Resource Round-Up: Art Journaling

Art Journaling Resources - www.randomolive.com
Art journaling has always been intimidating for me. Even though I’m artistic, I didn’t feel like I was good at drawing or doodling. But! There are tons of resources out there that help make art journaling so much more approachable and less intimidating.

Any other awesome art journaling resources? Share them in the comments!

Shop Update: Abstract Art for Commercial Use

If you’ve followed me on Instagram, you might have seen my daily abstract art project. I post a colorful abstract paint splattery art piece on Instagram (nearly) every day.

There’s tons of uses for these digital art pieces. I’ve converted them into products for my Society6 shop, used them in backgrounds for my word and name art prints, and used them as digital papers in art journaling.

But what could you use them for? How can you use a brightly colored and abstract pattern digital paper in your own products or scrapbooks? I’d love to see how you get creative with my designs. So I’m releasing these patterns out into the wild to see what awesome stuff you come up with.

Are you a digital scrapbooker? Do you create digital scrapbooking products? Are you an art journaler? Are you a stationery designer?

The designs I have available at my CreativeMarket shop are below (and you can click to get to that specific product page).

abstract-preview-bundle-1

abstract-preview-bundle-2

abstract-preview-bundle-3

abstract-preview-bundle-4

abstract-preview-bundle-5

abstract-preview-bundle-6

square-pattern-preview-bundle-1-prev2

square-pattern-preview-bundle-2-prev2

square-pattern-preview-bundle-3-prev2

square-pattern-preview-bundle-4-prev2

Random Love Letter Challenge

RandomLoveLetter challenge - www.randomolive.com

Do you guys follow me on Instagram? (you totally should) Have you noticed my love of library books? I also have this thing with leaving a random post-it inside the library books wishing the next reader well. Want to start this fun activity for yourself?

In June, Sarah (from Love Letter to Adventure) and I are teaming up to level-up this project and get all of you involved!

It’s the #RandomLoveLetter challenge and your mission is to leave a small positive note in any random location every day all month (you could even leave multiples per day!). Then take a picture of your note and share it on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #RandomLoveLetter.

Let’s get detailed (SMART-style):

  • Specifics: Write a short note and leave it in a random place (library books, restaurant menus, store aisles, etc) each day.
  • Measurements: We’re aiming for a total of one millions random love letters out in the wild this month! Tell all your friends to get involved!
  • Attainability: This activity should only take you 60 seconds. Jot down a quick note and leave it someplace you’re already passing by. Heck, if you had time, you could write a bunch of notes ahead of time and carry them with you throughout the month.
  • Relevance: Your note will most certainly brighten someone’s day! Who wouldn’t appreciate a lovely well wish?
  • Timeline: June 1 to June 30, 2015

In July, we’ll highlight a few of our fave #RandomLoveLetter photos on our blogs. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

What’s next?

  • Grab this graphic and share it on social media to let your friends know you’re participating.
    RandomLoveLetter Challenge - www.randomolive.com
  • Download this cheatsheet for ideas on supplies, phrases, and random drop locations (But remember you can totally deviate and get creative).
  • Gather your supplies and get posting on June 1!

And don’t forget to check out Sarah’s blog, Instagram, and her new Venture Planner.

Shop Update: Be Your Self Prints

I am a huge fan of being yourself. I think that all of us have unique traits that make is completely awesome. And you probably have words that you use to describe yourselves and think are totally awesome. Sometimes, a visual reminder in our daily spaces help remind is that we should fully embrace those traits and be our authentic selves.

I’ve got a bunch of bright and colorful prints in my Etsy shop that you can buy as an instantly downloadable file. Print off as many copies as you’d like for yourselves or as gifts. And you can incorporate these sentiments in your art journals, scrapbooks, and more.

