My Multi-Mixed-Media Sketchbook

If you are reading this, I am betting that you are a collector of art supplies, like me.  This is a picture of my desk showing some of the supplies I used for my sketchbook project.

hand-carved stamps, embossing powders, distress inks, glue, Zentangle markers, gel pens, glimmer mist, watercolors, Stickles, Stayz-on inks, paint pens, plus colored pencils and markers. 

I thought I would do my sketchbook as a kind of Zentangle-focused art journal.  Of course, I've never done an art journal before. I've only read about them on the internet.

The theme I chose was "How to Tie Your Shoes and Other Things to Learn."  My version was going to be "Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from the Radio." But, I ended up with the more sedate Pop Proverbs, with wit & wisdom from the age of vinyl.

Since I turned 50 last year, I've become obsessed with time. Where did it go? How much is left? How come time seems to be moving at such a frantic pace? So, the first line I chose was, "Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future" from Fly Like an Eagle by the Steve Miller Band.  On each page, I cut a circle out of card stock, and  embossed some grooves on it.  I made a stamp by cutting a circle out of a styrofoam take-out container and "carved" it using a pencil.  It worked surprisingly well.

I wanted jewels instead of sand in my hour glass, but we weren't allowed to use glitter.  Finally, a use for my Stickles paint!  It is very hard to see how sparkly it is from the photo.  (Observant readers may have noticed that the first picture is actually a screen shot from the video I tried to make showing how I made this book.  Let's just say that I have a new respect for those who do "how to" videos on their blogs.)

The clock hands are just an opened brad, so this page is interactive.


This is the one layout that looks most like an art journal to me. At least there is a bit of layering. It is also one of the most literal. As time went on, I became less literal and also went back to using more familiar techniques.

Stay tuned to this station for more pop proverbs.  It's sketchbook week here at Tangled Up In Art.

(If you can't wait to see the whole thing, you can find it on my Flickr page.)