5 art journal must haves

I spend a lot of time in my art journals- it is where I work out my ideas, where I experiment, journal and document memories. While I will use anything and everything to create, I thought it would be fun to share 5 of my "must have items" for art journals! They are simple but really important in my process.

1. BIND-IT-ALL BINDER

I prefer to make my own art  journals and since I have an excess of painted paper, I put it to use by binding it into one of a kind journals. I use a binding machine called the Bind-It-All. It makes the entire process super simple and easy. 

I love that I am able to punch holes into my favorite watercolor paper, hand painted paper and photos and turn them into art journals.

2. PRINT LARGE PHOTOS

While I don't consider myself a scrapbooker, I do love using photos in my art journals. One of my favorite ways to use them it to actually print large pictures and then bind them with all the other paper.

I use these large photos alongside my doodles and drawings and I even use them as a surface to draw on.

3. CREATE HOMEMADE TABS

My art journals are typically around 30-40 pages and I really like adding tabs to my favorite pages. I will use just about anything to create a tab but one of my favorites is to use is cut up small mandala drawings for a round tab.

These tabs help me stay organized when I create but they also add a really cool embellishment to my journals!

4. PRINTED PAPER

You will never catch me buying decorative paper because I LOVE to make my own! While I really enjoy painting and drawing on the pages of my art journal, I also like printing out colorful paper that I've made from my original work. I always scan my art, even the the simple things. When I need a colorful background or paper with pattern, I print it out and use it! 

5. DRAW WITH A BRUSH

I spend a lot of time drawing and doodling in my art journals and my must have supply is a brush and black ink. I love the bold lines that you can create with black ink- from drawing to doodling to free writing, using a brush (instead of a pen or pencil) is a great way to break free with your work.