Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Today we will be making a slit book, a handmade art journal that is easy - no sewing or gluing at all - versatile, and supercheap – you can get started for nothing or for a few pennies. Which means you can get up and running and making these easy blank books and art journals in minutes.
The least amount you need to start are three pieces of paper. In the first part of the tutorial I show you how to make your book and then show some of the techniques I used to turn this into a fun, messy, distressed in a full-blown, messy distressy art journal.
You can use notebook or copier paper if that's what you got especially if you are only writing or using dry media but if you have something heavier that's even better. A heavier paper will stand up to wet media, gluing, and some chunking up.
To see printable scans on Etsy of old churches and ruins and other vintage paper ephemera, they are on my page here:
etsy.com/uk/shop/BookandPaperArts
My online classes for making botanical ink and/or onion skin eco print pages are at this link:
kelly-s-school-b1d1.thinkific.com/collections
And if you are interested in buying original paper and vintage ephemera bundles full of cards, paper, handwritten pieces, lace, and more I sell them here:
bookandpaperarts.com/french-ephemera-book-arts-boxes
Today we will be making a slit book, a handmade art journal that is easy - no sewing or gluing at all - versatile, and supercheap – you can get started for nothing or for a few pennies. Which means you can get up and running and making these easy blank books and art journals in minutes.
The least amount you need to start are three pieces of paper. In the first part of the tutorial I show you how to make your book and then show some of the techniques I used to turn this into a fun, messy, distressed in a full-blown, messy distressy art journal.
You can use notebook or copier paper if that's what you got especially if you are only writing or using dry media but if you have something heavier that's even better. A heavier paper will stand up to wet media, gluing, and some chunking up.
To see printable scans on Etsy of old churches and ruins and other vintage paper ephemera, they are on my page here:
etsy.com/uk/shop/BookandPaperArts
My online classes for making botanical ink and/or onion skin eco print pages are at this link:
kelly-s-school-b1d1.thinkific.com/collections
And if you are interested in buying original paper and vintage ephemera bundles full of cards, paper, handwritten pieces, lace, and more I sell them here:
bookandpaperarts.com/french-ephemera-book-arts-boxes
