The easiest way to add your own word art to your page is by cutting out words and creating meaningful phrases you can use in your journals. I have a small journal devoted to pages just like the one above. My original purpose in creating it was I wanted something portable I could carry with me with positive affirmations.

I would love to see what you create in your journals, so make sure you share what you are working on.

One of my favorite things about art journaling is the collage process. Collage is an easy way to add dimension and color to your journal quickly. The image above is a collection of scrapbooking papers, overlays, rub-ons and ink. The covers of my journals have always taken a beating, so it brings me great pleasure to distress them well before the pages are full.

Adding collage to your journals is easy. Here is how you start:

1. Add a base of gesso to your journal pages. Gesso strengths the pages in your journal and gives you a nice base for painting on the page. You don’t have to purchase expensive gesso paint. Any cheap kind will do for collage work.
2. Add images to your pages. I have a huge morgue of images, paper scraps and various ephemera to add to my journals. Collage is not about being perfect. Instead, it is about personalizing the page and creating a base for your writing. You can find images for your collage work in magazines, books and even your own personal photo collection. Everything is fair game for a journal page.
3. Arrange the items on your page. When I collage, I don’t think about what the end result will look like. Instead of moving things around, I glue it all down immediately. I work in lots of layers and if something looks off, paint is the perfect cover up. The choice is yours arrange and glue your items down or glue as you go. Either way, your pages will look great.
4. Finish up with paint or stamping. The one thing about collage is sometimes you end up with a page where the items do not seem to go together. You can remedy this situation by adding paint to your page or stamping. I love to add paint to the edge of my pages with either a brush or sponge. If your page has a theme, stamp the theme word somewhere on the page. I also like to add journal writing to my page with metallic pens or fine brush work.

If you have not used collage in your journals before, I hope this helps you to get started. You can not possibly get collage wrong. The process and experimenting is what is most important. Have fun and please share your work with me. I would love to see it.

As of late, most of my writing has been offline. I have gone back to doing a lot of drawing, painting and creating in my journals. There is something about the slower pace of stepping away from online life that appeals to me more and more as each day goes by. Instead of being caught up in what people think of me or their opinions of what I should be doing, I am following my intuition and allowing life to live me for a change. I have no complains. Life has been very good.

I posted about creating a morgue file a while ago and felt it was time to revisit the purpose and how to start one. But, this time, I’m suggesting you do it digitally. Morgue files are essential to the creative process. There are going to be days where you struggle with how to approach the blank page or computer screen. Here are some of my favorite ways to catalog what inspires me and keep my creative fire alive:

• Flickr. If you do not have a Flickr account, start one today. It is a great place to share your photography, videos and art with a lively community of creatives. You can join and start groups (I maintain two, one for self-portraits and one for slammin’ art), “favorite” images that inspire you and interact with the people on the site. Visiting Flickr never fails to inspire me.
• Pinterest. Their site says it is a place to catalog things you love. I enjoy having a place to add images, words and phrases I come across while surfing. Also, the great thing is being able to see what other people are pinning to their boards and adding them to yours. You can create boards for just about anything (I currently have I Love My Natural Hair, …and the Words Have It, Which Door Will You Choose, etc.). This is an ideal place to store things for future inspiration.
• Tumblr.  By definition, Tumblr is short-form blogging. I have used it in the past to curate the web for photography and design inspiration. Besides being able to maintain a tumblelog, you can also explore other blogs either by category or tags. I appreciate when a person takes the time to tag their blogs and images. It makes looking for inspiration so much easier.

Maintaining a creativity morgue should be a fun process, not work. Now that you can do it digitally, there is all the more reason to set yourself up for creative success and explore what you love. Enjoy.

