How to organize your collage papers.

All my collage papers in one folder!

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I don't like chaos. I can not function properly when everything is a mess around me. I need order and serenity. Clutter not only blocks the energy in my space but it also has a blocking effect on my emotional energy. I do not have the luxury of having my own art room and work on a table which is visible when you enter my flatlet. 

I wanted to share with you how I organize my collage papers in such a way that it not only look attractive but it makes it easy for me to find collage images as I need them. 

Another thing I want to mention is that I have a daytime job which means I only have time in the evenings to do art journaling. The last thing I want to do when I get home from work is to unpack art mediums or to search for stuff. I want everything to be ready and waiting for me and I organized my space to accommodate my art journaling needs. 

 I have several see-through plastic envelopes with collage papers inside. You can buy these at  stationary shops or any shop that stock office supplies.They are made out of a soft plastic and fixed with a plastic press-stud for opening and closing and are also available in different colors. 

I marked my envelopes with a permanent black marker and when I need a specific image I know exactly where to find it. There is one filled with background images and this envelope holds only scrapbooking papers and another one with background images from magazines.

 Then there are three to keep focal images. One with faces and people,  another with flowers and another with all the other images that are not people or flowers. 

Scrap paper for glueing.

The next envelope holds borders. I usually make a day of it to do some preparation when my envelopes need to be filled with new images. On such a day I will cut borders, go through magazines cut everything to size and then file everything in my envelopes. Another envelope holds all my rubb-ons and stickers. I don't know about you but I always have lots of printing paper that go to waste and all of those papers go into a brown file which I use when I am glueing images. Before throwing away your magazines tear out any complete pages that you don't need and file them in this folder too. They are very handy to mess on. 

Sometimes there are smaller pieces of paper or things that you want to use in your journal that needs only a small bag and for those I make my own little envelopes. I buy soft plastic per meter and then sew little bags exactly in the size I need them. I decorate them with lace or rig-rag and the newest craze is sewing them together with blanket stitch and embroidery cotton or wool and decorate them with washi tape.  These little bags are fantastic to use in your handbag as well. I have one, my little mini travel journal bag. Inside is a pen, small journal, small glue stick and small collage elements, peerless watercolors (thanks to my friend, Caryl) and a watercolor brush. 

Box to keep words for collage and mixed media.

I decorated this old cardboard box with spray paint and stencils and look what I keep inside! All my words and quotes. 

All I need to keep me happy and it is organized, tidy and ready whenever I want to journal.! My file that holds all my envelopes and a box filled with words. Hope this will help those of you who are struggling to organize your collage papers. 

Have a wonderful day everyone and happy journaling!

Toodles! :D