Art Journaling 101: Official eBook launch!

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”

― Dr. Seuss

Hello, friends! As I loved sharing with you recently, in a story about the unexpected day the universe handed me a red paintbrush, my key word for 2017 has been focus — specifically through focusing on our wonderful community here at Moment Catchers.

There are a few different ways I’ve enjoyed expressing this sense of focus so far during the year. The biggest joy has been watching our Moment Catchers sketching challenges grow every month (doubling from 24 to 48 artists, in just four months!), but I’ve loved setting smaller goals for myself as well. For instance, I’m excited to share four free eBooks with you throughout the year, releasing one every quarter and covering my most favorite topics — I’m thinking an in-depth guide to watercolors might be next 🙂

Our first eBook this year was Travel Sketching 101 — which was the accumulation of everything I’ve come to know and love about sketching, and it felt like a true culmination after six years of traveling the world as a sketch artist. Today, I’m thrilled to share our second Moment Catchers eBook, about another creative practice that brings as much joy to my life as sketching does:

A free, 50-page eBook called Art Journaling 101.

While I love my sketchbook as a tool for recording and observing the outer world, I have equally come to love my art journal for the way it helps me pay greater attention to the world within.

Art Journaling 101

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Just like with our eBook on travel sketching, I wanted to begin today’s launch of Art Journaling 101 with a sneak peek inside its pages. After a brief intro to art journaling, there are three key parts to the book:

Part One: Art Journal Supply List

While the supplies for art journaling perhaps aren’t as specific as those needed for sketching and painting, I still thought it could be helpful to share a list of the items I use most while journaling, along with some of my favorite brands.  

Art Journaling 101

art journaling 101

Part Two: Art Journal Prompts

One of the things I love most about journaling is how personal it is, and how each of our different ways of documenting life’s little moments is a reflection of how we process and perceive life itself. Even still, I’ve shared a few of my own favorite methods of keeping an art journal in the form of five simple prompts, in the hopes that they will inspire your own journaling journey.

art journaling 101

art journaling 101

Part Three: Rewards of Journaling

Finally, I believe the ritual of keeping an art journal can yield powerful rewards in our daily lives — from inviting us to practice gratitude more often, to transforming fleeting moments into lasting memories — and I’ve shared three such rewards here.

In an age when life often feels like it’s moving too fast, I love how journaling keeps me grounded in each day.

Art Journaling 101

art journaling 101

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How to receive your free copy of Art Journaling 101 

For me, the most important supply when it comes to keeping an art journal is simply your journal itself — in a way, I even feel like opening your journal should feel like coming home. So to celebrate today’s launch of Art Journaling 101, I’m excited to be giving away a beautiful Italian-made journal to one winner at random.

As I share in the eBook, my favorite size for a journal is 6″ x 8″ (15.24 cm x 20.32 cm), and I especially love the feeling of a thick, hard-cover, thread-bound book. Not long after I started searching for the perfect journal to give away with this post, I stumbled across the Fabriano classic artist’s journal — not only did it fit all of my usual requirements for my own journals, but I was amazed to read that Michelangelo himself used Fabriano paper for some of his drawings.

I couldn’t imagine a better or more storied journal for catching life’s little moments with:

For everyone already on the mailing list, please note I’ll be sending a separate email to all existing subscribers tomorrow, where you’ll be able to download your free copy of the new eBook.

I so hope you all enjoy Art Journaling 101 – I can’t wait to keep catching moments and creating lasting memories with you!

Art Journaling 101

112 Comments

  • Hi Candace! I’m subscribed, and can’t wait to check out your book 🙂 hope your May is off to a good start! xx Cassie Carpenito

  • Hello Candace! I am already subscribed. I’m looking forward to winning this! 😉

  • Subscribed. You are so generous with your art and journalling skills and knowledge. Always a pleasure!!

  • Subscribed! Would love to have that beautiful journal and start practising the tips you gave me in the Creative Mornings talk! See you soon 🙂

  • Already getting your lovely emails. Thank you for the inspiration!

  • Already subscribed, enjoy your posts and your art. Looking forward to reading your new ebook. Always an inspiration. Shona

  • I’m already subscribed. Looking forward to spending time with your ebook!

  • Candance, Your work is an inspiration – thank you for making these books for us! <3 All signed up!

  • Ya me suscribí! Deseando recibir tu eBook. Muchas gracias Candance! 🙂

  • Have long been subscribed and living your travels vicariously even as I move forward on my own.

  • I’m already signed up! 🙂 Really excited to receive this E-book, because, for someone who isn’t terribly artistically-inclined, an art journal is a less intimidating way of adding creativity to my life! As you already know, I’ve attempted a few collages, and thanks to you I am more actively seeking to collect little memorabilia from my travels for country- or trip-themed collages for my journal! Been especially loving your posts on this topic, I’m pumped to gather even more inspiration from your E-book! Thank you for all that you do!

