Not every journal needs to lie flat. Some journals feel more alive when they grow a little wild…bursting seams, layered pages, thick textures, pockets on pockets, bits sticking out everywhere. There’s something wonderful about a chunky journal you can hold in your hands. It feels like a collection of moments, a book that has lived…
Anxiety is something I’ve had to learn from the outside looking in. It’s not a word I usually use to describe myself, but someone I love — my daughter — knows it well. We talk about it often, and those conversations have opened my eyes. Anxiety isn’t just “feeling worried.” It’s physical. It’s loud. It’s…
One of the funniest things that happens when you start junk journaling is that your brain changes a little. Suddenly nothing looks like trash anymore. You start seeing potential everywhere. A cereal box becomes sturdy tag backing.An old library card looks like the perfect journaling card.A vintage flashcard at the antique store makes your heart…
I’ve always loved adding tags to my journals. There’s just something about the shape, the little reinforcement circle, the way they slide into pockets or peek out from the edges. They add texture, interest, and a bit of mystery to a page. But I’ll be honest, there have been times I’ve sat there holding a…
One of my favorite things about art journaling is adding texture. I love pages that look touched, lived-in, layered, and interesting. But sometimes the actual bulk — the bumps, the thick layers, the things that make your journal impossible to close — gets in the way. There’s a time and place for chunky journals, but…
I’ve always known words were powerful, but I didn’t realize how quietly damaging some of my everyday phrases were until God nudged me in the softest, but firmest way. When my daughter Mae was little, we had a habit of calling her “painfully shy.”We said it in front of her. We said it to strangers….
I don’t know about you, but I can fall down the Instagram and Pinterest rabbit hole in about three seconds. There are so many amazing tag ideas out there — shapes, layers, textures, pockets, clusters — and every time I see one, I think, I want to try that. But when I actually sit down…
Some of my favorite journal pages have started with nothing more than color. No theme, no plan, no big idea. Just a color that caught my eye. Sometimes it was an image in a magazine. Sometimes it came from a piece of packaging. Sometimes it was simply a color I kept reaching for over and…
Plus 5 forgiveness verses to use in your journal Forgiveness has never been something I just “snap into.” I used to think I should be able to move on quickly if I prayed hard enough, but that’s not how the heart works. Hurt settles in deep places. It shows up in ways we don’t expect….
How Better Color Choices Fix Everything Every artist and journaler I know has had this moment. You finish a page, step back, and something about it just feels wrong. Not bad exactly. Just off. The elements are fine. The layout is fine. The technique is fine. But the page doesn’t look the way you imagined…
I talk to a lot of women who want to draw but feel a surprising amount of fear around it. They want to try sketching in their journals, they admire other people’s faces or florals or little doodles on Instagram, and yet when they sit down with a pen and a blank page, something inside…
I have a confession:I don’t draw faces — yet. I use them in my journals sometimes through cutouts, prints, or collage bits created by other artists (and they truly are beautiful). And yes, I have drawn a face or two myself along the way, but I’m not good at it. Somewhere deep down, I’ve always…