Just for me ....

The other day I was working in my journal and decided I didn't like the page I was working on.  At some level I think I also felt that it wasn't quite "arty" enough ... and then had to laugh at myself for coming up with such a ridiculous notion!  The whole point of the journal for me is the reflection on life, the universe and everything - good, bad, indifferent, puzzling or confusing, or indeed all these things at once!

So I needed to remind myself that anything, and I do mean absolutely anything goes.  You can put one big word in the middle of the page, draw a tree and then write about something completely different, consider the social habits of polar bears, whatever floats your boat.  You can stick pictures down and not draw or write anything unless YOU want to!  The point is that you enjoy and get something from the process, and that the final page kind of speaks to you of the journey you went on in making it.

So I covered up the work I'd done - and I didn't even paint or ink it but "cheated" and used scrapbook paper!  The purists would say that's NOT ALLOWED and isn't arty wouldn't they?  Off with their heads.  Then I stuck some random pictures on top for no better reason than that I liked them - which is good enough for me.

The red welly is just fun, and I'd rather like to live near the sea one day.  The stamp is one I've had for ages and LOVE, but rarely seem to use, and the teacup is just, well, there.  Then I went even further against the purists, and I didn't even write my words - but typed them on the computer and cut them out in strips.  Its a technique I use a lot in my scrapbooks, and it looks good here too - don't you just love old typewriter fonts?  I do but couldn't exactly explain why.

And when I'd done all that I wrote some little bits and drew a few doodles, just because I wanted to and not because I thought I should!   I like this page, its different, its fun, and it reminds me to loosen up and just go with the flow.

A journal is for YOU, and you need to be able to feel that you can put anything in it.  I make a few very personal pages which I don't publish, so its completely up to you who sees or doesn't see what you do.  If its going to have value to you then you have to be free to do whatever you like with it, and if you aren't enjoying that process why are you doing it??

I will climb down off my soapbox now and continue work on the covers of my next journal - this one is filling up nicely.