Ways to Keep a Commonplace Book

Today I want to talk about commonplace books. A commonplace book is a powerful tool for learning and becoming more creative so let's get started - finding out what they are and simple ways to use them. They are also crazy inexpensive so - what are we waiting for?
It will help us pay attention.
It will grows our sense of curiosity.
They are a paper pensieve.
Commonplace books have been around for thousands of years but they really picked up in the 1400s with use by Italian merchants who called their books zibaldone - which means "a heap of things".
Read more about modern day zibaldone here:
www.atlasobscura.com/articles...
If you would like to make your own messy blank book, the how-to is here:
• Easy Handmade Art Jour...
This link goes to a commonplace book (1634) virtual flip through at Yale library:
onlineexhibits.library.yale.e...
Well this is embarrassing, in a good way. I guess. I have had a boatload of requests for the Book of You online class on how to make and keep an illustrated journal. So I am making this course live again. If you are interested you can find out more and buy it here:
kelly-s-school-b1d1.thinkific...
Please subscribe to my KZbin channel and turn on the notifications to see when I post.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Well this is embarrassing, in a good way. I guess. I have had a boatload of requests for the Book of You online class on how to make and keep an illustrated journal. So I am making this course live again. If you are interested you can find out more and buy it here: kelly-s-school-b1d1.thinkific.com/courses/the-book-of-you-making-and-keeping-a-visual-diary

[@clc3897]

When I was in high school I began keeping a notebook with quotes and poetry I came across in the books I would check out at the library. I loved going to the library and just plopping myself down on the floor with piles of books around me and a notebook to write what I found in them. Of course I was transcribing everything in my “nice” notebook using the best handwriting possible. I’ve continued doing this in some form or another throughout my life. When I was in college one of my professors, who happened to be none other than Wayne Thiebaud, required us to keep an inspiration book. I still have it with his comments and signature. Now I am teaching my own high school students to create and keep an art journal that is more like a common place book for art and anything that they create or that they find inspiring. The idea behind this art journal is to make something they will love and enjoy looking at ten or twenty years from now. Even the least interested students who would much rather sit on their phones all day manage to create something half way decent. Hopefully they will continue with this as time goes on even if they won’t be making one about art.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi. What you have said is so meaningful especially about students actually bestirring themselves from the screen out of a kind of curiosity about beauty and what they can learn to see. Keep up the good work and please keep us all posted on how it is coming. I love the idea of an inspiration book.

[@absyntheew7075]

Beautiful video! Beautiful examples! (As a disabled Nurse the Physician's Book about made me faint froth and drool! ) The amount of time and care you put into this video...Thank you so much! ❤❤❤ P.S. The Sea Creature was a Hippocampus! I love them!❤

[@narellewiseman4622]

I have done this for ages but didn't realise what it was called. lol. Thanks so much for your great video Kelly. I have written down quotes, poetry (other peoples), paragraphs from books, words that I love etc; not only in books but also on scraps of paper...not a good idea. It makes me very happy to see a notification that you have a new post to enjoy. Cheers & blessings for 2024.

[@riapieterse5861]

😊lovely

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Narelle. Boy, do I know those scraps of paper. Sometimes I paperclip them in and other times I just lose them and cuss a lot. But let's keep making notebooks!

[@sueevans4110]

Me too 😅😅

[@IsabelDjour]

very inspiring, love hearing people talk about their common place experiences

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Isabel. You and me both. I am currently reading a book about the history of the notebook and it is full of stories about people throughout history and how they used their books. Thanks for touching base! Kelly

[@ElisaMariaDesigns]

How lucky am I to have stumbled upon your channel! I've been doing this for years and have boxes and boxes of journals. I so enjoyed today's video and the marching orders to go create something!!! Go create is what I will do, so I do not just sit here and binge your entire channel. Thank you for sharing all your precious knowledge. ❤️

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi there, Elisa. What you said. KZbin sometimes encourages me to Keep Viewers Watching and I just won't do it. Let's learn and then go make stuff!

