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Today we have a guest post from Karen Grunberg all about her inspiring art journal journey and how she found her art journaling style.
The first time I decided I wanted to keep an art journal was in 2007. I had a 7-gypsies book in my stash, I decorated its cover with a photo I took and my word for that year.
I was super excited to fill its pages. During the next few weeks, I made a few collage pages. Some inspired by artists I admired, others using techniques I’d learned in the classes I took online. After the initial 4-5 pages, I didn’t touch that book again until 2010. When I finally finished it last year, I felt a sense of relief. Three years of trying again and again, and I was finally able to finish one art journal. I’ll admit that it was a lot of effort. I spent every single day in November of 2010 creating pages, just to finally be done with the book. I remember feeling frustrated each day and while I was proud to have completed it, the book just didn’t feel mine. It felt like a collection of my version of other people’s techniques and styles. It was beautiful. It just wasn’t “me.”
When I made my list of projects for 2011, art journaling weekly was at the top of the list. I knew I wanted to art journal more (I’d wanted to art journal more since 2007!) but I truly didn’t have an idea what that meant. What exactly was art journaling? When I looked around to people whose art I admired, I saw a wide variety. There was acrylics, collage, watercolor, fabric, drawing. I can go on and on. Instead of feeling inspired by the variety, I felt confused and frustrated. I didn’t know what was “right.” Where should I start? What did an art journal really look like? I signed up for a bunch of different classes, all claiming to teach me how to “get inspired.” But they just managed to confuse me further.
And then, two pivotal things happened. The first one was a blog post by Julie. I had seen similar week-long pages by Judy Wise and admired them, but I had never before thought I could create them, too. Julie’s post and the way she broke down her process was exactly what I needed. So I purchased the same journal and immediately started doing my own week-long pages. I used a wide variety. One week it would be watercolors:
Then doodling.
Then acrylics.
And then back to watercolors.
This project was a great step for me in unleashing my inner-artist. I would create some background pages on the weekends and then each day, I did a little bit of stamping, some coloring, and some writing. It felt very doable and I had a lot of fun with it. You can see all my pages here.
As much as I loved this new weeklong project, it wasn’t enough. I wanted to create those beautiful, artistic pages I saw others create. I kept searching for my artistic voice. I signed up for every class I could find online. My second pivotal event was taking Christy Tomlinson’s She Had Three Hearts Workshop. I’d already taken a previous course by her and it was good so I signed up for this one thinking it would be fun, too. But it was so much more than that, for me. As part of her class, Christy demonstrated several different mediums. She used videos so I could see exactly how each medium worked and there were a few that I had never tried that spoke to me.
Her class finally gave me the inspiration to sit down and create some pages. (Instead of just looking at them, bookmarking ideas, and never creating.) I bought a few new supplies and started to create daily. Within a few weeks, I’d accumulated a bunch of pages and while I liked these more, I still felt like something was lacking. My pages looked off to me but I kept creating and trying these new mediums anyway. One day, I was talking to my husband and I asked him what he thought of my most recent page. He said it was pretty but that the colors looked a little muddy.
It’s going to sound weird but, for whatever reason, it was exactly what I needed to hear at that very moment. His words made me realize the problem I had all along! If you’ve ever seen my scrapbook pages, I always use a white cardstock background. I like the way colors pop out on white. And yet, when I sat to art journal the first thing I did was to paint my background. That’s what all the classes tell you to do. It’s supposed to help you overcome the fear of the “blank page.” But I hated the way blue looks against a page with a yellow background. I disliked that a colored background meant any layer I added didn’t have the true color anymore. So, the very next day, I used a white background instead:
And suddenly, everything clicked for me. I’d finally found my way. Throughout the next few weeks, there were several other things that fell into place to define my personal way of art journaling but it all started with that white background. It freed me to let go of many other preconceived ideas I’d gotten from my classes.
So let me walk you through how I create a simple art journal page today and all the decisions I make along the way:
The first thing I do is cut a piece of paper. I do not use a journal. I like my pages to be loose so I can stitch all over them, so I no longer use bound journals. This, too, was a big change from the classes I took. They almost always tell you to get a journal.
I then pick some stencils I like and happy, bold, heavy body acrylic colors and create my focal point. Yet another no-no for art journaling according to the classes I take. You’re supposed to do your background first and focal point last. Not me.
I rarely use water. I tend to take my dry brush, dip it in the paint and go for it. I like the look it gives on the dry paper. Oh, and I use watercolor paper and I never gesso. I like the texture the watercolor paper gives my page. I don’t like how gesso feels. Unless the medium desperately needs it (like acrylic inks) I will not use gesso.
