Some people are scared of mini books. Which I think is kind of weird, but that's because I pretty much only ever 'do' mini art journals anymore.
So here is a quick, cheap, and eaaaaasy tutorial on how to make one itty bitty tiny mini out of one sheet of A4 paper. You should be able to click on the above image and save it to your computer if you so wish.
These are great to do with children, especially younger ones. I used to tutor a family of 6 during my A'level years, and I used this simple template a lot. They are quick to fill, you don't need any adhesive to make them stay together, and they are the perfect size for teeny hands.
Of course, I no longer work with young children, and I still make them. I went through a phase of filling one a day last month.
Here are three examples. I don't bother covering them. I like that they are plain and simple on the front, with just a quick title and date jotted down in pencil, but inside they are full of colour, and bits and pieces, and secrets. Each teeny mini has a different theme/subject. This one is titled 'Lost Things'.
You basically get three double pages in this 'book'. You can work straight onto the paper or, like in this example, you can layer up different medias. There is paper, card, masking tape, other bits of random stuff, and then layers of gesso, paint, watercolour, and wax crayons in this example.
This example is called 'Midnight'. Funnily enough I created this at midnight. I know, I know, I am, like, soooo, totally clever with my titles.
This is a mixture of water colour paper glued over some of the regular 'pages' and layerings of gesso and paint on others.
This final example is just to show how quick you can put something together. It is images from a catalogue, some other assorted papers, and a pen to journal. It doesn't matter that its not fancy, or detailed. It is just there, a teeny tiny glimpse into what is going on in your head, just to get it out right there in that moment.
I think these itty bitties work great as a short term release. When you have no creative flow, no ideas, you can just fold up a piece of regular old printer paper, and mess around small style.
