Small Tag Journal by Robin Seiz

Happy New Year!

I don’t know about you, but the new year always offers me promise for new possibilities, new collaborations, new creative adventures, and is a time to reset. I hope this 2022 brings all kinds of exciting opportunities to each of you.

When I looked at my top nine posts on Instagram for last year, they truly represented the art that excites me and where I spent the majority of my time in 2020. Gelli Printing, slow-stitching and making small journals. While I am a life-long learner, always taking some class, watching some video, and trying new things, it’s nice to stay grounded in the things that I know bring me the most joy.

With that in mind, I made a small tag journal for this Guest Artist submission.

The very first thought for this project came from a tiny (1” x1”) piece of water color paper that I have had on my studio table for the last month. I kept it because I LOVED the colors; I just couldn’t part with it. Do you ever just keep something this small because it just speaks to you in some way?

The first thing I needed to do was go back and figure out what colors I had used on this little piece and if there were any other colors that I felt would compliment these colors. I original piece had Golden Yellow Oxide, Chromium Oxide Green, Quinacridone Magenta, and Liquitex Fluorscent Pink. I decided to add, Quinacridone Crimson for a deeper tone and Cobalt Turquoise for an accent.

I also wanted to use as many Art Foamies as I could; I DO LOVE my Art Foamies. I listed them below.

I started with about 20 tags, 2" 3/8” x 5" 3/4" (they can be any size) and used my 5 x 7 gel plate to create backgrounds on each tag using the colors I mentioned above. After all the backgrounds were complete, I went back again and looked at each tag and added paint where I felt it needed it. This is an intuitive process of just seeing what you like and adding until you feel they are complete.

 

I wanted the theme of my journal to be Patterns, so I chose Art Foamies with patterns that would work well on this size tag. 

Once all the backgrounds were complete and dried, I chose the tags I thought would be best paired together. This is a personal preference and can be done in so many different ways. I chose tags that had some symmetry either in color, or orientation (vertical color or horizontal) I chose two tags that would be the front and back covers and set them aside. I embellished the front cover with my title.

The next step was to tape the pairs together with Book Tape. It’s strong and clear and folds well.

With each pair I decided if I wanted a pattern across both pages or if I wanted a pattern on just one side and then left or right. Again, personal preference, I mixed it up.

I used my stamp buddy, cut into very small pieces, to apply paint to the Art Foamie. I stamped the pattern on the pages as planned. I say, “as planned” but for me, this is an intuitive process. I make decisions as I go.

Once these were dry, I went back and looked at each tag to see if they needed embellishments. I like the organic “plain” look, but pushed myself to embellish some with a white gel pen and I was happy with the result. It does add A LOT to a page.

Once everything was dry, I attached the tags together, right back side to left back side. I used my adhesive gun, I just find that easier than wet adhesive which tends to take too long to dry and gets all over everything. (I’m not too patient about drying time!) 

The spine can be covered with a variety of materials or left blank. I painted a piece of muslin, stamped it with an art foamie, and cut it to size. Once it was dry, I taped it (again with book tape) to the front and back page, pulling it tightly. I then used the adhesive gun to attach the front and back cover over the fabric.

To keep the journal closed, I cut Sari ribbon and tied it around the journal. It’s an easy project. You could certainly leave some blank pages to write on, create pockets, or do whatever you want to make it your own.

I love these little tag journals. I hope you will try one and post your finished projects and tag me. I would love to see your work. For a video of the final book, check me out on Facebook or Instagram.

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Nathalie Kalbach - Batik Pattern 4, Santa Fe
Julie Balzer - Dino Skin (small), Gradient Polka Dot
Donna Downey - Building Blocks, Halftone Dots, Sixty Marks
Sarah Matthews - Fireworks, Ric Rack
Ann Butler - Rails
Gypsy Soul - Moroccan Tile, Harlequin Backdrop