If you would like to learn how to make and keep your own illustrated journal, I have an online class THE BOOK OF YOU. You can find it here ($35): kelly-s-school-b1d1.thinkific.com/courses/the-book-of-you-making-and-keeping-a-visual-diary
What a beautiful enticing memory book this is! The workshop results in it too add so much and keep colors handy.Your idea to break aq visual down into bite size drawings is a great tip. Maybe I could draw that way. Love this Kelly! TFS
Hi Kimberly. Drawing into tiny boxes is fun and a life-saver - I used to get frustrated when I tried (and failed) to draw a simple clocktower or steeple or whatnot. Give it a try and let me know how it goes! Kelly
I've been journaling nearly 50 years, but when I took a 5 month trip around the US trying to find a new place to live, I tried to make a diary/journal several times of my adventures. I finally settled on my usual writing, and cartoon making I often do in one journal, and photos and bits stuck in a second huge handmade journal. I love how "freehand" yours is, so lovely, and makes me glad I did mine "freestyle" as well, rather than sticking to some kind of art journal "rules". Gotta be a rebel. 😅 (No one cares I got gas in Tucson on may 2022 at 4 p.m. so, I dropped that silliness).
Cartoon making was one of the ways I started out when I couldn't draw AT ALL. Stick figures doing stuff like getting gas at 4:00 p.m. and writing captions. I always encourage people to Just Get Started and let your style evolve, which is pretty much how the free-hand version came about for me. And like you, not sticking to rules. As for huge books, one of the advantages of making these smaller, one trip notebooks is that I am way more likely to actually finish one. 😺 Thanks for comparing notes! Kelly
Great journal! Love every bit of it! What a beautiful cross-section of the moments of your trip. My daughters have just told me they want to travel to Europe with me next summer. Treat/trip of a lifetime. I will definitely be making travel journals for all 3 of us based on everything you have taught me. Especially the idea of taking an overwhelming visual and breaking it into smaller bits. Priceless. Thank you! 🖤Gilly
Wow wow wow. I'll say it again, you are so lucky with those gals. Keep me posted as and when - maybe we could manage to meet up in some coffee shop or flea market on this side of the planet.
Hi Thea, this is what I like to hear. One of the things that I encourage is making pages of the everyday stuff in our lives as we would if we were on holiday - maps of our dog walking, shoes, what we're reading. So get making those pages and keep me posted. 😺
I don’t keep a diary nor do I journal, but I like my books to be a kind of “hybrid”, art journal, junk journal, glue book, collage book, sketchbook and quotes, all in the same book. So I really love the variety of things and images you have in your book. For me, having books for certain purposes is a bit limited, I like the freedom of doing what I want in a book 💙♥️🩷🩶💜💛🧡💚🤎❤️🩵
Yes, Alexandra. A hybrid book is liberating. I also love how you add stitching into your books. It took me a time to do this because I do like my categories and systems and I have one diary for prayer, one for art, one for memories, a different one for ideas (and there are more). Putting everything in one book was a new idea for me! I hope you have a creative week. 🌷🌷🌻🌻🌼🌼Kelly
Ahhh Kelly, forever inspiring you are. What a fantastic class, I'm jealous, not really, but I would definitely be into an ink making class. This journal is particularly inspiring, I mean ITALY!! COME ON!! Thank you sharing your creativeness! Big love to you always. S.
Hi Simone. If it makes a difference, I am always aware of how truly blessed I am and I try to learn and explore and create around it in a mindful and grateful way. Also - GELATO!!!!! 😺
What a beautiful memory of your trip. I love watching your creations . I like to journal our trips as well. I usually write how far we travelled and put in bits and bobs of things we’ve done each day. Such great memory keepers. 😊
Hi Anne. That is a very good way to start. I started with just gluing in the odd ticket stub or paper menu then labelling it and writing text around it. Then I added some colouring (had never heard term "mark making" then) and then adding stick figures as in a cartoon. From there it evolved to a more traditional illustrated journal and in the last year I've started making them hybrid visual diary/art journals. Who knows where it will go? So start where you are with notes and start adding those doodles and you will be on your way.🌷🌻🌼Kelly
Kelly, what a great little memory chunk you hold in your hands! It looks like you had a magnificent time in Italy! When you showed the pic of the old, old library where you took your classes at, I fell in love with the books you showed. The rough, ancient, off white books with old fashioned bindings, that to me, look like rope under the fabric of the spines! I cannot wait to see your tutes of the limp vellum bindings. I even love the name. I also always love it when you draw the funky clothes that you wear on these trips. SO COOL. Thank you as always for a very nifty share.
