I'm so excited to say that after years of sitting on this idea, I'm officially a published author!
Introducing my new Lovely Cottage Apothecary Journal. It's a Journaling, Coloring, and general activity book, and can be purchased on Amazon. -Note that the version below is an authors proof, so the grey "not for Resale" bar would not be printed on the version you receive.
My Motivation for Making this Journal:
As a creative person who started off making handmade mixed-media journals full of unique pages, I loved the idea of creating a budget-friendly paperback book that had similar aspects that I loved.
I wanted a journal that contained more than just lined pages or blank sheets. I wanted lined pages, but I also wanted coloring pages, dot grids, blank pages, decorative designed paper, and scrapbook style pages with full color illustrations interspersed throughout it. I wanted variety.
This "activity journal" is the result of this desire after I realized that this isn’t something that I could find outside of the traditional handmade junk journal.
As with most things that I want that don’t exist, I decided to make it myself, hence the motivation for publishing it!
Journal Details:
This stunningly detailed full-color journaling & activity book has it all! Scrapbooking pages, lined pages, dot grids, coloring pages, and much more, with imagery inspired by the cottagecore aesthetic, vintage aesthetics, nature, and magic.
This unusual journal is the perfect place to record your thoughts, but unlike a traditional journal, it contains an assortment of different types of pages including:
48 lined pages for traditional journaling. Below is an example of a 2-page spread. The top and bottom borders vary on each page, so you will see a lot of variety. I grouped the lined pages in groups of 4 for those long journaling sessions, so the page after this has another 2 page spread.
7 cozy hand-drawn coloring pages
11 dot grids
Below is an example of both - the coloring pages are all different.
12 1-photo spread scrapbooking/drawing pages
These pages can be used for sketching, or adding photos as you would in a scrapbook. The lines below give you the option to write about your photo or drawing.
13 3-photo/drawing spread scrapbooking/drawing pages
These pages can also be used for photos or sketches - on the right you can see an example of how I envision using these pages, and on the left you can see how it looks before you decorate it.
32 Full color patterned paper spreads
This journal is full of original art created by me. Many of the pages are double sided with decorative paper on both sides, so these can be torn out and used as you would use scrapbooking paper!
9 blank bordered pages These pages have a crinkled paper texture since I love texture in my journals, and mimics the kind of elements that I'd include in a handmade junk journal.
13 sketch pages
Each sketch page has a small piece of original art at the bottom as well. These also vary by page.
I even included a diy craft on the front inside page so that your copy can have a functional pocket to store ephemera. Below is a picture of the completed pocket, which I'm already using to store a vintage photo.
This journal is full color aside from the coloring sheets. You will find pages of cats, apothecary oddities, little cottages, plants, and pretty dresses perfect for any garden party. It can be purchased here.
I hope that you enjoy using this unique journal as much as I will be!