Collage art in my journals has been my favorite method of creating journal pages for a long time. There are times where I create a simple layout to a more elaborate one. It really depends on my mood, time, and what I’m wanting to convey in my spread. There are moments when less is more and you can obtain a lot of inspiration from simplicity.  

Start with the basics. Oftentimes, I see crafters talk online about being intimated by a blank page or collage work in general. It’s understandable and can easily be solved. Quite often you ask yourself, what if I mess up my papers, where do I start, and will the design look right? How can I make it look elaborate? Or, does it have to look elaborate? How do I find my own style? These are a lot of questions to go over and I will cover every one of these questions for the next year.

First things first. Don’t compare your work to others. That is the quickest way to get frustrated and give up. Which defeats the purpose of the craft in the first place. Start with the minimum amount of supplies. Grab your journal, glue, scissors and paper. Not a lot of paper, mind you. While placing your paper to the page, think about what you like most about them. How do they speak to you? Do they bring you joy? Think about what your focal point and placement. It doesn’t have to always be in the middle of the page. Do you want your background to be neutral? A good way to get started is to use neutrals to break the blank page and build from there. You don’t like how something you did looks? You can easily cover it up. Start simple with the layers and breathe.

You’ve got this!

Stephanie Hopkins

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