[@centibastelt2023]

An excellent idea! I use to find so many interesting facts and things and stories and then forget about them in no time. A Commonplace Book is the solution! Thank you!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Centi. Yes, they become an addiction as a tool and something so simple but special that looks like the inside of your own head. Let me know how it goes!

[@theresapalmer7892]

I think I've discovered the name for a few of my " journals" they are actually common place books. I love learning from your channel.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Theresa. You actually start to see the name more and more if you read old memoirs and the like, as they were very much in use at certain points in history, such as with Thoreau and Emerson and the Transcendentalists and they are always talking about their commonplace books and sharing them and whatnot.

[@margarettranter3214]

I have done this for years but it's all in my yearly diary along with appointments and to-do lists, also on lots of scraps of paper. Now I could be more organised with a general and a specific CPB.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Margaret. I get it. We both seem to be note-takers. I even keep lists for my lists and I'm kind of not kidding.

[@paperstoryjournals]

I have an artist commonplace book too. I enjoy seeing how I did what. Keeping notes helps for when I want to recreate them.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Cody, what you said. I can't believe how much I learn by making and then look back and can't remember how I finally got it right! Keep on making pages and hope you have a creative week! Kelly

[@jipse_sol]

How serendipitous that I happened upon your channel! I’m in love with everything you create, your process, the way you think, and, well, just you in general. 😅😊

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hello there. Welcome and what a lovely message. It truly does make me happy to hear this. I love me some serendipity, too. 🌻🌼🌷Kelly

[@theimperfectscrapper5313]

At 24:50 - something you might also be interested in, which is easily overlooked is those circles on the left of the page - black, cyan, magenta, yellow and white. My husband is a printer. I know what those circles are. They are print colour samples as the print runs through the machine, so the printer can ensure the correct saturation of ink on page, so the colour is right on the print. These are often used in offset printing machines. Maybe you could also add those to your commonplace book with some notes about printing 😊

[@BookandPaperArts]

You are married to printer? I am swooning. And yes, this goes into the notes. Thank you so much for letting me know about it. (Had no idea.) I do love to compare notes. Kelly

[@gabrieljacobs2]

So I'd be even better if I were a printer?

[@BookandPaperArts]

Well, there's only one way to find out! Kisses.@@gabrieljacobs2

[@user-ex2mk1jc5e]

I’ve been doing this for 25 plus years. So gratifying to hear it’s coming back.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Yes! I have also kept these for decades and it has been on my list of things to share for ages and then last year I saw that they were making a "comeback" as an alternative to bullet journals which are crazy popular and that'll work. Nothing wrong with a fashion to get people making commonplace books and taking notes of their life. 😺

[@marmaz57]

Thanks, Kelly. I've been filling notebooks with quotes and facts and poetry and ideas in fits and starts for years and this video inspires me. Curiosity, beauty ... you really get my creative juices flowing. Thanks!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you for touching base, Marma. It is hopeful how many of us keep these notebooks by whatever name. They are such a powerful tool!

[@sueevans4110]

Me too ❤

[@roksannastephens4375]

Oh, Kelly, I love Commonplace Books and have kept them for years!! I use to just write quotes and udeas, but have branched out to illustrations with everything.Ty for the earlier commonplace gems/ people info, your renditions, definition, and a very fun video!! I love all your unique and interesting interests, and have a lot of same interests. I too love Thoreau. I create illuminate gold- gilding, and research and use herbal folklore. My current research interest are the home, rooms, the bed. Such an interesting subject. Oh boy, let is all go create our "heaps of things"=Zibaldones!!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Roksana. Thanks for touching base. I would love to see more of your pages. Herbal folklore is a delight in so many different ways (I am currently reading The Wilderness Cure by Mo Wilde and it is a hoot). Home? Rooms? Is that about the cultural evolution of them? I'm afraid if I give my notebook obsession its head I will end up with 40 zillion ones. Hmmmm.

