A Dangle a Day is a new tutorial guide for helping add more structured whimsy to writing and lettering. Author Angela Porter is well known for intricate coloring books for adults. Released 15th January 2019 by Quarto on their Race Point imprint, it's 144 pages and available in paperback format.

I'm not an artist (I'm a bioengineer). I do however feel the need to have creativity in my life. I have spent a fair bit of time with doodling, zentangles, painting, calligraphy and journaling. This book is a natural partner for all of those. I've also always been in love with illuminated manuscripts. This is sort of a doodling version of the idea of illuminated letters.

The book is logically straightforward in layout, which really appealed to me. After a short introduction and definition of dangles and what they are, there's a short section on materials which leads into a discussion of bullet journaling and how dangles can enhance the process.

After the intro, the book's divided into two main sections: dangle letters and numerals, and a seasonal tutorial collection for year-round decorating. These would make lovely cards or envelope decorations. I've been trying to write more actual letters lately and these are wonderful for embellishing.

A fair amount of page content is given over to practice pages ('Now it's your turn'). Despite this, the book is full of intricate and appealing designs.

The author's writing style is informal, encouraging, and supportive.

Four stars. Fun!

This book is a total gem! I spent hours with my traveler's notebook and my bullet journal, drawing different ideas from the book. I love the way the author breaks down step by step and as always, it looks easy but takes a lot of practice!

The book has all the alphabet letters and numbers and many, many different ideas. But then it also has tons of titles and fun, practical ideas of how you might want to embellish your pages. I've loved each of the ideas and cannot wait to try them all out!

I had briefly heard of dangles during my experimentation with Zentangle. Dangles look like a lot of fun and while I cannot draw but wish I could, this book has step-by-step diagrams to help me succeed. I love that Porter also shows the colors to use so I don’t have to get bogged down in debating which colors look best together. There are so many cool dangles included in this book — besides the usual letters and numbers, there are seasonal ones (the XMAS ones are outstanding and would be fantastic on homemade cards) as well as monthly ones. Porter’s dangles are super duper eye candy and I am very excited about drawing all of them! I will definitely buy this book ASAP!

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group/Race Point Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I would like to thank Quarto Publishing Group – Race Point Publishing for providing me with a temporary free electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley. Any reviews I give are done obligation free, and are unpaid… but we won’t go there. ;-)

So, I have always been a doodler… those little squiggles and flowers down the margin of my work. But I never thought I was that good and they were all really more scribbles than anything actually recognisable.

Meaning I already had an interest in this topic… or so I thought! But since reading, and trying out some of the suggestions, in ‘A Doodle a Day’ I am officially addicted to journaling and bullet journaling (two different things by the way ;-) ).

‘A Dangle a Day’ is a fantastic stepping stone for people to learn about… well, you could call them just doodles. But what I got from this book is how beneficial journaling, drawing dangles, doodles, bullet journaling is to the creative soul. I am not saying I am an amazing artist – I know I’m not. But that doesn’t matter… I have a creative soul and it needs an outlet. And learning the basics of dangles, and learning they are not really as complicated as they seem, has opened a world of creative “Me Time” for me.

I have been describing it as a form of meditation for the ever busy, creative mind. As, yes, my name is Janis and I am an over thinker. ;-) I try and meditate, but emptying my mind just makes me fall asleep. Meditation and I are not good as if I stop thinking about the “adulting stuff” in my life, that cleared mind gets filled with story ideas, recipe theories, craft projects… it jumbles, shouts, confuses and I don’t destress. Oh, and I do not shut up! :-D

And ‘A Dangle a Day’ has helped introduce me to a new form of mental downtime. I can let go of the stressful “adulting” while allowing myself to become one with the creative… but in a relaxing way. I am seriously feeling the benefits already, and these are all I’ve done… so far.

So, that is my open and honest opinion of ‘A Dangle a Day’. But for those of you who need a less hippy, waffly version of a review, here you go:

‘A Dangle a Day’ is an introduction to journaling and bullet journaling art. Not the actual “how to” on journaling or bullet journaling… simply the “how to” on how to create the art to define your journals. And, for me, if helped drop the barriers of knowing where to start in journaling by providing a great introduction to what dangles and doodles are all about, lists of the best materials required for these art projects and then gives good step by step instructions on how to create things like letters, numbers, seasons, etc. These finished projects are also shown at the back of the book, referencing the pages of step by step instructions.

The only two, very small, negative comments I would make are: I would have loved further instruction or hints on colouring and blending. And maybe if the art had been shown on dot pages… as it seems everyone prefers to use them for their work.