So here’s how it looks after my initial step. I just used two stencils and then similar colors to create a bit of a border. It’s messy and not tidy:
The next thing I do is stamp my saying. Each of my art journal pages have a saying. A meaning, a thought. To me, it’s a crucial part of the process. I do the same thing with my titles on my scrapbook pages. It’s the meaning behind this page. Why I created this particular page on this particular day. Most of the time, it’s a thought on my mind. Very rarely, it can be a quote or a song lyric. As I was stamping this one, I made a mistake and I wanted to keep the photo so you could see that it happens all the time:
That “f” is supposed to be a “t.” So I used gesso to erase it (another advantage of a white background) and re-stamped on it when it dried. Here’s the page with the full title:
The next thing I do is use some of the stamps I have as texture and layers. I’ve accumulated these over time and I have a baggie of them so I can use different ones on each page. (Though I always seem to prefer the same few stamps.)
Here’s how the page looks once I’ve stamped on it some. This is another area where I make it my own. I have a stamp I use on every single page. It’s my “signature.” It’s the little “be you” stamp on the upper left corner of the photo.
I then added some pen ouline to the butterflies and circles to tidy them up a bit and make sure they popped out. The last thing I do is stitch all around the page and I am done. Sometimes I might stitch on my focal point, too. But not this time.
You might find it too sparse or even boring. That’s totally ok. The thing about art journaling is that it’s personal. What speaks to me might not speak to you and vice versa.
After four years and many, many, many pages, I feel like I am finally finding my personal voice and style of art journaling. I create a page almost every day and most of them are simple like the one above. I love the process and the end result. Sometimes I vary the look and try something new. But most of the time, I stick to what I love and what speaks to me.
That’s the trick with art. Doing what speaks to you. If you’re struggling like I was, I recommend throwing all the “rules” you’ve learned out the window and trying some new things. Here are some ideas of what you can try:
- A different type of paper
- I tried everything I had at home and bought a few new things. I finally found one specific paper I love the feel of and now I use that most of the time. I also found I love watercolor paper and not canvas. I love loose paper and not bound.
- A different medium (watercolor, acrylic, pan pastel, pastel, oil, etc.)
- I much prefer heavybody acrylics. I also adore pan pastels. I use watercolor on my sketches, but rarely on my art journal pages. I do like the feel of watercolor pencils and have it on my list to try them more often. The medium you use can make a world of difference. Don’t go out and buy a bunch of things but see if you can find a friend to borrow supplies from or see if you can go to a local studio for open art time.
- A different background
- Try using white. Try putting tissue paper all over the background. Or stamping all over it. Try using black paper. Kraft paper. See what speaks to you.
- A different order
- Dare to do your focal point first. Do the journaling first. Or create a page with no focal point. With three focal points. Just experiment on your own with doing things in a completely different order so you can see what inspires you the most.
Most importantly, the best thing you can do is to keep creating. Before I discovered my way, I made over 200 pages. If I hadn’t made all those pages, I would never have discovered that I didn’t like the way the colors looked muddy. I would never have found the paper I like or the colors I prefer. Lessons and bookmarks are great inspiration, but you can only learn and grow by trying. By experimenting and finding your own personal preferences.
Give yourself the time and space to play and discover what feels authentic to you. Take it from me: you do not have to do it the way everyone else does. We are all different and we have the space to express our uniqueness; that’s what makes art so incredibly powerful.
Thank you for letting me share my own journey with you and huge thanks to Julie for sharing so much of herself, her journey, and her process with us. She inspires me endlessly and I am very honored to be here today.
I live in Northern California with my husband, Jake, and our two kids David (6.5) and Nathaniel (2.5) I am incredibly happy to be working from home so I get to spend my moments with our two kids while working as a Technical Project Manager for Google on one of my favorite products, Google Chrome. Besides art journaling as often as I can, I also like to read, scrap, take family photos, and learn new crafts. I also love to take classes and teach classes.
Karen's Blog: Karenika
Karen has a new class at Big Picture Class currently available for sale called "Claiming My Time."
This course is about taking a good look at how you're spending your time and what you wish you do more of (spend time with kids playing games, exercise, paint, whatever) and how to align the two. It has specific exercises, ways to create and find time to do what you love. And we create a minibook to remind you of your plans for the new year. It's a 4 week course but 3 weeks are in Dec and 1 week in January to allow for holiday time. It will also be open all year with monthly checkins with me.
Thank you for this post Karen & Julie. I am still looking for my style and have found it difficult to continue because I didn’t want expert’s ‘lookalike’ pages. Dina Wakely is the only other artist I know that uses lots of white. I’m already doing Julie’s 30 days in your journal class and signed up yesterday for Karen’s Claiming my time class. Maybe 2012 will be when I find my style.
Thank you for this post Karen & Julie. I am still looking for my style and have found it difficult to continue because I didn’t want expert’s ‘lookalike’ pages. Dina Wakely is the only other artist I know that uses lots of white. I’m already doing Julie’s 30 days in your journal class and signed up yesterday for Karen’s Claiming my time class. Maybe 2012 will be when I find my style.
