Creative Journaling is a guide to layouts for bullet journals (called dot grid journaling here), junk journals (when you use left over ticket stubs, pages from books and so on to make a journal), mixed-media journals (when you use paint, hot glue guns, and other things to make an artistic journal), and travel journals (making pockets to put tickets and so on).

I use a bullet journal, but I hadn't seen how to set up any of the others, and so this book gives you clear instructions for how to set up all of these, and make it your creatively.

I enjoyed the different layouts for the bullet journal, as that's what I will probably mostly take away from it, although the travel journal is something I've always wanted to do, so seeing the suggestions here, hopefully I'll be inspired to make something next time I'm planning on travelling!

Lots of clear instructions and lovely photos, along with a list of resources and explanations! This is a great introduction to journaling!

Creative Journaling was published on 14th January 2020, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Renee Day on Instagram, or through her website.

If you're interested in other resources for Bullet Journaling, have a look at my review of The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll.

If you're inspired to do crafty things, then have a look at Crafting Cute: Polymer Clay the Kawaii Way by Dani Banani.

You can also visit The Handmade Fair with me!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quarto Knows (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

An easy to follow, colorful guide to creative journaling. There is a Tom of interesting techniques in this book, including bullet journaling, travel journaling, creatinine your own coffee paper, and much more.

Creative Journalling is a beautiful book! Lots of ideas as to how to make your journal your own. Ranging from bullet journal spreads to creating your own journal from scratch, there are plenty of ideas for many skill level and journalling needs.

Bit conflicted about this to be honest. On one hand, some of these projects look really easy and fun, but on the other, stuff like this is offputting to the very people who bullet journal would benefit the most - it's intimidating! When the actual thing is super easy! Hmm...

Creative Journaling by Renee Day is a tutorial guide with illustrations for bullet journaling. Due out 14th Jan 2020 from Quarto on their Rock Point imprint, it's 208 pages and will be available in paperback format.

The instruction and tutorials here are easy to follow and the book is accessible and appealing. The introductory chapters (~8% of the content) cover general ideas, materials, and techniques. The following chapters give overviews over specific types of journals (dot grid, junk journaling aka altered book multi-media, mixed media, travel journaling, and more). The book also includes a fairly comprehensive resources list for further reading and learning.

The author's writing style is encouraging and positive. One thing she said really stuck with me:
"As a kid, I’d collect journals but would never use them in fear of ruining them. After my collection started to grow, I would use my least favorite journal from the bunch first while keeping my favorites in mint condition."

This is 100% me. This book has so many nice short 1-2 page suggestions and tutorials to vary the look and use of the pages with inks, washi tape, different layouts and more. I found a lot of inspiration here to use in my own journals with which I'm becoming braver and more confident. Mostly, I'm having a blast actually learning and *using* my journals.

Five stars. This would be a superlative choice for a journaling friend, especially bundled with some gorgeous washi tape and pens/markers.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley..

This is a great informative book. I've wanted to get into journaling for awhile, but wasn't sure to start.

Lots of practical information with nice big pictures and suggestions on substitutions in this book, but it does repeat some stuff that other books of this style have already covered. It would be a good first book for someone who is just beginning in creative journaling and who might need some better instructions on how to do some things.

I received a copy of this book for a review, but all opinions are my own.

This book is visually pleasing to read!! It’s a great tool if you’re looking for some ideas to make your journal stand out. The instructions are step by step and easy to follow. The book is picture heavy so you can really grasp what your final product should look like.

I would say this book is for people who are passionate about journaling more than those who dabble like me. With that in mind it has some WONDERFUL ideas to get you started!!

Creative Journaling by Renee Day is a visually attractive book packed full of ideas and how-to information on several forms of journaling. Renee Day not only details various materials and techniques, but offers step-by-step instructions on how to recreate her offerings.

My kudos to the author, who is obviously very creative, for sharing her ideas in an easy to understand and replicate manner!

There is something for everyone here, whether you are a novice or seasoned journaler. I was thrilled with the variety of techniques offered and bookmarked several ideas to use in my own journals.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rock Point for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Fun, imaginative and creative knowhow and tools for creating and personalising uniquely fanciful journaling. What's not to love?

Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and author Renee Day for the opportunity to review this book.
This is an awesome book with lots of ideas and examples for all type of journaling. Am ideal book for beginners and those that are looking to change or spruce up their journals.
#CreativeJournaling #NetGalley

I’ve loved arts and crafts since I was a small child, and I’ve always found journaling fun, so I love combining the two with my bullet journal. When I saw this book, I thought it sounded like a cool resource for new techniques to use on my bullet journal. What I didn’t expect was to come out wanting to make junk journals. I’m going to have so much fun!

Renee Day covers a lot of information, which makes this a good resource for anyone who is thinking about combining art with any form of journaling. Renee also gives an informative description of what each type of media is and how to make them. These descriptions are also applied to the different art techniques and cool ideas that she includes for things that one can do in each type of journal. If you’re one who likes to have a supply list clearly laid out, you’re going to love reading this book.