BUT! These negatives are really more of a wish list so can probably be ignored! :-D

To the copyeditor “boring” side of things – ‘A Dangle a Day’ was formatted well. The layout, fonts and images were well spaced and easy to read and follow. My only quibble with them is I had an electronic copy so couldn’t have “my turn” as each page suggests. Well, I could. I just had to use my own journals for it. ;-) And, gosh darn it, I found myself simply FORCED to visit a stationery store and buy a new dot page journal too! (Note sarcasm :-D )

Would I recommend this book for others?

Yes I would. Particularly those who are interested in giving journaling and bullet journaling a go but aren’t too sure where to start. As I’ve said, ‘A Dangle a Day’ won’t actually show you how to start journaling… but it shows you how to do the creative dangles and doodles that are the cornerstones to journaling. Well, I feel they are. As I really didn’t know where to start with my journaling, but wanted to give it a go as creative “Me Time”. Now I know where to go thanks to this book!

You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy giving ‘A Dangle a Day’ a go… just a desire to be creative. The step by step instructions (or final dangles displayed at the back of the book) will help you do the rest.

Would I buy this book for myself?

Yes I would. As with most non-fiction books I receive to review, I only received an ACSM with a limited shelf-life (it expires just after a month) so I will need to buy a copy if I want to turn to it for inspiration again at a later date. And… I would be happy to do so. I just hope it is available at an affordable price here in Australia. Amazon has started blocking people from buying from 3rd parties and telling me to use Amazon.com.au… where the same item doubles and triples in price. So it will all depend on whether I can find it for an affordable price.

In summary: A good starting point on how to become creative in journaling and bullet journaling.

A dangle is a vertical line of small doodle type drawing used to embellish journal pages, calendars, cards or whatever. A Dangle a Day gives the crafter/artist some suggestions for how to accomplish intricate borders and accents. Some good ideas are presented to get your creative juices flowing.

I have always loved to create charms, physically so when I finally got the chance to review a book about drawing charms and creating funky looking writing obviously I was super happy! It is so easy to follow and have a go at it would be suitable for anyone to have a try at.



Taking us through the alphabet, numbers, seasons, months and more in an array of courful designs we can recreate and rework to our tastes with the help of the handy templates on the pages we can copy and rework in our own way easily. With tips and colour ideas for you to change up and adapt this is a handy book to add some merging different to your work and make it stand out as unique!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

These are some of the cutest doodles I’ve ever seen. They are really cute and easy to make. You can use these cute little doodles to jazz up a lot of crafts and projects.

A Dangle a Day includes tips on how to draw, compose and color charms for all types for stationeries, scrapbooks, and journals. The author guides you through the process of designing a dangle and the right materials to use. The book includes a space where the reader can practice what they’ve learned. Recommend to anyone who loves to color.
Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Race Point Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all I want to say thank you for granting my wish and letting me preview this book. I love to doodle and am always looking up hings online to practice. This book has it all right in one book I really enjoy that every letter and number is shown. It is such a cute book with so many doodles and ideas to try out I will most likely purchase a copy for myself.

​The publisher was kind enough to provide me with a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own and honest.

To be honest I had no clue what a "dangle" was before reading this book. I am a beginner artist and require a lot of step-by-step instruction. That is exactly what this book does. It provides absolute beginners with the basics, understanding, and explicit instruction to be able to create beautiful dangles throughout the year. Each step is laid out so that anyone can be able to make amazing art without needing years of experience. I love all the pieces that are shown in this book, the areas to try them out yourself, and the overall inspiration it provides. If you are looking for a way to add art to your bullet journal, bible, or anything else, I highly recommend this book to get your creativity flowing.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this unique art book, but I was excited to get into it! A Dangle A Day gives you ideas on creating artwork with different holidays, seasons or any letter or number combination by drawing dangles and charms to hang below your words.
I will definitely use this book in the future for project and gift ideas. You don’t need to be creative or even artistic to use these ideas, everything in this book is easy to recreate!
I definitely recommend this fun craft book. Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for this e-copy in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.

While this author has created some wonderful coloring books for an adult audience, this book will appeal to all ages. I found the projects suitable to younger artists as well as anyone who feels young at heart.
The images are playful and colorful. Bright and inviting. This book offers suggestions on ways to make Dangles. Simple instructions as well as allowances to be as imperfect as you wish.
Dangles can be artwork on their own or used to embellish other projects.

Dangles can be based off of letters or numbers or seasons or themes.
There is no wrong way, number or combination.