Hey there, Lynn. I have occasionally thought of making a video or three about fashion, maybe looking at a Kelly-style capsule wardrobe, then I always think that it's too much. I have found a company in Bulgaria that hand makes clothes to my measurements AND in my budget and I have been slowly adding piece from them to my wardrobe and getting rid of cheaper stuff that doesn't look as good. As for the library in the seminary - the instructor kept trying to get us to go out and swim or relax after classroom sessions and nobody would go because we only wanted to revisit the library as many times as we could get her to unlock the door. 😺😺
Wholly wonderful. The way you assemble the different pieces, draw & add the ink paint outs💕Great idea to make small drawings of architecture. Draw the clothing packed 🩵The images of the books, the ceiling & room🌞Sketch the everyday items close to us🖊️💚 The writing connects it all &🗺️ map🙂
Hi Sabine. Thanks for your thoughtful message. I always encourage people to use the same ideas for making journals of our everyday. Hope you try it and keep me posted! Kelly
I have sketchbook/diaries for all my major trips, and I still work on them years later. Partly because my skills are a little better now. But at the time, I found it difficult to work out where I'm putting everything, and being able to let go enough to decide what to do with things. Now I can be a little more decisive
Decisive, that is a good way of putting it, Bo. Funny, when I first started out I just put stuff down anywhere as I had never drawn or made pages so I didn't know what I didn't know. Then as I got better I actually thought about it wayyyyy too much and had stalled. I worked through that and now have hit a happy medium where I don't overthink it and have fun because it's my book and you can't do it wrong. Thanks for comparing notes and checking in. 😺Kelly
Beautiful book and inspiration for my next trip I take to make a journal like this one. I love the receipt idea. Love all the old churches. I have forgotten so much information from previous trips so this is a great way to preserve wonderful memories. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Patricia. You are so welcome. Don't forget you can also sketch over receipts. I have done that in the past - made a patchwork quilt of them and that was my "blank" page. 😺Kelly
Your flip through are always interesting, inspiring and joyful... I look forward to each and everyone. Thank you for sharing your journal/ diary.... 💙💚💙
I loved your travel journal and all of your pictures and drawings. I know you had a blast at the workshop and the whole trip. Thanks for sharing and your inspiration.
Hi Lynne. It was a blast and I learned so much. Pretty sure I'm going back next year for the bookbinding part of the workshops. Hope you're having a creative Sunday! Kelly
I absolutely over this journal. You must have had a blast. I recognized your mini abstracts from the video you showed of the ruins. I saved a few if your pictures because I want to draw and paint them too.
TY, I think I have what I need I have several tiny journals 4x4 and am starting a new one... architecture. It will just be line and wash of buildings , houses, barns, windmills, lighthouse. Whatever etc. Some are even whimsical like a mushroom or bird house.. I have another with learning some zentangle. I'm using these as warm ups for other projects because they are quick and easy and fun. But good practice for travel quick sketching.
I loved this flip through, some artists make art journals more as showcases for their own art and these van be very professional and beautiful. But this journal is deeply personal and I love it for that reason. And speaking of personal journals and upcoming videos I'd love for you to explore the idea of a kind of journal that serves to communicate between people who are separated by space. I started doing this with my daughter, Every once in a while I make a Jane journal. It's something like other art journals, it may include color swatches or small collages but mostly it's a way of verbally and through art and the addition of papers that let me communicate what's going on in my life. Sometimes I will sneak in bits of life advice disguised as a cartoon or collage. She liked the idea so much that I started an art journal in an encyclopedia and when it was half full I sent it to her with an envelope of ephemera. She is does not think of herself as an artist but was thrilled by the idea. As an aside throughout my daughter's lives when they have been depressed or ill I have set them up with an easy to learn art box, one was beads, wire, simple tools and a book on jewelry making. They've told me that kickstarting something creative helped them through difficult times. Thanks again Kelly for your ideas you always provoke the creative spirit in me which is a wonderful gift.
Holy macaroni, Sheryll, you are amazing. Thank you for this thoughtful message. Personally, I think you are the one who should be making this video but I am going to think about it and see what I can do. The first thing I thought of was old-fashioned letter writing which is how people communicated when separated by space in way we can hardly even imagine now. But even now, yes, because the thing about these kinds of visual diaries is that they have something personal and intimate that a photo, while nice, does not always convey. I laughed at the part about sneaking in life advice. Mine is 32 and sometimes acts as though I am radioactive when I try to give constructive feedback (i.e. - head him off at the pass). The cartoon idea is also apt - when I first started these and couldn't draw AT ALL I made stick figure cartoons going through my day - having a shower, working out, returning books to the library. That could be a good idea to revive. Tell me more! Kelly
Hi Linda, we did. We learned about making lake pigments and media for holding them when mixed. I am hoping to turn some of that stuff into videos but it was so much I am still overwhelmed, in a good way.
What a delightful diary. Your trip sounds wonderful. Please create more videos on any and all of the topics you’ve mentioned. I’m sure there are topics beyond those you’ve mentioned, so please add any you think would fit nicely into a video. I love Italy. I’ve traveled there twice. The second time was a culinary tour in the Emilia Romagna region. I envy your program for paints, inks and pigments. Great video! Bravo! 👏👏👏😎
A culinary tour in Italy! I think I gained 15 pounds just thinking about it. Thank you for the vote of confidence. I am going to start a schedule for upcoming diary-keeping videos and your feedback really helps. Kelly
Thanks so much for showing us this amazing journal you created! I've never made a journal like this but I want to now! Thanks for all the ideas for interesting pages!
Hi Mary. I have a whole playlist here on my channel for illustrated journal keeping. I believe in so much for memory keeping. Photos are great but there is something even more personal about making your own page. Give it a try. When I first started I just made stick figure cartoons and glued in papers. Start wherever you are and your style will evolve. Keep me posted on how it goes! Kelly
Thank you for sharing your phenomenal book and travels. Armchair travel at its best. I’m inspired to make a book. In a future video, a discussion of paint types and brands would be helpful. It may be the relatively cheap paint and paper I’m using, but the color seems too intense or too washed out. I’m interested in trying better and have no clue what to buy.
Hi Kristine. Thank you so much for this feedback. Occasionally I start to talk about paper at length and I fear I am being a paper bore so it is good to know that there is interest. Short version is that paper makes an enormous difference in how your wet media works. When I started out I used the cheapest sketchbook I could find (I was seriously broke) and I look back at them now and smile - because I didn't know about paper and quality and I made pages anyway (with children's watercolour pencils because they were cheaper) which is how it should be. The making is the important part. But, yeah, if it is in the budget, paper matters. I'll put this in the pipeline. Thank you!