I’ve put a few examples below (and you can click on the images to get to that specific product page) but there are many more sayings in my shop. If you have a suggestion for a saying you’d like to see, leave it in the comments below and I’ll design a version and add it to the shop!

random-olive-joyful-self-preview random-olive-adventurous-preview random-olive-cheeky-self-preview Be Your Self Prints - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Pinboard: Designer Fonts

I’m a font collector. Always have been. There’s probably even more fonts around these days than ever before. And typeface designers are really knocking it out of the park. While there are many free fonts available all over the internet, fonts that you purchase are usually much higher quality and come with commercial licenses that allow you to sell your final designs that utilize those fonts. If you’re a scrapbook product designer or if you are selling any stamps or designs on Etsy, it’s important to make sure it’s legal for you to be incorporating fonts that allow for that usage.

Fonts are also useful for those of you who are looking to improve your handlettering skills. I like to look at fonts for letter styles and designs and practice my moves.

I’ve curated a bunch of fonts on my Pinterest page. Check out my board below and follow to see what I pin in the future.

Follow Olivia (Random Olive)’s board design: lovely fonts on Pinterest.

Pen Collection: Black

Pen Collection and Swatches - www.randomolive.com

I have an obsession with office supplies and I’m a bit of a pen hoarder. One thing that I enjoy doing is swatching out my writing utensils to see how the colors compare between brands.

The Test: Each pen is used on white notebook paper and a yellow legal pad. You can click on the image below for a larger view.

Pen Collection and Swatches - www.randomolive.com

Pen Collection and Swatches - www.randomolive.com

The Pens: (links are affiliate) Paper Mate InkJoy 100 | Paper Mate InkJoy 300 RT | Paper Mate 1.2 | Paper Mate Write Bros | Papermate ProFit |Paper Mate Profile Elite | BIC Round Stic | BIC Ultra Round Stic Grip | BIC Velocity | BIC Cristal Bold | Pilot B2P Bottle to Pen – Ball Point | uni-ball Gel RT | Pentel EnerGel | Pilot G2 | Pilot G2 1.0 | BIC Triumph 537R | Pilot Precise V7 RT | Pilot Precise Grip Bold | Paper Mate Flair | Sharpie Pen

The Conclusion: Black. The most standard of them all. How is it possible that black inks are different colors from each other? Some are grayer than others and some are bluer than others. My favorites: Papermate Profile, Pilot g2 1.0, and Pilot Precise Grip Bold.

Shop Update: Printable Monogram Sets

Words and letters are important to us. They can help to define our identities. I love putting my initials on the spaces around me to mark my space.

Choose from a palette of vibrant colors to add some brightness and fun to your everyday.

Digital JPEGs let you print out as many copies as you’d like, up to 8×10 sizing. You can print them yourself or use in digital scrapbooks or art journals. You get the entire alphabet with the digital set that you choose! Prints are great to hang in offices or your workspace to mark your territory and add a pop of color.

All the letters of the alphabet included, so you can do fun things like:
– Spell out words on the walls.
– Give a print to your friend.
– Hang one up in each of your kids’ rooms.
– Hang one up on each of the front of doors of your officemates.
– Make alphabet dividers for your files.
– Print on iron-on transfer paper to make T-shirts, pillows, or tote bags.
– Designate areas of a classroom.
– Personalize folders for students.
– Create personalized notecards and stationery for yourself or your friends.
– Print as a baby shower gift.
– Print to use as personalized wrapping paper on gifts.
– Use in Project Life scrapbooks or art journals.

Printable files save you money on shipping and the white backgrounds save your printer ink. I’d recommend printing on cardstock for the best effect.

(Click the images to get to the Etsy listing)

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Printable Monogram Sets - www.randomolive.com and http://randomolive.etsy.com

Resource Round-Up: Gallery Walls

Resource Round-Up: Gallery Walls - www.randomolive.com
In-progress shot of my downstairs gallery wall from July 2012

Gallery walls are ubiquitous on Pinterest. Seriously, just search “gallery wall” and you’ll be inundated with resources to help you spruce up your space. But what are the best tutorials out there for actually getting to work and getting it done?

