Journal’s End

Hey everyone, Jordan here today. I hope you’ve been doing well, wherever in the world you may be reading this.

Today I’m going to wrap up our little look at the art of Journaling. Thanks again to those Clarity Crafters who offered their insight and ideas last time, It really is appreciated. We here at Clarity Towers love hearing your insights into Crafting, as I’m sure those Crafters who read this blog, but perhaps don’t post comments, do too.

How has your Journaling project started? Progressing well? If you decided to start one, I really hope you’ve found it beneficial to both your crafting skills and your mental well-being.

So, what do we do once our Journal is full? As in, before you start another? There are a few answers to that question.

You could perhaps remove the pages of work you were unhappy with and keep the book semi-intact, with pages missing. You could (safely, of course) burn the Journal once it’s complete. This falls under the category of Writing Therapy, where it can be recommended that you dispose of your writing once complete, in order to ‘put to bed’ that which you have been working out.

You could remove the pages that you like from the journal first, and then dispose of all your rough workings and those pages where you worked through something circumstantially difficult. Or you could seal up the journal; Wrap it in papier mache, and bind in a twine bow, to be stored as a marker of your progress as both a Journaler and the difficulties that you’ve overcome in your life.

Of course, you needn’t stand too much on ceremony, if you choose. A journal is as involved or as casual as you’d like it to be. If you find your Journal has let you write down feelings you might not otherwise express, be they private and personal or not, you might want it disposed of once it’s full. And that’s completely OK.

Or, you might find your Journal is almost like an ideas notepad, holding your scribbles, doodles and other whims. If you fall into this camp, you might find the process of binding or disposing of your Journal a bit unnecessary. And that’s OK too! Journaling is what we want it to be, and ultimately it’s for our mental well-being. It’s all in the process, not the resulting pages.

Perhaps you know of someone you think would benefit from Journaling? It can be a great help to those who find self-expression to be difficult. A good way to get a crafting somebody interested is to pick them up a petite Journal, and to create the first page for them. Fill it with sentiment, thought and interesting visuals to get their creative juices flowing.

If you do this, be sure not to over-polish the first page; after all, it isn’t about setting a standard for the completed work on the following pages, but more leading by example and showing what you can achieve very quickly and easily. Show whoever will be receiving your Journal gift that what matters is the expression of ideas, worries and dreams, and not the final product on the page.

Mixed Impressions

In fact, our brand new Mixed Impressions stamp sets would make for a spectacular first page in a gifted Journal. You could even apply these textures to every page in the Journal, for the recipient to scribble, write and ruminate over in pens and pencils.

Or, of course, you could use them in your own Journal! They pair off brilliantly with our Mixed Media Stamp set, too.

We launched these just yesterday on Hochanda – if you missed them, click here to take a look. They’re absolutely ideal for Journaling.

Beautiful textures

Self-expression is such a powerful tool of self-care. When we express ourselves in a safe environment, we empower our dreams and banish our nightmares. We embolden our vision of a better self, and we remove some of the power that our fears can hold over us. I know it might sound a bit silly, or maybe even a bit pretentious, but it works. It really does!

So when selecting products to use in your Journal, again remember this process is just for you. Choose stencils, Stamps and Inks that reflect your interests or stir something in you. Perhaps, for your next Journal, you might consider a themed work? Maybe you focus on a passion, like a recipe diary. Or something more abstract; do you find solace in fantasy? Dragons and Wizards, Princes and Princesses? Or perhaps you find the world of Knit Craft a solace? Or Classical Music, maybe? There’s a Journal for that… your next Journal 🙂 create a keepsake place for those images and ideas you find powerful and moving. Your Journal is your place, your space, your little haven away from a *sometimes* stressful world.

For now, then, I shall leave you to it. Enjoy your Saturday, everyone.

Clarity Matters. It really does.

And remember, all; so do you.

Until next time.

Jordan x

One thought on “Journal’s End

  • 30th November 2019 at 9:24 am
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    Sometimes it is a good idea to focus on the positives in your life. Gratitude journals are one example. It can be good to express your feelings but, if those feelings are overwhelming, it can also bring you down, particularly if you are ill. If you look at the positives, you are building the best of your life up even if the pluses are little glimmers when you start to notice them. Journals don’t have to be a book. You could keep a box for the leaf you like or the stone you found with a child and odd pages. Then you have a first aid box for the times you can’t see any positives because you can get the box out and they are all there for you.

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