[@roksannastephens4375]

Yes, on homes, rooms, beds/bedrooms, the historical evolution of them. Thanks of the Wildreness Cure. I.k.r., do many subjects/ interests, and so little time/space to put them.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Amen to that. 😺@@roksannastephens4375

[@augusta8901]

So interesting- the historical references are awesome!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you, Augusta. I do love stories about paper and notebooks. In fact, my bedtime book right now is about the history of the notebook. I will be doing a video review of it soon. So many stories. 😍😍

[@sandybe11]

This is an “aha” moment for me. Like other commenters I’ve been doing something akin to this but you have given a framework that gives me ideas for my box of favorite stuff. Great video, Kelly, thanks!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Sandra. I think I know that box o'stuff well. It is very satisfying to get it logged in and it's almost like finding free stuff when you find ideas you had then misplaced and here they are. Hope you make great pages. Kelly

[@suewegert2323]

I’ve been using stenographers books for years to record class and seminar notes, writings, and craft sketches. Guess these are commonplace books but didn’t know it. I do think I’ll make a book just for crafting ideas. Thanks for the explanation.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Sue. Thanks for touching base. Yes, who knew that note keeping could be so fancy? I am really looking forward to making class notes of what I am learning in online classes and art books and making my own little textbook for book arts. And stuff.

[@absentia8068]

Wow! This video made me so happy. I've kept commonplace books for a long time. I have one I started copying quotes into when i was in my early 20s and that was a long time ago but I'm still adding to it. I like how you look at the world around you and also how you communicate your voracious curiosity. Thank you for sharing your books and ideas!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Why thank you. What a lovely message. I am actually changing the focus of my channel for the new year to indulge that voracious curiosity especially when I get this kind of vote of confidence. Thanks bunches. Kelly

[@hushingsilence]

Cosmos (Brian Cox BBC "Wonders" series is brilliant), Tardigrades, sling psychrometers, plate tectonics, poisonous plants, art, quotes, newspaper clippings, Wicca, terrariums, rock climbing, desert survival, clever song lyrics, IDing birds based on feathers, lapbooks, 50 ways to start a fire with the fewest materials, interior design, and on and on and on. Haha I never knew there were other brains like mine who are endlessly curious and pick up on everything! So lovely to run across your video.❤

[@BookandPaperArts]

Well hello there. What a GREAT comment and I mean it. Yes, sometimes I wish I could write my own hodgepodge-y encyclopedia or almanac. Right now I am reading a how-to travel book from 1872 (reviewing it on KZbin soon) that talks about stuff like (you said) making your own fire, traps, ink, light - you name it. I can't put it down. Also, Charles Foster and Robert MacFarlance. Thanks for touching base and keep me posted! Kelly

[@hushingsilence]

You are my new best friend. Can't wait to go through all your vids and maybe even exchange ideas and such once in a while. 😃@@BookandPaperArts

[@BookandPaperArts]

@@hushingsilence I'm glad you said it first! Want to drop me a line? [e-mail]

[@zenchantress]

I just finished making my first commonplace book. I just have to glue the cover on, which is a slow stitched fabric cover. I find the whole thing very satisfying.

[@BookandPaperArts]

This sounds really special. I do love slow stitched covers but haven't the patience or the wherewithal. I hope you make gorgeous and interesting pages. Keep me posted! Kelly

[@dianabrandt330]

In reference to the reply below, the book I bought is THe NOTEBOOK, A HISTORY OF THINKING ON PAPER, by Roland Allen Diana

[@BookandPaperArts]

Noted and I am looking it up now!

[@melissaduncan9988]

This was great! Consider me inspired. To me it seems like an outgrowth of my sketchbooks. Thank you!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thanks bunches, Melissa. Yes, notebooks of all kinds and sketchbooks cross over in ideas and intentions a lot - as they should!

[@heleneebenstein9120]

Thank you, Kelly, for this inspiring video For years I've been fooling around with this idea but never knew that I was making common books Now I'm inspired to review what I have and get to work on organizing and illustrating some.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you, Helene. Check out the link above for a flip through of one that is held at Yale library. Also Pinterest. I got your email and am looking forward to reading it carefully after I get situated.