Thank you for this post Karen & Julie. I am still looking for my style and have found it difficult to continue because I didn’t want expert’s ‘lookalike’ pages. Dina Wakely is the only other artist I know that uses lots of white. I’m already doing Julie’s 30 days in your journal class and signed up yesterday for Karen’s Claiming my time class. Maybe 2012 will be when I find my style.
Thank you for this post Karen & Julie. I am still looking for my style and have found it difficult to continue because I didn’t want expert’s ‘lookalike’ pages. Dina Wakely is the only other artist I know that uses lots of white. I’m already doing Julie’s 30 days in your journal class and signed up yesterday for Karen’s Claiming my time class. Maybe 2012 will be when I find my style.
There were many things that stood out to me in this post, and I find some of the things you said very freeing. I don’t like the feel of gesso either! And I like the idea of a “signature” stamp for your pages.
Thanks for sharing your process!
There were many things that stood out to me in this post, and I find some of the things you said very freeing. I don’t like the feel of gesso either! And I like the idea of a “signature” stamp for your pages.
Thanks for sharing your process!
There were many things that stood out to me in this post, and I find some of the things you said very freeing. I don’t like the feel of gesso either! And I like the idea of a “signature” stamp for your pages.
Thanks for sharing your process!
There were many things that stood out to me in this post, and I find some of the things you said very freeing. I don’t like the feel of gesso either! And I like the idea of a “signature” stamp for your pages.
Thanks for sharing your process!
I am so happy that Karen is here on Julie’s blog. You two have changed my life and my way of thinking of art. Finally it’s ok to be free and to not go by the rules!! I found Karen almost a year ago and she is such a good person. Her blog is filled with honest, good and bad, creativeness, gorgeous art of all kinds. IT is thru her that I found white space and that using colored backgrounds for scrapping was holding me back and that putting a title on my pages first is what made my pages come together more easier.
I could go on and on here about Karen, she has been a true blessing in my life and I am thankful everyday for knowing her. She is a great teacher and pushes you and supports you all the way. I recommend any of her classes and encourage you to read her blog, you will love it.
This was fun to read and I learned a few things yet again about you Karen. Thanks for sharing with us today and for all you have shown me.
Julie thanks so much for these guest posts and thank you for all you’ve helped me with. It’s a daily inspiration when I visit yours and Karen’s blog. The two of you both are amazing to me. So lucky to have found you two!!
I am so happy that Karen is here on Julie’s blog. You two have changed my life and my way of thinking of art. Finally it’s ok to be free and to not go by the rules!! I found Karen almost a year ago and she is such a good person. Her blog is filled with honest, good and bad, creativeness, gorgeous art of all kinds. IT is thru her that I found white space and that using colored backgrounds for scrapping was holding me back and that putting a title on my pages first is what made my pages come together more easier.
I could go on and on here about Karen, she has been a true blessing in my life and I am thankful everyday for knowing her. She is a great teacher and pushes you and supports you all the way. I recommend any of her classes and encourage you to read her blog, you will love it.
This was fun to read and I learned a few things yet again about you Karen. Thanks for sharing with us today and for all you have shown me.
Julie thanks so much for these guest posts and thank you for all you’ve helped me with. It’s a daily inspiration when I visit yours and Karen’s blog. The two of you both are amazing to me. So lucky to have found you two!!
I am so happy that Karen is here on Julie’s blog. You two have changed my life and my way of thinking of art. Finally it’s ok to be free and to not go by the rules!! I found Karen almost a year ago and she is such a good person. Her blog is filled with honest, good and bad, creativeness, gorgeous art of all kinds. IT is thru her that I found white space and that using colored backgrounds for scrapping was holding me back and that putting a title on my pages first is what made my pages come together more easier.
I could go on and on here about Karen, she has been a true blessing in my life and I am thankful everyday for knowing her. She is a great teacher and pushes you and supports you all the way. I recommend any of her classes and encourage you to read her blog, you will love it.
This was fun to read and I learned a few things yet again about you Karen. Thanks for sharing with us today and for all you have shown me.
Julie thanks so much for these guest posts and thank you for all you’ve helped me with. It’s a daily inspiration when I visit yours and Karen’s blog. The two of you both are amazing to me. So lucky to have found you two!!
I am so happy that Karen is here on Julie’s blog. You two have changed my life and my way of thinking of art. Finally it’s ok to be free and to not go by the rules!! I found Karen almost a year ago and she is such a good person. Her blog is filled with honest, good and bad, creativeness, gorgeous art of all kinds. IT is thru her that I found white space and that using colored backgrounds for scrapping was holding me back and that putting a title on my pages first is what made my pages come together more easier.
