Cover Image: Creative Journaling

Creative Journaling

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I am a jeweler and crafter but have only made four journals (that I gave away) to date. I’ve read numerous articles on Pinterest and watched YouTube videos on how to journal but having all that information all in one place is priceless. So when I say I love this book, I really, really love it. I even placed my preorder for this book before I wrote this review!
The author explains about using all sorts of items to make a journal personally yours or for others. I’ve even used some of the ideas, e.g. mixed media, when making earrings with puzzle pieces. There is no wrong way really and what might be seen as a mistake is really a learning opportunity. It’s a wonderful reference book that every serious crafter will want to have in their repertoire.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this book. I've been bullet journaling for a while now and the first section of this book dealt with ideas to use in a journal like that - most of which I'd seen before but a few of which I'll be trying.

I'm not particularly artistically blessed, but I do enjoy having a go. For me, the junk (harsh word, I think odds and ends or special papers maybe fits better) journaling and the mixed media section were great for this. Lots of new ideas to me and I'm inspired! A way to put together some artistic layouts that maybe frame a quote or record highlights of a holiday.

The instructions in this book are described in another review as "A little more than an overview but less than an in-depth how to." and I think that's exactly right. I thought it was clear enough to get started in the areas I know nothing about but not so simple I couldn't find things in the section I did have some experience in.

Recommended for those who enjoy journaling, recording their thoughts, diaries and mementos and other things in an visually attractive way.

Was this review helpful?

Creative Journaling: A Guide to Over 100 Techniques and Ideas for Amazing Dot Grid, Junk, Mixed Media, and Travel Pages by Renee Day is exactly what the title states: a superbly creative and fun guide to journaling!

Creative Journaling is a high quality piece, and the images are immediately recognisable as Renee Day’s. They would all fit perfectly onto her Instagram feed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some had been lifted from it.

My favourite layout within the book is definitely the ‘Easiest Reusable Weekly Layout’; this would be such a good time and space saver. Essentially, the key to this layout is to craft your weekly layout with sticky notes and then use a smaller sticky tab at the bottom to list the date the calendar begins on. Day uses a very simple example, but I think it would be fun to invest some time into the design so that you can enjoy it for the month ahead.

I’m planning to give this reusable layout a go in my January set up, but I’ll be combining it with my monthly overview. My monthly overview will act as the base and then I’ll layer the sticky notes on top. This way I can plan the weeks and if things change I don’t have to worry about being messy or running out of space, I can just change out the note.

A couple of the ideas in the early sections of Creative Journaling have been on the likes of Pinterest forever, but for the most part, Day puts her own spin onto them and makes them accessible; there’s nothing worse than seeing an intimidating design with no tutorial. Day is quite literally here to save the day though! Her tutorials are easy to follow as there’s both a text explanation and an image for every step.

Moving on to a later section where Day explores different kinds of journals, I found the junk journal to resonate with me; I love keeping mementos, yet I never know what to do with them. If I give it a go, I plan to have mine be more of a postcard appreciation journal than a junk journal though. It would be wonderful to collate my collective and house them in a creative piece that I can enjoy.

I hope that this book encourages people to give journaling a go and to realise that there is absolutely no right or wrong way to go about it. With that in mind, I am surprised that there’s no official hashtag for Insta so that we can see how people utilise her ideas.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first introduction to journaling and I found this book to be very informative with plenty of ideas to get started with this hobby. My favourite section was the dot grid, I enjoyed seeing the different layouts and the step by step instructions with photos are first class. I definitely recommend this book for anyone starting out in journaling. Thank you #netgalley.

Was this review helpful?

Like a lovely journey through Instagram hashtags, except without the mistakenly tagged ripped guys with motorcycles. (Wait, what?)

In all seriousness, this is a gorgeous book. One of the things I love about dot journaling is how versatile it is, and how open to newbies. If you see a thing you like, you can just do it, and it's not that hard. I also like that artistic talent in the traditional sense isn't a requirement, only that you try stuff and see what works best for you.

That being said, I really enjoyed how this book combined really detailed how-tos with a variety of techniques from extreme lo-tech to multi-step fanciness. It's filled with beautiful photographs and stuffed with ideas - many of which I would never have thought of, and I bookmarked a whole bunch of spread how-to pages. A bujo addition that I will definitely be making to my small collection of books once it's released.

Was this review helpful?

An easy to read and use primer with plenty of ideas for daily use in any type of planner. I found some of the ideas really creative and will use it for my daily planner. What I liked are the ideas to make short specific planners yourself, for example a simple booklet for travels.

