Hi my loves and welcome back to my sketchbook.
Today I wanted to share a journal spread that I made to capture all the memories of a recent
weekend trip I took with some friends to Edinburgh.
I'm using supplies from this vintage ephemera shop on Etsy which I'll have linked below
but you'll see their info in a sec anyway because I used the back of the 'Thank You'
card they sent with my order as part of the decoration on this page.
But, I ordered this bundle of miscellaneous old papers and stamps and playing cards and
things, just great little items to decorate your journal pages with, and by chance one
of the old pages was a map of Scotland, so it couldn't have been more appropriate.
I mentioned, I think at the beginning of 2018, that one of my goals was to visit the rest
of the countries in Great Britain and Ireland, I managed to get to Wales for the end of 2018,
and I've dreamed of going to Scotland for so long, then this trip happened to come out
of the blue- we were actually planning on going to Budapest for my friends birthday
in January, but it ended up being too expensive to book last-minute so, out of nowhere, it
was decide we'd do Edinburgh and my dream of visiting Scotland finally came true!
It's funny how things work out like that.
And now I just have Ireland left!
And I already want to go back to Scotland, spend more time there and see the more of
the country.
Edinburgh is such a beautiful and vibrant city, I had such an amazing time there, ate
great food, met lovely people.
We stayed in probably the nicest accommodation I've ever stayed in, a penthouse in one of
those high-ceilinged old buildings with big windows, and we were right in the middle of
everything, it really couldn't have been better.
And next time around, I want more time to go and see the beautiful countryside as well.
Maybe when it's a bit warmer.
But you may have noticed, since I got back at the beginning of February, I haven't been
around much on my channel!
Time has just found a way of flying by while I've been working on other things.
And I had to do a bit of creative soul-searching.
But in the meantime, I've found it so valuable to give myself some time to journal like this.
It allows me to make art casually, even if it's just in the form of sticking things in,
it keeps me creative.
Even with this, I had to let go of wanting it to be perfect, you'll see at least one
page ends up a bit unfinished and I had run out of my usual glue so the glue I used warped
the pictures and pages, but at the end of the day, I'm getting this stuff down on paper
for myself, to remember it all, and for the sake of the process, to enjoy it, to meditate
in it.
And while I do share this stuff online, I have to remind myself that, especially with
more personal stuff like this, it doesn't matter if I do it how other people might want
me to, or if it looks perfect in other peoples eyes.
The point of art journal for me is to take all the pressure off and just stick stuff
in, to do as much or as little as I want, as long as I'm doing something.
I think it's a great way to shake the cobwebs off if you feel a bit of apprehensiveness
going into your sketchbook.
Print out some nice pictures, gather up stickers or post-its or coloured bits of paper that
you have.
Any scraps...
I used these old notebooks Ozzy brought home from work, he got them off one of the waiters...
it's just the notebook they would write orders in.
The paper is really thin and flimsy, but for this, it just worked.
It tied in to the 'food and drink' theme of the page I was working on.
And once you start looking at stuff like that, nothing is junk anymore.
It's just a new exciting challenge to incorporate it into your journal.
The envelope I used was from a letter one of you guys sent me.
I keep all that stuff, and it's great to be able to reuse it, to immortalise even just
an envelope in the pages of my sketchbook.
We went to this amazing little shop called Black Moon Botanica, they sold things like
tarot cards and crystals and candles, the women in there were so kind and helpful, and
I bought nicest smelling candle ever.
The candle came with care instructions and instead of losing that bit of paper, I was
able to make it a decorative part of this spread.
And I'll remember that place, and when that candles all burnt out, I'll still have this
sketchbook.
And the shop owner said she's setting up an online shop soon so I eagerly anticipate being
able to buy more candles and things from her.
Anyway, I'm rambling now, as I do.
I think I do that the most when I haven't spoken to you all in a while!
But I'm glad to be back.
Getting back into a rhythm, I've got a lot planned for the rest of the year and I'm really
starting to feel like I'm building momentum at last!
So thank you so much for joining me, I hope you've enjoyed the video.
I will leave you with the sounds of my journalling- and I'll see you soon for the next one.
Bye!