a cozy girl’s guide to journalling

A how to guide: equipped with my own visual journalling pages, tips and tricks for your own practice, necessary art supplies, and more!

Let’s talk about ✨journalling✨

I’m an avid journaller — always have been. I got my first notebook when I was eight years old and it’s been a consistent practice for me ever since. Of course, it’s changed and shifted over the years — sometimes falling off completely for a couple months — but I still find huge value in maintaining a journal or two.

Sometimes my page is covered in bursts of colour. Other times, I write and write until my words fill the page. Sometimes my pages look happy; other times, sad and angry. All of this is necessary. All of this is art. All of this is part of a good journalling practice.

Getting Started:

Maybe you’re here because you don’t have a journalling practice and a how to guide caught your eye. Maybe you’ve journaled for years, but a peek into others’ processes intrigues you. Or maybe you’re looking to switch up your journalling practice—to incorporate more colour or writing or scrapbooking. It doesn’t matter your reason for being here or what level you’re at in your journalling journey. I’m happy to share the things I’ve learned throughout my own 15 + year journalling journey, in the hopes to inspire you.

So let’s get to it!

The Tools of the Trade:

You will need…

A NOTEBOOK

I’ve cycled through many different notebook styles throughout the years, each one fitting my needs at the time. In the beginning, I just chose the notebook that was nice for a budget and caught my eye, but now, after years of experimenting with different page styles/notebook sizes, I’m slowly determining which ones fit my practice best.

As you go along in your own journey, you too will start to determine which notebook styles you prefer. Here’s a place to start:

Some questions:

What do you want the inside pages to look like?

Are you planning to do mostly paragraph writing? Get a ruled notebook.

I used a ruled notebook for yearssss as they are the most common you’d find in all the stores. These aren’t my favourites, but are a good basic to start with! They’re great to keep your journal entries organized.

Are you hoping to combine writing with more artistic mediums like markers, paints, crayons, or pastels? Get a blank notebook.

I love my blank notebooks. They are the ones I prefer when I’m at the shop buying. Blank notebooks allow for great creative freedom on the page! You can write anywhere you’d like to — and as big as you’d like to. It also encourages spaces for small artworks using coloured art supplies!

Are you looking to bullet journal / need a bit of a guideline on the page? Get a gridded notebook.

A gridded notebook is helpful to have a loose guideline on the page to help with spacing. It is popular for those who bullet journal — as you can use the grid lines to create distinct areas on the page.

Next to consider? Size.

I’ve been experimenting with different sized journals lately, and I’m learning that I gravitate towards different ones for different things. You can look at size when you’re determining what you want the scrapbook to be used for. If you want to travel with it — get something smaller, like a 4”x4” notebook or similar. If you want to document a trip, get something with larger pages to hold more pictures — like a 8.5”x11” notebook.

*helpful tip: having multiple notebooks helps with creativity! I love having multiple notebooks to play in when I’m creative journalling as the different sizes and styles forces me create in a different way.

My faves:

4”x4” notebook

8”x8” flat lay notebook

blank page Leuchtturm1917 notebook

traveller’s journal notebook for smaller collections

Art Supplies

Having your go to supplies — and a handy kit to keep them in — will transform your journalling practice. It may take a while to determine what you like and how you want your journalling pages to look, but that’s part of the fun! Keeping all of these supplies in a little box will make it easy to reach for, easy to travel with, and easy to create. I love having everything I need together, so I can just throw everything into a backpack and head to the park for a journalling session.

Here’s what I keep in my kit:

✿ some oil pastels — my fave colours to use atm are pinks, greens, blues, and browns. I use the Faber Castell brand (which you can find at Michael’s)

✿ Some pencil crayons — in the same colours as my oil pastels: pinks, greens, blues, and browns. My favourite brand is Laurentien, but they are discontinued!! I got a couple of packs from my grandma after she passed away. They’re so precious to me!

✿ some watercolour tubes. Sometimes I bring my travel sized watercolour pallet with me, other times I just bring some tubes and use the top of my kit as a pallet. Again, the same colour scheme — blues, greens, pinks, and browns.

✿ a couple of my favourite brushes. My go to’s are a general watercolour brush (I can’t remember where from!), the ‘lunar mop’ by Princeton, and a 22/0 liner brush by

✿ A pencil — I have two different kinds for variety’s sake!

✿ A good technical pen — I love a thick black ink pen to use for outlines and typography in my journal pages. This one is a Pigma Micron12, size

✿ a good writing pen — I got this fountain pen after attending a pen pal class at a local paper shop. I love it! It writes so smoothly.

Other misc supplies:

✿ Masking paste — liquid frisket. You can find this at most art stores.

✿ An eraser

✿ A paper clip (to hold journal pages down)

✿ A pencil sharpener

Now that you’ve got the necessary supplies, it’s time to make this journalling practice your own.

How to do this:

✿ Play!! Set a timer for 30 minutes to experiment with your notebooks and supplies. Throw your perfectionism to the side and just let yourself fill up the page. Prioritize curiosity and experimentation.

✿ Gather inspiration. Go out on walks and notice the plants/trees that you pass by. Study their colours and shapes — maybe take photos to recreate their likeness in your journal later.

✿ Look to others for inspiration. I’ve learned a lot from seeing how others use their own journals. This is a great way to learn more tips and tricks and to gain inspiration about what to create next.

✿ Stay consistent. The best way to learn what you like/what works best for you in your journalling practice is to stay consistent with it. Shoot for a couple of minutes spent creating every day, or just a couple times a week! It doesn’t have to be super rigid — as long as you keep showing up.

I hope this peek into my journalling practice inspired your own. I’d love to hear from you! Have you been journalling for years, or is it something you’re just wanting to get into? Bonus: if you have a journalling spread you want to share, I’d love to see it! Drop it in the comments or in our community chat.

I hope you enjoyed! Catch ya next Sunday

Rose xx