Art Journaling

 

Crayons and Colored Pens/Pencils, and Stickers....OH MY !!!!

 

Art Journaling.  Have you heard of it?  I love to journal and have recently started back on a more consistent basis.  I used to journal in a very "Dear Diary" form....this got incrediably boring after my day became less "exciting"  and without the "young angst" of boyfriends, friend drama, etc.  To journal about cooking, cleaning, burping babies, etc on a day to day basis loses it's appeal quick. 

 

I started switching from journaling to list making.  I started making "I Did" lists in the evenings instead of "To Do" list because it is much more satisfying to see what you have accomplished instead of what you did not.  But I didn't see this is journaling since I usually just threw the list away.

 

Then I tried scrapbooking.  Well, I decided I was more into collecting the stickers, papers, stamps, etc.  Sitting down to collage photos just didn't seem to happen for me.  I felt like it had to be perfect since others would be looking at it.

 

Recently I decided to start keeping all my lists in a journal.  That led to lists, quotes, random thoughts, and all kinds of items being written that was hanging out in my head.  I loved this!  I now carry my "journal" everywhere with me.  I started using colored pens, making doodles, and recently using stickers.  To anyone else, this may seem very Kindergartenish.  However, the creative outlet it gives me has been fun as well as therapeutic.

 

I recently purchased a book on my Kindle for journal prompts.  The author  includes a section on Art Journaling.  I never thought about it as an actual form of journaling.  So it is not just me!!!!

 

I am now using up all the scrapbooking material I have been collecting for the past 18 years when Katie was born and I thought I HAD to scrapbook to be a good mom (she has about 10 completed pages).  I am excited about the stationary section of the stores, and am feeling creative again!

 

What I like most is that it is just for me.  No one is judging my juvenile art skills or random thoughts.  Not that they would, but journaling is such a personal creative outlet, that it feels like a best friend that holds the key to who you really, really are without the pretense of society's opinions. 

 

 

I can't show you the insides....remember, it is just for me :)  Happy Journaling!!