I am always running across stuff I want to share with you so I thought why not put it all on one page to make easy for you (and me) to reference. On this page you’ll find all of my favorite things along with resources that I use for my art journaling and bullet journaling.
This is an ever-evolving list so be sure to check back to see what else is added. Some of these links are affiliate links to Amazon (and maybe other places). I only recommend stuff that I actually use and love.
ART JOURNALING
I started art journaling in October 2019 and have been going nonstop since. I forget how I even got started but what I do know that it’s been an amazing place for me to explore ideas as well as to transform fears and limitations along with a wonderful place to play and practice being imperfect. I art journal as often as I can (which has been almost daily lately). For me it’s similar to soaking in a hot tub for an hour – it’s THAT relaxing. I just recorded a demo video explaining how to get started art journaling. Check it out to learn more.
THE ART JOURNAL WORKSHOP: BREAK THROUGH, EXPLORE, AND MAKE IT YOUR OWN
This book by Traci Bunkers has been my constant companion during my art journaling journey. I picked it up at the library but have since secured my own copy. (It’s that good!) She not only walks through all the different tools you may want to use while art journaling (which is wonderful for a beginner like me), but she also offers pages and pages of prompts as well as a complete walk through of how she designed her pages.
ART JOURNAL SUPPLIES – PAINTS
When it comes to paint, you can seriously use whatever. Art journaling is more about the process than the finished product so don’t get hung up on buying the most expensive paint. I generally use super inexpensive craft paint that can be found at Michaels, Hobby Lobby and even Walmart. You can always find sales and coupons at Michaels and Hobby Lobby so never pay full price. Here are some links to get you started. I personally love going to the stores and browsing when I can. And don’t forget to get brushes!! Again – anything will do.
Before you start painting, you’ll want to put down a layer of gesso on your page. This will help prep your page/paper for paint. This is one I found on Amazon but Hobby Lobby and Michaels also carries it.
WHITE MASTER’S TOUCH ACRYLIC GESSO
This is the version I use that can be found at Hobby Lobby. It’s on sale for 50% off about once a month or use the 40% off coupon (on their website).
CRAFT SMART ACRYLIC PAINT VALUE SET
You can find some great Craft Smart acrylic paint sets at Michaels. Craft Smart is one of my favorite craft paints. They’re a little thicker than some of the less expensive versions at Hobby Lobby and Walmart.
Anita’s acrylic craft paint can be found at Hobby Lobby for only 79¢ (and they’re often on sale for 30% off). They come in a wide variety of colors and can be a lot of fun to browse. I’ve become a bit addicting to buying them individually like this and have started buying duplicates (by accident).
APPLE BARREL ESSENTIALS 12 COLOR PAINT SET
I found these paints at Walmart and they’re lots of fun to use. They’re a little thinner than the Craft Smart paints but the colors are fun and vibrant.
MASTER’S TOUCH ACRYLIC PAINT 48 PIECE SET
If you want to get a little fancier with your paints, I love this Master’s Touch acrylic paint set from Hobby Lobby. These paints are thicker (and can easily be thinned with water) and have a wide variety of rich colors. This particular set has 48 colors but I’ve also bought their smaller metallic set, neon set and glitter set. So much fun! Use Hobby Lobby’s 40% off coupon or wait until they go on sale. They’re 50% off about once a month or so.
ART JOURNAL SUPPLIES – PENS
Here are some of the favorite pens I use in my art journals.
Before I jump into all the different pens I like (listed below), here are what some of them look like. These are mostly the Gelly Roll pens including the classic, souffle, metallic and moonlight (all found below). They’re waterproof which is great if you want to paint over them (they won’t smear once they’re dry). They take a little longer to dry than Papermate Ink Joys (another fav of mine) but are well worth the wait. The souffle gel pens are particularly wonderful at writing on dark backgrounds. They really pop.
UNI-BALL UM 153 BROAD POINT GEL PEN – WHITE
This is by far my favorite white pen for art journaling. It’s the one I’ve used on almost every page I’ve done (if not all of them – I’d have to check). It’s nice and thick and super bright. I’ve used it to go back over things I stamped in white as well as to outline some of my watercolor text to help them stand out more. It’s also waterproof.
GELLY ROLL MEDIUM POINT 10PK MULTICOLOR PENS
Gelly Roll pens are my favorite pens to use for art journaling. This classic set is a great starting point but keep scrolling for more delicious options. All the Gelly Roll pens are also waterproof and many are archival.
GELLY ROLL MOONLIGHT PENS, BOLD, 10 PK
The Moonlight Gelly Roll pens offer super bright neon pens along with rich deep archival pens. This is my latest purchase so I’m still playing around with them but they look like they’ll be a lot of fun.
These delicious Souffle pens are perfect for art journaling, especially on darker colors. They actually puff up a little and are super opaque so the light colors show up strong on dark backgrounds. The ink comes out dark and lightens as it dries.
GELLY ROLL ASSORTED COLORS METALLIC GEL INK PEN 10 PK
I love these metallic Gelly Roll pens. They come out smooth with a bit of a metallic sheen which makes them perfect for adding all sorts details and writings all over your art journals. I also use them a lot in my bullet journals. And they’re waterproof!
PROSPERITY
Who doesn’t want to be prosperous? I’ve learned that the key to prosperity is creating a mindset and perspective that supports it.
I have spent many hours studying the art of prosperity via reading and classes and nothing has shifted my thinking more around this subject than It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver. She’s a genius around helping to shift your mindset around prosperity while opening yourself up to other sources of money. I’ve become clear through the help of this book that it doesn’t matter where my money comes from and knowing that it will always come.
PLAY & FUN
I’m learning more and more that life is all about fostering play and fun.
A BOOK THAT TAKES ITS TIME: AN UNHURRIED ADVENTURE IN CREATIVE MINDFULNESS
I’m just starting out with this book but I’m already in love. It combines my love for art journaling with my love for creative mindfulness by including a bunch of goodies such as smaller pullout journals and stickers along with walking you through ways to embrace mindfulness. It looks like a whole lot of fun and I can’t wait to dive in.
FORGIVENESS
Here’s the forgiveness book I recommended in my Forgiveness Sets Me Free post.
I bought this book in 2014 as I started my journey towards forgiving some rather big people in my life. This book along with practicing gratitude towards them EVERY DAY helped me clear the angst and upset I had been feeling towards them. It’s an on-going practice but my life is much better not holding on to stuff I no longer want to hold onto.