She's Crafty | Loose Leaf Journal

Keeping a journal has always been an important practice in my life, though I struggle to remain consistent in creating my entries. At the beginning of every new year I make a vow to practice daily and search for innovative ways to encourage my commitment.

While watching videos about art journaling, I came across a woman who journals some of her entries on loose pages and then inserts the finished pieces into a bound journal. This got me thinking, what about keeping the pages loose even after you journal on them? The pages would remain loose but contained together within a special container of some sort, like a folder. My vision of the whole set includes: finished pages, blank pages, a pencil, and the special as-yet-to-be-defined container. This set would, as a group, be considered my loose-leaf journal.

It's an evolving project. I see multiple options floating around in my brain. One option involves fabric and sewing. Another, various papers and glue.

Sean MacEntee, Just Write. Some Rights Reserved

While I wait for inspiration to hit, I've taken to reading about what experienced writers, artists, and diarists have to say about keeping a journal. I've gathered a few of the interesting finds below.

Famous Writers on the Creative Benefits of Keeping a Diary is an article by Maria Popova, creator of the website Brain Pickings. Along with the video I mentioned earlier this article is a seed of inspiration for my current journal project. Popova packs her post with insight from diarists such as: Madeleine L'Engle, Anaïs Nin, Oscar Wilde, and Susan Sontag. There are links to books that Popova references, or that the diarist she is writing about references in their work. It's a link hopper's paradise, a great resource oasis that I refer back to again and again.

Keeping a Journal by Trudi Strain Trueit is a guide for children on how and why to keep a journal for positive mental health maintenance. Trueit gathers examples for kids to read and offers tips to help get kids into the journal habit. Keeping a Journal also features exercises and plenty of alternatives to writing to keep kids interested in expressing themselves however they feel is helpful and fun.

• Dear Diary: The Art and Craft of Writing a Creative Journal by Joan R. Neubauer.
• At a Journal Workshop : Writing to Access the Power of the Unconscious and Evoke Creative Ability by Ira Progoff.
• Writing From Life : Telling Your Soul's Story by Susan Wittig Albert.
• Leaving a Trace : On Keeping a Journal : the Art of Transforming a Life Into Stories by Alexandra Johnson.

One last book to push before I go. This one is not so much about the hows and whys and uses of keeping a journal, but gives you a peek at what  of people have done to participate in a far-reaching and on-going project.

The 1000 Journals Project by Someguy is quite a book. I'm still getting to know what the project is all about but it sounds absolutely fascinating! 

Tag from journal 988.

Apparently, Someguy distributed 1000 blank journals to friends, strangers, and left the rest in public places. Each journal is numbered and has a tag with a simple explanation and instructions on how to participate. The book we have available for checkout is a collection of some of the entries people added to the journals. You can find out more by visiting the website 1000 Jounrnals Project. Through a companion website, 1001 journals, you can even learn how to launch your own journal project and send journals around the world for people to fill. Now that gets my gears going...


...if they churn out anything fun, I'll let you know.

Malia