Was this review helpful?

Good jump off ideas for some types of journals - dot, junk and travel. Some tips and examples to start off. Could make these ideas your own. visuals and step by step for all ideas.

Was this review helpful?

There's all kinds of examples and templates to follow and/or use for inspiration in your own journaling journey. I, for one, LOVE all the fancy ideas in here and will be putting several to good use. 5 stars!!

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced PDF so that I can share my opinions with y'all

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this book, especially the first half when Renee Day gives you ideas on how to set up a dot journal with calendar grids, to-do lists, and goal lists using pens, rulers, occasionally scissors, and some trimmings. She uses rather expensive pens, but, as she explains, you can do these with any sort of supplies from the dollar store (and maybe a set of Ink Joy pens from Walmart). I especially liked the half page designs as dividers; never thought of doing that in a journal, so to me it was quite creative.

The second half of the book was about making what I think of as "scrapbooks," and I didn't find that all so interesting. I prefer to express myself in writing and wish she had ideas for lined journals. However, for those who express themselves more in art, there are some really cute designs here using simple stenciling technique, watercolor, and gesso.

Was this review helpful?

If, like me, you look at the amazing journal pages on sites such as Pinterest and realise you are never going to be able to achieve anything close to them then this book is for you! It starts with basic designs and if you can work with a ruler and some washi tape you can make your own designs and be proud of them.

Gradually more experience is needed but whether you work through the book or dip and delve your confidence will grow and so will your artistic talents. There are some specialised pieces of equipment needed for certain projects, but nothing you can't find on the internet and they are mixed with everyday items we all have lying around waiting to be reused. There was nothing that I felt I couldn't source or attempt in this book and I expect my efforts to vastly improve as I produce pages I thought were beyond me.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who wants to try journaling but finds it all a bit daunting, I think this book will help you to surprise yourself.

Was this review helpful?

I just got into bullet journaling, so when I came across this book, I knew I had to take a look. I LOVE the layout and format of this book and the tips are wonderful! Super comprehensive and fun guide, will definitely be recommending it on my blog and using it as a reference for all my future bullet journaling projects!

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely loved this. Very easy to follow, quick, clear instructions. It definitely helped me become creative while also allowing my personal style to shine. Definitely a great tool for any begginer.

Was this review helpful?

In 2017 I randomly found Dot Journaling and was immediately hooked. I’ve always had an obsession with planners, but none of the books I found in stores ever really seemed to be geared towards what I was looking for. So finding out there were blank books and a technique of creating your own layouts and journal style as you go definitely appealed to me. That being said, I’m only slightly ashamed to say that I bought all the materials, but fizzled out as soon as I realized it was a lot more in depth and required way more actual thought and work than I had anticipated.

Welp, it’s 2019 (almost 2020) and I’m ready to take another whack at Bullet Journaling! This time in the form of a reading journal...enter Creative Journaling.

In Creative Journaling, Renee Day gives us a ton of inspiration and ideas. She includes step-by-step instructions for making beautiful layouts and journal pages, for all sorts of different journal types and using all kinds of materials and supplies. I really enjoyed that Day didn’t dive into what you should fill your journal pages with. She shows the reader how to make amazing, professional and colorful looking templates and offered suggestions, but really left the creativity and content up to the reader. It made it seem like she was teaching us instead of telling us what to do!

While reading, I found a bunch of different layout set-ups that I can’t wait to try incorporating into my new bullet journal. If the idea of journaling appeals to you, or if you’re already a journal keeper, but running low on inspiration, Creative Journaling is the book for you!

Was this review helpful?

This book provides several creative ways to journal as well as guides with how to carry out the ideas. It is not excessively detailed and the presentation is certainly appealing from the guides to the journal ideas themselves. I especially loved that it covered mixed media journaling and junk journaling, though it seemed the ideas on junk journaling were sort of lacking and basically, "Take things that you might throw away and put them in a journal. Make it unique." It's not a bad idea, but I would have loved more examples, especially compared to the other types of journaling. Also, be prepared for washi tape on everything, including how to make your own. I loved all the DIY ideas that are also included. The travel journaling section is also cute and vintage looking. The mixed media journaling was the most impressive and interesting and gave me several ideas that I want to implement. I think this would be excellent for anyone interested in stepping up their journals, but my teenage self would have loved to have had this book for ideas.

Was this review helpful?

Great book with tonnes of ideas. Fab for fans on washy tape. I especially like the mixed media ideas. I have serious handwriting envy though!