I could go on and on here about Karen, she has been a true blessing in my life and I am thankful everyday for knowing her. She is a great teacher and pushes you and supports you all the way. I recommend any of her classes and encourage you to read her blog, you will love it.
This was fun to read and I learned a few things yet again about you Karen. Thanks for sharing with us today and for all you have shown me.
Julie thanks so much for these guest posts and thank you for all you’ve helped me with. It’s a daily inspiration when I visit yours and Karen’s blog. The two of you both are amazing to me. So lucky to have found you two!!
Sorry I forgot to add that Karen it’s been a joy seeing your journey this year. It inspires me when you share your struggles and that even you are still finding your way and what works for you. The changes you’ve made in your pages have blown me away and makes me sooooo happy for you. I can see the happiness in your work and in your words. The best thing you teach me is not TO GIVE UP AND TO JUST KEEP TRYING TILL IT WORKS!! So thank you for sharing this journey with us.
Sorry to have written a book here but Karen means the world to me and she knows that already but it’s never to much to keep saying it.
hugs dawn
Sorry I forgot to add that Karen it’s been a joy seeing your journey this year. It inspires me when you share your struggles and that even you are still finding your way and what works for you. The changes you’ve made in your pages have blown me away and makes me sooooo happy for you. I can see the happiness in your work and in your words. The best thing you teach me is not TO GIVE UP AND TO JUST KEEP TRYING TILL IT WORKS!! So thank you for sharing this journey with us.
Sorry to have written a book here but Karen means the world to me and she knows that already but it’s never to much to keep saying it.
hugs dawn
Sorry I forgot to add that Karen it’s been a joy seeing your journey this year. It inspires me when you share your struggles and that even you are still finding your way and what works for you. The changes you’ve made in your pages have blown me away and makes me sooooo happy for you. I can see the happiness in your work and in your words. The best thing you teach me is not TO GIVE UP AND TO JUST KEEP TRYING TILL IT WORKS!! So thank you for sharing this journey with us.
Sorry to have written a book here but Karen means the world to me and she knows that already but it’s never to much to keep saying it.
hugs dawn
Sorry I forgot to add that Karen it’s been a joy seeing your journey this year. It inspires me when you share your struggles and that even you are still finding your way and what works for you. The changes you’ve made in your pages have blown me away and makes me sooooo happy for you. I can see the happiness in your work and in your words. The best thing you teach me is not TO GIVE UP AND TO JUST KEEP TRYING TILL IT WORKS!! So thank you for sharing this journey with us.
Sorry to have written a book here but Karen means the world to me and she knows that already but it’s never to much to keep saying it.
hugs dawn
Thank you for this post Karen. I am always glad to hear the message that I need to find the way that is right for me. When I try to copy someone else’s art it doesn’t feel like me…and it isn’t. I am still experimenting with the techniques that I am most comfortable with (sometimes it is just a black marker and a few stickers).
Thank you for this post Karen. I am always glad to hear the message that I need to find the way that is right for me. When I try to copy someone else’s art it doesn’t feel like me…and it isn’t. I am still experimenting with the techniques that I am most comfortable with (sometimes it is just a black marker and a few stickers).
Thank you for this post Karen. I am always glad to hear the message that I need to find the way that is right for me. When I try to copy someone else’s art it doesn’t feel like me…and it isn’t. I am still experimenting with the techniques that I am most comfortable with (sometimes it is just a black marker and a few stickers).
Thank you for this post Karen. I am always glad to hear the message that I need to find the way that is right for me. When I try to copy someone else’s art it doesn’t feel like me…and it isn’t. I am still experimenting with the techniques that I am most comfortable with (sometimes it is just a black marker and a few stickers).
What I might add pales in comparison to what Dawn shares, but I, too, enjoy seeing what Julie and Karen share in their art journaling. Some day, one day, I will let go and experiment with getting messy. I just need to do it, which is the answer to everything. Thanks to you both for always sharing your process, it makes a difference!
What I might add pales in comparison to what Dawn shares, but I, too, enjoy seeing what Julie and Karen share in their art journaling. Some day, one day, I will let go and experiment with getting messy. I just need to do it, which is the answer to everything. Thanks to you both for always sharing your process, it makes a difference!
What I might add pales in comparison to what Dawn shares, but I, too, enjoy seeing what Julie and Karen share in their art journaling. Some day, one day, I will let go and experiment with getting messy. I just need to do it, which is the answer to everything. Thanks to you both for always sharing your process, it makes a difference!
What I might add pales in comparison to what Dawn shares, but I, too, enjoy seeing what Julie and Karen share in their art journaling. Some day, one day, I will let go and experiment with getting messy. I just need to do it, which is the answer to everything. Thanks to you both for always sharing your process, it makes a difference!
