Art Journaling Thursday - What Do You Journal In?

Hey Journalators, how are your journals going this week? Managed to do a few pages? I wanted to ask you a question...What do you journal in? 

I think I have a bit of a problem. Ok confession time - Hi, my name is Kim and I'm a journal/notebook hoarder.

OMG what a relief to get that off of my shoulders!

But I'm guessing that a lot of you are in the same boat aren't you? Actually it isn't just me in my household that has a notebook fetish, David does as well, so our flat is a little full of journal/notebooks in various stages of usedness (is that a word?). 

I have lots of different types of books that I use for all sorts of different types of journaling. I pretty much use anything, and I even make my own books (as some of you know already). 

One of my favourite things to do is to hunt around places like Paperchase when they have a sale on. I do try and buy a lot of my journals at cut prices so I pick them up from sales or I go to my local charity shop and find old books. You can often find old spiral bound cookbooks which make great journals and if they have matte paper then you have yourself a gem!

But the best books of all are the free ones! I've already talked about the re-purposing of the free fliers you get through the door, in your local library or in your newspapers and magazines, Some of them have just the best paper for journaling and as it is already printed on you have ready made eye-candy texture to work on. 

I don't know about you but I've learnt a lot about paper in recent years from all this work I do with it and I have a total fascination for the stuff.  I've even had a chance to make my own thanks to the lovely folks at the Papermill. I'm telling you that if I had the space I would definitely make my own on a more regular basis. 

So my ideal paper for a journal is a heavy weight matte paper, it doesn't have to be plan and I love using paper with lines and squares for art journaling, but if I'm sketching I do prefer plain with a tint of colour. But not all books are created equally and in my hunt for ones to re-purpose into journals I've used glossy papered books or books with really thin paper and there always ways to bend them to your whim. 

If you have a glossy page treat it to some gesso layers, sand it first if it is really shiny or use the glossy books for your collage journals. Thin papers can be stuck together to make thicker working surfaces and don't ever be afraid to tear pages out to use elsewhere and to add space to a book for chunky journaling.

So spill, what journals do you use? Where do you get them from? What is your favourite art journaling work surfaces and what tips do you have for art journaling books?

I would love to hear, so do share.

Catch you later Journalators.

Kim