Journaling is a fantastic way to get creative and reflect on your life. Whether you’re writing, drawing, or making collages, it’s a personal space just for you. It can help you process emotions, reduce stress, and even track your personal growth. Plus, it’s fun! Bullet journaling can keep you organized, and junk journaling lets you turn everyday stuff into cool, unique projects. No matter the type, journaling helps you find joy and meaning in your daily life.
Here are a few different popular journaling styles. Stay tuned until the end, where I talk about how I combine the different styles to create my very own thing!
Traditional Journaling
Traditional journaling is simply writing down your thoughts, experiences, and reflections. It’s a classic way to explore your mind and track your personal growth. Writing things out can help you sort through your emotions, set goals, and see how far you’ve come. For those who love the feel of pen on paper, traditional journaling is a great habit. There’s a huge array of attractive journals out there.
This is also a really easy and inexpensive way to get started journaling too. All you need is a book to write in and a pen. Many people even use the computer to get their thoughts down.
Scrapbooking
Scrapbooking, on the other hand, is focused on preserving memories and telling your story using photos, memorabilia, and decorative elements. It’s not just about keeping old pictures; it’s about creating a visual celebration of special moments and everyday life. Many find it relaxing and rewarding, plus it’s a wonderful way to share memories with family and friends.
Junk Journaling
Junk journaling is a little like scrapbooking. It’s all about creativity and recycling. You make journals out of old book pages, postcards, and other found items, turning what might be trash into treasure. Each junk journal is unique and full of character. If you enjoy crafting and upcycling, junk journaling is a fun and eco-friendly way to express yourself.
Art Journaling
Art journaling is all about mixing creativity with personal reflection. It’s like a visual diary where you can use paint, collage, doodles, and other art supplies to capture your thoughts and feelings. If you love getting creative and want a fun way to document your life, art journaling is perfect. It’s a great way to de-stress and let your artistic side shine.
Bullet Journaling
Lastly, I wanted to include bullet journaling. It’s a little different – a mix of a planner, diary, and to-do list, all in one. Using simple symbols and short notes, you can keep track of tasks, events, and ideas. It’s great for anyone who wants structure but also the freedom to get creative. Bullet journaling can help you stay on top of things and see the bigger picture of your life. Many times, bullet journals include doodles or artwork too!
How I Combine Journaling Styles
There’s no wrong way to journal! It’s your book, it should be what you want it to be!
I would say that my style is partly a scrapbook and partly an art journal. I paint, draw, collage, and create other art in my book. When I want to write something, often I’ll write it on notebook paper or a piece of stationery and glue it into my book, or put it in an envelope which is glued in the book. But I also just write right in the book too!
When I’m art journaling, I generally prefer to do a specific project with some sort of emotional therapy goal. But sometimes I just enjoy painting. I paint a lot of backgrounds to write on or collage on. I’m much more likely to collage than to draw, because I’m not actually a very good draw-er!
Journaling gives you a fun and creative way to reflect, stay organized, and grow. It can be simple or as elaborate as you like, mixing styles like traditional journaling, scrapbooking, junk journaling, art journaling, and bullet journaling. The best part? It’s totally flexible and can bring a lot of joy, healing, and fun into your life. Dive in, try out some different methods, and see what clicks for you. I’ll keep sharing ideas for journaling prompts and projects that you can trym so stick around!