I keep a day by day notebook of what we’re doing in a new place. So it is a diary but I collect the bits and pieces as we go. When I return I collect the memories in a travel journal including the day-by-day using my diary but adding photos and found papers. I try to keep the original diary with the travel journal. I can look back at and remember experiences. Each trip is separate. I’m always fascinated with your style and you inspire me to illustrate my life. Please show us more examples of your diary/journal/everyday illustrated life.
Hi Lynette, I really like that technique. I have only started to keep a one-line-a-day diary (more like three lines but short) and keep it every day and then illustrate that one thing even if it is cleaning out the fridge or tying my shoes sort of stuff. It could definitely go with your version of visual diary-keeping. And thanks for the vote of confidence. I want to make tutorials and stuff about journal keeping because I know it can change lives and be a precious tool and it is crazy how hesitant some people are to start. I want to preach this a bit. 🌷🌻🌼Kelly
This was absolutely inspiring. I enjoyed seeing Montefiascone thru your eyes! The maps especially your hand drawn and painted map was delightful, as well as your attire! The book on the whole, is a wonderful reference for anyone interested in such a place. You didn’t speak about your purchased fan, but I snuck a peek at your entry. Loved that reference to the temperature.your attention to detail is wonderful. I don’t typically remember details, for that reason, I can appreciate such a book! Thank you so much for sharing. I so enjoy your speaking and art style!
Hi Patricia. Boy are you right about remembering details. They just slide away from our brain cells. My little fan is the best and one of my life skills is that I can snap a fan open like Carmen on a bet. Thanks for your thoughtful message and for stopping by. Kelly
As fun and informative it is to travel hither and yon with you, this video struck a cord with me. I had never heard the expression "liminal space" and realized that is where I am in life. After years of instruction in precise painting, a curve ball called macular degeneration appeared and I realized I would need to pivot from realism to another art form. I think I've found it! I'm looking forward to the fusion of paint, paper, ticket stubs and gelato favorites. Only where I live, it would be Umpqua ice cream. Thanks for the new expression for all us word nerds.
Looks like you had an amazing trip! I love your journals and drawings! Your drawings of what you wore are so wonderful. I was wondering what the ink making workshop was? I googled it but couldn’t find it…❤
Hi Cecily. This year's programme is finished (I think) but if you get in touch you can probably be put on a list for next summer's dates. I'm pretty sure that I am going to go back and do their Islamic bookbinding course when it is offered again. Here is the link and then click on Study Programme link: www.monteproject.com/
I try to remember to laminate my receipts or sometimes the paint or glue I use will cause them to discolor and you can’t read them. It is a good way to make strong pockets for your work and trinkets on your trip etc. I have always wished my mom would have kept journals because my husband was a soldier so I missed 20 years of time with her. Now I have so many questions about those yrs I missed and answers I will never have. So, I keep journals- art journals, life journals, journals about my children’s lives as they grew up, journals with current affairs, prices of different items=== basically everything so my children can find the answers to questions they may have about our lives as a family and little silly stories about my life before they were born as well as stories of the things I did with friends I once had, nothing to tell them about that anymore since I have no friends but they will be able to understand how I got here. Children need to know what shaped their lives and how to better understand the future is an interesting story waiting to happen.
Thank you for this thoughtful message. You are so, so right and your ideas about using your journals as signposts for your children and others to come is a powerful one. I also preach that our most important journey is the one we are on every day of our most ordinary days and these are the details that make up our real lives. How precious that you are getting it all down. 🌷🌻🌼Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts Thank you for your kind words. i once heard someone say at a family loss that we must remember that its not the dates at the beginning and the end but the time we spent together and the love we shared between those days that are the most precious. I truly believe that we have to hang onto those wonderful, trying, days of tears, days of celebration and days of just being who you are to help your children remember to never forget we had each other and they should remember that and not the painful things also it will maybe be a way for our children to to know who we were what made us a special person in their lives like where their creativity comes from, why mom says silly little things or sings silly little songs just why their mom and dad are the way they are. if we can learn from our past we can understand how to cope with the future and to keep the past important in how we shape the future, Again Thank You for your kind words they mean alot and are now a part of my journal. I wish you love and light and much success in helping others understand why your art is going to be an important part of history.
Love this video, what an exciting trip. A couple of questions, you put the diary together before you left ? How did you decide on the number of pages? I’ve learned so much from your videos and love your encouragement. Btw, how was your month in France?
Hi Janet. I am putting the link here about how I made the book. It's quick, easy, and cheap. I usually try to allow for two layouts a day (four pages) and maybe a few extra. It's trial and error but you can't really do it wrong. France was sublime and I got a ton of good stuff which I am going to show and tell on UA-cam this weekend. I go back in September and am about to start making a diary for that trip, too. Thanks for stopping by! Kelly ua-cam.com/video/AWoTuAIwJYI/v-deo.html
Thank you Kelly for pointing the way..don’t know how I missed it. My only excuse is I got wrapped up in etegami and wheat paste paper making ! No kidding, I really love your style and videos.
Hello Kelly. Thank you for sharing your Italy experience through your journal pages. Quite lovely with filled places, objects and your art. The clothes page looks very fun. I like the idea of clothes of visually recording what we wear out on our adventures. Are your painted areas/pieces with transparent watercolor? Most have the look of gouache with the opague areas. Did you paint pieces from the learned ink making? Just asking. I have quite a passion for illuminated gold gilding. I use to create pieces and taught some private art students I had the techniques. Thank you again Kelly, what a delight...