[@moongl0]

Kelly - Amazing video about a wonderful tradition of recording for learning!!! Loved this deep dive and saving it to share with other notebookers!!!!!🫶🏼

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you, Violet. Amen to more ways to use notebooks.🙂

[@hanichay1163]

Thank you for these good ideas and thoughts! Lately my favorite activity of the day is working/playing in my everything book. I had so many kinds of journals/books which I didn’t get to everyday that I decided to try combining most of them and it’s working. Making!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi there. Thanks for reaching out. Yeah, I do like a notebook that is a catchall for thoughts and quotes and doodles and marks. Keep me posted on how the combining is coming! Kelly

[@lynnboyd33]

Oh Kelly, I just LOVE your lust for life!! You never cease to amaze me (us) with your hunger to know all things! This was a fantastic video, and told us a lot about you as a person as well. I recall you mentioning the term Commonplace Books, but couldn't quite recall what they were exactly. And now I do...and NO calories, heehee. Kelly your the best and I always, always look foreword to every one of your informative videos. Like visual, history lessons, most every time. Thank you so very much for all you do/give to us and all your encouragement! As always, your rockin' it my friend!

[@heathersmith8549]

I just started keeping a dedicated commonplace book though I’ve always been an obsessive list maker and journaler. I just didn’t keep things all together. Enjoyed your video. Thanks

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Heather and welcome to the club. I am helpless without lists. I write in my diary and journals every single day. I can't think if it isn't written down. I suppose I could get help but it doesn't hurt, it's inexpensive, and again, not fattening so let's journal on!

[@CreativeCrisis-Art]

Fascinating! This the best explanation of commonplace books that I've run into.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thanks bunches. It's been on my list of things to talk about for a long time and it was weirdly obvious and not. Kelly

[@CreativeCrisis-Art]

I've always kept versions of what might be commonplace books, but your discussion inspires me to go for a fuller and more disciplined experience with one these books.

[@roksannastephens4375]

Indeed!!!! By far...

[@dawnyWestScotland]

I agree, never knew what they were, good description.

[@shakti7514]

Ah so this is what I can call the increasingly thick and colourful creations which have emerged from the simple hand written diaries full of words and wonderings. A good fifty years since my grandma gave me my first diary for Christmas these have become journals of doodles and cut outs. A5 or A4 they cover just a month or two. Got introduced to Altered Books a few years back and I can see how these might start merging. Thank you so much for this fascinating show and tell. Tardigrades?! Zibaldone! So much information, fabulous quotes and leads to avenues of exploration. Glory be to curiosity and creativity.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you for this thoughtful feedback, Shakti. Keep those layers coming. And amen to curiosity and creativity - the meaning of life. Kelly

[@DonnaVintageSnippets]

Thank you, Kelly, for the enlightening video! I always love hearing what is running through that wonderful mind of yours.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you, Donna. I have been reluctant to say too much about what is running through there but now I am wondering. 🤔🤔Thanks for the vote of confidence!

[@ilakaiser3778]

Thank you for this excellent overview a commonplace book. My husband a a type of commonplace book he calls it his brain. 💜🐞

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi there, Ila. What a great take on the brain as catch-all. Back in the day mine was, as well, but since menopause my brain is laughing at me. "You want me to remember WHAT?"

[@ilakaiser3778]

I didn’t state my comment clearly. My husband uses a composition notebook to do all his building rough draft sketches. (He is building our log home). He also uses it for anything he doesn’t want to misplace or forget, the dates for individual hunting seasons, the supplies he needs for the current project, notes from KZbin on plumbing etc., the names and phone numbers of the inspectors. That is just a sample of what he puts in. He calls these composition notebooks his brain. Nothing fancy , but it works great for him until he misplaces it. LOL

[@BookandPaperArts]

Ha! The danger of the written word. And what a great notebook. I lost one once and it was devastating. Fortunately I had my email address in the cover and weeks later a stranger emailed and returned it.@@ilakaiser3778

[@cindybarger2250]

