12 Fantastic Journal and Planner Ideas

I am a total freak for journal/sketchbook/planner eye candy. Like so much so that I have a Pinterest board dedicated to them. But I’m not the only sucker who adores peeking into other peoples’ private books of creativity.

Follow Craftwhack’s board Sketchbooks/Art Journals/Planners on Pinterest.

Funny thing is, I like gawking at everybody else’s creations as much as, or more than, I like making my own. At least that’s true in the case of planners. My planner is completely scrawled and utilitarian. Usually with a big post-it to do list that I unstick and move to subsequent pages when I inevitably don’t finish my to do’s.

Shmanyway, I decided to gather up some pretty things for you all to look at today, and here they are! Oh, by the way, I would love to hear in the comments if you keep a paper planner, a journal, a sketchbook, all 3, or a combination of these.

Art journals and paper planners roundup

If this post doesn’t inspire you to start an art journal, you’re hopeless. HAHAHA just kidding. Just kidding.

Junk journaling is apparently a combo of mini-scrapbooking and art journaling. Sort of. Kind of. This article clears it up a little, but also makes you realize that there are a bunch of different names for different styles of visual journaling. Here’s the source for this junk journal if you want to see more of it.

DROOL. Bullet journal beauty. Curious about Bullet journaling? This is the first (kind of dry) place to start, but once you do a Pinterest or Google search for Bullet Journaling, you’ll get sucked into a vortex.

Drawing on the edges of your planner = cool and unexpected. Like me.

ARt journaling and sketchbook and paper planner ideas

Love this idea- to colorfully copy your favorite quotes from a book you read. What a great way to meditate on some ideas you want to remember. (These are from Austin Kleon’s awesome book, Steal Like an Artist- have you read it?)

WHY? Why are some people so neat and organized and creative all at the same time. Blows my scattered mind.

I haven’t yet used my Gelli plate prints for a sketchbook or a journal, but they lend themselves perfectly to that. Mostly because once you start Gelli printing, you can’t stop, so you end up with hundreds of beautiful backgrounds.

How cool! This journal/sketchbook is made entirely of envelopes: sewn, glued, layered, whatever- to make a book I want to get my hands on immediately. Just imagine hiding little secret notes in the pockets and doodling the hours away.

sketchbooks and planners inspiration

This is a seriously smart way to use a paper planner technique for menu planning and recipe ideas. Plus it’s colorful. Plus you get to buy lots of Post-its.

Cool images from Martha Rich’s sketchbook on the Jealous Curator (not linking to Martha Rich’s site, because as of now her server’s been hacked. Boo.)

Another photo of inspiringly neat, organized bullet journaling.

Art journaling. It’s fun to see the different steps and techniques she went through to get to her finished pages.


Related:

My post with lots of lovely printable planners and calendars

And you might also like this post I wrote on sketchbook ideas that includes a printable drawing ideas list.

printable calendar and planners

12 journal and planner ideas

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4 thoughts on “12 Fantastic Journal and Planner Ideas”

  1. I keep a sketch book (or try to.) But, who am I fooling? I’ve got about 6 different sketch books, none full. I use them on a whim, sporadically and infrequently; usually never the same one twice in a row. I’m not even consistent in dating my drawings, so I don’t have a clue when I did what, just as I have no clue if anything I’ve drawn has been any good or not. I highly suspect the latter.

    Reply
    • Oh, I have a feeling most sketchbook-users are like this. I have so many sketchbooks and notebooks all over my house! In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve ever completely filled up a sketchbook. It’s just so fun to start a brand new one…

      Reply
      • Well, at least I have that. I know I’ve never filled up a sketch book – yet. I also know I’m not buying another sketch book until I finish filling those I’ve already got. And then, I should decide on a size and style and only keep one type of sketch book, so they would shelve decently together should I decide to keep them.

        On the other hand… Me? Organized? That’s a pipe dream if I ever heard of one…

        Reply
        • We’re the exact same sketchbook personality type. I dream of having them all lined up beautiful. I also dream of having a closet full of the same clothing so I don’t have to choose my outfit. 🙂

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