• Photowalk. Document your life with pictures. I am never without a camera. Be it my phone, DSLR or my point and shoot, I always have one of them with me. I shoot whatever strikes my fancy and makes me laugh or smile. If I am with friends, I enjoy capturing the moments with them. I have a greater appreciation for the simple happenings in my life when I document them.
• Spend the afternoon exploring a new part of town. A friend invited me to a gallery opening a few weeks ago and it was in a part of town I only go to about three times a year. As I was looking for a park, I took the time to look around at all the quaint little shops and eateries. I decided when the weather improved, I would make it a point to come back and explore. You never know what little discoveries you may come across unless you make the effort to look for them.
• Explore art that evokes emotion. To add to exploring something new, I like going to art galleries or museums and allowing the art to draw me in. Go to work that sets you on fire and take notes about what it is that moved you and why. This is great for future explorations.
• Meditate. I used to think that meditation was about emptying the mind. I have since learned it has nothing to do with depleting the mind of thoughts, but rather it is a practice of mindful thinking. I am still learning to sit quietly and focus on a singular thought. While not always easy, I have learned to embrace a certain amount of peace int he midst of a busy mind. I have also found meditation is a calming and healthy way to nurture the soul and open a window for creativity.

**If you don’t mind, I would love it if you would fill out this short survey and help me improve the quality of content I share in this space. I would greatly appreciate it.

I’ve been creating vision boards for a few years as a way to help me focus on dreams and goals I have for specific areas of my life. Typically, vision boards are created on poster board. I prefer to create mine journal style. The key to a successful vision board is to place it where you will to see it every day. You do not need artistic ability to create a vision board and  how creative you are with your board is your only limited by your imagination.

To get started, you are going to need a few materials:

• A wide variety of magazines (include these staples: Oprah, Money, Real Simple, Conde Nast, Martha Stewart, Dwell, Yoga Journal and some gardening/nature magazines to name a few)
• Scissors
• Glue (Rubber cement is best to keep the paper from wrinkling or a tape runner)
• Markers
• Poster board, fomecor or a journal

Before you start, think about the purpose of your vision board. What is it you want to achieve? What are your dreams and goals? Is there something you want to come into your life? I like to put on some jazz and allow my mind to wander. The mind works through pictures and words, so make your board as visual as you can. Once you have a clear idea of what you want your board to be about, it is time to gather images.

Go through the magazines and tear out images and words that resonate with you. You want to include pictures that evoke positive emotions. Don’t overthink what the images mean or why you are selecting them. Instead, focus on collecting a large stack of images to choose from.

Sort through your stack and place your favorites on your board. Remove the ones that no longer fit your vision. You can assign themes to the corners or freestyle and allow the images to go where they may. When you look at your board, it should inspire you. Feel free to write, paint or add personal touches to your board.

Place your board somewhere you will see it everyday. For your vision board to be most effective, it has to be somewhere you will constantly see it. For some, this is the office. I have even heard of people putting them on the ceiling of their bedroom so it is the first thing they see when they wake up.

Revisit and refresh your vision board periodically. Your vision board should always inspire you. If your board starts to have less of an impact on you, it is time to revisit and update with new images that get you excited about your original vision.

Vision boards can be successful tools in bringing you closer to your goals. Don’t be surprised if the original theme of your board shifts as you are making it. Go with the flow and allow your mind to guide you closer to what you desire. You will not be disappointed.

For the month of September, I am the featured PenScrapper and had the honor of designing a digital kit. I love art journals and could not think of anything more appropriate than a digital art journal kit. Head over to the site, download and enter the contest for the month. My challenge is to create a page about yourself that inspires and encourages you to be your most authentic self.

