Since the pandemic is going to be around in some part of the world or the other till the entire population gets vaccinated, random lockdowns are going to be a way of life that we will have to get used to. Those of you wondering why I am rambling about all this on an art post, here's the reason. These frequent and often long spells of lockdown can get extremely frustrating. And no better way of dealing with that than creating things out of the simple, everyday things available at home. For art is healing.... so this post focuses on how to make handmade journals with the limited materials on hand.
Handmade junk journals are called so because they are made out of recycled materials. And there are no rules - you can choose whatever you want to play around with. You can also use your journal for varied purposes - sketching, collaging, gluing pictures, writing, even painting and mixed media artwork. Mini-journals are even better as they are easy to carry around and finish up quickly.
So here's a quick video of mine that shows how an ordinary flyer can be turned into a folding mini-journal.
In case you don't have flyers, use old newspaper pages folded up twice or thrice to make them sturdy. Just glue everything down and you are good to go. Once your journal base is ready, use paint dabs, printed papers from magazines, and even old book papers to make up the background.
I used this mini-journal (that you see in the video above) for sketching and botanical drawings, some of which you can see below.
By changing your paper folds, you can turn out different kinds of journals.
The one above and below is an accordion-fold journal I used for painting. It was created out of an elongated strip of card stock, simply by folding it in a zigzag.
The junk journal video in my last post was made from sticking random papers in a folded cardboard cover. Yes, it is that simple and yet the results can be amazing!
Most of all, journaling is a good hobby as it calms the mind, and gives us some very valuable me-time. Find a journaling practice that fits your personality. It is indeed a wonderful way of keeping your mind positively engaged in these pandemic times.
And in case of any queries, feel free to mail me at creativerumblings@gmail.com or connect with me on Instagram (@creativerumblings) or Facebook. Happy journaling, everyone!
