Journal Bliss

I was at the library last week in the crafting section when I picked up Journal Bliss by Violette on a whim. I've been using my journal regularly, but I want to expand on how I'm using it. Thus, I've been exploring various art journal resources both online and off. This has been my favorite so far, I'm so happy to have seen it sitting slightly askew as it was on the shelf.

This book goes beyond the normal scope of the art journaling resources that I've come across so far. It's a combination of technique explanations, journal prompts, inspirational quotes, and examples from her own journal. The informal tone of the book really drew me in as well. I felt less like I was being lectured and more like I was talking about journaling with a friend (a definite plus for me). The tips themselves are solid too, from how to create borders to different techniques for image transfers. I can't wait to give them a try!

Some of my favorite tips? I loved the sections on how to silence your inner critic (my personal weakness as a artist) and doodle freely. I loved a lot of her journal prompts, the way she describes them had me thinking visually from the get-go. I also can't wait to try out her techniques for creating your own fanciful lettering style as I love traditional calligraphy, but have been completely unsuccessful at it.

I definitely recommend giving this book a try, particularly if you're interested in art journaling but don't know where to start (or aren't so new, but need a little encouragement).

Blank Pages

This weekend I was at the craft store looking at the sketchbooks for my inspiration book project when I fell in love. With a journal that is! It's compact with a hard black cover and pristine white pages (from a sustainable forest). It's absolutely perfect for me and my goal of successfully filling my first journal from cover to cover. With the lack of spiral binding I wont be tempted to take out any of the pages either.

I had a moment of hesitancy, as I always do, at the prospect of doing something to the first page. In the end I wanted to keep it simply so I used markers in some of my favorite colors and a stickers from my favorite sheet. I'm excited to see how this journal will evolve from here. I'm planning to use it to record the simple things that make me happy, fun activities, things that are going on around me, and spontaneous pieces of art. I want to start a series of these so years from now I can look back and remember how wonderful life is (and to see how I've grown, both as an artist and a person, over a period of time). I'll be sure to share anything fun that finds its way into the pages.