Creative Journaling

This was such a great book! A little more than an overview but less than an in-depth how to. This book has everything from making your own washi tape to making your own planner from scratch. I think the book did a great job with explaining how to do each project in an easy to follow way. I think this book would work for those just starting out as well as those seasoned in creating journaling. I even found some stuff that I didn't know about and I have been journaling for ages.

As I work my way through journals in a fast speed, I love to get inspiration from any place I can. This book turned out to be one of those places full of inspiration.

While flipping through it, I already couldn't resist taking up my journal and try a couple of the ideas in this book. Off course I cannot try all of them in a short amount of time, but I will try all of them over the coming months, I am sure of it. The ones I did try made my heart make a leap of joy.

The ideas are easy to try, and Day thought of a couple of ways to make a nice lay-out when time is sparse too. That makes this book a practical as well as inspirational guide into journaling.

I love art journaling and have several so I was so excited to read this book! Although, this is more of a beginners book to different techniques for journaling it was still very appealing to me. I really enjoyed that they defined everything so even if you are a novice to it you really can learn how to do it and are not expected to know anything going into it. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this creative book.

This was a fabulous book! It had great ideas and easy to follow instructions. The materials suggested were easy to make or find without high costs. I plan to try some of these ideas out in my own journal.

This was a lot of fun to read. It’s a great and easy guide to follow for both beginners to creative journaling and long time journal users. It gives some really good inside tricks and tips that I think anyone can benefit from. Personally my favorite part was the beginning about the bullet journals. That was what I was most interested in. But looking at junk journals, travel journals and creative journals was really fun too. I think those types of journals are really great for advanced journal users, Though, the instructions and tips are easy enough to follow that I think I beginner like me could jump in there if I wanted to.

I also really felt like the part about creating your own journal accessories was a nice touch. Instead of buying a bunch of expensive journal goodies you can DIY a fair amount of stuff, to not only save money but also give journals a more personal touch. It’s clear that this author is extremely knowledgeable in the arts and craft and journaling of all kinds.

After reading this I immediately wanted a bullet journal and couldn’t stop thinking of all the ideas/inspo I wanted to use from this book. I really loved everything in here!

There were a couple of things that tripped me up a bit though. The ending was very abrupt and I think it needs a bit of an outro. Also, I still have no idea what a signature is. The word was used so much. I am guessing from the context I was given, that it is a momento or piece of something to be put in your journal and it’s like a signature page? Again I am not sure, and would have loved a more detailed definition.

Other than those things, I really enjoyed this book, I have a journal fire in me now!

This book is superb for anyone who is into or really wants to start bullet journaling! I have discovered so many new ideas and tips on how to make my BuJo look prettier. Some of the ideas include washi tape, different types of pens and paints, cutters and scissors and many more! I love how high-quality this proof is, making everything legible and the photos are great quality, too. All in all, I'd definitely look into buying the hard copy when it comes out and will most likely gift it to friends and family as well!

This book is incredible. I love looking at bullet journals and always think I'm not artistic enough to make them myself. This book has changed that for me! Every page is filled with the most beautiful images and ideas to create your own journals. Renee gives create tips about materials, how to create beautiful effects and unleash your creativity on the page. I am so inspired after reviewing this book to get started. This book would be ideal for those new to or that already love journalling to give new inspiration and techniques. It is also so aesthetically pleasing that even if you never journalled, flicking through the pages of gorgeous colours would brighten anyone's day.

I've read several books about journaling and I know what I like and don't like in a good book on the subject. This book had plenty of good in it.

1) It was well-organized. I loved how the book is organized in categories for bullet journals (dot grid), found object journals (junk journaling), mixed media, and travel.

2) Each section gave a brief description of the type of journal before diving into tips and tricks and different ideas for the pages and embellishments of that journal.

3) Pictures. The book has a ton of good, step by step photography on each idea that makes it good for advanced beginners and intermediate journalers.

This is absolutely going on my Amazon wishlist and I will be recommending it to people.

A well presented craft book on the popular journaling craft. It includes layout ideas and ways to make your own journals and include items. Useful for multimedia artists. I may purchase this book as craft books are better in physical form for reference and to view while crafting

I enjoyed this book because the information is practical, innovative, and easy-to-follow. I've read my fair share of books about crafts and DIY and sometimes walk away uninspired. This book gave me a lot of ideas that I can't wait to implement. I also enjoyed that the photos are beautiful and instructive.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC.

Bright, colourful, lots a quick and easy things to try out. Lots of examples and pictures showing ‘how to’. If you keep a daily journal then this is the book for you. It will be a joy to do something creative everyday.

I was sent an ARC this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

I have been journalling for over a year now and find it one of the most stress relieving and relaxing hobbies I've found beside reading of course!
This book is jam packed with amazing creative journalling ideas for everyone and shows step by step instructions on how to achieve that look/page/idea.
This has given me some amazing ideas to add to my journal and covers different journal types too such as junk journalling and travel journalling.
This is such an amazing book for any journalling fan, newby or pro.

Creative Journaling is the perfect book for people starting to journal or those who do it all the time and want to learn new techniques and get new ideas! I really enjoyed reading this book and trying out the different techniques and ideas. I highly recommend this book and look forward to its publishing date!

Creative Journaling is a lovely resource whether you are new to journaling or an old-hand looking for fresh ideas. The opening section follows a Bullet Journal-style method and the suggested layouts there are fairly standard if you are already journaling in this manner. However, the segment does offer good tips for newbies. I found the latter sections of greater interest personally. I had never heard of Junk Journaling before, and the ideas in the Mixed Media and Travel Journal sections were inspiring. This is a good book for journaling enthusiasts both new and experienced.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of ‘Creative Journaling’ by Renee Day in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always been a fan of doodling and making things pretty so the title and cover caught my attention. I love how there are step by step written instructions with visuals for projects, techniques, and ideas. I typically shy away from mixed media projects because I lack vision and creativity. That said, the mixed media section is my favourite and I look forward to trying some of the projects and using them as a jumping off point for more creativity.