What a fun video. I found you while looking through KZbin for art making videos. I am now a fan. I have been making books like these for years but have never heard the term “commonplace books” before. Being a word nerd I love the word zilbaldone, which is new to me. I look forward to watching more of your videos. Thank you for the inspiration.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thanks for this, Cindy. Your message makes me happy - it's always nice to hear. Word nerds of the world unite! I am going to be talking a lot more about writing and incorporating that into our creating this year so I am glad you are for the ride. Kelly

[@reginaeid1568]

Your curiosity and willingness to share is inspiring, thank you

[@BookandPaperArts]

Dear Regina, thank you for this. I have been considering for a long time about whether to put more of Stuff That Interests Me in videos and then kind of hang back as I want the making to be the focus here. But maybe I can find a happy balance. 🌻🌼🌷

[@susanrichard5884]

"It makes me happy" and your Common Place Book video worked to do just that. And give a name to the dozen or more lined, unlined even 'olde' calender books I've filled with common Place Book stuff you've mentioned...plus films and books seen and read. Thanks so much for all you share, teach, and care about😊❤

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Susan, thank you for this lovely message. I'm with you. Basically, I can't think unless it is on paper first and I need a list to pretty much get out of the bed in the morning. Notebooks are the best.

[@moonmiststudio]

I'm so pleased to have clicked on the link for this video! I've been keeping journals and/or commonplace books for years but have recently had a surge in enthusiasm for using them in new and different ways. Thank you!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hello and welcome, Rebecca. Yeah, we definitely cycle through enthusiasms but the fact we keep coming back to notebooks says something. 😺

[@nuvoclassic]

Nowadays, I actually use books marketed as BuJos as my common place books. But my fave CPB, is a cheap composition notebook I use as a 'glue book' for inspirational ideas. tfs!

[@fayecook9171]

I have kept a common place book for years and several years ago learnt what to call them. Mine grew out of my sketch books from my teen years.

[@brian_medlock_collage]

I love your books...TFS!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you, Brian. That is truly nice to hear.

[@sharonparks8144]

Thank you so much for all the beautiful examples and encouragement - I love your teaching style.

[@Robbidify]

So I have a raft of notebooks, journals, lists that I keep of so many things. Now I know what they are called! Ranges from sayings, poetry, biology, family history, art classes... As a self taught mixed media person, I see a lot of things on line. I keep a tall, skinny notebook that as I come across things, I make note of them. Sometimes I go back and find them and sometimes I don't! But I do love them. And as you say, they sort of define my life. Thanks, Kelly! Nice to know that other people do the same thing!

[@sueevans4110]

Its amazing we are collecting and didnt k ow there was a name for it

[@sueevans4110]

Excellent more please ❤from South Wales

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thanks bunches, Sue. More is on the way! Thanks for touching base. Kelly in regular old Wales

[@user-or9mp9nh7f]

Wow....Thank you. I'm going to make a Commonplace Book!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Now that is what I want to hear. Keep me posted on how it goes.

[@AngellaArts-gw8nc]

So glad to find this channel. Right up my alley!

[@bourgeoisiebetty123]

KELLY!! What an inspiration you are! I just love this video! So much info and inspiration. Have already giggled about the book *flowers in midevil manuscripts* and I too have taken on-line classes from those two artists that you have. And I really like the direction you are going in with all your art, art books, inspiration. Well done! I keep thinking about when I can travel again I want to come visit you, if that’s okay with you? Keep up the good work, and thank you for sharing.

[@bourgeoisiebetty123]

*goggled* although I could have giggled too!! 🤣😂

[@BookandPaperArts]

Betty, it would be a great pleasure to meet. Fancy an art date? (Where do you live?) And yeah, I google and giggle. I also like how the most common typo for me is "live" and "love". They almost always work either way. Did you take a Kate Thompson course?

