Things I've written about recently in my journal

Over the last year I allowed myself to get out of the habit of regular journalling. I'm not sure why exactly, but although I often thought of something that I would like to journal about, I couldn't encourage myself to pick up a pen and start writing.

But I have recently been inspired again, and here are some of the things that I've been writing about:

* I found a diagram in my daughter's Geography textbook which I found really interesting. It was very similar to this one on BBC Bitesize, and it explained how caves, arches, stacks and stumps are formed. I don't know why, but something about it really appealed to me, so I made a copy and stuck it in!

* We bought a new side table which matches some of our existing furniture, and so I glued in the page from the catalogue. It will remind me in the future which range it is, in case we want to add to it, and as I'm hoping to own the furniture for a good while yet I think it will be interesting to look back on.

* I wrote about a walk that I took on a sunny day over the weekend, and painted the background green to match the lovely green fields that I walked through.

* I documented a positive technology experience - using ChatGPT to find out the name and author of a science fiction short story that I remember enjoying years ago and then finding a free public domain copy on Amazon which I could download to my Kindle ("The Poison Belt" by Arthur Conan Doyle if you are interested).

* Before Christmas I bought some beautiful poinsettia plants which still look lovely, and I pressed some of the leaves. I then painted a page green and glued in the leaves, I love the papery texture. It didn't capture the true colours that well, but it's a reminder of how much I enjoyed the bright red leaves before they start to fade.

I also have a couple of other notebooks/journals that I update regularly. I have a Gardening Journal, and I've been making notes of how the garden is coming on this spring, things that I've planted and so on. I also have an Everest Journal, although it is slowly expanding into a more general Himalayan, mountaineering journal. This week I watched 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible and I've been making notes about the things that I found interesting.

Photo credit lilartsy via Unsplash

I'm so glad that I've picked up the habit again!

Starting my second journal

Around this time last year I began to write regularly in my journal, and I soon progressed to adding ephemera along with a few illustrations. I've mentioned my journal a lot on my blog.

I've written about how I use my journal, shared some of the things that I have stuck in to my journal, and how I use my journal to help me notice the things around me. I've also blogged about overcoming my fear of journalling in public, and how I use my journal to spark my creativity. A regular journalling habit has become really important to me, and I always feel better after getting my thoughts down on paper.

My journal is a very simple Amazon Basics notebook (affiliate link), and it's slightly smaller than A4 size. I always look out for this notebook on Prime day as they are often reduced to half price. The pages aren't the best quality but they hold up well to my fountain pen and even some ink and watercolours. The paper is really smooth for comfortable writing and although the pages are thin they are still sturdy enough for plenty of gluing. There's also a handy pocket at the back for loose odds and ends.

I was running out of pages in my original journal just before we went away over Easter, so I decided that it would be a good time to start a new one. I removed the last few blank pages to try and make it a little flatter. I love this photo comparing my old and new journals - you can see just how much I stuffed it full with tickets, pictures, postcards, stickers, cards and all sorts of ephemera!

Now I'm starting again with a lovely empty book of clean pages. I love writing with my fountain pen, or cartridge pen as we used to call them back at school. I'm thinking about treating myself to some different coloured cartridges so that I can have a really colourful journal!

Things that I have stuck into my journal

 Things that I have already glued in my journal:

Stickers, seaweed, photographs that I've printed of things that interest me, packaging from food and snacks, notes from the children, wristbands, printed quotes from books, washi tape, business cards, scraps of fabric, notes found in second hand books, printed information from things I've researched, photographs from leaflets, confetti, gift tags, sand, drink mats, teabag tags, seed packets, leaves, maps, wrappers from watercolour paint blocks, dried flowers, set lists from concerts...

Things that I have yet to stick in my journal:

Postcards, wrapping paper, greetings cards, photographs, dried earth, seeds, stamps, tissue paper, patterned paper, ribbon, jokes from Christmas crackers, tickets, recipes, envelopes...

Tips for keeping a journal flat when it is filled with ephemera:

If you are planning to stick lots of things into a journal then you might want to consider a spiral bound sketchbook. The pages will be thicker so they can hold heavier items, and as well as giving you a bit more room because of the spiral binding it will also be easier to remove pages.

Removing pages will mean that the journal will lie flatter and be easier to write in as it fills up. You can also try to stick bulkier objects to different areas of the pages to spread them out at bit and use photographs or scans instead of originals.

Or you can just embrace the look of a splayed out journal, overflowing with all sorts of interesting things!

Ways to attach items inside a journal:

PVA glue (be careful as this can make the page wrinkly and takes longer to dry), a glue stick (keeps the page flat, dries quickly, not so good for heavier objects like dried flowers or leaves), paperclips, staples, sellotape, washi tape (not as sticky as sellotape and can peel off easily), BluTack (will lose it's stickiness over time and is quite bulky), glue dots, double sided tape, sewing, storing items inside envelopes (good for more delicate items that you don't want to cover in glue).

Remember that many of these adhesive methods (and for that matter most of the things that you are sticking inside) are not archival and will not last forever. It all depends how long you want the journal to survive - just for your lifetime or for many generations to come! If you are very concerned about the longevity of your journal then it's worth doing some research on what supplies to use and ways to preserve it. There are some good tips here - Best supplies for archival journal making.

Personally I'm making my journals for myself so I'm not too worried, and as long as I can look back through them in a few years time then I'm happy!

If you want to read more about my journal then you might like this post - How starting an illustrated journal helped me to notice things

How starting an illustrated journal helped me to notice things

I started a new journal in February this year, and I always knew that I wanted to make it an illustrated journal. I've written in more detail about how I use my journal here, but essentially it's a record of what I've been doing, places that I've visited, and what's on my mind at the time. I'm currently using a very simple Amazon Basics plain notebook (affiliate link), it's not a perfect watercolour paper but I like the way that my writing and drawing pens flow on the page, and as long as I don't add too much paint or water it's fine for simple sketches.

I like breaking the writing up with little pictures, I don't claim to be a great artist but my simple sketches are a way of recording something which was important to me at the time. Most of them only took 5-10 minutes which is exactly what I want as it needs to be a quick process.

I'm hoping that as I practice I'll get better and find it easier, and ultimately be able to take my journal out and about with me and illustrate it while I'm on the go! Especially for a travel journal, as I never get to sit still for very long when we are visiting somewhere. 

Since I started the journal, when I'm out and about I'm always on the lookout for something interesting to draw. I have a few regular walking and running routes near our house, and I've found myself noticing things that I never previously paid any attention to. For example the George V postbox in a brick and flint pillar which I've been obsessed with recently, I've drawn it loads of times but it always comes out a bit wonky!

I also noticed a little footpath down the side of a row of houses with a 'Private' sign on the gate and it has fascinated me, although I'm sure it only goes to the garden at the back of the house. I spotted an interesting gate in a wall that I pass on my walk over to the school, and the other day I was waiting in the shop for a pizza and I noticed a beautiful old church window framed by some modern houses. I've found myself snapping quick photos of all sorts of things and then hurrying home to attempt a vague reproduction in my journal! It's definitely helped me to notice more of what is going on around me.