After deciding I would be more efficient if I did all the elements of one part of the journals and then the next, it seemed like an eternity before any finished journals came into existence! Finally this past week I got to the fun stage of sewing the pages in and adding all the goodies I’ve been collecting to add. As of now there are four new journals in the etsy shop, making five in all.
The Bohemian Journal was my first fully finished journal. It has all the elements I have come to include in each journal, but most journals will also have additional items specific to that theme.
Now the Bohemian Journal is finished, this is what I wrote about the direction it takes:
This journal reflects some of the world of the Bohemians. The name emerged in France in the early 19th century when artists and creators began to move into the lower-rent, lower class, neighborhoods, and the reality was much less romantic than we now think of it as being – think of the story line of ‘La Boheme’. Nowadays we are apt to think of the art from the era as being romantic and colorful, and this journal is perfect for the artist who dreams of living a Bohemian life!
The second journal was the Black and White Animal themed one. I had tried a black and white journal, but the topic was too wide, and it felt more chaotic than I wanted. It became the Black and White Animal Journal, and there will also be a Black and White Flower Journal.
Now the Black and White Animal Journal has taken shape, here is what I wrote about it: The journal has many images of animals, domestic and wild, but nothing scary. The ephemera includes adverts from the past that used images of cute animals to sell some unlikely items, as well as retro ads for dog food evoking memories of childhood.
As I have previously created more conventional gratitude journals, a fabric variation was my next project. A Gratitude Journal seemed like a good entry point for people who aren’t used to writing each day, as there is a prompt written at the top of most of the pages asking the owner to write down what they are grateful for.
Here is what I wrote about the journal: Starting with an image of a woman jumping, this bright and breezy journal has many pages prompting you to write down what you are grateful for today. The images are all cheery and uplifting, and curated to encourage different directions to consider in being grateful. There are a few lined pages for use for whatever the journal owner feels like writing, their intentions for the journal, what has brought them to this point, and what they hope to achieve from this practice.
As an ex-pat Brit, a journal about England was next on my list! There are so many journals about London, full of red, white and blue, that I went in a different direction. The people I know who go to England want to see more of the countryside and travel a bit further off the well-worn tourist trails.
As I wrote on Etsy: “The photos I curated for this journal are often bucolic and romantic, country lanes, thatched cottages, and seaside vistas. They are overlaid with a haze of sepia and smaller images i feel add to the image. There are also images of classic fabrics, gingham, woven designs and Argyle, as well as more contemporary images of modern England. So much of England is a blend of how we wish to remember it and how it actually is in the 21st century, and this journal is my homage to the country of my birth.”
Hot on its heels was a nostalgic journal about the seaside of my youth. It had few tourist shops nearby, so playing on the sand, in the water, and running up and down the cliffs was my primary experience of being on the beach. If you also prefer a more peaceful time at the beach, then this journal is for you.
As I wrote on Etsy, “The photos I curated for this journal are older, many are Victorian and Edwardian when people were first able to have holidays by the sea. There is a 1907 music hall song called “Oh I do like to be beside the seaside” which I realized was my theme, so you will find phrases from that sone scattered across the top of some journaling pages. There are adverts flaunting the sea’s health-giving benefits, children’s and women’s bathing costumes and beach wear, plus drawings of some of the flotsam and jetsam you may find on the beach if left to your own devices. Return to your child-like wonder of being on the beach and record your thoughts and memories in this journal.”