Hello! I'm Gillian
I have always loved to make things, and at present that passion is for making books and journals. I also love to journal, but found getting into the habit rather daunting. I sought out journal prompts and “how to” courses, but was still scared by the sight of a plain white piece of paper.
These journals are designed to take that fear away. While there are pages to write on, you can equally well doodle on them or stick a photo on them. On almost every page there are little tags or cards, in pockets or tucked under a piece of paper, where you can start to journal by writing down just a few words at a time. There is often a tiny book tucked in to write longer pieces – or to draw in!
These journals are are based around a multitude of different themes. As an idea or theme captures me, or I notice a great deal of interesting material on a topic, it slowly evolves. Before long another finished journal is ready to let loose on the world.
My journals are made to be started anywhere, there are no left brained rules about only moving from left to right here! Flip through, and if words bring up something you want to save, jot it down and mark the page. If you prefer to take more linear progress, start at the beginning, but for those who find a first page intimidating, feel free to ignore it!
As it can be hard to know what to write I sometimes include prompts – words and phrases – in a little envelope to paste onto a page, card or tag, or to copy onto a page then write whatever comes into your mind around that idea. The words and phrases are positive, and hopefully gently inspiring, but if something is really bothering you, ignore the prompts and write it out!
I am a Penn grad, a liberal arts educated baby boomer with a background in visual communications. Despite starting my working life as a classroom music teacher, I am now a freelance graphic and web designer. Since my graduation from Penn I have grown my freelance design and consultancy business, through working with churches, entrepreneurs and dreamers.
I’m an ex-pat Briton, living in the US, and when not in front of a Mac I’m an NPR listening, coffee drinking, New York Times crossword-aholic.