• Impatient with how, needs to know why. Ideally, I would love to know how I am going to reach a goal, but what I am learning to embrace is simply starting and not being concerned with how I am going to get there. Starting is the first step.
• Dives in, figures out by doing. My theme word for 2009 is boldness, and I have been diving into situations knowing the outcome will be good for me in the long run. It takes a certain amount of faith…no, it takes complete unwavering faith to trust that what you are getting into will have a good outcome. You can’t be a chicken if you want to see positive change in your life.
• Is fluid. Oh, yeah…I am constantly adjusting and changing direction. Going with the flow is what I call it.
• Is chaotic, unstructured. I am not fond of having a set schedule when I create. I prefer to do it when the mood strikes me. This is not always a good thing when I am on deadline for a project. So, I do plan and give myself ample time to create authentically and not in total chaos.
• Skips around, is a multi-tasker. I can multi-task like nobody’s business, but it can be exhausting. I have limited the amount of projects I work on to one really big one and two smaller ones. I am not allowed to accept any new ones until one of the three is complete. Also, if I am not passionate about a new project, I do not do it. It all goes back to being true to what I enjoy doing.
• Focuses on how something is said/feels. I am a big feeler (get your minds out of the gutter…just for this point). I respond best to pictures and words that evoke emotion in me. It was my motivation in starting Picture’s Story. A good image and a good story always evoke some kind of emotion. I like that.
• Imagines the big picture. Thinking about the big picture excites me. Any big picture. The anticipation of what is to come is what propels me forward and keeps me excited when things seem a little tough. You have to keep the big picture in mind and stay positive. Period.

I see it like this. You can not do everything well, but you can do a few things really well. What are you doing to live the life you want? And, lurkers, leave a comment. I would love to get to know you better.

Related Posts:

• Honor Your Light
• Do Nothing
  
• On the Edge of Beginnings

Creativity usually starts with an idea, and for many of us, it ends there. If we are luck enough to even remember the idea, we don’t do anything with it after having it. I read a great quote today that said:
“Some of us (perfectionists, especially) fuss so much over making the ‘right’ choice, but in life, all that’s really needed is to make any’ good’ choice, believe in it, go through with it, and accept the consequences.” – author unknown
Ideas are similar to choices in that you have to take action for them to come to life. The suggestions below are a few things you can do to keep your ideas flowing and focus your creative juices.

Catch and Store Ideas
I cannot stress enough how important it is to capture an idea when it happens. I always have a notebook and pen with me just in case I see or hear something that interests me. I had not thought to use my cellphone to take pictures of interesting things I see, but this is another way of capturing ideas. For those gadget lovers, consider using your Flip camera to capture ideas, phrases and moments you can refer back to at a later date. The idea here is to catch the idea and store it.

What are you Passionate about?
I have been listening to a podcast called Camera Position and one of the episodes focused on finding your passion and letting your passion inspire you to make better pictures. What better way to focus your creativity than to name and pursue only the things you are most passionate about. I have not created an artist statement since college, but I am starting to do it for all of my photography projects and my art journal series. When you state why you are working on a project, it gives your creativity focus.

Be Active in Your Community
Being around like-minded people who share your interests and passion is great for keeping your creative energy  high. Community is what you make it.  Whether you start or join a group online, there is a tribe out there for you. Now go forth and find yours. Check out Flickr to get you started. I have two groups there that geared around my two loves, photography and art journaling.

Reconnect with Your Inner Child
Play. That’s right, just play. Remember how it was when you were a kid and you would make up rules as you go. Do the same thing when you create. Get a box of crayons, the biggest you can find and color outside the lines on purpose. Freeing your mind from what you think you are suppose to do will help you focus on what you need to do. You want to get focused, then give yourself time to play.
Focus on Doing instead of Thinking
I tend to feel short on ideas when I spend more time thinking about great ideas instead of acting on what appears to be a small idea. It goes back to the quote above; we get stuck on wanting to make the right choice instead of just making a choice and throwing ourselves into it 100%. You have to do the same thing with your creative fire. Don’t worry about whether the idea you picked is right, be more concerned about the process of acting on it. Focus on giving it life by doing. You can always change midstream, seriously, you can!