What a great book to help you start a journal and make it something you are proud to go back to time and time again. The author gives examples that go from easy (10 minutes) to difficult (30 minutes or more). She uses items you have around the house, or specialty items found in the store or online. This is a book I would recommend for teens to adults to use as inspiration.

If, like me, you used to hate to write in your journals, because they were so beautiful, then this is the book for you.
The main theme is that there are no rules or regulations as to how you use your journal - each one is as different as you are. Instead, you are encourage to be free to use the journal as a form of self-expression.

"Art journalling (a form of art therapy) is a powerful form of expression when words just won't do."

This book covers everything from:
* Dot Grid Journals, where you can draw boxes and shapes using the dot grid lines and have great fun with washi tape. One great tip is to keep the last pages free so that you can test if a new pen or paint or stencil bleeds through the paper onto the other side of the page. If you are worried about messing up your lovely book, experiment with layouts and design using pencil and then go over your design with a fine-tip pen.
* Junk Journals. Collate and curate your old pieces of junk instead of throwing them away to create a collage of your life at this moment in time. For example. Old concert tickets, birthday cards and buttons.
* Travel Journals. Capture your emotions, experiences and collections of images in one place.
* DIY Accessories and Papers. There are some stunning art papers and paint accessories available for anyone to use to decorate their journals, even if you have no artistic talent or experience.

Recommended for anyone interested in creating a unique personal journal.

LOVE this!! Can't wait to get it for my library. So many ideas! Especially for my teen group to make journals for themselves. Fantastic instructions for all the projects.

3.5/5 Stars.

This is a great book about different mediums that can be used while bullet journaling. It is a great overview for someone who may already have an idea in mind when it comes to using and creating a bullet journal. However, I didn't find it too practical for a beginner or someone new to bullet journaling as the format and style of this book was kind of all over the place. It would have been easier to follow if it had more of a "where to start" section. I would recommend this to anyone interested in seeing different creative ideas with step by step instructions.

This book is fantastic. I am honestly more of a doodler and drawing to express my feelings kind of girl so this book was perfect fro me. It has tons of very inspirational ideas on how to make your journal or day planner creative and meaningful for you. It gives a broad overview into multiple concepts to add pizazz to whatever you use to either keep your daily thoughts or organize your tasks. I have found tons of fun ideas to incorporate into the things i use daily. It is also fantastic stress relief to just sit and make it fun. I loved it an i highly recommend it to any doodles crafter or serious journal writer that also likes to just be creative. I have incorporated ideas into my daily planner, personal journal and just a doodle book that I carry around to just draw in. So I literally found a ton of ways to use this book. I received t from NetGalley for an honest review and I not only recommend i i plan to get it as a gift for several people that ai know will love it as a gift.

This book is so full of wonderful ideas! There are beautiful photos and well written directions. There is so much inspiration that it is hard to explain. The ideas of using simple things like cans to make circles, glue to make a raised design, using washi tape, markers, watercolors and many everyday things which appeals to my sense of recycle, reuse and renew.

The author covers different types of creative journaling. There is Dot Journaling, Grid Journaling, Junk Journaling, Mixed Media, and Travel Journaling. If you have any inclination to start/learning journaling this would be a terrific book.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been a few years since I stumbled across the concept of Bullet Journaling, and it grabbed me from the start: a mix of organisation and creativity sounds absolutely my thing! However, I’ve fallen into a bit of a rut with my ‘spreads’ (page designs) over the past year, never really got as creative with it all as I wanted, and am actually taking a bit of a break right now. My intention is to start a new journal with new enthusiasm for the new year.

So, when I spotted this book on NetGalley, it felt like a bit of a sign! 😉

Renee Day is behind the instagram account @theDIYday, and if you’re familiar with it you might know what to expect from this book. It covers four different kinds of journalling – dot grid (what I’d call bullet journaling), junk (aka altered book), mixed media, and travel. There are also section at the start and end on choosing materials and supplies, types of lettering, and making your own ‘extras’.

The first section was of most interest to me. If you’re a long-time ‘BuJo’er’ then you might find this a bit basic, or like me you might be glad of the different ideas – all fairly simple and ‘doable’, thank goodness! In fact, the idea of a reusable layout page struck me as genius! There are different styles, different techniques or embellishments, all presented in a step-by-step form with added hints and tips.

The ideas do get progressively more complex, so as a beginner you could follow each in turn and build your confidence – and your craft stash, if you want to try them all! I’d never thought about using my card-making kit (stamps, punches, etc) for my journal, but what a great way to try stuff out.

Up to this point, Ms Day is on the side of stamps and tapes rather than a lot of artistic skill, which is something of a relief. She gets a bit more crafty with the ‘junk journaling’, something new to me but which is quite intriguing, and more again with the mixed media. This feels aspirational for me right now – maybe after some confidence building with my bujo I’ll feel more capable of creating a ‘hot glue layout’, or something as pretty as the 'stitched galaxy layout'.

After the fairly self-explanatory travel journalling section, I really loved the section on ‘DIY accessories’ – make your own tabs looks fab, and I would never have thought of making my own washi tape or decorated paperclips.

Overall, this is a lovely book full of ideas for beginners and more experienced journallers alike. The step-by-step instructions makes it a lot more accessible than the equivalent blog/social-media offering, too. Recommended – and might just spark a good New Year’s Resolution for me :)

This fun book has many different examples of dot journaling, junk journaling, mixed media journaling and travel journaling. You also can mix up each of the techniques she mentions and the best part is that most of them are simple and relatively easy to recreate. Sometimes books like these have the potential to be eye candy where they are super stunning but impossible to recreate (which is also fine if that's all you're looking for.) whereas in this book, I felt there were layouts that were really pretty and also really doable. For me, that's my happy place. If you're into any of these types of journaling, I'd recommend you give this book a try.

with gratitude to netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This how-to manual provides excellent walk-throughs for how to get those Instagram worthy bullet journal pages. The book starts with simple 10-minute projects as a warm-up and then moves into increasing creative and impressive examples of journal layouts.