This article resonates with me on so many levels and the notion that stands out for me the most is in regards to the early stages of journal development. For myself, after nearly a year of returning to intensive art workshops and crash courses, I have a small collection of sample techniques I learned, which is great. Reading this blog piece makes me realize that my “frustration” is really just my self saying “it’s time to begin using my own voice”. I’ll continue taking classes and workshops though, but now I see I have enough support (inside and out) to venture out for a while and see what happens! Great process, beautiful work!
This article resonates with me on so many levels and the notion that stands out for me the most is in regards to the early stages of journal development. For myself, after nearly a year of returning to intensive art workshops and crash courses, I have a small collection of sample techniques I learned, which is great. Reading this blog piece makes me realize that my “frustration” is really just my self saying “it’s time to begin using my own voice”. I’ll continue taking classes and workshops though, but now I see I have enough support (inside and out) to venture out for a while and see what happens! Great process, beautiful work!
This article resonates with me on so many levels and the notion that stands out for me the most is in regards to the early stages of journal development. For myself, after nearly a year of returning to intensive art workshops and crash courses, I have a small collection of sample techniques I learned, which is great. Reading this blog piece makes me realize that my “frustration” is really just my self saying “it’s time to begin using my own voice”. I’ll continue taking classes and workshops though, but now I see I have enough support (inside and out) to venture out for a while and see what happens! Great process, beautiful work!
This article resonates with me on so many levels and the notion that stands out for me the most is in regards to the early stages of journal development. For myself, after nearly a year of returning to intensive art workshops and crash courses, I have a small collection of sample techniques I learned, which is great. Reading this blog piece makes me realize that my “frustration” is really just my self saying “it’s time to begin using my own voice”. I’ll continue taking classes and workshops though, but now I see I have enough support (inside and out) to venture out for a while and see what happens! Great process, beautiful work!
Thanks Karen for sharing your journey! It is always nice to have a reminder that finding your own personal style of art journalling can take years! I love words, quotes, and sayings so I love that all your pages include words. This post has inspired me to look at my art journal differently and can hopefully help me to create journalling pages that I love! Thanks to Julie and Karen for the inspiration!
Thanks Karen for sharing your journey! It is always nice to have a reminder that finding your own personal style of art journalling can take years! I love words, quotes, and sayings so I love that all your pages include words. This post has inspired me to look at my art journal differently and can hopefully help me to create journalling pages that I love! Thanks to Julie and Karen for the inspiration!
Thanks Karen for sharing your journey! It is always nice to have a reminder that finding your own personal style of art journalling can take years! I love words, quotes, and sayings so I love that all your pages include words. This post has inspired me to look at my art journal differently and can hopefully help me to create journalling pages that I love! Thanks to Julie and Karen for the inspiration!
Thanks Karen for sharing your journey! It is always nice to have a reminder that finding your own personal style of art journalling can take years! I love words, quotes, and sayings so I love that all your pages include words. This post has inspired me to look at my art journal differently and can hopefully help me to create journalling pages that I love! Thanks to Julie and Karen for the inspiration!
Thank you for this very inspiring post! Was great to hear how Karen “broke all the rules” and found her own style. Just what I needed to hear today.
Thank you for this very inspiring post! Was great to hear how Karen “broke all the rules” and found her own style. Just what I needed to hear today.
Thank you for this very inspiring post! Was great to hear how Karen “broke all the rules” and found her own style. Just what I needed to hear today.
Thank you for this very inspiring post! Was great to hear how Karen “broke all the rules” and found her own style. Just what I needed to hear today.
Thank you for this post becasue I believe Karen has found her style! I too have taken the same path – Julie is responsible for me art journaling and Christy for testing out new techniques…I am so thankful for these 2 artists…I’m on the way to finding my style! I’m enjoying the journey so much I’m no longer stressed about what is right for me…it’s about the journey!
Thank you for this post becasue I believe Karen has found her style! I too have taken the same path – Julie is responsible for me art journaling and Christy for testing out new techniques…I am so thankful for these 2 artists…I’m on the way to finding my style! I’m enjoying the journey so much I’m no longer stressed about what is right for me…it’s about the journey!
Thank you for this post becasue I believe Karen has found her style! I too have taken the same path – Julie is responsible for me art journaling and Christy for testing out new techniques…I am so thankful for these 2 artists…I’m on the way to finding my style! I’m enjoying the journey so much I’m no longer stressed about what is right for me…it’s about the journey!
Thank you for this post becasue I believe Karen has found her style! I too have taken the same path – Julie is responsible for me art journaling and Christy for testing out new techniques…I am so thankful for these 2 artists…I’m on the way to finding my style! I’m enjoying the journey so much I’m no longer stressed about what is right for me…it’s about the journey!
Rather brilliant. Really.
Rather brilliant. Really.
Rather brilliant. Really.
Rather brilliant. Really.