Hi Roksanna. You teach gilding? I'll be right over. 😺About clothes. One of the first illustrated journals I ever saw was by a woman who make a drawing of every one of her favourite outfits throughout her 60+ years to share with her grandkids. The drawings weren't great but they were fun and each one had a story. Yes, this will be an upcoming video prompt-idea-thing because WE JUST SHOULD. I used watercolour for mine but sometimes I used it thicker so it may look similar to a gouache. 🎨🎨
I’m obsessed. This is stunning!! I want to know how long it takes you to finish a page and how long it takes u to finish a sketch. I love drawing in my journals but I feel it takes incredibly long. Also please share more of your diary journals. I write more than draw and add stuff.
My apologies for the late reply. I am on holiday and the internet hates me! A page can take 20 minutes or several days. I often start with a bit of something to anchor the page then add to it bit by bit - no rules. Now when I make an art journal a layout takes hours but it is also very satisfying. And if I am making an altered book a layout can take days. I don't glue anything down until the page tells me that it is ready. On a less crazy note, here is the playlist for my Illustrated Journals. I hope this will give you some ideas. Kelly
My apologies for the late reply. I am on holiday and the internet hates me! A page can take 20 minutes or several days. I often start with a bit of something to anchor the page then add to it bit by bit - no rules. Now when I make an art journal a layout takes hours but it is also very satisfying. And if I am making an altered book a layout can take days. I don't glue anything down until the page tells me that it is ready. On a less crazy note, here is the playlist for my Illustrated Journals. I hope this will give you some ideas. Kelly ua-cam.com/play/PLWir7hWgZLNA0nBJh3p6k5szPtuyvaCMW.html
Yes, question: whats the best glue to use for photos? Do you like those square corner photo holders (dont know what theyre properly called)? I found a journal thats part photo album and I'm excited about it, any potential negatives to a book like that? And, im not seeing stickers in your books, i like to use them, or photocopy them and use them, maybe one of those charcoal pencils wiuld make them look better on the page... Do you ever use stickers? Thanks!!!
Hi Rebekah. I rarely use stickers but I do love stencils to help embellish pages. I can see that stickers would be a very fun and effective way to fill up space and interest, so do it! When I glue photos I usually use acrylic gel medium or if I am on the road I go ahead and just use a glue stick. I really like UHU as it gives a good seal and plenty of slip. Your album sounds like a good combination. Try working in it and breaking some rules about how the pages are "supposed" to be used and have fun with it. Happy making!
I do love a flip through and this was fabulous, as always. Was I right in hearing you say the inks you made were thrown away at the end of the day?? Please tell me I misheard, or please tell me you smuggled the leftovers out somehow 😅 😊
Ha! Good woman. You did not mishear but you also did not misjudge me. Whenever possible I put what was left in tiny jam jars and they are on my desk even as I type. 😺
Hi Carmelle. Well, I have made these diaries for many years so I have a good idea of what I am personally going to be able to handle based on that. I tend to allow two layouts per planned day away, so two open pages times two. If I don't get that all filled I can always glue in more or add photos when I get home. Hope this helps!
Hi Vicki. Now that is a good question. In my day to day life I have two sketchbooks - one for sketching and one for getting ideas down. When I travel I don't actually take a separate sketchbook. This notebook is it and I have permission to make sketches and if they come out imperfectly, that is now part of the story and memory, too. I do, however, take a separate written diary. I can't function without it so even though it gets a little heavy carrying all of these notebooks, it gets done. Kelly
Did you take your journal to the workshop with loose signatures and bind them when you got home? Or did you bind the signatures before you went and then add more pages when you returned?
Here is the link to the video I mentioned that shows how I made the journal (link is in the text box above the comments). 😺 Happy making! ua-cam.com/video/AWoTuAIwJYI/v-deo.html
If you would like to learn how to make and keep your own illustrated journal, I have an online class THE BOOK OF YOU. You can find it here ($35):
kelly-s-school-b1d1.thinkific.com/courses/the-book-of-you-making-and-keeping-a-visual-diary
Oh, that's so pretty! I just love the pages with the ink markings. Such vibrant colours. And as always, your sketches. They are so full of life!
Thank you, Centi. This was also a really fun book to work in. Just the right size and feel to it. 🌷🌻🌼
What a beautiful enticing memory book this is! The workshop results in it too add so much and keep colors handy.Your idea to break aq visual down into bite size drawings is a great tip. Maybe I could draw that way. Love this Kelly! TFS
Hi Kimberly. Drawing into tiny boxes is fun and a life-saver - I used to get frustrated when I tried (and failed) to draw a simple clocktower or steeple or whatnot. Give it a try and let me know how it goes! Kelly
I've been journaling nearly 50 years, but when I took a 5 month trip around the US trying to find a new place to live, I tried to make a diary/journal several times of my adventures. I finally settled on my usual writing, and cartoon making I often do in one journal, and photos and bits stuck in a second huge handmade journal. I love how "freehand" yours is, so lovely, and makes me glad I did mine "freestyle" as well, rather than sticking to some kind of art journal "rules". Gotta be a rebel. 😅 (No one cares I got gas in Tucson on may 2022 at 4 p.m. so, I dropped that silliness).
