Journaling seams to be a creativity that includes many forms of art. It can embrace different skill levels and so many ideas.
Visual Journal - images on paper - painted, drawn, collage - with or without words. (many types of paper books are suitable)
Sketch Book - the artist draws images of ideas that they will later use in their type of art. (suitable purchased paper book)
Stitch Journal - a slow stitcher will record their stitching on textile - usually on a fabric paged book.
Writing Journals - mainly words, page after page - not unlike a diary,
Junk Journals - make your own book using whatever papers you have at hand. No rules on how to make or use your junk journal.
Exploring Junk Journals
The internet and youtube are full of tips on how to make junk journals. A naked junk journal refers to a handmade book, usually made from re-purposed paper that you may happen to have. How people work in a naked journal seams to be on a spectrum from -
making it look like a scrapbook with bits and pieces of paper, using tabs, envelope pockets, etc.
collage with magazine images glued and pen work and ink and paint used to embellish
a writing diary
or why not - your shopping list.
Why do journalling?
Learn to embrace simple creativity in your own way which leads to courage and confidence.
Value process over product and everything doesn't have to be pretty or perfect or even seam to have a purpose.
Your work may let you dream, see your own heart and help you take actions in your life.
You may experience how art can heal.
Be surprised that art can lead to bigger, better things as you experiment with new techniques, grow new talents and explore different ideas.
Starting a simple Visual Journal.
Can you be big enough to get over the fact you may have done a similar thing at school? Can you now think of paper collage as another valid art form? Can you tear (Not Cut) three or four images out of a magazine and glue them into a book?
Then collect basic supplies of -
Writing Pen, Pencil and eraser. Can add black felt-tip pens and coloured textures.
Glue - My preferences are -
a good quality glue stick - (easy to use for flat paper to flat paper)
clear craft glue (bonds lots of surfaces)
and in time Mod Podge, Matt for glueing and sealing tissue and fabric type textures. (works like PVA glue diluted but I can never get the right consistency so as to not make the paper too wet)
Some kind of paper book - re-cycle a book of any kind, purchase a spiral art-shop book or make your own junk journal.
Magazine or newspaper for images.
Put them together in a work space so it's easy to access them all when you sit to work.
Simple College page Step one - come --- sit ---relax --- breath (make sure you have good posture and light & ventilation) Step two - tear out three or four images from your magazines. Glue them in your book. Step three - Look and think - is a word coming to mind? Write it in or give the page a title. Done. Doesn't have to be a work of art. It's a start. At convenient times continue to do more pages along with looking and thinking. If you want to add another step or two you can start to embellish your pages in simple ways with pens, colour pencils. Youtube has loads of ideas. Explore the ideas suggested below.
Ideas for your Journaling Journey - (no need to work in order. Can repeat or leave out. Don't understand the instruction - make up your own)
Collage - no theme - as detailed above in "Starting a Simple Visual Journal" - tear out 3 or 4 images from magazine or newspaper that speak to you. Glue down in your book. Embellish with a word or words.
Collage - same as point 1. but start with a theme - a word or a saying you've found - then find magazine images that illustrate.
Same as point 1. but start with a background that you have painted or you've glued patterned or coloured paper, or even one lovely page of a magazine. Work over the top of this full-paged image.
Work inside a frame - Draw a wide fancy frame (or find one in a magazine you've clued in) and work in the white space inside. Block out a white area of paper, using cardboard piece, paint page - remove. Work in the white space.
Hide Words of a written journal - for privacy - use embellishments, patterns etc.
Extend an image - glue in the middle of your page an image from a magazine or a colouring book or even a piece of fabric. Then using a felt-tipped pen continue that pattern to the edges of your page.
Neatly cut out an image from a magazine, (probably of a person.) Glue on page and draw in surroundings.
Brass Rubbing - take some thin paper and using crayon rub over a textured surface. Marks will form. Clue onto page for background texture.
Tissue paper - Use Mod Podge (under and over) to glue strips of tissue paper as a background or over images. The tissue paper goes opaque where there is glue allowing any colour or marks underneath to be seen therefore ensure work is well glued.
Paper Serviettes - Similar to point 9. Cut out image from the serviette. Peal off backing papers (serviettes are usually 3 ply) Use Mod Podge to glue (under and over) as a background or to let images already on the page to come through.
Weaving - using a ruler rip two different types of magazine pages into strips (maybe a very colourful page and a page of newspaper print) and weave to make an interesting page. Glue in your book.
Feature a Word/s - use a stencil, tear words from a magazine/newspaper, large letters, variety.
Feature a number/s - similar to point 12.
Only black and white images and marks.
Only two colours - all images and pen work is colour co-ordinated.
Outline - use a silhouette (or trace around your hand) and work within the lines.
Same as 15. but work outside the lines and leave the silhouette white.
Use different paint or liquid inks - can be loosely/roughly applied. Using black felt-tip pen draw where lines or find images and patterns not unlike zentangle and doodling.
Re-visit a page. Add white paint with fading edges to the centre of a page and write in a thought/word. Glue images from a serviette over it. Splash on paint. Sometimes a "not so good" page can be given new life.
Incorporate interesting items - fabric, labels, stickers, strips of tape on your page.
Incorporate old sheet music, textured or interesting re-cycled papers, paper you have rusted or tea dyed etc.
Repeat the image on the same page (maybe 3 or 6 times) using different embellishments on each image. I've found the same add in weekly newspapers and cut out the face to glue in a circle. Some floral paper has repeats of an image or photocopy one of your own photos,
Use stencils to over paint your page or make interesting patterns for a background or embellishing.
Zentangle and/or doodle - felt tipped pen work on paper. (click on free style drawing button under Pen to Paper to see how I explored this area) You can work the whole page just in zentangle pen work or use the patterns as embellishment.