Not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said…Thank you Karen for sharing your journey into art journaling, very inspiring! And thank you Julie for continuing to bring other artists to your blog (such as Karen) that I would not have known of otherwise. Love Karen’s techniques!
Not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said…Thank you Karen for sharing your journey into art journaling, very inspiring! And thank you Julie for continuing to bring other artists to your blog (such as Karen) that I would not have known of otherwise. Love Karen’s techniques!
Not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said…Thank you Karen for sharing your journey into art journaling, very inspiring! And thank you Julie for continuing to bring other artists to your blog (such as Karen) that I would not have known of otherwise. Love Karen’s techniques!
Not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said…Thank you Karen for sharing your journey into art journaling, very inspiring! And thank you Julie for continuing to bring other artists to your blog (such as Karen) that I would not have known of otherwise. Love Karen’s techniques!
Ditto what Maggie M. has commented. I am inspired on so many levels from this post, and I am looking forward to adding Karen’s blog to my short list of daily must reads!
Ditto what Maggie M. has commented. I am inspired on so many levels from this post, and I am looking forward to adding Karen’s blog to my short list of daily must reads!
Ditto what Maggie M. has commented. I am inspired on so many levels from this post, and I am looking forward to adding Karen’s blog to my short list of daily must reads!
Ditto what Maggie M. has commented. I am inspired on so many levels from this post, and I am looking forward to adding Karen’s blog to my short list of daily must reads!
Thanks for sharing Karen’s blog. It was very inspiring and full of great information. Guess we all go through the finding our on style. My favorite part of the process is enjoying the journey.
Thanks for sharing Karen’s blog. It was very inspiring and full of great information. Guess we all go through the finding our on style. My favorite part of the process is enjoying the journey.
Thanks for sharing Karen’s blog. It was very inspiring and full of great information. Guess we all go through the finding our on style. My favorite part of the process is enjoying the journey.
Thanks for sharing Karen’s blog. It was very inspiring and full of great information. Guess we all go through the finding our on style. My favorite part of the process is enjoying the journey.
Julie, thank you for featuring Karen’s post. She was going through the same difficulties that I am having about “no-no’s”. I also like that she uses a page that is not connected to a journal. This allows me to stitch some of my journal pages.
Karen, I love your free style and I am much more comfortable with starting my first journal in 2012.
I will go back and read all of the bookmarked pages or blogs, to “see” what other are doing, but will make my journals “my own”. Whew, I needed that “unleash”.
Diana Bracy
Julie, thank you for featuring Karen’s post. She was going through the same difficulties that I am having about “no-no’s”. I also like that she uses a page that is not connected to a journal. This allows me to stitch some of my journal pages.
Karen, I love your free style and I am much more comfortable with starting my first journal in 2012.
I will go back and read all of the bookmarked pages or blogs, to “see” what other are doing, but will make my journals “my own”. Whew, I needed that “unleash”.
Diana Bracy
Julie, thank you for featuring Karen’s post. She was going through the same difficulties that I am having about “no-no’s”. I also like that she uses a page that is not connected to a journal. This allows me to stitch some of my journal pages.
Karen, I love your free style and I am much more comfortable with starting my first journal in 2012.
I will go back and read all of the bookmarked pages or blogs, to “see” what other are doing, but will make my journals “my own”. Whew, I needed that “unleash”.
Diana Bracy
Julie, thank you for featuring Karen’s post. She was going through the same difficulties that I am having about “no-no’s”. I also like that she uses a page that is not connected to a journal. This allows me to stitch some of my journal pages.
Karen, I love your free style and I am much more comfortable with starting my first journal in 2012.
I will go back and read all of the bookmarked pages or blogs, to “see” what other are doing, but will make my journals “my own”. Whew, I needed that “unleash”.
Diana Bracy
Loved reading your post Karen. I have been struggling with the same things and have decided that you have to do what is right for you and not look to much at others. Love your art!! Thanks for writing this post!
Sharon
Loved reading your post Karen. I have been struggling with the same things and have decided that you have to do what is right for you and not look to much at others. Love your art!! Thanks for writing this post!
Sharon
Loved reading your post Karen. I have been struggling with the same things and have decided that you have to do what is right for you and not look to much at others. Love your art!! Thanks for writing this post!
Sharon
Loved reading your post Karen. I have been struggling with the same things and have decided that you have to do what is right for you and not look to much at others. Love your art!! Thanks for writing this post!
Sharon
This is a great post! I love how you shared your process – and how you eventually discovered your own style. Very encouraging! Your pages are great. Great job!
Tricia
This is a great post! I love how you shared your process – and how you eventually discovered your own style. Very encouraging! Your pages are great. Great job!
Tricia
This is a great post! I love how you shared your process – and how you eventually discovered your own style. Very encouraging! Your pages are great. Great job!
