This month, let’s talk about journaling. You journal in your scrapbooks, your diary, your daily planner...why not in your altered books? In this article I’ll show some examples of using an altered book as a basis for a memory book. For me, I’m finding that I’m reminiscing a lot and I thought it would be nice to record these random and fleeting memories of my youth. In this book, I’m focusing on school days in particular.
And now that the kids are back to school and making future memories of their own, wouldn’t it be great to encourage them to record the events of their days? How many times do you wish you had more details about that fight with your best friend or what your daily routine was like or why exactly you joined the physics club in the first place?
I’d like to propose “Family Journaling Time.” Have everyone take out as little as 30 minutes a few nights a week and sit down with your altered books and a few supplies. You don’t need much, as you’ll see in the project instructions. The kids can write/doodle about their days and you and your partner can recall those days gone by. I bet it would make fascinating reading and help your kids realize you were a kid once too.
Dry adhesives are the best way to go when journaling, in my opinion. When I’m on a roll, I hate to wait for gel medium or other wet glues to dry. Use glue sticks, double-stick tape, glue dots, photo corners and similar when journaling.
Make use of your huge stash of paper crafting supplies, papers in particular, to create simple backgrounds that are easy to write on. Utilize your computer and printer for journaling longer stories so they fit well on your pages. Try out assorted background techniques covered in this article series and experiment when you have time to do so.
When I was close to ending one of my journaling sessions, I decided to get some pages really wet by playing with some new paints I bought recently. I did a basic monoprint technique, which didn’t take a lot of time and I set it aside to dry for completion another day and here’s the result. I love these gloss paints because they really change the texture of the pages from anything I’m used to working with. I’ve also found that these glossy paints provide a really nice foundation for using your Permapaque and Glaze pens.
It never hurts to reflect a little on what’s happened in your past, because it almost always can provide insight as to who you are now and who you are yet to become. Recording those reflections for generations to come is a great gift you can give to yourself and to your children.