There are examples for daily, weekly, and monthly layouts. As well as layouts that are adaptable beyond calendars, such as habit trackers and goal lists.

This book is great as a tangible on-the-shelf example of how to start creative journaling. It provides a missing link for those interested in creative journaling, but have access to the labyrinth of Instagram and blog links.

I think this book would be excellent for any public library and even provides enough examples to be useful for developing library programming around creative journaling.

This book has some wonderful and creative ideas for journaling. The author gives step-by-step easy to follow instructions to create new and fun pages for your journal. Very beautiful and Inspirational book. I will be adding this to my library.


Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for the eARC

Creative Journaling was a great deal of fun and full of wonderful ideas on how to take your journal to the next level. Completely accessible, fully-illustrated (for those of us who don't want to destroy a perfectly nice blank page). The sections on junk journaling, travel journaling and mixed media journaling opened up further possibilities to explore. And you can work with whatever you have lying around the house. We all have pretty scraps of paper and hoards of stationary to work from.

This eARC was courtesy of NetGalley.

Creative Journaling was such a fun and creative book. All the projects in here are very creative and can be a good way for people to find creativity in their everyday life without feeling the pressure of being perfect.

I was especially interested in the dot grid journaling section as that is something I would like to take up again in the new year. I did bullet journaling for a while in 2017 but had never found templates that I liked. Day included so many amazing and simple ideas for templates that I can't wait to try. The lettering and border ideas were also incredible and I practised them while reading the book.

The latter part of the book with the 'junk' journaling, travel journaling, and mixed media journaling was so interesting. The instructions - throughout the whole book - were clear and the photos helped the descriptions. A lot of the items used in each project were things a majority of people would have access to around their home and I appreciated that that was in mind when Day wrote the book.

I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in journaling in different formats. The projects look beautiful, are customisable, and come with descriptive instructions to help the reader as much as possible. It's perfect for the end of a long, stressful day and sparks the creativity some people may not have in their work.

This book has some great ideas for journaling as I was hoping it would. I enjoy journaling using a dot grid book where I keep a calendar with events, appointments, special occasions, and important notes along with general ideas and happenings. I also use it for keeping up with my Goodreads book challenge. I wanted some ideas to spruce it up. It is a fun thing just for me, a way to create. Creative Journaling has some ideas for creating calendars, special events pages with dates including birthdays and anniversaries, etc. Renee Day has given not only ideas but step by step instructions to achieve your own special creation. She gives a list of different supplies to use, including a lot of ideas for on hand materials. She has included sections for creating junk, mixed media books, and travel pages using old books or other options of materials. While I mainly focused on the ideas for dot grid journaling, there are lots of great ideas that can be used for different projects. I am considering buying this book so that I will have it on hand for future creations.
I received a complimentary ARC from Rock Point and Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.

I loved this book so much! The pictures were so gorgeous and eye-catching and most importantly, very inspirational and informative. Filled with great and creative ideas, and very clear instructions, I will definitely be suggesting this for my library to purchase and I can not wait to share this with my customers.

This was a very fun book. I'm really into bullet journaling so when I saw a copy of this book I decided to give it a go. This book is full of ideas but not only it focuses on the dot grid notebook but it also includes different spreads for different types of journals. I believe this is a great book for people looking to create new pages in their journals or that want to try creating a junk journal, travel journal, etc. The ideas are presented step by step with full explanations and they are really easy to follow.
I would totally recommend this book for anyone looking to be more creative in their journey of journalin

This is a great book bursting with inspiration and great ideas for spicing up your journal. It is full of wonderful pictures and will have you reaching for your supplies so you can get going. There are a lot of instructions for designing your page layout, and for different types of lettering and borders. It is definitely one to keep on your shelf and to keep referring back to.

This books is amazing! I have read other journaling how to books and so far this is the best! Its clear, gives a lot of examples, break down the basics, but then how to make journals!
If you want to or are into journals you really should get this book!
The pictures are also clear and the directions seem easy to follow.
I really liked the meal planing one!

What a great little book, so inspiring. The book starts with chapters on materials and techniques, then goes through four different styles of journaling - Dot grid; junk; mixed-media and travel. Throughout the book there are tips and suggestions. There are ideas for layouts, cover pages, styles and constructions. It doesn't go into in-depth detail but does act as a starting point for your own ideas.
A fun book that makes you want to reach for your art supplies and get started.

This book is filled with so many wonderful resources for lettering! I love how the author goes down to the basics and starts with simple vocabulary. Her projects shown go step by step and are easy to follow. This is a great resource for anyone looking to get into bullet journaling!

As someone who loves bullet journaling and making altered books, I really enjoyed this book of creative journaling ideas. The first half are all bullet journal ideas, with some wonderfully creative spreads that are fairly simple with a nice impact. For each one, Day goes into step by step directions on how to do them yourself. Most require only simple tools, though she does use quite a few stencils (you can also freehand those, but they won't be as precise). You can easily replicate most of her bullet journal designs with a ruler, stencils, a pencil and some colorful pens, washi tape and a brief amount of time. I would have liked even more of these, as my favorite part of any bullet journal book is seeing as many examples of creative spreads as possible. I tend to do all of my drawing freehand and would have loved some examples of simple freehand spreads to try, too. That said, stencils do make it easy to do great spreads with any artistic level.

The second half of the book is what she calls junk journaling but she also calls altered books. I've been doing altered books for about 14 years and her version is far more fiddly than mine. She has you remove all the pages and just use the hardcover spine as a sort of holder, and then glue in inserted pages that you've bound. I have always just used unloved/ruined old hardcover books as the materials themselves and done designs right over the pages (usually removing some of the pages since the added things glued in and such add a lot of thickness to the book). I like doing it this way as it reminds me of my favorite Native American art style, ledger art, where people on the reservations would use old pages from ledgers that they bartered for as canvas since they had no access to paper or any other type of canvas. The ledger pages underneath become part of the finished work, just as with altered books you can use the text, photos or other elements of the original page to create the finished page.

