Daily Prompts and Creativity, A guide to Junk Journal July
It’s almost time for Junk Journal July, and I wouldn’t be me unless I created a journal for it! But before we do that, let’s take a step back if you’ve never done Junk Journal July or don’t even know what it is.
What is Junk Journal July?
Great question! It’s a journaling challenge held for the 31 day of July using a variety of prompts. It’s been hosted by @megjournals and this is her 10th year! Wow!
The prompts are just words or phrases to spark a little creativity in your journal, and then you just go with it! You don’t have to be strict about the interpretation of the prompt, just let an idea take hold in your mind and then journal it out. For example, the prompt “letter to myself” doesn’t have to be a handwritten snail-mail type letter – it could be a page full of letters in different styles or colors that make up your name. It could just be a page full of 1 letter repeated over and over. Or anything else your mind can come up with. So don’t let the prompts box you in…let them bring your inspiration to life!
Should you join the challenge?
Absolutely! It’s a fun way to be motivated and inspired to create in your journal. If you’ve been wondering what to do in a junk journal, this is a great way to get started. For the past several years, Meg has been running the challenge along with a collaboration with other artists in the community. Each day in July, you can see how an artist interprets the daily prompt and turns it into a junk journal spread. And you’ll get to see me too – I’m doing the prompt for Day 22!
Ok, maybe I should. But why?
I bet you can think of some good reasons why joining this challenge might be fun – but I’ll tell you my favorite reasons. If you don’t see a reason in this list to join, well, you might just have one of your own.
- Challenge your creativity. Sometimes it’s hard to feel creative, and doing a prompt challenge like this is a great way to kick off some creativity without having to come up with your own prompts.
- Intentional time to create. I know I often put so many more things on my list above time to nurture my own art, so having a kind of accountability to set aside time, sit down at my desk and make something (even if it’s small or only takes 1 marker or 3 minutes) is really important to my art lovin’ soul.
- Expand your skills. With the videos for prompts from such a wide variety of artists from the community, you will undoubtedly find a new technique you might want to try, or a new way of doing an old technique that sparks your imagination.
That’s just 3, but I could probably give you more (like, how about: connecting with the community, making something with your hands, use it to encourage creating consistently or even to get your hands dirty and enjoy some art play)!
What about a journal for the challenge?
That’s easy! Start with what you have and will use. It could be a watercolor journal, sketch book or even just a set of folded printer paper. Now, I will say – I like to start with something inspiring, and usually vintage. And I always want to make my own. Surprise, surprise 😉
Since I’m trying to have a season of decluttering my art space and making use of the materials I already have, I decided my journal would have a recycled shipping package cover. I used some collage and crazy quilt stitching and fussy cuts, and it all came together better than I even pictured in my mind.
The small signature which I think it only has 8 pages folded or attached together, was made with a variety of vintage pages like an old geometry book, other old book and catalog pages and then used a simple 3-hole pamphlet stitch to hold it all together. I even go over some options if you don’t want to sew in your pages or don’t have the tools to.
If you want to see how it all comes together or make one with me, you can watch the video below!
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