    • I can’t tell you how much I love your collages, Brittany, and how much joy it brings me to know you’re creating them now 🙂 I so hope you enjoy this new eBook, and that it might be of some help and inspiration as you continue creatively documenting and capturing your and Bruno’s journey! <3

  • Thank you so much for the time and effort you’ve put forth to bring your work to us. I am inspired but more importantly energized to pull out my little sketchbook and get to work. Thanks!

    • That’s wonderful to hear, Cathy! The kind feedback and encouragement you all share here is my own form of staying energized, so I really appreciate you sharing that 🙂

  • hello! saying “hello” as instructed…but I would say it even without the instruction. you really are a doll Candace, and I pray you are always happy. xoxox 🙂

    • That means so much to me, Sunny–thank you! And I so hope you enjoy the new ebook 🙂 Can’t wait to see what you create in this weekend’s sketching challenge! <3

  • Ooh exciting Candace, looking forward to receiving the ebook. A watercolour 101 would be wonderful too 🙂

    • That’s great to hear, Angela! I’m really excited to focus on some more in-depth posts and an ebook about watercolors this summer, so I can’t wait to share them with you soon 🙂

  • Candace, you are an inspiration to many of us whose ‘artistic abilities’ stalled in the third grade. Can’t wait for your next ebook. Thanks a million!

    • I completely understand, Rhonda! I took a huge hiatus from art myself–from the moment I started high school, until about ten years later–so I think that helps me relate even more to people who haven’t created art in many years. It’s just about taking those first steps back into art and embracing the creative journey, isn’t it? 🙂

  • Already a subscriber to the newsletter but would love to get the PDFs — so sorry I missed the giveaway when the Travel Sketching 101 was launched! Cheers!

  • HI Candace…love your spirit and inspiration…from a kindred spirit…Karen

  • You are such an inspiration! I’m really looking forward to your newsletter! Love from Germany 🙂

  • Thank you for this offer. I am new to your blog, and I am garnering inspiration from it. Blessings~Paula

    • Thanks so much for saying hello, Paula–and welcome to Moment Catchers! It’s great to connect with you, and I really hope you’ll enjoy the stories and sketches I share here 🙂

  • Hello! Thank you so much for inspiring me! Love your work!! Thank you also for this opportunity to win!

    • Thank you so much, Suzan! And thank you for sharing this photo as well–it looks like such a beautiful spot from some painting and plein air moment-catching 🙂

  • Hello! I really enjoy your artwork. Your work is very inspirational!!

  • Can’t wait to sign up (issues signing up) & check out your work! 🙂

  • Thank you so much, Candace! Really looking forward to reading the new book! I’m already subscribed (but I did it again, just in case!)

  • Oooh I’m so excited to check out this e-book, Candace, as I’d love to get into art journaling! I also love the idea of releasing one e-book quarterly, I’ll see if I can adapt that to any of the more involved creations I’d like to bring into the world.

    And yes, a watercolor guide would be awesome! (Any special tips for white? ie how keep it semi-clean and make it last longer when you do your mixing right on top?)

    Thank you for continuing to share your knowledge and encouragement with the world. Hope you had a lovely weekend! xxx

    • “I’ll see if I can adapt that to any of the more involved creations I’d like to bring into the world.” I LOVE the sound of that, Rebecca! I’m such a big fan and supporter of yours, and eagerly look forward to your more involved creations 🙂

      And ohh, do I hear you on keeping your white clean…that is definitely a challenge for me as well, and one I don’t necessarily manage to win most of the time–but perhaps one tip would be trying to do the mixing on the mixing tray itself, and only touch the white with my paintbrush when I’m bringing it up to the mixing tray (if that makes any sense at all 🙂 Basically, trying not to touch the white once I’ve got another color on my brush, which usually ends up sullying the white…I hope that’s of some small help!

      Finally, welcome back to the US!! I’ve been thinking about you, especially around the time I think you were flying back, and I so hope you’re enjoying time at home and have had a chance to reflect on your journey. <3

      • Thank you! I did a “Plane Tales” book on one of my flights home, which I’ll be sharing any day here on the blog. Since being back I’ve read FIVE books in the past ten days (including Kim’s Yellow Envelope!)—which is a crazy pace, but shows how I’ve been spending my time. 😉 (Speaking of, I just got back from the library today, where I scanned several pages before returning the books, so I can print them at home to make my first book collage!)

