mish-mosh talky talk

Am I the only one who gets that eeeeeeck nails-on-chalkboard feeling when art journaling is compared to scrapbooking?

I can understand the connection when made by people who don't know about it. But saying they're alike is like putting "White Chicks" and "Citizen Kane" in the same category simply because they're both on film.

I don't know why it is. Just the cute layouts with the die-cuts and brads and papers and such.....it feels so flat. Yes, memories are preserved, but that's it. There's little soul. And of course, this doesn't apply to ALL scrapbook pages -- I've seen some AMAZING stuff out there that DOES speak. But on a whole....

I just read over on Journal Revolution the message from a scrapbooker -- go over and read it. I think that message clearly illustrates the differences between art journalers and scrapbookers. We use EVERYTHING, work from our souls, and aim for self-discovery. They work to preserve memories for many years to come. One is not better than the other, just DIFFERENT.

Half the stuff in my journals is going to yellow and break and such. But that's part of the awesomeness of the journal -- nothing is permanent. 'Tis the nature of life.

When I started art journaling, I had NO IDEA what I was doing. My father's a printer, and has been for over 30 years -- much of my knowledge of all that stuff comes from him. So when I wanted to glue things down flat, without the goopy white glue mess, I got rubber cement. It worked awesomely. Things stayed down. There was no mess. Go outside the edges? Rub it off! Things were flat and pretty and, yes, I do like the smell. I also like the smell of gas. HAHA. Toxic stuff come my way! *laughs*

Imagine my surprise when I read in one of the first books on mixed-media I got that rubber cement looses it's glue power AND yellows over time. I was like, "OMG, I can't use it anymore!" So I stopped. Got gel medium. And double-sided tape (mmmmmmmm I love it!).

Typing that out, maybe I SHOULD go get some more! I loved it! It works so well! Who cares if it's against the rules? HECK. I'm gonna go get some today and use it and if it falls apart in 10 years, oh well!

Are there any rules YOU could break today?