Because the FTC has nothing better to do than make life difficult for us bloggers, I’m required to disclose the following at the beginning of this post: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation, and the opinions expressed, whether positive or negative are completely my own. Personally, I’m waiting for sponsorship disclaimers from all of the politicians in DC, but I’ll probably be waiting a long time…
One of my favorite things to give (or receive!) is a great journal. Ellie Claire has released three unique journals that might be perfect for someone on your Christmas list!
The Faith and Lettering journal is the one that caught my daughter’s eye right away. The hardcover is beautifully embossed with foil accents. The journal includes step by step instructions for artistic lettering, with plenty of room to practice, and room to journal too. The paper is heavy enough quality to hold up to most pens and some markers. The journal includes a pen loop on the spine and a ribbon bookmark, and my daughter appreciated these little details. The interior includes ruled pages, graph pages, and dot grid pages, so there are plenty of options for both journaling, and practicing your creative lettering techniques. The heavyweight paper has a smooth finish that would work well with most pens. There are plenty of beautiful full-color art lettering examples for inspiration, as well as “pro tips” scattered throughout the journal. This would be ideal for someone who is interested in art journaling in their Bible, or their journal.
My middle son has been learning about illuminated manuscripts from medieval times, so when the Illuminate Your Story Journal came out of the box, he was quick to claim it! This one also has an embossed hardcover with foil accents. There’s a pen loop on the spine, a ribbon bookmark, and an elastic to hold the journal closed when not in use. There’s a heavyweight paper pocket in the back for storing small keepsakes. The introduction in the journal gives a nice overview of the history of illuminated letters, which we found interesting! The instruction pages do a great job of breaking the intricate letters into easy steps, with room for practicing. These pages have a dot grid background on both the examples and the practice spaces which is very helpful! Interspaced with the instructional pages are ruled pages with inspirational quotes at the top of the page. My son has had a wonderful time replicating some of the illuminated letters, and has decided to use the journal for his daily copywork assignments. He’s used both pens and colored pencils in the journal, and both have worked beautifully on the smooth paper. This would be a wonderful gift for artists, or anyone with an interest in medieval history and art!
The Illustrated Word Journal is the one that I kept for my own use! The hardcover is embossed with foil accents like the other two journals, but this one does not include a pen loop or ribbon bookmark. The ruled pages are accented with real examples of illuminated medieval art and every few pages is a line drawing replica of the featured artwork that may be colored. I tried a couple of different pens, two kinds of markers, and watercolors on the line drawing to test out the various mediums. Only one kind of marker had much bleed-through, but this brand is one that I’ve had bleed through cardstock, so I was not surprised that it did bleed through the pages a bit. The watercolor didn’t bleed through at all, nor did the page wrinkle from the wet paint. There’s a bit of texture to the pages that works well with the watercolors, and that was my favorite medium to use in this journal. Colored pencils would also work nicely with the paper’s texture. It was a little too textured for my fountain pen, but I didn’t have any ink bleed-through, so the paper is a good weight for most inks. I enjoyed seeing the small full-color photos of medieval artwork throughout the journal, and there’s a good balance of art, coloring pages, and ruled pages for writing. Anyone who enjoys intricate coloring designs would likely appreciate this journal!
All three journals are excellent quality, and I’m very picky about my journals! The price point they are offered at makes them a great value. Because of that, they aren’t just the kind of journal that you’d give to an adult or older teen, but is affordable enough that they would be a thoughtful gift for an older child or tween who enjoys journaling and art. Put any one of these in a gift bag with an assortment of pens or pencils and maybe some tea or hot cocoa and you’ve got a lovely gift basket!
Just click on the title of any of the journals to find them on Amazon. Thanks to Ellie Claire for sending me the journals for review!