Cartoon making was one of the ways I started out when I couldn't draw AT ALL. Stick figures doing stuff like getting gas at 4:00 p.m. and writing captions. I always encourage people to Just Get Started and let your style evolve, which is pretty much how the free-hand version came about for me. And like you, not sticking to rules. As for huge books, one of the advantages of making these smaller, one trip notebooks is that I am way more likely to actually finish one. 😺 Thanks for comparing notes! Kelly
Pretty cool idea. Great inspiration.TFS🌴
Thanks bunches, Annette. Thanks for stopping by! Kelly
Great journal! Love every bit of it! What a beautiful cross-section of the moments of your trip. My daughters have just told me they want to travel to Europe with me next summer. Treat/trip of a lifetime. I will definitely be making travel journals for all 3 of us based on everything you have taught me. Especially the idea of taking an overwhelming visual and breaking it into smaller bits. Priceless. Thank you! 🖤Gilly
Wow wow wow. I'll say it again, you are so lucky with those gals. Keep me posted as and when - maybe we could manage to meet up in some coffee shop or flea market on this side of the planet.
That would be flipping awesome!!!🖤
You've inspired me to
make my own summer doings into a special journal 😊
Hi Thea, this is what I like to hear. One of the things that I encourage is making pages of the everyday stuff in our lives as we would if we were on holiday - maps of our dog walking, shoes, what we're reading. So get making those pages and keep me posted. 😺
I don’t keep a diary nor do I journal, but I like my books to be a kind of “hybrid”, art journal, junk journal, glue book, collage book, sketchbook and quotes, all in the same book. So I really love the variety of things and images you have in your book. For me, having books for certain purposes is a bit limited, I like the freedom of doing what I want in a book 💙♥️🩷🩶💜💛🧡💚🤎❤️🩵
Yes, Alexandra. A hybrid book is liberating. I also love how you add stitching into your books. It took me a time to do this because I do like my categories and systems and I have one diary for prayer, one for art, one for memories, a different one for ideas (and there are more). Putting everything in one book was a new idea for me! I hope you have a creative week. 🌷🌷🌻🌻🌼🌼Kelly
Ahhh Kelly, forever inspiring you are. What a fantastic class, I'm jealous, not really, but I would definitely be into an ink making class. This journal is particularly inspiring, I mean ITALY!! COME ON!! Thank you sharing your creativeness! Big love to you always. S.
Hi Simone. If it makes a difference, I am always aware of how truly blessed I am and I try to learn and explore and create around it in a mindful and grateful way. Also - GELATO!!!!! 😺
What a beautiful memory of your trip. I love watching your creations . I like to journal our trips as well. I usually write how far we travelled and put in bits and bobs of things we’ve done each day. Such great memory keepers. 😊
Hi Anne. That is a very good way to start. I started with just gluing in the odd ticket stub or paper menu then labelling it and writing text around it. Then I added some colouring (had never heard term "mark making" then) and then adding stick figures as in a cartoon. From there it evolved to a more traditional illustrated journal and in the last year I've started making them hybrid visual diary/art journals. Who knows where it will go? So start where you are with notes and start adding those doodles and you will be on your way.🌷🌻🌼Kelly
Kelly, what a great little memory chunk you hold in your hands! It looks like you had a magnificent time in Italy! When you showed the pic of the old, old library where you took your classes at, I fell in love with the books you showed. The rough, ancient, off white books with old fashioned bindings, that to me, look like rope under the fabric of the spines! I cannot wait to see your tutes of the limp vellum bindings. I even love the name. I also always love it when you draw the funky clothes that you wear on these trips. SO COOL. Thank you as always for a very nifty share.
Hey there, Lynn. I have occasionally thought of making a video or three about fashion, maybe looking at a Kelly-style capsule wardrobe, then I always think that it's too much. I have found a company in Bulgaria that hand makes clothes to my measurements AND in my budget and I have been slowly adding piece from them to my wardrobe and getting rid of cheaper stuff that doesn't look as good. As for the library in the seminary - the instructor kept trying to get us to go out and swim or relax after classroom sessions and nobody would go because we only wanted to revisit the library as many times as we could get her to unlock the door. 😺😺
What a fun trip! Thanks for sharing!❤
Thanks bunches, Debbie. It was fun (and fattening) and I learned tons.
This book is magical. Love the maps, what you wore, and collaging in all the pieces with your drawings!
Why thank you, Marge. This is truly nice to read. I hope you try it out and make some pages of your own days. It's fun! Kelly
Wholly wonderful. The way you assemble the different pieces, draw & add the ink paint outs💕Great idea to make small drawings of architecture. Draw the clothing packed 🩵The images of the books, the ceiling & room🌞Sketch the everyday items close to us🖊️💚 The writing connects it all &🗺️ map🙂
Hi Sabine. Thanks for your thoughtful message. I always encourage people to use the same ideas for making journals of our everyday. Hope you try it and keep me posted! Kelly
This is so lovely - the vibe and the colors! Thanks for showing the journal - Carol L.
Hi Carol, thanks bunches. I am really enjoying making these visual diary/art journal hybrid books. Thanks for the lovely message! Kelly
I have sketchbook/diaries for all my major trips, and I still work on them years later. Partly because my skills are a little better now. But at the time, I found it difficult to work out where I'm putting everything, and being able to let go enough to decide what to do with things. Now I can be a little more decisive
Decisive, that is a good way of putting it, Bo. Funny, when I first started out I just put stuff down anywhere as I had never drawn or made pages so I didn't know what I didn't know. Then as I got better I actually thought about it wayyyyy too much and had stalled. I worked through that and now have hit a happy medium where I don't overthink it and have fun because it's my book and you can't do it wrong. Thanks for comparing notes and checking in. 😺Kelly
Wonderful experience! Wonderful memory journal! I'm glad you shared
Thanks bunches, Deb. That is truly nice to hear. 😺
Kelly: this was a highly creative journal/diary/glue book/travel memory. It is an art piece to remember. I was most impressed. Carol from California
Thanks bunches, Carol. This is truly nice to hear! 🌷🌻🌼I hope you have a creative week. Kelly
Loved your flip through…felt like I was there. Thank you for sharing!
