Junk Mail in Your Art Journal

5 minute read

I use my art journal to:

• tell the story of my life
• process my thoughts and feelings about an event or situation
• flex my creative muscles

And since I have stopped purchasing bags and bags (and bags) of new supplies, I need to get extra creative sometimes.

Thankfully, despite living in a digital world, there is still a lot of paper out there. Fun, colourful, interesting paper that is free for the taking. And it comes right to your house.

Here are THREE ways to use “junk mail” in your art journal or scrapbook.

TELLS THE STORY

In the spring, Canada had a federal election. It was a tense one, thanks in part to President Trump’s rumblings to the south of us, and our previous Prime Minister’s resignation. Leadnow started their “Raise The Bar” campaign to help elect progressive candidates in tight ridings, and my friend was on the team leading the Edmonton chapter. I did some flyering for the Edmonton-Griesbach candidate, and kept one of the flyers for my book. He lost, but I don’t think that flyer would have helped, unfortunately.

The candidate in my riding had folks canvassing as well, and I saved their flyer advertising advance polls (neon green), and the thank you note I got with my lawn sign (goldenrod yellow). I even made that last one into a page of the book!

This “junk mail” helps tell the story about the federal election in Canada that was a huge part of my life for the short campaign duration. The “Raise The Bar” flyer flips up and I included more photos and journaling underneath.

Other free scraps of paper:

• Concert poster I took down from a local bulletin board–after the show had ended (left page, blue)
• Inked paper I made at an AGA Open Studio session (left page, red), technically not free 😉

SHARES A FEELING

Last fall I got wind of a campaign run by a local group opposing Epcor’s new water meters, as they are built by a company affiliated with Israel. I try to avoid purchasing everyday products that are made there, or by Zionist-affiliated companies, so I was upset that it appeared to be mandatory.

Thankfully, the group gave tips on how to opt-out of this new meter, so I took those steps! But I missed a step or a deadline, and the “water shut off pending” card appeared on my door knob. It freaked my partner out, but I did what it asked and nothing bad happened to our water.

And now it lives “forever” in my art journal as a flip-out page. I’ve written all my thoughts and feelings about Epcor, the campaign, and the genocide on the page behind. Okay, maybe not all my thoughts.

Other free scraps of paper:

• “I Love You” was cut from a misprint of a zine I made earlier in the year (left page)
• Watercolour painting I made that I don’t love, so I’ve been cutting it up (left page, blue)
• The moth is a sticker from my pal’s Patreon, and was not free — we love moths in this house (left page, moth)

PROVIDES A SERVICE

You know those heavy cardstock envelopes some greeting cards come with? I feel a thousand heartaches when I even think about throwing them out. So I keep most (all) of them that we receive in our home.

They make it so easy to add journaling or photo pockets to my journal. Because sometimes I have more stuff I want to include than I have space on the page!

I also love saving things with my name on it, so both of these envelopes serve double-duty. The one with my address on it came from my pal with their Patreon items inside. It also has beautiful US stamps on it, another fun and free paper item.

“Miss Lisa” is what my former boss calls me, and when I changed roles within my organization she put together a card and gift for me. The bike stamp and pizza sticker were added later, and inside the envelope is a copy of the training schedule for my replacement. The card lives on my bulletin board at work for now, but will be added here once the year is done.

Other free scraps of paper:

• Old-timey phone message note, from a pad I found at the Reuse Centre (left page)
• Security envelope (left page, blue pattern circle)
• The left page is made from a letter envelope

FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES

I get all of my photos printed at London Drugs. They have an easy system for uploading direct from your computer or phone, no minimum order size, and lots of unique photo sizes. Including the little wallets that are my fave.

One of the only regular “stationary” purchases I make is through my friend’s Patreon: Glitter Dactyl. They create stickers, collage stickers, and other paper ephemera using their own digitally altered photos and drawings. It is super unique, and well worth the monthly subscription.

Edmonton folks! If this is accessible to you, I highly recommend checking out the Art Gallery of Alberta’s Adult Open Studio. It runs every Thursday from 7-9pm, and each night you will learn about a different art technique, and then get to put it into practice using their supplies. I’ve only been to one (by myself) and it was great fun.

Leadnow is a national non-profit that “is a people-powered movement fighting for a better Canada”. They host (a lot of) petitions, and federal marketing campaigns directed at MPs, but their Raise the Bar campaign for the recent federal election was their best work yet (IMO).

Climate Justice Edmonton created a beautiful zine about turning our water company back into a publically owned utility. Epcor Delivers Genocide is the group fighting back against Epcor’s new water meters. To note, I have to pay an additional monthly rate for the different meter they installed, which even my installer thinks is wrong-headed.

The Reuse Centre is one of my favourite places in the city! I always find something when I go searching through the bins of used items.