        That makes sense what you’re saying about the white! I wasn’t sure if there were any special tricks, but it sounds like what happened to mine is just the nature of the color. (It’s the first color I’ve used up and replaced so far). I’ll get to try mixing on a tray now that I’m home—on the road I hardly ever used the lid of my set to mix.

        I’m really looking forward to Moment Catchers this weekend! I’ve been painting this metal train with acrylics lately–it’s been too long of a break from my watercolor sketch journal. “See” you there this weekend! 🙂

  • I enjoy your posts and your ideas – Thanks for taking the time to share your expertise!

  • I love your sketches and your ideas. I stumbled across the travel art journal idea just a few years ago and had a eureka moment. We were retired and traveling a lot so this came at the right moment. I hadn’t drawn for 50 years, but it’s never too late to get back at it! Now I don’t go anywhere without a pencil, a fountain pen, a tiny watercolor set, and a 3×5 Moleskine watercolor album (or Pentalic Aqua).

    • Thanks so much for sharing your eureka moment with us, Arlene! I loved reading about that 🙂 And I love that you now carry a sketching kit with you wherever you go–I started doing the same thing during my recent 40 Days of Moments project, and found it was such a fun feeling to know that I was always ready to sketch, if inspiration should happen to strike. I’d love to see some of your sketches! <3

  • Hello again! I love that you’ve done it again 🙂 How are you so productive?! Lol 🙂

    • Hello Tahirih! And I’d have to say that discovering Gary Keller’s book “The One Thing” a few years ago and starting to do just the next best thing that will keep moving me forward has definitely helped 🙂 I so recommend it! <3

  • Candace, you’re just awesome! This looks wonderful. I love how you break things down and so generously offer inspiration. I can’t wait to read your new ebook. I love the idea of the city map with the business cards & locations. I have a running list of fave restaurants in Toronto & another list of fave restaurants outside of there with the intention of making a map and putting these places on it. I like you idea better as it is more practical and realistic. I love maps and menus and feel they are a great addition to a journal. Thank you again Candace!

    • Thank you so much, Treava! I’m especially happy to hear that the city map collage idea resonated with you–I’d so love to see your map collages of Toronto and the surrounding region. The idea really came about once I moved to Montevideo, as it’d been a while since I’ve been based in one city for such an extended period of time. And I’ve discovered–both through moving here, and especially through the 40 Days of Moments project–that food and meals are really a big part of our lives, aren’t they? 🙂 Or rather, our meals are perhaps one of the biggest moving parts of each day, so I often drew inspiration from food for the Lent sketching project, and my explorations of Montevideo and Uruguay have also largely centered on trying out new cafes and restaurants…so I think that’s led to some new ideas involving for ways to keep track of what I’m exploring 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed this post, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the ebook! <3

  • really love about your sharing this time,candace…every little pieces you collects of moment,can makes a great books.

  • Hello Candace

    Once again you are so generously sharing! I love my journal but so far, use it only for writing. I love your ideas on art journalling…collecting all those bits that are part of our day and also when travelling. By adding them to the journal (never thought of this and I have boxes of travel mementos that I can’t bear to part with) makes it such a special record. Looking forward to your new ebook!

    • I’m right there with you, Colleen! I’ve also found it so difficult to part with special little mementos and memorabilia, but somehow it took me eight years of traveling to think of making them into collages 🙂 I’m now such a big fan of the practice–not only because it’s a fun way to process and remember each journey, but it also helps cut down on all those boxes piling up in my own closet–that I’ve loved sharing my collage ideas with you all here 🙂 So hope you enjoy the new ebook! <3

  • Hello 🙂
    Thank you for this opportunity! I would love to begin an art journal 🙂

  • Merhaba Candace, Through you, I have gained another perspective and purpose for my travels.Thank you so much for your inspiration, encouragement and your generosity.😙😙

    • Merhaba to you, Kar! Your kindness and encouragement has meant so much to me since we connected, and I continue to think of you so often as you and your husband journey through some of my favorite countries in the world 🙂 <3

  • I don’t know where you came from…I woke up this morning and there you were on my Bloglovin’ feed. I think I’m going to like it. (And of course I subscribed!) Thanks for the free ebook too.

    • I love that, Pauline! No matter how the universe led our virtual paths to cross this week, I’m grateful they did 🙂 Thanks so much for subscribing, and I so hope you enjoy the new ebook! <3

  • Hello! I am already a subscriber! Love your posts! Hope to enter the giveaway 🙂

  • I’ve signed up and look forward to more sketching and painting – starting with today. And I have so many bits and pieces from past travels that I plan on starting a retroactive art & memory journal. Thanks so much for being so inspiring.

