Art Journalling - Favourite Five Blogs

Art journalling is something I've really been getting into over the last few months - and I'll be honest, I tend to spend my free time browsing pinterest nowadays rather than updating either of my blogs or shamefully, doing my own crafty pursuits! Along the way I've discovered some fantastic blogs that are incredibly inspiring and always have me craving some along time with my own journals.

What makes a great art journal blog? Clear photos, progression through the design and most of all, an inspiring attitude. It doesn't matter if you produce perfect art or if you only use two pencils and some string. It's about the passion.

Without further ado, in no particular order...

Artisty Crafty by Marta Lapkowska

Marta combines beautiful materials with a clear understanding for composition in all her projects; I absolutely love her use of 3D elements in her pieces. As her art journals are made from old hardback books, her work has an extra dimension that is often missing from plain page journals. I now really want to use a book as a journal but would feel a bit silly running four at once! I love how bold she is with colour use as well.

http://artistycrafty.blogspot.ie/

Notes on Paper by Julie Kirk

Whilst Julie from Notes on Paper is strictly an art journalist, but rather a paper crafter for all occasions, her tutorial on how to compose an art journal page from the very start is one of the first ones that I saw that got me working on my own journal. In contrast to Marta and the others in this list, she use a lined notebook as part of a 'Learn Something New Everyday' Journal - which gives a fantastic effect of relieving the pressure of a plain page in a sketchbook. And the tips she provides are really great for the novice journaller; it can be really easy to get bogged down  feeling that you need to have lots of different expenive materials to create something special.

http://notesonpaper.blogspot.co.uk/

Pink Suede Shoe

I think the most inspiring thing I find about Pinksuedeshoe.com is that her style is so simple, and yet so beautiful and effective. Her journal pages are uncomplicated and just a true reflection of her thoughts and desires at that moment - isn't that really what we all aim for in a journal? Plus her sewing items are absolutely gorgeous too. 

http://pinksuedeshoe.com/

Words of Me Project

Words of Me never fails to produce a beautiful page, which always has a deep meaning and highly creative depth to it. She manages to combine colours and elements in a manor of which I can just dream - it's stunning. Her tag line for her blog is 'I hope I've inspired you to tell your story'; which she truly has for me. Reading through her blog gives me a lot of things to think about that are not limited to the wonderful art journalling pages she posts. We could all use a little bit of her positivity I think!

http://wordsofmeproject.blogspot.co.uk/

Annawhocropsalot

Anna manages to do what I so wish I could - she creates not only a useful diary page, but also one that is absolutely beautifully busy and creative. Her diaries are the ones that I could see being passed down from mother to child to grandchild and each generation getting as much joy and energy out of as the last. Her art journal pages and scrapbook pages are no exception either. 

http://annawhocropsalot.blogspot.ca

So go ahead and check them all out! Who's your favourite art journal blogger? What inspires you to create? And do you have a blog yourself? I'm always looking for more to follow :) I'll do a post with my favourite pages soon for you all to see inside my journal!