Tricia
This is a great post! I love how you shared your process – and how you eventually discovered your own style. Very encouraging! Your pages are great. Great job!
Tricia
Brilliantly done.
Brilliantly done.
Brilliantly done.
Brilliantly done.
I have followed Karen for a while … I lover her work and her openness. This really spoke to me … I am actually getting frustrated with all my ‘pins’ and stars and likes and … etc. I have made myself USE some of my ‘pins’ for inspiration, but I need to do that more. And I just need to DO MORE OFTEN.
Thanks!
I have followed Karen for a while … I lover her work and her openness. This really spoke to me … I am actually getting frustrated with all my ‘pins’ and stars and likes and … etc. I have made myself USE some of my ‘pins’ for inspiration, but I need to do that more. And I just need to DO MORE OFTEN.
Thanks!
I have followed Karen for a while … I lover her work and her openness. This really spoke to me … I am actually getting frustrated with all my ‘pins’ and stars and likes and … etc. I have made myself USE some of my ‘pins’ for inspiration, but I need to do that more. And I just need to DO MORE OFTEN.
Thanks!
I have followed Karen for a while … I lover her work and her openness. This really spoke to me … I am actually getting frustrated with all my ‘pins’ and stars and likes and … etc. I have made myself USE some of my ‘pins’ for inspiration, but I need to do that more. And I just need to DO MORE OFTEN.
Thanks!
Fantastic post, Karen. So liberating! I move around (waffle??) on journal pages too – sometimes loving the white space too much to give up and “do what I’m told”. I’m still struggling with this all though, even after several years, and it was great to read your journey. I’m going to subscribe to your blog – I have a feeling you have some things to teach me too, but in a different way LOL Thanks so much!
Fantastic post, Karen. So liberating! I move around (waffle??) on journal pages too – sometimes loving the white space too much to give up and “do what I’m told”. I’m still struggling with this all though, even after several years, and it was great to read your journey. I’m going to subscribe to your blog – I have a feeling you have some things to teach me too, but in a different way LOL Thanks so much!
Fantastic post, Karen. So liberating! I move around (waffle??) on journal pages too – sometimes loving the white space too much to give up and “do what I’m told”. I’m still struggling with this all though, even after several years, and it was great to read your journey. I’m going to subscribe to your blog – I have a feeling you have some things to teach me too, but in a different way LOL Thanks so much!
Fantastic post, Karen. So liberating! I move around (waffle??) on journal pages too – sometimes loving the white space too much to give up and “do what I’m told”. I’m still struggling with this all though, even after several years, and it was great to read your journey. I’m going to subscribe to your blog – I have a feeling you have some things to teach me too, but in a different way LOL Thanks so much!
Enjoyed the read and your approach. Can you tell me where you put your pages once complete – since you don’t use a journal book? Thanks very much.
Enjoyed the read and your approach. Can you tell me where you put your pages once complete – since you don’t use a journal book? Thanks very much.
Enjoyed the read and your approach. Can you tell me where you put your pages once complete – since you don’t use a journal book? Thanks very much.
Enjoyed the read and your approach. Can you tell me where you put your pages once complete – since you don’t use a journal book? Thanks very much.
frances, sometimes i bind them at the end but recently, i’ve been glueing them in my notebooks. you can see more here: http://www.karenika.com/?p=20143
frances, sometimes i bind them at the end but recently, i’ve been glueing them in my notebooks. you can see more here: http://www.karenika.com/?p=20143
frances, sometimes i bind them at the end but recently, i’ve been glueing them in my notebooks. you can see more here: http://www.karenika.com/?p=20143
frances, sometimes i bind them at the end but recently, i’ve been glueing them in my notebooks. you can see more here: http://www.karenika.com/?p=20143
I just wanted to say a wholehearted thank you to all of you for your kind kind words. i appreciate them more than you know. and a huge thanks again to julie for giving me this space to share my story and for sharing so much of hers 🙂
I just wanted to say a wholehearted thank you to all of you for your kind kind words. i appreciate them more than you know. and a huge thanks again to julie for giving me this space to share my story and for sharing so much of hers 🙂
I just wanted to say a wholehearted thank you to all of you for your kind kind words. i appreciate them more than you know. and a huge thanks again to julie for giving me this space to share my story and for sharing so much of hers 🙂
I just wanted to say a wholehearted thank you to all of you for your kind kind words. i appreciate them more than you know. and a huge thanks again to julie for giving me this space to share my story and for sharing so much of hers 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Karen. I’m just starting out and have been so overwhelmed by all of the different styles and techniques and it having to look a certain way, that I haven’t known where to begin. But after reading this, I am encouraged to just take my time and play, and not concern myself with doing it exactly like others say to, especially if it doesn’t feel right to me. And that I’ll eventually begin to realize what my style is. Also, I really like what you do with the quotes – I LOVE quotes! – and your use of color is really wonderful – love how your colors just pop right off the page!