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely loved this book! The author covers dot grid journaling (bullet journaling), junk journaling, mixed-media journaling, travel journaling and even shows a few DIY accessories and papers at the end.
I am not a complete beginner in bullet or travel journaling but this book has so many ideas I want to test right away! I did try junk and mixed-media journaling a couple of years ago but was a bit lost about all the techniques and materials (what do I really need? Do I need a craft room full of stuff to be able to start?). Renee Day gives many tips and tricks, she shows beautiful layouts and explains how to recreate them. I feel so inspired and motivated!
The layout of the book itself is very clean and appealing, the pictures are gorgeous, the directions are easy to follow and short. I really recommend this book to beginners in any of the journaling types showed as well as to anyone who needs inspiration and wants to look at beautiful pictures.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I love this! I bought a really nice planner to keep for this year (2020) and this gives me some great ideas for it. It also helped me find the confidence to just do it and stop letting my journals collect dust because I'm guilty of that too. I'm so ready.

Was this review helpful?

This book is fantastic. I am honestly more of a doodler and drawing to express my feelings kind of girl so this book was perfect fro me. It has tons of very inspirational ideas on how to make your journal or day planner creative and meaningful for you. It gives a broad overview into multiple concepts to add pizazz to whatever you use to either keep your daily thoughts or organize your tasks. I have found tons of fun ideas to incorporate into the things i use daily. It is also fantastic stress relief to just sit and make it fun. I loved it an i highly recommend it to any doodles crafter or serious journal writer that also likes to just be creative. I have incorporated ideas into my daily planner, personal journal and just a doodle book that I carry around to just draw in. So I literally found a ton of ways to use this book. I received t from NetGalley for an honest review and I not only recommend i i plan to get it as a gift for several people that ai know will love it as a gift.

Was this review helpful?

This book is so full of wonderful ideas! There are beautiful photos and well written directions. There is so much inspiration that it is hard to explain. The ideas of using simple things like cans to make circles, glue to make a raised design, using washi tape, markers, watercolors and many everyday things which appeals to my sense of recycle, reuse and renew.

The author covers different types of creative journaling. There is Dot Journaling, Grid Journaling, Junk Journaling, Mixed Media, and Travel Journaling. If you have any inclination to start/learning journaling this would be a terrific book.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

It’s been a few years since I stumbled across the concept of Bullet Journaling, and it grabbed me from the start: a mix of organisation and creativity sounds absolutely my thing! However, I’ve fallen into a bit of a rut with my ‘spreads’ (page designs) over the past year, never really got as creative with it all as I wanted, and am actually taking a bit of a break right now. My intention is to start a new journal with new enthusiasm for the new year.

So, when I spotted this book on NetGalley, it felt like a bit of a sign! 😉

Renee Day is behind the instagram account @theDIYday, and if you’re familiar with it you might know what to expect from this book. It covers four different kinds of journalling – dot grid (what I’d call bullet journaling), junk (aka altered book), mixed media, and travel. There are also section at the start and end on choosing materials and supplies, types of lettering, and making your own ‘extras’.

The first section was of most interest to me. If you’re a long-time ‘BuJo’er’ then you might find this a bit basic, or like me you might be glad of the different ideas – all fairly simple and ‘doable’, thank goodness! In fact, the idea of a reusable layout page struck me as genius! There are different styles, different techniques or embellishments, all presented in a step-by-step form with added hints and tips.

The ideas do get progressively more complex, so as a beginner you could follow each in turn and build your confidence – and your craft stash, if you want to try them all! I’d never thought about using my card-making kit (stamps, punches, etc) for my journal, but what a great way to try stuff out.

Up to this point, Ms Day is on the side of stamps and tapes rather than a lot of artistic skill, which is something of a relief. She gets a bit more crafty with the ‘junk journaling’, something new to me but which is quite intriguing, and more again with the mixed media. This feels aspirational for me right now – maybe after some confidence building with my bujo I’ll feel more capable of creating a ‘hot glue layout’, or something as pretty as the 'stitched galaxy layout'.

After the fairly self-explanatory travel journalling section, I really loved the section on ‘DIY accessories’ – make your own tabs looks fab, and I would never have thought of making my own washi tape or decorated paperclips.

Overall, this is a lovely book full of ideas for beginners and more experienced journallers alike. The step-by-step instructions makes it a lot more accessible than the equivalent blog/social-media offering, too. Recommended – and might just spark a good New Year’s Resolution for me :)

Was this review helpful?