A Journal, what is it and what can you do with it?

Keeping a Journal. Maybe you know the Bullet Journal, but did you know you can also make a Junk Journal or an Art variety? If you want to be creative, the possibilities are vast!

But what is it and what can you do with it?

It started with a Bullet journal

You may know and use the Bullet Journal yourself. Years ago in started a Bullet Journal. Now I was very behind in this, this has been very popular with many for years. When I found my passion in Bullet journaling I was hooked and soon followed an Art journal and a Travel journal.

I thought these were the possibilities, but I was completely wrong for a moment!

Many more terms for journaling

I recently read an article at Meldiy about Junk Journaling. This term was completely new to me but after seeing a few YouTube videos of this, this also turned out to be popular for years and what fun it is! Since I wanted to be more creative myself, I decided to start a journal again as well. But what?

And how? What options are available?

Maybe it’s good to clarify some terms first

A Journal, or diary or journal, is a book that you can completely fill in to whatever you want. You can use a journal as a diary, but also to write memories, as a scrapbook, you can put lists in it, basically you can customize it to what you want.

Bullet journal

A Bullet Journal is a method of personal organization developed by designer Ryder Carroll. The system organizes planning, reminders, to-do lists, brainstorming and other organizational tasks into one notebook. The great thing about a Bullet Journal is that you can customize and fill it out as you wish, getting creative with washi tape, stickers, etc.

But you can also just write.

What can you put in a Bullet journal, this is of course very personal but often it says:

• A year calendar
• Year goals
• Monthly calendar
• Monthly goals
• weekly planner
• Day planner
• A wish list
• To-do lists
• Books you’ve read this year
• TV series you still want to watch
• Places you want to visit
• Habbit Trackers
  • sports
  • drinking water
  • sleep
  • lose weight
  • 

  Junk Journal

  Junk Journal: is a book often made from found and recycled materials to be used to collect and record memories, thoughts, ideas and inspiration. You can do this by making a cover and incorporating papers, cardboard, newsprint, gift wrap and whatnot into it. This is how you make your own book, on the site of artjournalist you can see how to do it yourself. But you can also choose an existing notebook and cover the pages’s with pages from books, leaflets, gift wrapping paper etc, or buy a Junk Journal.

  You can use this junk journal as a calendar, planner or reminder book. Again it is entirely up to you what you put, paste and write in it!

  Scrapbook

  A Scrapbook is actually what we used to call a scrapbook and is ideal if you like to do something creative with pictures, glue, paper and text. A scrapbook is a kind of diary with pictures, comments, poems, clippings and images. Making a daily page of the things you experienced is of course very special. Vacation scrap books are made a lot.

  Scrapping helps you keep your memories.

  Smash book

  And then we also have the Smash book. A Smash book is similar to a Scrap Book only there are less pictures in it. A Smash Book is a journal where you can write, paste, cut, paint. No planning, you just do what you feel like at that moment.

  You can use it for your vacation memories and stick your entrance tickets, receipts etc in here. But also special moments or days can get a page in your Smash Book. Each page is unique and shows how you were feeling at that moment. A Smashbook is like a book where you smash all kinds of things in ‘smash’. Memories, inspiration, photos’s, papers, all kinds of things.

  Anything goes, it is your own book.

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  Journal with me

  If you ask me, what kind of journal do you have?? Then this comes closest to a Smash book I think, though I’ll just call it a Journal what I have. I have a Notebook with ring binder, which I cover with craft paper, leaves from books, leaflets and more. I paste pictures in here, write down memories in here, paste pictures and letters in here.

  Meanwhile I have written and pasted a lot of books. It is time consuming, but ‘o so much fun to do!