Why thank you, Louise. I learned so, so much. I'm hoping to get some of it down in an upcoming video but for now, still drawing in my pages!
Beautiful book and inspiration for my next trip I take to make a journal like this one. I love the receipt idea. Love all the old churches. I have forgotten so much information from previous trips so this is a great way to preserve wonderful memories. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Patricia. You are so welcome. Don't forget you can also sketch over receipts. I have done that in the past - made a patchwork quilt of them and that was my "blank" page. 😺Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts Great! idea! Thank you so much!
Your flip through are always interesting, inspiring and joyful...
I look forward to each and everyone.
Thank you for sharing your journal/ diary....
💙💚💙
Thank you, Barry. I appreciate this and your touching base. All the best, Kelly 🌷🌷🌻🌻🌼🌼
I loved your travel journal and all of your pictures and drawings. I know you had a blast at the workshop and the whole trip. Thanks for sharing and your inspiration.
Hi Lynne. It was a blast and I learned so much. Pretty sure I'm going back next year for the bookbinding part of the workshops. Hope you're having a creative Sunday! Kelly
Really enjoyed your flip through! Your book couldn't have been done by anyone else - it's so unique. That grocery list...😍
Thank you, Patricia. I have a thing about handwritten lists - this one was meant for me. 😺
I absolutely over this journal. You must have had a blast. I recognized your mini abstracts from the video you showed of the ruins. I saved a few if your pictures because I want to draw and paint them too.
Thanks for this, Theresa. If you want a bigger resolution of a certain photo, send me an email and I will shoot some over to you.
TY, I think I have what I need I have several tiny journals 4x4 and am starting a new one... architecture. It will just be line and wash of buildings , houses, barns, windmills, lighthouse. Whatever etc. Some are even whimsical like a mushroom or bird house.. I have another with learning some zentangle. I'm using these as warm ups for other projects because they are quick and easy and fun. But good practice for travel quick sketching.
I loved this flip through, some artists make art journals more as showcases for their own art and these van be very professional and beautiful. But this journal is deeply personal and I love it for that reason. And speaking of personal journals and upcoming videos I'd love for you to explore the idea of a kind of journal that serves to communicate between people who are separated by space. I started doing this with my daughter, Every once in a while I make a Jane journal. It's something like other art journals, it may include color swatches or small collages but mostly it's a way of verbally and through art and the addition of papers that let me communicate what's going on in my life. Sometimes I will sneak in bits of life advice disguised as a cartoon or collage. She liked the idea so much that I started an art journal in an encyclopedia and when it was half full I sent it to her with an envelope of ephemera. She is does not think of herself as an artist but was thrilled by the idea. As an aside throughout my daughter's lives when they have been depressed or ill I have set them up with an easy to learn art box, one was beads, wire, simple tools and a book on jewelry making. They've told me that kickstarting something creative helped them through difficult times. Thanks again Kelly for your ideas you always provoke the creative spirit in me which is a wonderful gift.
Holy macaroni, Sheryll, you are amazing. Thank you for this thoughtful message. Personally, I think you are the one who should be making this video but I am going to think about it and see what I can do. The first thing I thought of was old-fashioned letter writing which is how people communicated when separated by space in way we can hardly even imagine now. But even now, yes, because the thing about these kinds of visual diaries is that they have something personal and intimate that a photo, while nice, does not always convey. I laughed at the part about sneaking in life advice. Mine is 32 and sometimes acts as though I am radioactive when I try to give constructive feedback (i.e. - head him off at the pass). The cartoon idea is also apt - when I first started these and couldn't draw AT ALL I made stick figure cartoons going through my day - having a shower, working out, returning books to the library. That could be a good idea to revive. Tell me more! Kelly
Great video. I really enjoyed it. Did you learn about making your own watercolor blocks (paint). Thanks linda
Hi Linda, we did. We learned about making lake pigments and media for holding them when mixed. I am hoping to turn some of that stuff into videos but it was so much I am still overwhelmed, in a good way.
What a delightful diary. Your trip sounds wonderful. Please create more videos on any and all of the topics you’ve mentioned. I’m sure there are topics beyond those you’ve mentioned, so please add any you think would fit nicely into a video. I love Italy. I’ve traveled there twice. The second time was a culinary tour in the Emilia Romagna region. I envy your program for paints, inks and pigments. Great video! Bravo! 👏👏👏😎
A culinary tour in Italy! I think I gained 15 pounds just thinking about it. Thank you for the vote of confidence. I am going to start a schedule for upcoming diary-keeping videos and your feedback really helps. Kelly
Thanks so much for showing us this amazing journal you created! I've never made a journal like this but I want to now! Thanks for all the ideas for interesting pages!
Hi Mary. I have a whole playlist here on my channel for illustrated journal keeping. I believe in so much for memory keeping. Photos are great but there is something even more personal about making your own page. Give it a try. When I first started I just made stick figure cartoons and glued in papers. Start wherever you are and your style will evolve. Keep me posted on how it goes! Kelly
Thanks for bringing us along! I really enjoyed this and look forward to your upcoming videos re: journals and diaries.