These are the resources that I used when I was putting together my own walls. I’ve got a wall-o-frames in both my upstairs hallway and my downstairs entry. So I have definitely put the advice to good use.

  • The tutorial by Young House Love is hands down the most comprehensive tutorial on the web. I swear by nearly everything they say about home decor. While John and Sherry aren’t actively blogging anymore, we should totally take advantage of their archives while they last. Best tip: Start hanging from the center of the arrangement and work your way out, in case you need to adjust anything once the frames get on the wall. We used this tip for our walls, and they turned out great!
  • Have you got an awkward corner to work with? A Beautiful Mess has you covered there. Includes a video to show the action!
  • More ideas for frame fillers at Two Twenty One. Best tip: Make a wire loop for frames with unfortunately difficult nail hooks.
  • Don’t want to mess with paper templates? Well, you could do what Katie Bower does.

Hope that helps weed through some of the unhelpful Pinterest search results! Happy gallery-walling!

Skillshare Course Review: The Final Steps of Hand-Lettering

Skillshare Course Review - www.randomolive.com

The follow up Skillshare class by Mary Kate McDevitt focuses on the Final Steps of Hand-Lettering (dealing with color and texture).

The course starts after you have a refined sketch of a lettering piece and starts with the inking of the drawing on a lightpad. This is a demonstration by Mary Kate as she talks through how she inks certain aspects of her drawing and whether she traces on different layers of paper.

Main Takeaways:

Digitizing:

Mary Kate goes through the digitizing process in Adobe Illustrator in detail. Lots of steps here!

Textures:

Mary Kate demonstrates how to create hand-drawn textures using a variety of tools (markers, stamps, brushes, etc) and then how to apply them to the lettering digitally. She also demonstrates how to use Photoshop brushes to refine those textures.

Overall Impressions:

The entire course is 3.5 hours. The material is at an advanced skill level for adding details to your sketch and there are lots of specific digital techniques here. If you’re just getting started with hand-lettering, this information may go beyond your zone of focus. This course would be great for people who are already skilled at lettering and wanting to customize the colors and textures using a combination of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

The links provided for this Skillshare course are referral links. If you sign up for a Skillshare membership using these links, I will receive a free month of membership. This will allow me to view and review even more courses on the blog.

Pen Collection: Red

Pen Collection and Swatches - www.randomolive.com

I have an obsession with office supplies and I’m a bit of a pen hoarder. One thing that I enjoy doing is swatching out my writing utensils to see how the colors compare between brands.

The Test: Each pen is used on white notebook paper and a yellow legal pad. You can click on the image below for a larger view.

Pen Collection and Swatches - www.randomolive.com

Pen Collection and Swatches - www.randomolive.com

The Pens: (links are affiliate) Paper Mate InkJoy 100 | Paper Mate InkJoy 300 RT | Paper Mate Write Bros | Paper Mate Write Bros Grip | Papermate Eagle | Papermate ProFit | Paper Mate Profile Elite | Bic Round Stic | BIC Round Stic Grip | BIC Cristal Bold | Pilot EasyTouch | Pilot B2P Bottle to Pen – Ball Point | Pentel EnerGel | Pilot G2 1.0 | Pilot Precise V7 | Pilot Precise V7 RT | Pilot Precise Grip Bold | Paper Mate Flair

The Conclusion: Red is one of the three basic colors, so tons of varieties are available. I don’t often write things out with red… it’s my go to color for crossing things off my lists.

Who’s Olive?


Hi, I'm Olivia, aka Olive. I'm always trying out random crafts and things... so this blog shows the evolution of all the stuff I'm interested in.

Hobby Timeline:
2014-2015: Photography, digital scrapbooking
2015-2017: Brush lettering
2018-2021: Crochet
2021-present: Romance book reading

Pin It on Pinterest