upping the journaling game
If you are a regular follower here you should hopefully know by now the importance I put on journaling. I am a big supporter of "a life worth living is a lift worth recording".
But that focus is taking a bit of a shift.
Now when my title says How I Make My Journal Stand Out...I am not meaning to gain someone else's attention. Not really that at all. But I do want to get my attention. I want to add more time and energy to journaling. But I really like making pretty stuff. It's a daily and constant habit to embellish up the pages. So this is what I mean: I want my Journal Studio Insert pages to stand out to me. To draw me into my journal. This in turn motivates me to add words and photos to the travelers size book. It's all the good things of pretty and practical rolled up in one.
Let's be honest. I could just journal and put the words in and be actually super happy with that. I have a jotter on my desk that is just that. But seriously? Do I want to be that utilitarian? Nah...I want to make pretty stuff.
And so it goes - the first thing done in my journal insert is this: I create a cover page. A title page if you will. This one here is obviously June. June days. Using the Journal Studio Sticker Book and Ephemera pack, plus pattern paper, labels, and stamps I just get creative on this page which sets the tone for the pages to follow.
One of my go-to tricks for formatting my pages is to put the stickers on cardstock first. If you have watched my process videos on my YouTube channel you have heard me talk about this.
Making the stickers non-sticky does two things in this crafting process:
1. it allows me time to lay the sticker down on the page without having to commit to the placement
2. it gives shadow and lift to that that sticker on the page so that it is not flat to the background
This requires an extra step I know. But I am willing to take that step in order for my page to look like I want.
This also requires reliable adhesive.
This is my go-to arsenal of most loved and most used adhesives.
From the top, left to right:
1. Sticky Thumb Express Glue is a liquid glue for all my wet adhesive needs
2. Super Sticky Red Tape is a go-to double sticky tape used most often when crafting mini albums. If you are coming to my class at She Loves Color in October I highly recommend having this on hand.
3. Sticky Thumb Tape Runner. More on that one in a second.
4. Sticky Thumb Foam Dots. Yes. Always. Constantly. Always on my work table.
5. And my last super most used favorite is the Sticky Thumb Sticky Dots. I use these everywhere in my studio. Not just on the paper projects.
The Tape Runner is my most often used adhesive. One way I use this adhesive is in the process of formatting a page, I will use a small amount of the tape on the back of the photo or embellishment. Just enough to set it in place and not move. When I am ready to commit I can easily pull the item up and then add more adhesive to place it permanently.
And that is just the beginning. Crafting in my journal has to be pretty. And the embellishments and photos have to stay put.
This is just one way I make my Journal Studio journal stand out.
I want to invite you to follow along in July. As I up my journaling game, and explore how to continually learn to better tell my story, I will be delving into those ideas and more as a theme on my blog in July. I hope you will follow along.
I would love to know about your journaling. Do you journal daily? Weekly? Do you bullet journal? Or write small tomes on your experiences? Are you challenged by journaling? Would love to have you comments below.
Thank you for reading and joining me here today for this Journal Studio post.
This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of jamiepate.com I do receive financial compensation and material product from American Crafts to develop my craft posts, but all ideas and opinions are my own.
supplies:
Heidi Swapp Journal Studio Collection:
How I Make My Journal Stand Out with Heidi Swapp Journal Studio by Jamie Pate | @jamiepate for @heidiswapp
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