Making The Art Journal More Magical

I have been working on my square-sized art journal again. This week, I share a couple of magical art journal projects that include hand-drawn collage pieces.

My journal is Dylusions Creative Journal. The first project is the decoration of the pocket envelope that’s on the backside of the front cover.

The Magical Mindset for Art Journaling

My journal is almost full, but I have decided not to hurry with the last pages. Recently, I have started to think that using what I have is better for me. That if I rush with the last pages and buy a new journal, it’s not as good as if I slow down and fully honor those few blank pages. You could call this a magical mindset because it makes you appreciate what you already have: skills, little drawings, time, blank paper.

With the magical mindset, you don’t just look forward and think what you could have. Instead, you look back and focus on how you can take the old to the next level.

So, I went to my boxes of joy – the boxes that store my handdrawn collage pieces – and picked a set of leaves from a few years ago and glued it on the envelope. The leaves are a print and smaller than the original drawing. I love some of my handdrawn pieces so much that I have scanned and made prints of them.

I drew some more leaves and then glued the tassel which is an original drawing too. The tassel divides the image in two parts. I drew and colored a seascape on the right side of the tassel.

I love the oldfashioned and luxurious look of the envelope now. The inside cover was made earlier with markers.

I had two tassels to choose from. I love them both.

Magical Stripes on Art Journal Page

The second project is a page with hand-drawn collage pieces. The idea here is to draw stripes and then decorate them. I made my page so that some of the decorations extend over the stripes.

The teacups, the heads of the cats, monkeys and rabbits are prints made from bigger hand-drawn pieces. The rest is drawn with a black drawing pen and colored with colored pencils.

Here you can see the print sheets that I have made for myself and the original drawings. These are all drawn for the courses Magical Inkdom and Animal Inkdom. I had so much fun making these courses. The details are magical and I think the stripy page became magical too.

The rabbit and the teacup are two separate pieces.

I have randomly created on the pages over the years. The page on the right is painted and very different in style, but I think these are just layers of time. Like home, an art journal can have some old pieces, some newer ones, and some that connect all the years. I started my journal in 2020.

The abstract house could be the place where this magical tea party happens.

Magical Letters

In the previous blog post “Mini Drawings on Art Journal Pages“, I showed a spread that was still in progress. That’s finished now. I think letters on the black background with some leaves and flowers look magical too.

I hope these projects inspired you to make your art journal more magical!