In any case, her junk journal ideas were mostly very complicated with a lot of supplies and time needed. Some were quite nice, but I prefer doing a simpler, cheaper, faster kind of art for altered books. I didn't end up caring much for that half of the book.

Despite that, I still highly recommend the book for those who love creative journaling. If you like making your journals artistic, this will give you some great inspiration.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

This is a book full of colorful and fun journaling ideas and beautiful photos. The layouts for dot grid journaling are easy to replicate and for most of them, you need minimal supplies witch is perfect for beginners. For the mix-media part, you need more supplies and the techniques are more advanced. A great book to get the creativity flowing.

While I’m not into mixed media in my bullet journal there were some really great ideas for dot journaling included in the book, a few of which I plan to copy into my own journal.

This is a really brightly colored, fun introduction to the more artistic side of bullet/art journaling. This is the kind of bullet journaling I want to do, but don't have the time for, so looking at the pictures was entertaining. I would definately recommend it for beginners and people who want tips on how to achieve drool-worthy layouts.

I got this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this! I bought a really nice planner to keep for this year (2020) and this gives me some great ideas for it. It also helped me find the confidence to just do it and stop letting my journals collect dust because I'm guilty of that too. I'm so ready.

I absolutely loved this book! The author covers dot grid journaling (bullet journaling), junk journaling, mixed-media journaling, travel journaling and even shows a few DIY accessories and papers at the end.
I am not a complete beginner in bullet or travel journaling but this book has so many ideas I want to test right away! I did try junk and mixed-media journaling a couple of years ago but was a bit lost about all the techniques and materials (what do I really need? Do I need a craft room full of stuff to be able to start?). Renee Day gives many tips and tricks, she shows beautiful layouts and explains how to recreate them. I feel so inspired and motivated!
The layout of the book itself is very clean and appealing, the pictures are gorgeous, the directions are easy to follow and short. I really recommend this book to beginners in any of the journaling types showed as well as to anyone who needs inspiration and wants to look at beautiful pictures.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If, like me, you look at the amazing journal pages on sites such as Pinterest and realise you are never going to be able to achieve anything close to them then this book is for you! It starts with basic designs and if you can work with a ruler and some washi tape you can make your own designs and be proud of them.

Gradually more experience is needed but whether you work through the book or dip and delve your confidence will grow and so will your artistic talents. There are some specialised pieces of equipment needed for certain projects, but nothing you can't find on the internet and they are mixed with everyday items we all have lying around waiting to be reused. There was nothing that I felt I couldn't source or attempt in this book and I expect my efforts to vastly improve as I produce pages I thought were beyond me.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who wants to try journaling but finds it all a bit daunting, I think this book will help you to surprise yourself.

I just got into bullet journaling, so when I came across this book, I knew I had to take a look. I LOVE the layout and format of this book and the tips are wonderful! Super comprehensive and fun guide, will definitely be recommending it on my blog and using it as a reference for all my future bullet journaling projects!

I absolutely loved this. Very easy to follow, quick, clear instructions. It definitely helped me become creative while also allowing my personal style to shine. Definitely a great tool for any begginer.

In 2017 I randomly found Dot Journaling and was immediately hooked. I’ve always had an obsession with planners, but none of the books I found in stores ever really seemed to be geared towards what I was looking for. So finding out there were blank books and a technique of creating your own layouts and journal style as you go definitely appealed to me. That being said, I’m only slightly ashamed to say that I bought all the materials, but fizzled out as soon as I realized it was a lot more in depth and required way more actual thought and work than I had anticipated.

Welp, it’s 2019 (almost 2020) and I’m ready to take another whack at Bullet Journaling! This time in the form of a reading journal...enter Creative Journaling.

In Creative Journaling, Renee Day gives us a ton of inspiration and ideas. She includes step-by-step instructions for making beautiful layouts and journal pages, for all sorts of different journal types and using all kinds of materials and supplies. I really enjoyed that Day didn’t dive into what you should fill your journal pages with. She shows the reader how to make amazing, professional and colorful looking templates and offered suggestions, but really left the creativity and content up to the reader. It made it seem like she was teaching us instead of telling us what to do!

While reading, I found a bunch of different layout set-ups that I can’t wait to try incorporating into my new bullet journal. If the idea of journaling appeals to you, or if you’re already a journal keeper, but running low on inspiration, Creative Journaling is the book for you!

This book provides several creative ways to journal as well as guides with how to carry out the ideas. It is not excessively detailed and the presentation is certainly appealing from the guides to the journal ideas themselves. I especially loved that it covered mixed media journaling and junk journaling, though it seemed the ideas on junk journaling were sort of lacking and basically, "Take things that you might throw away and put them in a journal. Make it unique." It's not a bad idea, but I would have loved more examples, especially compared to the other types of journaling. Also, be prepared for washi tape on everything, including how to make your own. I loved all the DIY ideas that are also included. The travel journaling section is also cute and vintage looking. The mixed media journaling was the most impressive and interesting and gave me several ideas that I want to implement. I think this would be excellent for anyone interested in stepping up their journals, but my teenage self would have loved to have had this book for ideas.

Great book with tonnes of ideas. Fab for fans on washy tape. I especially like the mixed media ideas. I have serious handwriting envy though!

There's all kinds of examples and templates to follow and/or use for inspiration in your own journaling journey. I, for one, LOVE all the fancy ideas in here and will be putting several to good use. 5 stars!!

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced PDF so that I can share my opinions with y'all

I enjoyed this book, especially the first half when Renee Day gives you ideas on how to set up a dot journal with calendar grids, to-do lists, and goal lists using pens, rulers, occasionally scissors, and some trimmings. She uses rather expensive pens, but, as she explains, you can do these with any sort of supplies from the dollar store (and maybe a set of Ink Joy pens from Walmart). I especially liked the half page designs as dividers; never thought of doing that in a journal, so to me it was quite creative.

