Mixed Media

Have a bunch of old cardboard boxes lying around? Instead of tossing them in the recycling bin, why not turn them into something beautiful and functional? In this blog, I’ll walk you through how I transformed a plain food packaging box into a grungy, vintage-style texture box—perfect for storing art clusters or mixed media scraps.

The technique is simple, budget-friendly, and packed with texture. Plus, it’s a method you can use across so many different art surfaces!

Lately, I’ve been fascinated by the magic of stitch markers in my art journal pages. There’s something about the texture and dimension that stitches bring, transforming a flat surface into something tactile and full of life. Naturally, I couldn’t resist—I had to buy a sewing kit and dive into this new world of stitching in my art.

You could say I’m really inspired by florals lately, and with my Impasto Blooms class just released, I’m more excited than ever to draw and paint flowers. With the current drawing theme of wanderlust, I found myself doodling flowers and having a blast sketching them. Just so you know, a year ago, I believed I couldn’t draw—that was the story I told myself for 42 years. But everything changed in the past few months when I gave myself permission to try new things.

Nature has always been a quiet storyteller. Its shapes, rhythms, and textures carry meaning without demanding attention. In mixed media collage, nature-inspired forms offer more than visual beauty—they bring grounding, movement, and emotional resonance to your work.

Whether you are intuitively layering papers, building textured landscapes, or adding symbolic elements, working with natural shapes allows your collage to feel alive and connected.

Incorporating birds and animals into your mixed media collages can add a touch of nature, whimsy, and narrative to your artwork.

Birds often introduce lightness, perspective, and freedom, while animals ground the composition with presence, instinct, and emotional depth.

Below is a curated list of 10 birds and 10 animals, along with their symbolic meanings and practical ideas for using them in mixed media collage work.

Creating mixed media collages is a deeply personal and expressive art form. Each shape you choose to cut and incorporate can add layers of meaning, emotion, and visual interest to your work.

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the significance of various shapes, why you might choose them, and how to use them effectively in your mixed media art journaling

Torn edges in mixed-media art can be a powerful way to convey emotions and add depth to your compositions.

In this article, we’ll dive into the fascinating world of torn edges and frays in mixed media art. We’ll explore what these elements represent and how you can use them to convey a wide range of emotions in your artwork.

By the end, you’ll have a treasure trove of techniques and ideas to enrich your creative expression. Ready to get started? Let’s go!