…and then I did another thing.

Did I tell you that I quit Instagram? I thought that I had mentioned it, but apparently not. In case you are interested as to why I ditched 3500+ followers on the IG’s, I just wasn’t getting the engagement I thought I should with that many followers.

Whaaaa!!! (<me whining)

As most people know by now, if you want to be seen on IG you have to make reels…I din’t want to make reels! …and then I did…after I killed my IG account!

Now it would make total sense that I would regret getting rid of my old account, but I don’t in the least. I’m not quite sure why that is, maybe I like the idea of a fresh start.

Well, cutting to the chase as it were, I started up a new IG account: PattysArtJournals Yes, the same name as the one long ago, not so new.

All I know is that I am having so much fun on my “new” account! I’m posting new pix of old journals and new page spreads, making reels, and just fooling around. I think the problem I was having with my old account is the pressure I put on myself to push my Etsy shoppe. You know that “Hustle” culture some of us less enlightened folks fell into.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share the reel I made for IG with you. You’ll have to add your own background music, I had enough trouble figuring out how to upload this video, Lol!

Hope you enjoy!

As Always,

Thank you for the visit,

Look for me on the IG’s if you’re interested,

~Patty

It has been a long time since I’ve made an art journaling video. Pretty much all the things went on hold over the summer…and the wedding…and the…Ya, enough with the excuses!

The funny thing is that I made this video over two weeks ago, edited and ready to go, but because I had so many fun things lined up with family, I forgot…crazy!

This page was super fun to put together, and the video was actually a breeze to make because I decided to keep the commentary to a minimum, so editing went pretty quickly. (boring backend info)

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d love to make more videos in the future as long as I don’t have to do so much editing, we’ll have to see how that goes 🙂

I’m working in my “Daniel Boone” nature journal here and using up what I found in my little junk journaling box. Using this sweet image from a Little Golden Book came as a surprise, those lil” birds are so darn cute!

Keeping this short and sweet hoping you will get the info from the video!

Here’s the link: Patty’s Art Journals

As always,

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Have a great rest of your week

~Patty

My problem is that I have too many interests! When I loose interest it’s usually because I see a new shiny object, creatively speaking, and run with it. I have this weird fear that if I don’t jump on something when the muse calls, I’ll forget about it, so I usually have too many projects to work on at the same time…it’s a whole thing.

So, the only reason I “loose interest”, is because I’ve come up with something new to add to all the other interests.

Case in point:

I created this page a couple of weeks ago, then I created another one (future blog post), then I had the bright idea of combining them together with another page spread to write about different art journaling styles…then I started working on a huge ephemera pack idea for my shoppe…ya, that’s how my brain works, like a kid at the fair!

But now I have a couple of blog posts in the can so to speak, so that’s kinda cool!

Anyway, as far as writing about different art journaling styles fits into this one just fine, because that’s the point. Sometimes I like kitsch, then I’m in the mood for soft neutrals or nature or fairies.

I have found that most art journalers have a particular style and stick with that, I’m all over the place.

I know that there are all kinds of labels out there for the way my brain works, but I’m not a huge fan of labels, never have been. So, I’ll just flit around, making messes, cleaning them up, then making more.

In other words…embrace my inner 10 year old!

Here’s hoping you’ll make time for your inner 10 year old this week,

Thank you for the visit,

Talk to you soon,

~Patty

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.“

~Maya Angelou

My daughter has said this quote to me many times over the years, and right now I’m taking it to heart.

In a world full of “Influencers”, I want to follow the “Encouragers”! The people that gently nudge you to follow your heart out of a genuinely caring heart.

I recently revisited someone who I have been following for less than a year, you may know her The Unexpected Gypsy, she’s pretty huge on YouTube. Well, I watched her latest video the other day, and it helped me look at journaling in a new way. Not just art journaling, but journaling in general. She has to be one of the most caring people I’ve ever come across on social media. She has a great style of art journaling, but more importantly, she just wants to share her love of art and encourage you to nurture your creativity in whatever way that brings you joy.

“Audio Journaling”

I have had a habit over the years of talking into the “record” app on my phone when I’m driving by myself, something I used to do a lot when I was commuting from house to house. Back then it was ideas for my shoppe or social media, but it morphed into just getting thoughts out of my head.

Wendy (the unexpected gypsy) shared that she considers her thoughts a kind of journaling. What! Now that’s thinking outside the box! To me that means all those ramblings into my phone could be considered journaling. So, instead of erasing them (which I do almost immediately) I listened. (you can’t complain that nobody listens to you if you’re not willing to listen to your self! Lol!)

My biggest take-away is that journaling is what you make it, call it, or how you use it…it’s up to you!

Getting back to my original point via Maya’s quote, I find that my pages tend to remind me of how I felt at the time I created them. I love looking through my journals and remembering that I took some time to just be me.

“Currently Me”

An eclectic mix of papers, colorful paint, a hose image that reminds me of how much time we spend watering our lawn, the rescued bits from a journal that I repurposed, the masked chicken…not sure about the meaning there. Anyway, a little like my “stream of consciousness” audio notes, layered, semi organized, and in the end, grateful.

As always,

Thank your stopping by,

Hope this blog post made sense,

~Patty

In this particular style of journal, I added a smaller paper piece for some variety…and to use up paper scraps. Here are just a few ideas on how to decorate smaller inclusions in your journals.

I’m still using Kelly Bangs’ “Let’s get Crafty” collection. Seriously, I only purchased the paper pad and a stencil, and I still have tons leftover!

Anyway, I started this page with some heart stenciling. This particular stencil is from Vicki Boutin and may be discontinued but I found this Heart Stencil on Amazon, which I really like too.

The idea here was to try out a “Hexie Page” in this style of journal. I have tried many versions of Cutie Keepers (see my “Idea Book: Themed” blog post), but I have high hopes for this art journal version.

I love setting the hexes then filling the gaps with Kelly B.s florals and stickers.

A journaling page

When I use single sided paper in my journals, I like to print graph or dot grid on the blank side to journal on, and then decorate it up of course.

Some of this vintage ephemera has been bouncing around my craft room for years. That rooster looks like he’s telling the youngin’s to shut the heck up! “Seriously, one more peep outta you guys!”

I used Kelly Bangs “Southern Charm” for this page spread. Love my cowgirl cluster!

The sticker underneath the clip says “Free Range”, perfect!

Somebody tell me why I sent this journal off again!

Bye for now,

Thanks so much for joining me for this series,

Take care,

~Patty