The second half of the book was about making what I think of as "scrapbooks," and I didn't find that all so interesting. I prefer to express myself in writing and wish she had ideas for lined journals. However, for those who express themselves more in art, there are some really cute designs here using simple stenciling technique, watercolor, and gesso.

Thank you to NetGalley and author Renee Day for the opportunity to review this book.
This is an awesome book with lots of ideas and examples for all type of journaling. Am ideal book for beginners and those that are looking to change or spruce up their journals.
#CreativeJournaling #NetGalley

I’ve loved arts and crafts since I was a small child, and I’ve always found journaling fun, so I love combining the two with my bullet journal. When I saw this book, I thought it sounded like a cool resource for new techniques to use on my bullet journal. What I didn’t expect was to come out wanting to make junk journals. I’m going to have so much fun!

Renee Day covers a lot of information, which makes this a good resource for anyone who is thinking about combining art with any form of journaling. Renee also gives an informative description of what each type of media is and how to make them. These descriptions are also applied to the different art techniques and cool ideas that she includes for things that one can do in each type of journal. If you’re one who likes to have a supply list clearly laid out, you’re going to love reading this book.

There are so many cool ideas and inspiring things throughout this book. There’s also a variety of pictures and clear instructions, which makes it great for anyone who has never tried any of the cool art projects and journal spreads listed. I also like that each spread and art project is broken up into sections based on what type of journal one will be working with. Of course, it can all be mixed and matched based on one’s personal needs and the direction they want to go with their journal, but I thought it was pretty cool.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and I will be using some of the techniques on my bullet journal. There are so many neat things in this book that it’s hard not to get inspired!

I am a jeweler and crafter but have only made four journals (that I gave away) to date. I’ve read numerous articles on Pinterest and watched YouTube videos on how to journal but having all that information all in one place is priceless. So when I say I love this book, I really, really love it. I even placed my preorder for this book before I wrote this review!
The author explains about using all sorts of items to make a journal personally yours or for others. I’ve even used some of the ideas, e.g. mixed media, when making earrings with puzzle pieces. There is no wrong way really and what might be seen as a mistake is really a learning opportunity. It’s a wonderful reference book that every serious crafter will want to have in their repertoire.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

I really enjoyed this book. I've been bullet journaling for a while now and the first section of this book dealt with ideas to use in a journal like that - most of which I'd seen before but a few of which I'll be trying.

I'm not particularly artistically blessed, but I do enjoy having a go. For me, the junk (harsh word, I think odds and ends or special papers maybe fits better) journaling and the mixed media section were great for this. Lots of new ideas to me and I'm inspired! A way to put together some artistic layouts that maybe frame a quote or record highlights of a holiday.

The instructions in this book are described in another review as "A little more than an overview but less than an in-depth how to." and I think that's exactly right. I thought it was clear enough to get started in the areas I know nothing about but not so simple I couldn't find things in the section I did have some experience in.

Recommended for those who enjoy journaling, recording their thoughts, diaries and mementos and other things in an visually attractive way.

Creative Journaling: A Guide to Over 100 Techniques and Ideas for Amazing Dot Grid, Junk, Mixed Media, and Travel Pages by Renee Day is exactly what the title states: a superbly creative and fun guide to journaling!

Creative Journaling is a high quality piece, and the images are immediately recognisable as Renee Day’s. They would all fit perfectly onto her Instagram feed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some had been lifted from it.

My favourite layout within the book is definitely the ‘Easiest Reusable Weekly Layout’; this would be such a good time and space saver. Essentially, the key to this layout is to craft your weekly layout with sticky notes and then use a smaller sticky tab at the bottom to list the date the calendar begins on. Day uses a very simple example, but I think it would be fun to invest some time into the design so that you can enjoy it for the month ahead.

I’m planning to give this reusable layout a go in my January set up, but I’ll be combining it with my monthly overview. My monthly overview will act as the base and then I’ll layer the sticky notes on top. This way I can plan the weeks and if things change I don’t have to worry about being messy or running out of space, I can just change out the note.

A couple of the ideas in the early sections of Creative Journaling have been on the likes of Pinterest forever, but for the most part, Day puts her own spin onto them and makes them accessible; there’s nothing worse than seeing an intimidating design with no tutorial. Day is quite literally here to save the day though! Her tutorials are easy to follow as there’s both a text explanation and an image for every step.

Moving on to a later section where Day explores different kinds of journals, I found the junk journal to resonate with me; I love keeping mementos, yet I never know what to do with them. If I give it a go, I plan to have mine be more of a postcard appreciation journal than a junk journal though. It would be wonderful to collate my collective and house them in a creative piece that I can enjoy.

I hope that this book encourages people to give journaling a go and to realise that there is absolutely no right or wrong way to go about it. With that in mind, I am surprised that there’s no official hashtag for Insta so that we can see how people utilise her ideas.

This was my first introduction to journaling and I found this book to be very informative with plenty of ideas to get started with this hobby. My favourite section was the dot grid, I enjoyed seeing the different layouts and the step by step instructions with photos are first class. I definitely recommend this book for anyone starting out in journaling. Thank you #netgalley.

Like a lovely journey through Instagram hashtags, except without the mistakenly tagged ripped guys with motorcycles. (Wait, what?)

In all seriousness, this is a gorgeous book. One of the things I love about dot journaling is how versatile it is, and how open to newbies. If you see a thing you like, you can just do it, and it's not that hard. I also like that artistic talent in the traditional sense isn't a requirement, only that you try stuff and see what works best for you.

That being said, I really enjoyed how this book combined really detailed how-tos with a variety of techniques from extreme lo-tech to multi-step fanciness. It's filled with beautiful photographs and stuffed with ideas - many of which I would never have thought of, and I bookmarked a whole bunch of spread how-to pages. A bujo addition that I will definitely be making to my small collection of books once it's released.