I like this book it is a little different from the normal. It adds another layer to any journal, card or scrapbooking design. Of course these designs can be used for any paper craft item, and with added accents can make a wow look. The dangles are cute and are a little different to the straight doodle.

This book is super cute. It’s got a bunch of projects to copy or to inspire you. From the Alphabet to seasonal themes. Like many art books, I’d say it cheats just a little about the number of steps — you know claimimg tha fill in all of the rest of these details as a single step and it’s 3/4 of the art. Yes, this book has some projects that are guilty of that. But since the doodles are fairly simple I don’t mind it here. These projects only look complicated because when you combine say a letter, and a border, and a little dangle full of flowers and insects and accents it looks like a lot more work than it is. I love this art style and book for that. For those of us who struggle with the time involved in perfecting other more detailed types of art, this is a nice book for getting yourself motivated to make something pretty without feeling overwhelmed.

Ok, I have a confession to make...
I am a dangle addict!!! I want to dangle everything, every time I write my name, my shopping list, letters to the kids teachers... The possibilities are endless, without a dangle words seem so naked.
Its pretty safe to say I really enjoyed A Dangle a Day by Angela Porter.
A great book for adults and children alike.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All views and opinions are my own.

This is a fun book. It gives you everything you need to learn dangling. I am not good at coming up with designs on my own and this book contains so many good ideas and beautiful illustrations to get you started. It is very inspirational. It is fun pass time for crafters or people who doodle to learn different tools, mediums and patterns. I would recommend this book to anyone. Whether you already dangle or not, This book really can teach the art of this type of designs. There are blank pages in the physical book that gives you space to practice. It's great.

I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley for my freely given opinion.

When I requested A Dangle A Day, I didn't realize it was for drawing. But I really enjoyed it despite my initial confusion. Angela Porter breaks it down.in easy steps and the book includes space to practice. The author walks you through letters and numbers, as well seasons throughout the year. The Best part was that it encourages me to create my own dang;es' I felt confident that i could make lovely creations.

I enjoyed reading this instructional book on drawing dangles. The hints and tips are perfect for doodling in my planner. The tips are super simple so even if you can't draw, like me, your creations still turn out cute. The box trick is genius. The author says it best when she says "Hand drawn work is perfectly imperfect, and color will bring it all to life."

A Dangle A Day has not only the entire alphabet shown in detail, but numbers as well. It also has ideas for holidays, and the months of the years. The Dangles themselves are absolutely beautiful and I hope to be able to make one as pretty as Ms. Porter does one day,
Hand lettering and drawing in general are things I have always wanted to get into and with the recent bullet journal crazy I have wanted to even more. A Dangle a Day has not only inspired me to try more, but the tutorials in at are exactly what I need so I can trace them from my iPad for awhile until I get more confident in my abilities.
I cannot wait to get a physical copy of my own so I can practice any time of day as well as share it with my grandma who has always loved hand lettering and writing. I know she will love this type of book as she still enjoys lettering to this day and spends a lot of time writing things and doodling.

Dangles are whimsical strings of charms that are drawn to “hang” off a picture or letter in any handcrafted art: stationery, bullet journals, scrapbooks, or simple doodling. Angela Porter’s A Dangle a Day is packed with ideas for dangles. The first section provides a run-down of recommended material and an introduction to bullet journals with generous examples. Part One shows how dangles can be used with handwritten letters and numbers while Part Two is organized around the four seasons.

In Part One, each page presents a letter with a new dangle along with about 1/3 of the page for personal practice. Every new letter is drawn in a new style to help add to the crafter’s repertoire. Additionally, each dangle has elements that can be combined or mix and matched with others in the book, so there are a multitude of ideas. The complexity of the designs generally increases as the alphabet progresses. At the close of the section, Porter shows examples of how these letter/dangle combinations can be used in practice.

Part Two is organized around the seasons. Each subsection begins with an adorable page of simple chains and charms and a color theme appropriate for the season. Winter, for example, has a string of holly and a row of ornaments, a wreath, a sleight, and snowflakes, plus others. Porter provides step-by-step instructions for word/dangle combinations December, Happy Hanukkah, Christmas, and other winter months and phrases. After each set of instructions, there is about 1/3 page of the book for personal practice. The other seasons follow similar formats.

The areas set aside for personal practice are small, and, personally, I don’t like to practice in my books but on scrap paper. I would rather that space have gone to more dangles. The book closes with a dangle directory--a summary of the dangles included in the book. I’m not sure that section was necessary, and again, I’d rather have that dedicated to new material.

A Dangle a Day is colorful, cheerful, and whimsical. All readers who enjoy handlettering are guaranteed to find new ideas in this great collection.