There are so many cool ideas and inspiring things throughout this book. There’s also a variety of pictures and clear instructions, which makes it great for anyone who has never tried any of the cool art projects and journal spreads listed. I also like that each spread and art project is broken up into sections based on what type of journal one will be working with. Of course, it can all be mixed and matched based on one’s personal needs and the direction they want to go with their journal, but I thought it was pretty cool.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and I will be using some of the techniques on my bullet journal. There are so many neat things in this book that it’s hard not to get inspired!

I am a jeweler and crafter but have only made four journals (that I gave away) to date. I’ve read numerous articles on Pinterest and watched YouTube videos on how to journal but having all that information all in one place is priceless. So when I say I love this book, I really, really love it. I even placed my preorder for this book before I wrote this review!
The author explains about using all sorts of items to make a journal personally yours or for others. I’ve even used some of the ideas, e.g. mixed media, when making earrings with puzzle pieces. There is no wrong way really and what might be seen as a mistake is really a learning opportunity. It’s a wonderful reference book that every serious crafter will want to have in their repertoire.
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

I really enjoyed this book. I've been bullet journaling for a while now and the first section of this book dealt with ideas to use in a journal like that - most of which I'd seen before but a few of which I'll be trying.

I'm not particularly artistically blessed, but I do enjoy having a go. For me, the junk (harsh word, I think odds and ends or special papers maybe fits better) journaling and the mixed media section were great for this. Lots of new ideas to me and I'm inspired! A way to put together some artistic layouts that maybe frame a quote or record highlights of a holiday.

The instructions in this book are described in another review as "A little more than an overview but less than an in-depth how to." and I think that's exactly right. I thought it was clear enough to get started in the areas I know nothing about but not so simple I couldn't find things in the section I did have some experience in.

Recommended for those who enjoy journaling, recording their thoughts, diaries and mementos and other things in an visually attractive way.

Creative Journaling: A Guide to Over 100 Techniques and Ideas for Amazing Dot Grid, Junk, Mixed Media, and Travel Pages by Renee Day is exactly what the title states: a superbly creative and fun guide to journaling!

Creative Journaling is a high quality piece, and the images are immediately recognisable as Renee Day’s. They would all fit perfectly onto her Instagram feed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some had been lifted from it.

My favourite layout within the book is definitely the ‘Easiest Reusable Weekly Layout’; this would be such a good time and space saver. Essentially, the key to this layout is to craft your weekly layout with sticky notes and then use a smaller sticky tab at the bottom to list the date the calendar begins on. Day uses a very simple example, but I think it would be fun to invest some time into the design so that you can enjoy it for the month ahead.

I’m planning to give this reusable layout a go in my January set up, but I’ll be combining it with my monthly overview. My monthly overview will act as the base and then I’ll layer the sticky notes on top. This way I can plan the weeks and if things change I don’t have to worry about being messy or running out of space, I can just change out the note.

A couple of the ideas in the early sections of Creative Journaling have been on the likes of Pinterest forever, but for the most part, Day puts her own spin onto them and makes them accessible; there’s nothing worse than seeing an intimidating design with no tutorial. Day is quite literally here to save the day though! Her tutorials are easy to follow as there’s both a text explanation and an image for every step.

Moving on to a later section where Day explores different kinds of journals, I found the junk journal to resonate with me; I love keeping mementos, yet I never know what to do with them. If I give it a go, I plan to have mine be more of a postcard appreciation journal than a junk journal though. It would be wonderful to collate my collective and house them in a creative piece that I can enjoy.

I hope that this book encourages people to give journaling a go and to realise that there is absolutely no right or wrong way to go about it. With that in mind, I am surprised that there’s no official hashtag for Insta so that we can see how people utilise her ideas.

This was my first introduction to journaling and I found this book to be very informative with plenty of ideas to get started with this hobby. My favourite section was the dot grid, I enjoyed seeing the different layouts and the step by step instructions with photos are first class. I definitely recommend this book for anyone starting out in journaling. Thank you #netgalley.

Like a lovely journey through Instagram hashtags, except without the mistakenly tagged ripped guys with motorcycles. (Wait, what?)

In all seriousness, this is a gorgeous book. One of the things I love about dot journaling is how versatile it is, and how open to newbies. If you see a thing you like, you can just do it, and it's not that hard. I also like that artistic talent in the traditional sense isn't a requirement, only that you try stuff and see what works best for you.

That being said, I really enjoyed how this book combined really detailed how-tos with a variety of techniques from extreme lo-tech to multi-step fanciness. It's filled with beautiful photographs and stuffed with ideas - many of which I would never have thought of, and I bookmarked a whole bunch of spread how-to pages. A bujo addition that I will definitely be making to my small collection of books once it's released.

An easy to read and use primer with plenty of ideas for daily use in any type of planner. I found some of the ideas really creative and will use it for my daily planner. What I liked are the ideas to make short specific planners yourself, for example a simple booklet for travels.

Good jump off ideas for some types of journals - dot, junk and travel. Some tips and examples to start off. Could make these ideas your own. visuals and step by step for all ideas.

There's all kinds of examples and templates to follow and/or use for inspiration in your own journaling journey. I, for one, LOVE all the fancy ideas in here and will be putting several to good use. 5 stars!!

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced PDF so that I can share my opinions with y'all