An easy to read and use primer with plenty of ideas for daily use in any type of planner. I found some of the ideas really creative and will use it for my daily planner. What I liked are the ideas to make short specific planners yourself, for example a simple booklet for travels.

Good jump off ideas for some types of journals - dot, junk and travel. Some tips and examples to start off. Could make these ideas your own. visuals and step by step for all ideas.

Creative Journaling is a guide to layouts for bullet journals (called dot grid journaling here), junk journals (when you use left over ticket stubs, pages from books and so on to make a journal), mixed-media journals (when you use paint, hot glue guns, and other things to make an artistic journal), and travel journals (making pockets to put tickets and so on).

I use a bullet journal, but I hadn't seen how to set up any of the others, and so this book gives you clear instructions for how to set up all of these, and make it your creatively.

I enjoyed the different layouts for the bullet journal, as that's what I will probably mostly take away from it, although the travel journal is something I've always wanted to do, so seeing the suggestions here, hopefully I'll be inspired to make something next time I'm planning on travelling!

Lots of clear instructions and lovely photos, along with a list of resources and explanations! This is a great introduction to journaling!

Creative Journaling was published on 14th January 2020, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Renee Day on Instagram, or through her website.

If you're interested in other resources for Bullet Journaling, have a look at my review of The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll.

If you're inspired to do crafty things, then have a look at Crafting Cute: Polymer Clay the Kawaii Way by Dani Banani.

You can also visit The Handmade Fair with me!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quarto Knows (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

An easy to follow, colorful guide to creative journaling. There is a Tom of interesting techniques in this book, including bullet journaling, travel journaling, creatinine your own coffee paper, and much more.

Creative Journalling is a beautiful book! Lots of ideas as to how to make your journal your own. Ranging from bullet journal spreads to creating your own journal from scratch, there are plenty of ideas for many skill level and journalling needs.

Bit conflicted about this to be honest. On one hand, some of these projects look really easy and fun, but on the other, stuff like this is offputting to the very people who bullet journal would benefit the most - it's intimidating! When the actual thing is super easy! Hmm...

Creative Journaling by Renee Day is a tutorial guide with illustrations for bullet journaling. Due out 14th Jan 2020 from Quarto on their Rock Point imprint, it's 208 pages and will be available in paperback format.

The instruction and tutorials here are easy to follow and the book is accessible and appealing. The introductory chapters (~8% of the content) cover general ideas, materials, and techniques. The following chapters give overviews over specific types of journals (dot grid, junk journaling aka altered book multi-media, mixed media, travel journaling, and more). The book also includes a fairly comprehensive resources list for further reading and learning.

The author's writing style is encouraging and positive. One thing she said really stuck with me:
"As a kid, I’d collect journals but would never use them in fear of ruining them. After my collection started to grow, I would use my least favorite journal from the bunch first while keeping my favorites in mint condition."

This is 100% me. This book has so many nice short 1-2 page suggestions and tutorials to vary the look and use of the pages with inks, washi tape, different layouts and more. I found a lot of inspiration here to use in my own journals with which I'm becoming braver and more confident. Mostly, I'm having a blast actually learning and *using* my journals.

Five stars. This would be a superlative choice for a journaling friend, especially bundled with some gorgeous washi tape and pens/markers.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley..

This is a great informative book. I've wanted to get into journaling for awhile, but wasn't sure to start.

Lots of practical information with nice big pictures and suggestions on substitutions in this book, but it does repeat some stuff that other books of this style have already covered. It would be a good first book for someone who is just beginning in creative journaling and who might need some better instructions on how to do some things.

I received a copy of this book for a review, but all opinions are my own.

This book is visually pleasing to read!! It’s a great tool if you’re looking for some ideas to make your journal stand out. The instructions are step by step and easy to follow. The book is picture heavy so you can really grasp what your final product should look like.

I would say this book is for people who are passionate about journaling more than those who dabble like me. With that in mind it has some WONDERFUL ideas to get you started!!

Creative Journaling by Renee Day is a visually attractive book packed full of ideas and how-to information on several forms of journaling. Renee Day not only details various materials and techniques, but offers step-by-step instructions on how to recreate her offerings.

My kudos to the author, who is obviously very creative, for sharing her ideas in an easy to understand and replicate manner!

There is something for everyone here, whether you are a novice or seasoned journaler. I was thrilled with the variety of techniques offered and bookmarked several ideas to use in my own journals.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rock Point for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Fun, imaginative and creative knowhow and tools for creating and personalising uniquely fanciful journaling. What's not to love?

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group/Rock Point for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I have to say off the bat that I am not a journalor. So this was a bit over my head. The ideas were so interesting and creative. I think I can actually do most of this!! Now just to do it. Lol! Great ideas. thanks. 4 stars

I thought this was brilliant. As someone who has only just started bullet journaling, I was hoping for a beginners guide with ideas for spreads and how to put your ideas into effect and this is exactly what you got. I liked the explanation of dutch door effects and the easy spreads that were set out.
The book was America-centric though which was a little annoying as a few of the supplies you can't get in this country.
While the second half was a little disappointing with mostly decorative elements for almost collage-type journals there was enough information in the first half to make it worth bothering with.

If you’re getting started with journaling, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the inspiration and products online. This new Creative Journaling book by Renee Day is a great introduction with loads of fun ideas and tips that will help you find your style using basic supplies you’ll already own.

I admit I’ve not come across Renee Day before but she has a very popular Instagram and blog as thediyday. She doesn’t stick to one type of journaling in Creative Journaling but covers all the popular styles including dot grid/bullet journaling, junk journals, mixed media and travel journals.

Overall, I was impressed by how much this book covers and that you can get started without spending a lot of money on supplies. it’s also great to have everything in a book on my iPad that I can refer to offline, instead of trying to remember things from videos and Instagram posts. I’ve been having trouble making a decision about how I want to journal and this book has given me lots of ideas to try.

