal ideas.For each lesson...
BODY
Self#gmseasonofselfDownload the Season of Self: Body Sidekick Save this file to your computer, print it out, and keep it inside your journal to spark journal ideas.For each lesson...
04 My Truth
At the core of who you are is your truth. We often need to remind ourselves of this truth. The world likes to try to get us to forget. Journaling.Meditating.Heartstorming.Creating. All of these are great ways to remind us of our truth. For MIND, meditate on the...
Dear Self: A Framework for Worthiness
Worthiness#gmseasonofworthinessThis season's artwork is created by @valloves2create Dear Messy Artist You are worthy. Not because you have done anything, but simply because...
All of Self
Self#gmseasonofselfWe as human beings are complex. By focusing on the details of ourselves, we are able to fully appreciate and celebrate them. Process Step One: Digitise your...
Welcome to Body of Art
Welcome An invitation into being vulnerable with yourselfWelcome I’m beginning this class with no makeup, no elaborate hair, and no pants. Just kidding. It’s a small gesture of vulnerability in the hopes that you’ll meet me with your own gesture of...
03 Creation
To prepare for the creating in the next three lessons, connect with what each of the three areas mean to you. Create a mood board, curate a kit of supplies that soothe you, and bring you back towards yourself. Grab a slice of cake...Download the mood board templates...
Envelope Pocket Journal
Finishing#gmseasonoffinishingLet's set ourselves up to finish strong this year. I'll be showing you how to create and easy envelop pocket journal that can be accommodated into your workflow....
How to make a zine
Here's a 60 second reference for making your own one-page zine. DownloadDownload the worksheets for this lesson.Want the steps one-by-one without having to pause? Here you go: Start with a...
The Putting it Away
Every puzzle and every journal is as finished as it’s ever going to be at some point and is ready to be put away. We will look at ways to add closure to what we’ve created and decide what to do...
Day 01 New
Remember: Bring your messy self, take what you need (no such thing as being behind), and remember that more than zero is enough. Here's the prompt for today's Messy May:Create a new, dedicated home for your Messy May journey by binding an imperfect,...
01 – Making the Journal
In this lesson I will take you through the process of making a simple and scrappy journal using mixed media paper and painted fabric strips as the signatures. The cover is made from...
How to make a zine
A zine is a handmade magazine or mini-comic about anything you can imagine: favorite bands, personal stories, subcultures, or collections. They contain diary entries, rants, interviews, and stories. They can be by one person or many, found in stores, traded at comic conventions, exchanged with friends, or given away for free.
Expanded Spine Art Journal
The incredible Diana was so inspired by Claudette's journal in the Courageous Adventures in Art Journaling class that she played around, figured things out by pausing a video, and made a similar journal. And then another and another. And then we're...
Pleasure + Liberation Suggested Journal
Pleasure + Liberation#gmseasonofpleasure #gmseasonofliberationThis season, the suggested journal is an Altered Book Journal. Need some inspiration? Here ya go! (I've...
Day 01 Starting
Remember: Bring your messy self, take what you need (no such thing as being behind), and remember that more than zero is enough. Here's the prompt for today's Messy May: Start. Either by opening your journal to a new page or by binding a journal just...
Whimsy + Curiosity Suggested Journal
Whimsy + Curiosity#gmseasonofwhimsy #gmseasonofcuriosityThis season, the suggested journal is a Handbound Journal. Need some inspiration? Here ya go!If you'd like to dig...
Ideas for non-zine journals and ideas for using self-portraits
Self#gmseasonofselfAre you a zine non-believer? It's okay. The zine won't take it personally. I'm sharing a few alternatives to creating a zine for the season. Because you are such...