Hi Sandra. Thanks for this and for stopping by. More diary keeping is on the way.😺Kelly in an Unusually Sunny Swansea
Love your journal. What a beautiful, meaningful memory.
Thank you, Ann. I actually do grow to fall in love with these books and go over them again and again. Thanks for touching base!
Magnifico its absolutely amazing and so much more than anything you could buy! Love all your artwork. Congratulations on completing the course. ❤
Thank you for sharing your phenomenal book and travels. Armchair travel at its best. I’m inspired to make a book. In a future video, a discussion of paint types and brands would be helpful. It may be the relatively cheap paint and paper I’m using, but the color seems too intense or too washed out. I’m interested in trying better and have no clue what to buy.
Hi Kristine. Thank you so much for this feedback. Occasionally I start to talk about paper at length and I fear I am being a paper bore so it is good to know that there is interest. Short version is that paper makes an enormous difference in how your wet media works. When I started out I used the cheapest sketchbook I could find (I was seriously broke) and I look back at them now and smile - because I didn't know about paper and quality and I made pages anyway (with children's watercolour pencils because they were cheaper) which is how it should be. The making is the important part. But, yeah, if it is in the budget, paper matters. I'll put this in the pipeline. Thank you!
Absolutely amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank You for Sharing! ❤
Hi Barbara. It is my real pleasure. Thank you for stopping by. 🌷🌻Kelly
I keep a day by day notebook of what we’re doing in a new place. So it is a diary but I collect the bits and pieces as we go. When I return I collect the memories in a travel journal including the day-by-day using my diary but adding photos and found papers. I try to keep the original diary with the travel journal. I can look back at and remember experiences. Each trip is separate. I’m always fascinated with your style and you inspire me to illustrate my life. Please show us more examples of your diary/journal/everyday illustrated life.
Hi Lynette, I really like that technique. I have only started to keep a one-line-a-day diary (more like three lines but short) and keep it every day and then illustrate that one thing even if it is cleaning out the fridge or tying my shoes sort of stuff. It could definitely go with your version of visual diary-keeping. And thanks for the vote of confidence. I want to make tutorials and stuff about journal keeping because I know it can change lives and be a precious tool and it is crazy how hesitant some people are to start. I want to preach this a bit. 🌷🌻🌼Kelly
This was absolutely inspiring. I enjoyed seeing Montefiascone thru your eyes! The maps especially your hand drawn and painted map was delightful, as well as your attire! The book on the whole, is a wonderful reference for anyone interested in such a place. You didn’t speak about your purchased fan, but I snuck a peek at your entry. Loved that reference to the temperature.your attention to detail is wonderful. I don’t typically remember details, for that reason, I can appreciate such a book! Thank you so much for sharing. I so enjoy your speaking and art style!
Hi Patricia. Boy are you right about remembering details. They just slide away from our brain cells. My little fan is the best and one of my life skills is that I can snap a fan open like Carmen on a bet. Thanks for your thoughtful message and for stopping by. Kelly
@@Patricia.R. I loved the audio. Walk walk walk as she moved to each of her destinations
As fun and informative it is to travel hither and yon with you, this video struck a cord with me. I had never heard the expression "liminal space" and realized that is where I am in life. After years of instruction in precise painting, a curve ball called macular degeneration appeared and I realized I would need to pivot from realism to another art form. I think I've found it! I'm looking forward to the fusion of paint, paper, ticket stubs and gelato favorites. Only where I live, it would be Umpqua ice cream. Thanks for the new expression for all us word nerds.
Looks like you had an amazing trip! I love your journals and drawings! Your drawings of what you wore are so wonderful. I was wondering what the ink making workshop was? I googled it but couldn’t find it…❤
Hi Cecily. This year's programme is finished (I think) but if you get in touch you can probably be put on a list for next summer's dates. I'm pretty sure that I am going to go back and do their Islamic bookbinding course when it is offered again. Here is the link and then click on Study Programme link:
www.monteproject.com/
I try to remember to laminate my receipts or sometimes the paint or glue I use will cause them to discolor and you can’t read them. It is a good way to make strong pockets for your work and trinkets on your trip etc. I have always wished my mom would have kept journals because my husband was a soldier so I missed 20 years of time with her. Now I have so many questions about those yrs I missed and answers I will never have. So, I keep journals- art journals, life journals, journals about my children’s lives as they grew up, journals with current affairs, prices of different items=== basically everything so my children can find the answers to questions they may have about our lives as a family and little silly stories about my life before they were born as well as stories of the things I did with friends I once had, nothing to tell them about that anymore since I have no friends but they will be able to understand how I got here. Children need to know what shaped their lives and how to better understand the future is an interesting story waiting to happen.
Thank you for this thoughtful message. You are so, so right and your ideas about using your journals as signposts for your children and others to come is a powerful one. I also preach that our most important journey is the one we are on every day of our most ordinary days and these are the details that make up our real lives. How precious that you are getting it all down. 🌷🌻🌼Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts Thank you for your kind words. i once heard someone say at a family loss that we must remember that its not the dates at the beginning and the end but the time we spent together and the love we shared between those days that are the most precious. I truly believe that we have to hang onto those wonderful, trying, days of tears, days of celebration and days of just being who you are to help your children remember to never forget we had each other and they should remember that and not the painful things also it will maybe be a way for our children to to know who we were what made us a special person in their lives like where their creativity comes from, why mom says silly little things or sings silly little songs just why their mom and dad are the way they are. if we can learn from our past we can understand how to cope with the future and to keep the past important in how we shape the future, Again Thank You for your kind words they mean alot and are now a part of my journal. I wish you love and light and much success in helping others understand why your art is going to be an important part of history.