(Full review at supercutekawaii.com)

I can't wait for this book to be available on market and get a physical copy to play with in person! This book is so rich with ideas on different ways to journal. Lots a graphic ideas, Tons of images to get your creative brain moving. The instructions on how to journal are clear and step-by-step, so even if you have never tried to journal, you will be well on your way with "Creative Journaling" at your side.

This was a great book, particularly if you're a beginner art journaler. I especially enjoyed the chapters with more in-depth and crafty ways to journal.

I keep telling myself I'm going to start art journaling, or at least journal with a crafty lean to it, but I have yet to do it. Maybe this hyper-relevant guide will be just the nudge I need.

I took a star off because although the handwriting/fonts/scripts in the book were absolutely amazing, we weren't really given instructions as to how to achieve those great results in our own journals. I want/need/will never have handwriting that perfect dammit!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an amazing book!

The first section shows how to do lots of different planner layouts and trackers. I've seen tons of different trackers online, but these are simple and not so intimidating and there are a lot of ideas I hadn't seen anywhere else.

Other sections get into junk journaling and mixed media and travel journaling, all in a straight forward way.

I guess I needed someone to hold my hand and show me how to cut the ends of my washi tape to make it look cute and how to make a weekly layout with circles traced around canned goods instead of a special magic circle template. I needed something to spark my creativity and this book is definitely it.

Great beginners guide to ideas for all the different types of journaling and supplies you might want. Love that Dot/bullet journaling is included!

I love the layout of the book and how comprehensive it is for those who are starting with any kind of journaling. It gives am an excellent overview of the possibilities and enough ideas to get started.

However, as an avid mixed media art journalist, it lacked of ideas for anyone with more experience.

This is such a lovely book, and I look forward to having a physical copy to flip through.
I've been using the leaf design ever since reading about it. It's such an easy and yet effective design, to make a page too fancier! This was a great book to add small details to my layouts.

There was lots of great tips and I especially liked the focused area on travel journaling.

This is a really fun book full of ideas to help make journaling a great means of expression. It helps the reader to take their journals to a new level and is good for all ages.

I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point via NetGalley this review is my personal opinion.

What a beautiful book!. Renee Day did a lovely work with this book. We first found tips and recommendations about the type of materials we can use and how to use them properly. With different type of journaling and each project with a step by step, each one with photos to follow the instructions this book is a great choice for anyone who wants to try on journaling and wants to learn more on how to do it.

I have just started on my journalling journey and found this book excellent to get me started. I loved it and how it progressed from beginner to more advanced levels slowly and effectively.

I was very curious when I got this book. This book is very inspiring. It gives you many tips and tricks to make creative journals, but you can also use it for other art projects. They explain a wide variety of art techniques and it's easy to understand. I would definitely recommend this book to people who want to make their journals more creative or people who want to make art projects in general, as an inspiration.

As someone who has recently started looking at art journaling I found this book to be a great inspiration. Packed with ideas for those just starting out, easily explained, and I can see many possibilities expanding on the ideas here... which as a creative inspration book means it did the job.

Such a great reference book. I really liked the how-to's in this.. I'm sure I'll be using this as a reference for a long time.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This title offers lots of ways of expressing oneself.  After an introductions and chapters on materials and techniques, a umber of projects are detailed.  There are sections on Dot Grid Journaling, Junk Jornaling, Mixed Media Journaling and Travel Journaling.  The book ends with a section on DIY Accessoreis and Papers.  There are 52 projects in all.


The author presents a helpful list of materials to have on hand and suggestions for creative lettering for one's journal pages. There are then colorful example of borders for one's journal.  I had never heard of washi tape but see now how it can help to make beautiful, quick journal pages. 


My own journal up until now has been quite utilitarian.  If yours is as well, perhaps you would like to experiment with adding an artistic statement to your writings, lists, and more.  The ideas in this book will definitely yield unique and colorful results.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for granting me an eBook copy of this book.

I love to journal and found myself getting back into bullet journalling about six months ago, so when I saw this book and all that it offers, I knew I needed it.
This is a great guide to help someone who wants to mix creativity into their journal. You will find lettering tips, trackers, lists to help with productivity, future logs, and I love the planning pages along with all the DIY crafts and how-to's with various artistic media.
I think this is a fun, unique tool for those looking to expand the information they may want to add to their journal along with options of what they can add.

A colourful guide on how to journal in a very creative way indeed. Although a bit too garish for my personal taste I believe it to be an excellent starting point for kids at secondary school with step-by-step instructions and lovely visual examples. Not only does it contain the traditional dot journaling that I am used to myself, but also chapters on junk journaling which I had not come across before. Working at a very environmental aware school I found these chapters extra exciting for my students and believe the book to be a wonderful addition to any school library that wants to promote creativity.

Journaling can be fun, relaxing, and a great way to express your creativity. But, getting started is the key. With Renee Day’s new book, Creative Journaling, there are plenty of ideas and suggestions to expand your journaling in new and creative ways. With 52 different projects, this book will appeal to beginners as well as those who have more experience with journaling.

Creative Journaling includes many photographs and illustrations that are both helpful as well as inspiring. Furthermore, author covers a range of projects that include travel journals, calendars, planners, and bullet journals, just to name a few. The instructions are easy to follow and the finished project doesn’t seem nearly as intimidating. As a result, this book has given me a number of new ideas that I’m anxious to try.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Not sure this can really be reviewed in ebook format but it's pretty and has good prompts.
Obviously it would be more successful in a print format.

Overview of the art of journalling, from art books to dot grid lists. Something for everyone to work with.

Ever since I started journaling myself, this book has really helped me grow as a person and as someone who enjoys creative endeavors. 5/5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with this free ARC

I liked this ebook and I found it really usefull as I just started with creative journaling and would really recommend it to anyone who's starting out with journaling and doesn't have enough ideas :)

I have been meaning to start journaling in order to calm my mind and being more creative yet organised.

