journaling supplies: don't throw your garbage away!

For real. Don't throw your junk away. All the random garbage you find in your day to day living makes great journal fodder. 

 Take fruit and vegetable stickers for example. I eat mostly fruits and vegetables, so I run across TONS of these in a day. I usually collect them and stick them in my journal so I can remember what I ate that day years later.

 Coffee sleeves also add some great visual interest to entries. (I always find it very hard to throw away coffee sleeves.)

 Does your little brother constantly write you love notes? Paste them in your journal instead of filing them away in a box.

 Do you drink tea? Save the packaging! Tea packaging is always lovely, and it makes your entries so pretty.

 Do you eat at a certain restaurant or shop at a certain store all the time? Cut and paste the bags. I eat at Chipotle way more often than any normal human would (or should). I paste Chipotle ephemera quite frequently.  

Even junk mail envelopes are great for pasting and writing on.

In fact, I have been known to collect random lists, receipts, tickets, and other whatnot when I'm out running errands. I keep my head down and look for interesting things in parking lots or in stores. 

Question:
Do you journal with random stuff you run across?

notebook and journal types and brands

I'm not the sort of journaler who is loyal to any one brand. I know that there are people out there who stick to one brand in particular. Kirsten from Journaling Saves comes to my mind with her Blueline notebooks. 

I like to change things up, so I've used a variety of notebooks and journals in the past, ranging from cheap spiral school notebooks to handmade leather bound journals from Etsy and everything in between (as you can see from the above picture). I even alternate between lined and unlined journals.

Some of my favorites, though, are Greenroom notebooks from Target (which is the second notebook in the above picture). And I'm kind of picky about the fact that my journals have to have cream pages for the most part.

But all in all, I like to experiment with my journals and notebooks.

I'm interested to hear what your favorite notebook brands are. Are you loyal to a certain one, or do you mix things up? Comment and let me know!

how to: journaling with lists

 
There's something very lovely about a list, no matter what kind of list it is. Lists of names, of favorite places, of songs, of groceries, of books, or even lists of things like foods you currently love, different ways to get lost, how springtime makes your heart sing, ways in which winter speaks.

Looking back over my old journals, I find that the truest entries of mine and the most interesting to me are comprised of lists, either completely or partially. Lists can be so original, too; more than simply favorite names, foods, bands, and places. Make lists about things that no one would think about. Or things that people do think about but never write about.

Lists are also a really great way to remind yourself of all the blessings you have. I know that for myself, it's really easy for me to get caught up in my own preoccupations and worries, and while doing so, forget the many things God has blessed me with. And once you start listing the good things in your life, it's hard to stop!

I have a list of lists that I keep in the back of my current journal to reference when I'm feeling "listy". It has over 100 things to make a list about (including but not limited to "Places Where You can Find the Moon," "Human Features I Love," "Things I Would Like to Make a Movie About," "Things I Have Broken," "Places to Gather Thoughts," etc.) If you're interested, I'd be more than happy to share my list of lists with you. Just e-mail me.

There's also something very simple about lists. They don't need any extra descriptions or frills like an entry in prose does. For example, after my dad was in a motorcycle accident, I found it very difficult to write about. Where would I even start, and how could I properly tell the story? When I began to write about it, the details of that night came out in rapid succession as they were in list form.

 

I have gotten lots of list inspiration from this blog. She is a very gifted list maker!

Do you/have you journaled with lists?

my notebooks and journals (so far)

I have always always loved notebooks and journals. I find the compulsion to write in blank books very strong. I can't remember a time where I ever didn't have a journal.

Over the years I've amassed a little bit of a collection. I have approximately 40 right now. 

 
Personal journals comprise about 90% of what you see, although some are just random notebooks I've used for random things.

So comment and tell me, 

how many journals and notebooks do you have?

how to: journaling with paint chips part 2

 I very much enjoy journaling with paint chips, but here is another really cool idea that I call "The Colors of the Day" comprised of paint chips. I wish I could remember where I got the idea now.

It's very simple. Just keep your eyes and feelings open for the day’s colors. And not just tangible, physical colors. Be attuned to the colors of the weather, or the colors of what you ate or wore, or the colors of emotions and feelings. 

At the end of the day, you can find the colors in your paint chips. Cut them out into little rectangles and glue them directly onto the page, or onto a strip of brown paper. I like gluing mine onto brown paper. No real reason. I just think it looks nice. (And since my family eats at Chipotle so much I have many many brown paper Chipotle bags at my disposal). 

 It sums up your day in a really creative theme. And at the end of the day, going through paint chips to find just the perfect colors is very therapeutic. 

Question: Do you enjoy journaling with creative extras, or do you just prefer pen and paper?

 

journaling supplies: paint chips

 
I wouldn’t really consider myself an art journaler, or even an artist by any means. But I’m pretty creative, and as my journal writing has evolved over the years, it’s become a mixture of artistic mediums along with my words.   

I know that for some people, it’s a bit harder to be creative and requires more thought. But never fear. That’s what the paint chip is for! There are several reasons to journal with paint chips. 

One of the reasons is that paint chips are incredibly easy to find. Just walk into any Lowe’s or Home Depot and you have literally thousands of colors at your disposal and they are absolutely and completely free. Although, when you walk out of the doors and past the cashiers struggling to contain a plethora of variously colored paint chips in your arms, they are going to look at you and wonder with bafflement what in the world you’re painting. One time an employee came up to me and asked me what I was painting. I hesitated for a second before I told him that I actually wasn’t painting anything at all, that I used them for art. He hesitated for a second before he asked what kind of art. When I explained that I used them for drawings, collages, and quotes, he still didn’t get it.

Also, who doesn't love color?! I find myself marveling at the fact that God created so much color, and the paint chip is an amazing way to capture that.

  Another reason to journal with paint chips is because of the fact they provide instant creativity and artistry that cannot be achieved so simply with other mediums. All you must do is find some paint chips, paste a couple in your journal, and bam! you’ve got instant artistic success (not to mention a great splash of color) for no money or sweat whatsoever. 

You can write poems on paint chips, or draw on them, or write quotes or lyrics. Bonus points if the color of the paint chips compliments the words.

 One of my favorite things to do is make what I term “paint chip serendipities”. These are simply three (sometimes four) complimenting paint chips fanned out in an attractive way on the journal page. Usually I try to match up the titles of the paint chips to create a theme. The colors usually go together anyway. 

So there you have it.The wonder of the paint chip!

Have you ever used paint chips in your journals or art?

Stay tuned for journaling with paint chips part two!

why do you keep a journal?

I've kept a journal for a long time. I started my first journal when I was ten or eleven, and I've written on a relatively consistent basis since then.

 I'm really not sure why I keep a journal. There is something incredibly therapeutic about it. And at the same time it satisfies my desire to create. 

And then again, it's just nice to be able to write in a book about stuff. And the journal is an incredible tool to document your growth and maturity and what God has done in your life.

Why do you journal? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.