by Beth Haley
A while ago I taught a class on journaling, and today, while I was decorating journals for my boy’s birthdays, I remembered some fun things from the class to share.
There are so many fun things to do with a journal! The sky is the limit.
First things First
Take the inside of the front cover or first page to write a book blessing to bless and protect your book. Many people pass down their journals, so it could also be a blessing to the person to whom your book is passed down to.
Family stories, customs, and your lineage are the types of journals you might want to pass down to family members or to a special friend.
Celebrations and Seasons
In my Celtic tradition, we celebrate all the seasons…and more! A journal is a great way to note how you celebrate throughout the year. Special prayers or gatherings, events and dinners, are great to remember.
We fashion live performances which we do on a stage with our (hopefully) lines memorized, so these scripts go into my books.
Add dried flowers and leaves. Rummaging through sweater and coat pockets, I always find acorns. While I can’t add an acorn to a journal, I can add an oak leaf!
The pine cones just have to be added to the counter. With the acorns. Sigh. 😀 But you could add pine needles to a journal.
Then again, if your journal is thick enough… you could cut a box through the paper to nest an acorn in.
Draw or paint. Add jokes and puzzles. Decorate it like you would if you were scrapbooking. This tag I glued into my son’s journal.
There is so much fun to be had with stickers and cut-outs.
I make small paper envelopes which I glue onto a page of the journal. Inside is a small piece of paper with a note or quote. These are especially fun if you’re giving the journal as a gift.
A personal journal can be whatever you want it to be!
A journal can be organized, chaotic, decorated, hand written, or printed and glued onto the pages.
Work with photos, like photo journalism.
Write about your impressions or experiences with special places. Vacation spots. A walk through the forest. Meditation by a stream.
Document your dreams.
Add recipes!
I have so many journals now that I’ve started giving each of them a theme: love, blessings, school, moon phases, meditations, etc.
Glue or Tape
Regular glue tends to bubble the paper. My favorite is rubber cement. It dries flat and is less visible on the next page.
Tip: Keep your journals in a safe place. I don’t carry my journals around with me because it is so easy to set them down and leave them somewhere. So if I want to write while I’m away from home, I write notes on my phone and transfer them to a journal later.
There’s so much more to say 😊
I’ll save it for another day.
Happy journaling!
Pilgrimage Studio 