[@marcijlo]

Kelly thank you for still being here. I have a Common Place Journal that I use for Haiku’s which I love and the easy illustrations. 🥀❣️🥀

[@dianabrandt330]

Oh, Kelly. I am so thrilled you talked of Commonplace books, and as usual, what an easy to understand video.. I have been making them for years, and I find it a noble pastime to record importances! . I love the concept, and I am pleased you do too. I hope everyone researches Commonplace books, and joins those who give meaning to their lives by finding important moments to remember. I found a lively book in a bookshop recently and indulged myself with it. It's called THE NOTEBOOK, A HISTORY OF ????. OOPS, I am out, will send title when I get home. Thank you from Sydney Australia. We love your videos. A group of us at Primrose Paper Arts are about to begin an altered book together, motivated by your beautiful and informative videos. Thank you❤ Diana Brandt

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hiya Diana. Thank you for this great message. Yeah, I agree. Commonplace books have been on my to-talk-about list for a couple of years and finally came up in the pipeline and seemingly not a moment too soon! Please keep me posted with what happens at Primrose Paper Arts. It sounds a treat and I wish I could be there.

[@MissDaisyParsley]

Great video explaining commonplace books and their history! I learned a lot! I have a bunch of them started myself. A couple of my favorites are inspiring quotes and another with Scripture. Thanks for sharing!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Yeah, I have a bunch and this year I hope to consolidate some of them so I can wrangle the stuff inside of them better. 🙄My pilgrim handbook is a cousin of scripture journal keeping. I have three of those and counting and this year I mean to work them into my original art and pages.

[@robertakeirn1870]

Love this video and your wonderful explanations. I just started a small art "diary" to track what was important to me at the moment and I think it fits quite nicely as a common place book. Now I know where it is heading! Thank you.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Well fancy that. I only started an art diary last year and it changed how I create in a big way. Otherwise I have kept all kinds of other notebooks and diaries since I was about seven. How about you, Gilly?

[@robertakeirn1870]

I had a diary once and my older brother read it. I guess it turned me off writing my personal thoughts down…

[@kathyfenton9268]

Thanks a lot, Kelly! Do I really need another type of book to make?? 😉The answer is yes, there can never be too many, right?? I had never heard of commonplace books but I have loads of things I could put in one. Your video hits so many nails right on the head. I am off to find a blank book in my drawer of blank books. You have presented so many great ideas, I had to stop several times to add ideas to my list of "Art Project Ideas." Now that list can go in a better home - Thanks so much 😊

[@lauriem9658]

I just found you, and I absolutely LOVE how your mind works. Also, my children can just hush about all the random books and notes I have. It's actually a THING going far back in time.😊

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hello and welcome, Laurie. Amen to that shushing - as compulsions go notebooks are sane and meaningful tools that are also inexpensive and don't take up that much space. (Am I helping us rationalise? How'm I doing?)

[@janscott821]

This was wonderful and so informative! I had to subscribe!❤

[@SilverPennyArtisans]

You are so inspiring!! Thank you!

[@SilverPennyArtisans]

Where can we subscribe to the magazine you showed?

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you, my dear. The magazine is the Times Literary Supplement. It may seem pricey but it comes out weekly and I get so, so many ideas from it. It is heavy on book reviews but also has history, culture, and tons of cool stuff. www.the-tls.co.uk/ @@SilverPennyArtisans

[@dcdszgage2125]

Loved this. Thank you for sharing with us. ❤

[@BookandPaperArts]

It is my real pleasure. Thanks for touching base. Kelly

[@lostinsomerset6002]

Inspirational as usual Kellly.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you so much. And I love Somerset! Are you really there?

[@lostinsomerset6002]

I am, just under the Mendip hills!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Send me an email or DM on IG and maybe we can meet this summer. I am in Swansea. @@lostinsomerset6002

[@thepostgradyear]

had to subscribe after 30 seconds lol I like how you make the process sound so easy while so many other people try to make it sound so hard "stuff that I just can't get out of my head" what do you bring with you in terms of pencils and stuff? the pencil sketched from the museum weren't in just black so does that mean you carry multiple pencils? "really it's just different things - notes" art dates? that sounds interesting cyanometer "these books tend to cross pollinate a lot" I hope this ends up becoming the new standard video for how to / ways to keep a commonplace book! how do you know commonplace books are coming back?

