Journey into Journaling Continued

Happy Friday, everyone! Jordan here.

I’m here following up my Journey into Journaling post from Friday last week – We had some interesting comments left by the Clarity Crafters, and I thought we could look at some of their thoughts and insights, as well as having a look at Barb’s Blog and some other articles I’ve found.

Let’s have a look at a couple of thoughtful comments left on last week’s blog post.

Pam Kershaw said –

Decided to give journaling a go, only have one page done so far though. Thought it would be good to have some play time for myself but been far too busy with Christmas cards to play at present. You give all your cards away and so have nothing to keep for yourself, so a journal is the answer and as you say it can improve your well being by expressing your emotions by art.x

Pam, that’s such a great point. When we produce cards for loved ones and friends, we often don’t keep a copy for ourselves. And if we take a photograph, it’s often just kept on our phone or tablet. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but we’re Crafters after all, and we want something tactile to hold in our hands, right? A journal could be the perfect place to keep a record of your work; perhaps you could take a photo of your finished pieces, and then paste them into your art Journal. Or alternatively, if you’re a stamper or stenciller, you could transfer your card designs directly into the pages of your Journal, to replicate the finished card.

This really gets to the heart of Journaling. For me, journaling time is craft time just for oneself, to express whatever you wish, and to do so however you like, without the worry of the look of the final product. It is indeed good to have some playtime for yourself.

Kathleen posted –

I have a few art journals. I experiment with different techniques and media. They are something I do just for me. If a page is a complete disaster, I either paint over it or just go to the next page. For me personally, small is better. I have a small journal that got filled up quickly and was so much fun. Then I got a big one and found it intimidating. I spend way too much time stressing over what I want to do.

I like searching the internet for quotes to add to my pages. Sometimes I just write down how I am feeling. It’s a time for me that I need to do more often.

Some great ideas here, Kathleen. A disastrous page in an Art Journal needn’t be an issue; either paint over it or simply move onto another page. You said it best; It’s Just For You. I can also see how a larger journal could be more difficult to commit to, or cause you to worry over the content. I would agree that the best place to start with a Journal is something small. And I LOVE the quotes. Simply picking inspirational or thoughtful quotes, printing them and sticking them into our journal, or writing them in, can enhance the well-being and self-care element of the craft. What a brilliant idea!

It’s all about the Petite Journal.

If reading these posts has inspired you to start a journal, drop us a comment or an email! You can either leave a comment below or send an email to gallery@claritystamp.com. We would love to hear what you’ve come up with, and why you’ve decided to start this self-care Crafting Journey.

I will also follow up with a few more Clarity products that could help start your Journey into Journaling, or inspire some new ideas for your ongoing Journaling project;

Word Stickers and Paper Flowers make for perfect page embellishments.

Stencils and Inks can be used to make backgrounds for pages to be written or doodled over.

Combine Distress Inks and Artistry Inks, and different colours for varying impressions and colour contrast effects.

I’ve also had a search through Barbara’s Blog for her wisdom and insights into Journaling and found this post from August; A for Acceptance. Barb uses the Floral Alphabet Stamp Set to create a therapeutic sentiment around a stamped letter in the page of a Petite Journal.

You could do this, too. Simply stamp a large Floral letter onto each page of a small Journal, and use words beginning with that letter to express yourself. When you get to Z on the 26th page, simply start with A again on the 27th page. You then have a road map ready for you to fill with your feelings and expressions, and the letter is there on each page to get you started and inspire you. Simple!

Barb’s A is for Acceptance, but yours could be for Adulation, Annoyance, Admiration, Avarice, Amusement, Astonishment, ‘appiness… 😉 It’s all about expressing yourself, and using the letters can be an easy starting point to get those emotions and feelings flowing on the page.

You could use the more difficult letters like Q and X to just colour and stamp under, or over. Or perhaps you might be feeling a touch quixotic? 😹😹😹 It really is up to you.

Finally, I have two more compelling articles for you. Click here and here for another two interesting and insightful reads on Journaling, if you’re still of a curious nature.

I do hope these posts have been engaging and thought-provoking to you. And as I said earlier above, if you decide to start a journal, or you’ve already started, we’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy your weekend, all. And take some time for yourself over the next couple of days, get around the Crafting table and get expressive, be it in a journal or otherwise.

Clarity Matters. It really does.

Jordan x

9 thoughts on “Journey into Journaling Continued

  • 18th October 2019 at 12:06 pm
    Permalink

    Hi Jordan
    Where can I find what people post in the gallery?
    Christine

    Reply
    • 18th October 2019 at 7:10 pm
      Permalink

      Hi Jordan,

      Glad you liked my comment about my journal. Really enjoyed reading all your ideas, must try to remember them when I get stuck on a page in the future. Love Barbara’s idea of the floral letters, a really good way to start a page will get the stamps eventually as I only have them in Groovi at the moment.

      Reply
  • 18th October 2019 at 1:27 pm
    Permalink

    I have decided to do journals for both of my grandchildren from the start of the new year.We always ask one another what we have done during our day when I do the school run to collect them,so thought it would be nice to put into picture or art something of relevance from those days,and there will always be a good quote to write from a 9 and5 year old !!

    Reply
    • 18th October 2019 at 2:03 pm
      Permalink

      That is such a lovely idea. What a treasure for them when they grow up!

      Reply
  • 18th October 2019 at 2:34 pm
    Permalink

    Thanks, Jordan, for putting together everyone’s thoughts and articles – really interesting.

    Reply
  • 18th October 2019 at 3:12 pm
    Permalink

    What a great idea, I will put this thought on hold until the new year though as I really need to get a few projects finished for Christmas first.

    Reply
  • 19th October 2019 at 10:09 am
    Permalink

    What a great, inspiring post, Jordan. Made me decide to NOT do my ironing today, but to go to my craft shed, dig out my little journal and start thinking about spending my time on me for a change.
    Take care, Corinna

    Reply
  • 20th October 2019 at 12:32 am
    Permalink

    Followed the link to Barbara’s blog about A for Acceptance. I love the idea of a journal with a different letter on each page. I got the Groovi floral alphabet and I’m going to use that in a journal this winter. Each letter will be an inspiration for positive words. Stamps would be better for this, but I had to choose and Groovi really is addicting.

    Reply
  • Pingback: Clarity Community Chest

Leave a Reply to Christine Marti Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *