Debasree Dey

Ever since I published my Gathered Rolls class, my inbox, DMs and comments have been filled with one question: “But what do we actually do with a snippet roll?”

And I completely understand the question. When you spend time gathering tiny scraps of paper, fabric, lace, thread and other beautiful bits and turn them into one long, textured roll, it can almost feel too precious to cut into.

But that’s exactly where the fun begins.

A snippet roll isn’t meant to simply sit on your shelf looking beautiful. It is a collection of little pieces waiting to become something else—a journal cover, a tag, a pocket, a collage, a page edge, a small artwork and so much more.

So I thought I’d put together some of my favourite ways to use snippet rolls, especially if you have one sitting in your studio and are wondering “Now what?”

Here are some of my favourite ways to use snippet rolls in junk journals, art journals and mixed media projects.

There’s a moment many art journalers experience after creating the first layer of a page. The collage papers are down. The colors feel beautiful. There’s texture, movement, atmosphere…

…and then the question arrives: “Now what?”

What should the focal point be?
Should the page mean something?
Should you start with a prompt?
Or should you simply follow intuition and see where the page goes?
For a long time, I thought there must be one “correct” way to approach art journaling. But over time, I realized something important:

There are multiple valid ways to begin a spread. And understanding these approaches can completely change the way you create.

There’s a moment many art journalers experience after creating the first layer of a page. The collage papers are down. The colors feel beautiful. There’s texture, movement, atmosphere…

…and then the question arrives: “Now what?”

What should the focal point be?
Should the page mean something?
Should you start with a prompt?
Or should you simply follow intuition and see where the page goes?
For a long time, I thought there must be one “correct” way to approach art journaling. But over time, I realized something important:

There are multiple valid ways to begin a spread. And understanding these approaches can completely change the way you create.