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Karen. I’m just starting out and have been so overwhelmed by all of the different styles and techniques and it having to look a certain way, that I haven’t known where to begin. But after reading this, I am encouraged to just take my time and play, and not concern myself with doing it exactly like others say to, especially if it doesn’t feel right to me. And that I’ll eventually begin to realize what my style is. Also, I really like what you do with the quotes – I LOVE quotes! – and your use of color is really wonderful – love how your colors just pop right off the page!
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Karen. I’m just starting out and have been so overwhelmed by all of the different styles and techniques and it having to look a certain way, that I haven’t known where to begin. But after reading this, I am encouraged to just take my time and play, and not concern myself with doing it exactly like others say to, especially if it doesn’t feel right to me. And that I’ll eventually begin to realize what my style is. Also, I really like what you do with the quotes – I LOVE quotes! – and your use of color is really wonderful – love how your colors just pop right off the page!
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Karen. I’m just starting out and have been so overwhelmed by all of the different styles and techniques and it having to look a certain way, that I haven’t known where to begin. But after reading this, I am encouraged to just take my time and play, and not concern myself with doing it exactly like others say to, especially if it doesn’t feel right to me. And that I’ll eventually begin to realize what my style is. Also, I really like what you do with the quotes – I LOVE quotes! – and your use of color is really wonderful – love how your colors just pop right off the page!
This is a beautiful journal. Gives me a better idea how to start one myself. I have been thinking about this for a while now, but as you mentioned there is so much I could add that I don’t know where to start.
This is a beautiful journal. Gives me a better idea how to start one myself. I have been thinking about this for a while now, but as you mentioned there is so much I could add that I don’t know where to start.
This is a beautiful journal. Gives me a better idea how to start one myself. I have been thinking about this for a while now, but as you mentioned there is so much I could add that I don’t know where to start.
This is a beautiful journal. Gives me a better idea how to start one myself. I have been thinking about this for a while now, but as you mentioned there is so much I could add that I don’t know where to start.
I love your post. It looks like I wrote parts of it. I also took Christy’s She Had Three Hearts and She Art Girls and the second (3 Hearts) did it for me. I was chomping at the bit to journal journal journal! I havent found “my way” as yet, but like you, will keep plugging away. Thanks!!!
I love your post. It looks like I wrote parts of it. I also took Christy’s She Had Three Hearts and She Art Girls and the second (3 Hearts) did it for me. I was chomping at the bit to journal journal journal! I havent found “my way” as yet, but like you, will keep plugging away. Thanks!!!
I love your post. It looks like I wrote parts of it. I also took Christy’s She Had Three Hearts and She Art Girls and the second (3 Hearts) did it for me. I was chomping at the bit to journal journal journal! I havent found “my way” as yet, but like you, will keep plugging away. Thanks!!!
I love your post. It looks like I wrote parts of it. I also took Christy’s She Had Three Hearts and She Art Girls and the second (3 Hearts) did it for me. I was chomping at the bit to journal journal journal! I havent found “my way” as yet, but like you, will keep plugging away. Thanks!!!
This is brilliant! I am just starting out but feel like I’m a loose leaf girl… so my question is about how you store the loose sheets. How do you do it – how do you keep them a bit organised? And when you feel like you’ve got a group of papers that should stay together, what do you do with them? I would love to hear how you manage this part of the process… Thank you!
This is brilliant! I am just starting out but feel like I’m a loose leaf girl… so my question is about how you store the loose sheets. How do you do it – how do you keep them a bit organised? And when you feel like you’ve got a group of papers that should stay together, what do you do with them? I would love to hear how you manage this part of the process… Thank you!
This is brilliant! I am just starting out but feel like I’m a loose leaf girl… so my question is about how you store the loose sheets. How do you do it – how do you keep them a bit organised? And when you feel like you’ve got a group of papers that should stay together, what do you do with them? I would love to hear how you manage this part of the process… Thank you!
This is brilliant! I am just starting out but feel like I’m a loose leaf girl… so my question is about how you store the loose sheets. How do you do it – how do you keep them a bit organised? And when you feel like you’ve got a group of papers that should stay together, what do you do with them? I would love to hear how you manage this part of the process… Thank you!
I doubt that Karen checks the comments on this post, so Id contact her directly at her blog. Link is in the post. 🙂
I doubt that Karen checks the comments on this post, so Id contact her directly at her blog. Link is in the post. 🙂
I doubt that Karen checks the comments on this post, so Id contact her directly at her blog. Link is in the post. 🙂
I doubt that Karen checks the comments on this post, so Id contact her directly at her blog. Link is in the post. 🙂
Awesome post!!! So helpful!
Awesome post!!! So helpful!
Awesome post!!! So helpful!
Awesome post!!! So helpful!