A quick Google search shows that journaling has many benefits. For some folks, the amount of writing involved in a traditional journaling session is a daunting prospect. Creative journaling may be a good outlet for those who prefer less writing. It’s also good for short bursts of memory keeping. Sometimes creative journaling is referred to elsewhere as “fauxbonichi,” a reference to the memory keeping style made popular by some Hobonichi users. I prefer to use the term “creative journaling.”
While you can certainly purchase and use a Hobonichi for your creative journaling, you can also take a much more inexpensive route. Whatever size and type of notebook you prefer works. If you are on a budget like me, you may want to try your hand at turning a basic composition notebook into a creative journal. These notebooks currently run $1.25 at DollarTree and just under a dollar at Walmart. If you keep an eye on back-to-school sales, sometimes you can stock up on them for much less.
Since fall of 2022, I have completed four of these types of journals. I am currently working my way through a fifth one. I have taken inspiration from YouTubers Rebecca Hoot and Rainbowholic. Rebecca makes creative journals out of composition books, and Rainboholic does kawaii and creative journaling in her Hobonichis. I’ve also gathered inspiration from junk journalers.
PREPARATION
Some preparation is necessary before you begin to use your composition notebook as a creative journal. Please keep in mind that, ultimately, your journal is yours. Options that work for me may not work for you. Things that I love to do with my journals may drive you up a wall. I’m giving you some basic ideas. Run with them as your own creativity dictates.
BINDINGS MATTER
You can use a glue-bound composition book, though you will not want to remove any pages from it. Removing pages could weaken its structure and potentially cause it to fall apart completely. A stitched or sewn binding seems to work better for me. If you open the notebook and can see stitches between the pages, you have a stitched binding. The composition notebooks sold by DollarTree and Walmart are both stitched, though I prefer the ones from DollarTree because they tend to lay more flat.
