Making Journals by Hand: 26 Creative Projects for Keeping Your Thoughts

I loved this book, but when I got "Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand" I was surprised to find "Making Journals by Hand" is actually included in that text in full: word for word, page for page, project for project .Instead of buying "Making Journals by Hand" and "Making Memory Boxes", save some money and buy one book: "Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand". This book combines all of the projects above and then some.All of these books have great projects and instructions.

The title of this book is slightly misleading...I think it's more about creating the visual aspect of a journal's pages than binding a journal by hand. That's not to say that there aren't any instructions at all for creating your own from scratch, just that the projects presented are on the simple side and not what someone looking for a bookbinding manual would necessarily be looking for.Now, if you are looking for a book that will inspire you to keep a true visual journal, then you can do no better than to purchase this book! The photographs are beautiful and the amount of creativity contained in these pages is awesome.There are many instructions included for designing the pages of your journal that would put this type of record-keeping in the league of scrapbooking. If you want to make a memorable legacy for yourself and generations to come, then you will want to put the ideas in "Making Journals By Hand" to use.

Do you have tons of unadorned journals that you have made? Have you ever wondered what to put in them? If so, this is the book for you. It is packed with fresh ideas for decorating all those blank journals.The book starts out teaching the basics of creating books. This includes making a spiral bound book, and rebinding a store-bought journal or vintage book. The instruction here tends to be a bit incomplete for a true beginner. If you want to make a journal from scratch, buying a true bookbinding book is highly recommended.There are great ideas on variety of journal styles including daily, travel, recipe, garden, artists' sketchbook and triptychs. Each one has a different and easy-to-create binding. The instructions are step-by-step and accompanied by photos. Where this book really excels is in turning your book into an artistic masterpiece. There are lots of creative project ideas and techniques that I have not seen used in this way before. Some include wax resist, image transfer, plaster paper, emulsion lifts, and creating carved stamps. The examples though the book and in the gallery are stunning. The resource and book list is very helpful. It's nice that it also includes a list with email address of all the artists in the book. If you want to turn you journal into a true work of art, this is the book to get.

Making Journals By Hand by Jason Thompson - 125 pages, over-size paperback Published by Rockport Publishers From the publishers of Making Memory Books by Hand also comes this wonderful book - Making Journals by Hand - which enables you to leap tall mental buildings in a single bound and become SUPER-CREATIVE & ARTISTIC PERSON!!! I'm not exaggerating (at least, I don't think I am). Lists of supplies needed and suppliers, detailed instruction for creating journals from scratch or for reusing old hardback books or spiral notebooks, lots of photos of fascinating and unusual journals, reasons to keep your own as well as theme ideas (recipe, travel, garden, and nature to name a few), curious ways to fill them (Remember the wax resist technique from grade school? It's in here, simple to use with wonderful results.) that are not complicated, how to choose lasting supplies and care for the finished product (Did you know newspaper clippings will cause acid free paper to degrade over time? See page 11.) a constant flow of tips and `jump starters' and . . . well, it made me want to start a journal just for the journal ideas I was getting while looking through and reading the book! Good, good book.

Making Journals By Hand has a slightly deceptive title; the book really inspires you to become more involved in your journals by incorporating visual elements or trying new techniques. The examples are gorgeous. I love being able to look at (or is it into?) other people's journals, and this book allows me to do just that. There are travel journals and pregnancy journals and nature journals- but these aren't merely text entries- they are journals with lavish layers of collage & illustration. The projects are interesting and really make you want to get up out of your chair and into your work space to try out these techniques. I think beginners will come away with a sense of what is possible and more advanced visual journalers will come away with inspiration & maybe a little jumpstart!