Love this video, what an exciting trip. A couple of questions, you put the diary together before you left ? How did you decide on the number of pages? I’ve learned so much from your videos and love your encouragement. Btw, how was your month in France?
Hi Janet. I am putting the link here about how I made the book. It's quick, easy, and cheap. I usually try to allow for two layouts a day (four pages) and maybe a few extra. It's trial and error but you can't really do it wrong. France was sublime and I got a ton of good stuff which I am going to show and tell on UA-cam this weekend. I go back in September and am about to start making a diary for that trip, too. Thanks for stopping by! Kelly
ua-cam.com/video/AWoTuAIwJYI/v-deo.html
Thank you Kelly for pointing the way..don’t know how I missed it. My only excuse is I got wrapped up in etegami and wheat paste paper making ! No kidding, I really love your style and videos.
Hello Kelly. Thank you for sharing your Italy experience through your journal pages. Quite lovely with filled places, objects and your art. The clothes page looks very fun. I like the idea of clothes of visually recording what we wear out on our adventures. Are your painted areas/pieces with transparent watercolor? Most have the look of gouache with the opague areas. Did you paint pieces from the learned ink making? Just asking. I have quite a passion for illuminated gold gilding. I use to create pieces and taught some private art students I had the techniques. Thank you again Kelly, what a delight...
Hi Roksanna. You teach gilding? I'll be right over. 😺About clothes. One of the first illustrated journals I ever saw was by a woman who make a drawing of every one of her favourite outfits throughout her 60+ years to share with her grandkids. The drawings weren't great but they were fun and each one had a story. Yes, this will be an upcoming video prompt-idea-thing because WE JUST SHOULD. I used watercolour for mine but sometimes I used it thicker so it may look similar to a gouache. 🎨🎨
I’m obsessed. This is stunning!! I want to know how long it takes you to finish a page and how long it takes u to finish a sketch. I love drawing in my journals but I feel it takes incredibly long. Also please share more of your diary journals. I write more than draw and add stuff.
My apologies for the late reply. I am on holiday and the internet hates me! A page can take 20 minutes or several days. I often start with a bit of something to anchor the page then add to it bit by bit - no rules. Now when I make an art journal a layout takes hours but it is also very satisfying. And if I am making an altered book a layout can take days. I don't glue anything down until the page tells me that it is ready. On a less crazy note, here is the playlist for my Illustrated Journals. I hope this will give you some ideas. Kelly
My apologies for the late reply. I am on holiday and the internet hates me! A page can take 20 minutes or several days. I often start with a bit of something to anchor the page then add to it bit by bit - no rules. Now when I make an art journal a layout takes hours but it is also very satisfying. And if I am making an altered book a layout can take days. I don't glue anything down until the page tells me that it is ready. On a less crazy note, here is the playlist for my Illustrated Journals. I hope this will give you some ideas. Kelly
ua-cam.com/play/PLWir7hWgZLNA0nBJh3p6k5szPtuyvaCMW.html
Yes, question: whats the best glue to use for photos? Do you like those square corner photo holders (dont know what theyre properly called)? I found a journal thats part photo album and I'm excited about it, any potential negatives to a book like that? And, im not seeing stickers in your books, i like to use them, or photocopy them and use them, maybe one of those charcoal pencils wiuld make them look better on the page... Do you ever use stickers?
Thanks!!!
Hi Rebekah. I rarely use stickers but I do love stencils to help embellish pages. I can see that stickers would be a very fun and effective way to fill up space and interest, so do it! When I glue photos I usually use acrylic gel medium or if I am on the road I go ahead and just use a glue stick. I really like UHU as it gives a good seal and plenty of slip. Your album sounds like a good combination. Try working in it and breaking some rules about how the pages are "supposed" to be used and have fun with it. Happy making!
I do love a flip through and this was fabulous, as always. Was I right in hearing you say the inks you made were thrown away at the end of the day?? Please tell me I misheard, or please tell me you smuggled the leftovers out somehow 😅 😊
Ha! Good woman. You did not mishear but you also did not misjudge me. Whenever possible I put what was left in tiny jam jars and they are on my desk even as I type. 😺
How do you know the quantity of pages you will need to document your trip
Hi Carmelle. Well, I have made these diaries for many years so I have a good idea of what I am personally going to be able to handle based on that. I tend to allow two layouts per planned day away, so two open pages times two. If I don't get that all filled I can always glue in more or add photos when I get home. Hope this helps!
In addition to your journal, do you have a sketchbook? ❤
Hi Vicki. Now that is a good question. In my day to day life I have two sketchbooks - one for sketching and one for getting ideas down. When I travel I don't actually take a separate sketchbook. This notebook is it and I have permission to make sketches and if they come out imperfectly, that is now part of the story and memory, too. I do, however, take a separate written diary. I can't function without it so even though it gets a little heavy carrying all of these notebooks, it gets done. Kelly
Did you take your journal to the workshop with loose signatures and bind them when you got home? Or did you bind the signatures before you went and then add more pages when you returned?
Never mind, I am not watching the previous video … which i should have watched first.
Here is the link to the video I mentioned that shows how I made the journal (link is in the text box above the comments). 😺
Happy making!
ua-cam.com/video/AWoTuAIwJYI/v-deo.html