If you enjoyed this creativity post, check out the following:

• Shake things Up to Get Out of a Creative Rut
• Spark Your Creativity on Demand
• Lay the Foundation for Your Creative Life

• Take an art class. Whether online or at your local art school, being in the presense of like-minded people will instantly lift your spirits and make you feel more creative. If you go in with an open mind and do not fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, an art class is a great way to get your creative spark back.
• Find a few mentors. Reach out to people you admire and get their advice on moving past creative blocks. Having someone who is doing the kind of work you want to be doing is a valuable relationship. Mentors do not have to be someone in your specific field. I believe everyone is creative regardless of whether or not they are artistic. You can learn a lot from connecting with people from a variety of backgrounds. Knowing I am very right-brained, connecting with a very left-brained person has often given me a new perspective on projects I may be struggling with.
• Read everything you can get your hands on. I LOVE magazines and have made quite a few trips to the bookstore to thumb threw some of my favorites and a few new ones. I always end up with at least ten new ideas simply from looking through magazines. The best ideas always seem to come from magazines I regularly do not read.
• Get a new perspective. Go to a place you normally don’t go and soak in everything about environment. Again, an open mind is a great tool for this. When was the last time you went to the local farmers market? I know I have not been in a while, but when I do go, I always find something new to try out. If I really pay attention, I notice smells and sounds and people that end up being just the jolt my creativity needs.

Shake things up. Take a class, connect with someone new, read…a lot and get a new perspective. Any and all of these can help move you back into the creative space you want to be in.

I am off to the Blissdom conference tomorrow and I am looking forward to meeting some new people and learning a thing or two. It has been a while since I was last in Nashville. Seems the further South I go the more I start drawling my words. I hope to come back from the experience energized and full of new ideas for the Art Slam.

I finally added the art journaling prompts to the navigation up above. I have been meaning to pull the prompts out for those looking to start an art journal or seeking some inspiration. Make sure you read the Art Slam rules first. Especially number 3.

Subscribe to the Art Slam blog.

One of the first things you have to do is be in a creative frame of mind. You have to believe you are creative. Without this simple and critical step, you will not reach your full potential. Don’t wait for others to tell you how good you are, KNOW how good you are. One of our biggest problems is we compare ourselves to others. You are uniquely you and can not be like anyone else. Comparing yourself and your artistic skills to someone else’s is a waste of your time. So, start off by believing with everything in you that you are creative.

Secondly, make a commitment to create everyday. If making art is your chosen creative area, art does not have to mean a 30′ x 40′ canvas. Your art can be small, playing card sized, in fact. I have done a series of fabric postcards that were no larger than 4” x 6”. I would create all of my backgrounds one day and work on another layer as each day went by. By the end of a week’s time, I had a set of completed postcards ready to mail to my writing buddies. When I scrapbook, I do not always finish a page the same day I start. Again, I may select my images or do my journaling first, then pick the papers and elements I plan to use and by the third day, start assembling the page. I make time to be creative, even if it is only 15 mintues a day, it is still time I commit to growing as an artist.

Third, create an environment that nurtures your creativity. Dedicate a space, no matter how big or small, to be creative. My creativity spot is mobile most of the time. Since I work a lot with the computer, I have a favorite area on my living room couch next to a large window. I set the mood with some music, my journal and all of the materials I need to work with. If I am being more organic, like painting or working with paper, I have a dedicated area in the basement where most of my materials reside. It is not a big space and I have been known to grab what I need and work on the dining room table instead (hence all the paint and ink marks on the table). I am flexible about my environment, but where ever I am, I make it work for me.

Next, start a creativity file. You never know when you may need some inspiration. I have a morgue to store just about anything that inspires me. My morgue consist of quotes, pictures, color palettes, words, ephemera, blogs and so on. You can read more about starting a creativity morgue here. I read a lot, so I am always finding something new to add to my files.

Finally, surround yourself with like-minded people. If you are serious about building a creative life, one of the best things you can do to help sustain it is build a creative community around yourself. There is nothing like having a support system when you are in a creative slump or having an, “I completely suck at this!” moment. I have a variety of kindred spirits around me who give it to me straight and encourage me to follow my heart and my dreams. We share techniques, uplifting words and empower each other and ourselves with our friendship.

Having a creative life is a lot easier than it may seem. We are all born creative; sometimes we forget that, but we are. Taking the time to nurture and grow your creative life is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Give yourself permission to play, learn and grow. Give yourself permission to just be. I wish you much joy on your journey and wild, free ­spirited creativity on the way.

She presented me with some thought provoking questions that made me think and I must say, it is my most authentic interview to date and that feels pretty good.