Have you heard of the line of journal products, SMASH? My purist soul is converting. This stuff is fun.
The printed papers in the journals are a good heavy weight with interesting graphic elements (think of double sided collage-y scrapbook papers). The books are nicely bound with a concealed spiral binding, paper cloth spine and heavy weight cover. I like the concealed binding feature because spiral bound books are always slipping out of place after some time and create a lot of wear and tear on the bookcovers, a pet peeve. So kudos on that, K&C.
I wound up purchasing three journals and a bunch of "stuff" for a retirement gift for a friend, my daughter's Valentine present and meself (why should they have all the fun).
This is not my usual art journaling shtick But here's the thing: this could be a really great bridge between scrapbooking and art journaling for you. If that white page scares the daylights out of you, this might be just the thing to ease yourself into art journaling. Yes, I read your emails and know you are out there wanting to take the plunge.
For these two spreads, I printed out favorites from Pinterest and a mosaic via Flickr. I went through magazines and papers looking for yellow stuff for these two page spreads. I used my markers and colored pencils to make color patches.
All in all, SMASH is a great beginner art journal. And a ton of fun, regardless of age and skill level. No need to be an arTEEST.
Buying Information: Michaels, AC Moore (use those 40% off coupons), Amazon. K&C Company's irrisistable little video. You can take a closer look at the various journal innards on YouTube by searching Green Smash folio, Red Smash Folio, etc. Here is K&C's online store.
Cool beans.