[@BookandPaperArts]

Well hello there. First, I never go anywhere without a portable art kit - it is the first, best rule for making sure you get pages made. It looks something like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2LUZqOhlpmgncU Making a comeback? Well, as far as journal arts go, the zibaldone is having a moment. Otherwise, they never go out of fashion, do they? the very fact that BookTube and book reading channels on TikTok are so popular is a testimony to curiosity in these messy times and as long as people are reading they are going to want to make logs and records. As for me, I guess you could call it my vocation - teaching and encouraging journal arts of all kinds because they change lives and make us bolder and boldness, especially creative boldness, is something that is needed now more than ever. Thank you very much for weighing in with your thoughtful comments and questions. I hope we can talk about it more. Kelly

[@thepostgradyear]

@@BookandPaperArts oh right sorry I think I've been spending too much time inside haha having materials in the same place at the same time is kind of rule number 1 huh "curiosity in these messy times" - I'll have to save that guess I gotta go watch your video "What's in My Travel Journal Art Supplies" thanks for the basically instant reply!

[@needle.thread.watercolor-jloh]

Thought provoking.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Thank you! I hope you try making some fun pages.

[@ochervelvet9687]

Are you interested in a recipe for vegetarian African sweet potato and peanut soup? I made it for the first time a week ago and it is delicious. If yes, I’ll post the link.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Oh yes, please. That sounds fab. Please post here or email or both! Bon appetit.

[@susancarvey9063]

So great..took me to Girdle Books!! Please show us how to make one!! Margaret Smith wrote the book on Girdle Books So fascinating..years of study..dovetails with the Zibalsones!!

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hello Susan. Honey, you don't have to ask me twice. Let me see what I can come up, girdle book-wise. It's a book. It's an accessory. Let's do this. Kelly

[@dawnyWestScotland]

I wondered what they are for, I’ve been seeing a few on here. 📘✂️

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Dawn. Yes, they are having a moment but in a way they never go out of fashion or use. Give it a whirl! Kelly

[@kashmira46]

You are wonderful ✨💫✨💫✨💫

[@BookandPaperArts]

My goodness, how lovely. Thank you for this beautiful message. Kelly

[@michellemeuser7435]

This is different. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it before I mean some of it I’ve done, but not like you thank you.

[@RebeccaLivingstonCook]

I asked before and the comment disappeared - please give the information about the magazine printed on newsprint that you talked about at 23:54. I would be really interested. Thank you.

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi Rebecca. Let's try to catch it this time. 🙂 It is the Times Literary Supplement, a book review weekly. Not only book reviews but also science, history, culture. I learn so much from it. There may be a digital version. The TLS.

[@RebeccaLivingstonCook]

@@BookandPaperArtsThank you!

[@user-fm9xe2df7j]

Did you said its not fattening ?😅 love your channel just discoverd it thank you 🙏

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hello and welcome! Yes, I love how mixed media is affordable and so much fun and easy on the waistline.🌷Kelly

[@Tarrorizer]

What is the magazine you subscribe to?

[@BookandPaperArts]

Hi there. It is the Times Literary Supplement. Mainly books but also history and culture and stuff. Here is the link. It is pricey but it comes out weekly I get so, so much out of it that it is worth it. www.the-tls.co.uk/

[@NDW1955]

Preach it, Sista! 😂

[@BookandPaperArts]

Well said and amen. 😺

[@shreevas6160]

oh, I have made a whole wall out of this 😃

[@BookandPaperArts]

You mean like a giant vision board thingie? How cool.

[@sueevans4110]

I have been doing this for years, didnt know it had a specific name just called it my scrap book 😂

[@BookandPaperArts]

That'll work!

[@gabrieljacobs2]

Excellent. You are far too modest Kelly,

[@BookandPaperArts]

Ha. That's what you say now. (Pretentious? Moi?)

[@cherylmacedo5521]

I love this. And I love all the thoughtful comments your subscribers leave you (does that make me a voyeur or just nosey)? And your responses. You are such a joy to listen to and learn from. And you’re funny. And witty. And all around delightful 🤍🤍🤍