    • I’m so glad the ideas and tips I share here have been helpful and inspiring for you, Karen! And I completely support and love your idea to start a retroactive art journal…I too love going back and creating journal entries about past journeys or events, as it’s such a wonderful way to relive those memories in the present. Thanks so much for sharing that 🙂

  • Hi Candace! Congrats on your second eBook! So cool! I’m getting ready for a summer of traveling and concert going. A journal would be a great thing to work on! Yes, please, count me in!
    I appreciate your generosity!

    • Thanks so much, Peggy! And I loved hearing that you’re getting ready for a summer full of journeys and concerts…that sounds so fun and exciting 🙂 And I bet an art journal would be a perfect complement to the beautiful artwork you already create–I’ve really enjoyed how the two creative practices balance each other!

  • Thanks so much for your wonderful Art Journaling eBook, Candace…very nice! How exciting that you are having a giveaway too! Thanks for this wonderful offer.

    I’m looking forward to participating in Moment Catchers this weekend. I had to miss out last month due to an emergency situation with my Mum and, at the same time, dealing with horrendous backlash from Cyclone Debbie.

    Enjoy your week ~ 🙂

    • It’s wonderful to hear from you, Serena! I’m just sorry to hear about the emergency with your mother last month…I really hope everything’s okay, and please know you’ll both be in my thoughts.

      I always enjoy seeing your lovely sketches, and so look forward to having you take part in the May sketching challenge this weekend. <3

  • Wow, Candace, great work for this art journaling book. Love it, so often these books to not provide a bird’s eyeview on the potential of collecting tidbits of our everyday life. Then again, last year, as part of a fundraiser for our Give a Hand organization in Canada, I set to provide an opportunity to share the voices, the stories of people I work with around the globe especially in India, Brazil and Africa. I went back to my collectors boxes of these tidbits and wondered how I could bring this to life. The result I feel was certainly well received and unusual for all who attended the fundraiser which was very successful. ( here mix medias, paper, ink, fabric, collages and stenciling.) artwork © Daniel G.Lalande

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fe41a0f63849ce0b16f2b9a58a1f2a54e3763bf031156a78471e1d3623edf7fe.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4b1768941af189001938ad9358fa21c3f202bffce5a1d15e1617c29cc4d05083.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8e678a59027a8615da6ec7eaae626675aa59df5682f9515428ada3a7af0e2223.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e002fbdf3d89bfa7d0255de3b6dd1a8010593ac05423b275c265390aaa56d49d.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5604866d10d36fbbe024e0bea109a3bd0fc9771079100c751759602321bffae6.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e1ef54ee23065dc4d65a242d9986605503fb68cb94c58abbeb52e0167d6fc309.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2d63d78025fd69f51df0360def29fb5bcf9662c34baf0ebc93352917d3f80058.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7955ce0eb024dd856f02b662de74fc7759941e8342d483665ee392f0672ae924.jpg .

    • Daniel, these are absolutely incredible–thank you so much for taking the time to share them with us all here. The first collages you created with your memorabilia from India especially resonated with me, having spent a lot of time there myself. I would so love to hear more about your process in creating these, and you’ve also made me think about how much fun it would be to do a roundup of readers’ collages here on the blog soon…so thank you even more for that inspiration! It’s been such a pleasure and honor to connect with you.

  • Not sure if there are comparable things to photosynthesis in human being. But in your case it really must be turning moments into magic, while nurturing your surrounding with creativity as well… 🙂 Another lovely creation of yours Candace! I really like the photograph of your journal with the “vino tinto y algo para picar”… 😀 The journal really looks like a treasure chest and it surely must feel like that for you whenever opening it.
    Thanks again for another marvellous ebook and the inspiration Candace! Have a most magnificent weekend… 🙂
    PS: Oh and not sure if I always wanted to or already did menion it at some point: There’s a wonderful little veggie place in Montevideo called “La Papa”. I couldn’t find any of their lovely stickers on your map, so I thought I may come up with the suggestion. The food is amazing, the vibe is too, I think they have Russian beer (for whatever reason) and there are also some events like small gigs on every now and then. So in case you haven’t yet, pay that lovely place a visit with your either (or both) of your journals, grab a seat upstairs overlooking the place and let your creativity float… 🙂

  • Hi… Still trying to view both journals, not sure where/ how to find? I’ve been on the mailing list for a while. Thanks for any tips, I must be missing something!

  • Hi! I thought I posted a comment, but I don’t see it :(. I have the travel sketching 101. I’m looking forward to reading the Are Journaling 101!!! Thanks!

  • Oh good grief… I should learn to keep scrolling before I go sending emails — I will happily wait for tomorrow’s email to see Art Journalling 101 🙂 And I would very much love to be included in the Giveaway! Cheers to you, Candace (and never mind my other message!! xox)

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