The book is beautifully created, full of ideas,templates,artworks and ‘how to’ start your journaling journey! I would totally recommend this to anyone wanting to discover more about creative journalling.
I will definitely steal a lot of tips for my 2020 journal!

A gem of a book. I think you would struggle to find a better resource for journalling. Fantastic for anyone who enjoys putting a creative slant on journalling, diarising, planning, etc. Detailed illustrations, instructions and resource lists make these ideas clear to follow and suggest many, and various, ways to personalise your journal.
Some of these projects are really simple and others need more resources and/or time, but all very appealing.
Ideas include how to cover/ re-cover a journal; how to design calendars; decorate covers and pages; headers; different types of lettering, and a lot, lot more.
Thank you to Renee Day, Net Galley and the [publisher, Rock Point(Quarto Group) for an ARC.

This is an excellent book for those looking for inspiration on how to start journaling with plenty of different layout suggests to follow and adapt.

Create Journaling is split into six main sections:
- Introduction, Materials & Techniques
- Dot Grid Journaling
- Junk Journaling
- Mixed-Media Journaling
- Travel Journaling
- DIY Accessories & Papers

Overall there are 56 ideas to try. and comes with plenty of steps and colour photographs for you to follow and make your own journal, using stamps, washi tape, stencils and much more. Alongside the inside of the journal, it also provides ideas on how to make your own cover unique.

At the rear of the book is a resources section which lists the materials used to make each of the types of journal ideas, from pens, inks, washi tape, markers, brush pens and much more. Most of these are easily bought from craft shops.

Whilst its not a mega important page, the copyright page has the dots all over it but they are quite sharp making it hard to read the text.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

I've been bullet journaling for 3 years now. When I started out, it was purely functional and over time, ive started to incorporate colour and design into my spreads, I was always intimidated by this however, looking at complex journaling spreads on social media. This book helped me with some of that. Beautiful pictures accompanied with good but doable tips on how to decorate your bullet journals. The author also has a section on junk journaling which I cant wait to try. All in all a great resource for journallers, beginners and experienced.

Creative Journaling provides a wonderful step by step guide on using creative techniques to do everything from lettering to creating your own washi tape. It gives you a number of different types of journaling projects and directions on how to do them, and make your own unique and fun daily planners and calendars, to keep track of your life. She includes ideas I have not seen in any other book of this variety, and I have looked at quite a number of them. Now that I have read the book, I cannot wait to put her ideas into practice.

If you are a DIY person, who loves journals and planners, this book is a must read!

Thank you Netgalley and Rock Point, for giving me an advanced look at Creative Journaling, in exchange for my honest feedback.

Creative Journaling by Renee Day gives a substantial number of ideas at ways to easily spice up journaling. Many materials are discussed but much of the activities involve simple supplies that do not need a lot of practice to use. That make this book even more attractive in that anyone can use these ideas. With pencils, pens, markers, washi tape and paper being easily found anyone could use the ideas. Also many of the ideas are not complicated.

This journaling guidebook would be great for young people who love to explore and let their creativity come to life especially with junk journaling. Also scrapbookers, since I scrapbook and enjoy card making, I saw many ideas that would crossover using the same materials. I can see me continuing to refer back to this book for ideas.

Like the author I have bought many lovely journals over the years. These ideas give the push needed to now use them. The gratitude log and US map tracker were the first two journaling projects that I tried. Finding the US map stencil was the hardest part.

The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.

Creative Journaling by Renee Day

What a delightful book filled with ideas this turned out being. I just sent the information to my artistic sister who does altered book round-robins with friends knowing there are tips and tricks she will love to see and use in future projects. This book has so so much information that I enjoyed glimpsing through and when I finished reading I thought, “I would LOVE to have this book to refer to in the future. The trick is going to be finding a hard copy to have and open up on my art table so I can enjoy trying one or more of the ideas while working on my own projects in the future.

What I liked:
* The illustrations – easy to follow with great ideas to implement those ideas
* New ideas I have not tried or even seen before
* Easy to follow examples
* Use of easily found objects to make extraordinary pages in a journal
* New ideas for journals that I have not thought of.

What I didn’t like:
* Knowing I won’t be able to find this book locally and will have to special order it to have it on my art shelf

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Rockpoint Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

A wonderful introdustion in the world of journaling. The book offers many journaling tips, techniques and it's full of inspiration.

This has a lot of good ideas for journaling, but it also has ideas that can be adapted for art projects for kids that could be turned into writing projects. The techniques can be carried into all sorts of projects that call for more decorative writing than a straight research project.

Creative journaling is for anyone who is a beginner in journaling or someone who has been doing it for years. This book is jam-packed with everything a person needs to know about making their journals more appealing and fancy. This book will give you the proper idea from how to make a planner from scratch to how to use washi tapes.
I highly recommend this book to all.
Thank you, NetGalley for the ebook.

Amazing book! I do journaling with the children at my library, but I am always on the look out for more ideas. This was a great idea book!

I'm just starting a career as an illustrator (at the age of fifty-four!) and am turning what was just a hobby into something more. Having lots to learn, I have been seeking out the needed information in books. What is good about Creative Journaling is that it holds information for readers on several levels, whether you are doing your journaling for others to see or just to more fully express yourself. I have been journaling ever since I was a child and somewhere along the line discovered I was doodling in my diary margins.

With this book, you can throw the gate open to your creativity and express yourself in the written word, as well as drawings or ... the sky is the limit. Look to this book not merely for its information but its inspiration because ultimately, you have a story to tell and nobody can tell it as uniquely as you.

However, I read this in ebook format and I would recommend you get it in paper format so you are not dealing with downloading or tech issues because it's a "keeper" you will definitely want to refer to several times.

I am grateful to Netgalley,(and the publisher) for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

I hope it was helpful.

Sincerely, Laura-Lee

"Creative Journaling" is a gorgeous book. One of the things I love about dot journaling is how versatile it is, and how open to newbies. I like that artistic talent in the traditional sense isn't a requirement, only that you try stuff and see what works best for you.