Tag Archives: art journal

Eight Artists collaborate on Portals to raise awareness about ALS

Eight Artists collaborate on Portals to raise awareness about ALS

It’s been more than a minute since I made a blog post. I’ve pretty much stopped blogging and just post pictures on social media. However, I wanted to share a recent project that I spearheaded.


Portals is a handmade book collaboration with seven other mixed media artists. Ann Sullivan Barnes, Cassie Lynch, Joyce Holmes Shaulis, Lora Mahaffey, Dilys Brundage, Deatria Cameron and Lindy Gligorijevic.

I created the book, index page for each artist to include her bio info and my own two-page spread.
My two page spread in the portals book. Each page has a portal of some sort. Of course, there’s lots of found object rusty goodness as well.

Portals Page by Me- Betsy Skagen
This gorgeous spread is by Dilys Brundage
Ann Sullivan Barnes created these inspirational pages.


I was inspired to start this collaboration because of my dear friend Joan Stookey Harring who was diagnosed with ALS last year. Once the book is completed, I hope we can auction it to raise funds for the fight against ALS.

Cassie Lynch has so much wonderful detail in her pages.

Page by Cassie Lynch


Be sure to follow #portalscollaboration on Facebook to see the book progress as other artists add their work.

Introducing the Art-i-ful Journal

Introducing the Art-i-ful Journal

I made a new journal that was not quite an art journal and not quite a junk journal…so I decided to create a new category…the Art-i-ful Journal!

The Artiful Journal combines some of the best elements of art journals, junk journals and the almost-forgotten trend of altered books. Artiful Journals are bursting at the seams with mixed media art, ephemera, pockets, pull outs and tags. They have more interactive elements than traditional art journals and far too much thought and artistry put in them too be labelled as a junk journal.

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Finding my true North

Finding my true North

Hi everybody! It has been ages since I have blogged. I can’t even begin to explain how crazy it has been since we moved from the heart of the Twin Cities to rural northern Minnesota.

Downsizing is supposed to make life simpler, right? Well, I can tell you that is not the case when you downsize and don’t have anywhere to put stuff. We purchased our new home last July and intended to build a garage and finish our lower level (which holds my studio) right away.

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Gear up for some Steampunk Field Notes

Gear up for some Steampunk Field Notes

Combining rusty metal and intriguing bits and bots with vintage style paper to create blank books is one of my favorite pastimes.

That’s why I loved making this steampunk art journal.

Held together with a rusty chain and featuring all sorts of bits and bobs, I made this steampunk journal using Eileen’ Hull’s Wrapped Journal Die and Stamperia papers.

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The best things come in tiny packages

The best things come in tiny packages

I love making art journals, junk journals and other forms of books. However, embarking on one of these is always a huge time-consuming project…or at least it was until I discovered the joy of making tiny art journals.

It was easy to make a complete journal in an evening. What’s more, the finished project is just so much fun.

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Create your own mixed media elements

Create your own mixed media elements
Create your own mixed media elements

Let’s face it, thousands upon thousands of crafters, myself included, use the same mass-produced decorative elements in their projects. However, there is another option. If you don’t want your art to feature the same materials hordes of other artists are using, you can easily create your own elements. Art-Journal-Embellishments--by-Betsy-Skagen-0037-2

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