It's all about expressing yourself.

Art journaling is a record of your thoughts, emotions and experimentation over time in a book form. You might art journal to let your emotions out or you might art journal as a way to experiment and play with new ideas, techniques or supplies. You might want to document your life and your thoughts and just enjoy the creative, fun process of making your art journal or altered book.

An altered book is a type of art journaling — my personal favorite. You take an already printed book (I get my books at thrift stores or such) and simply create inside this book. You can alter the book in whichever way you want. Some ideas include, black-out poetry, collaging and using various other mediums. Black-out poetry is when you circle various words on a page to create a poem or reading within the text. Altered art empowers the creator to take something and make it unique and beautiful to each individual. Let your mind wander wherever. This book is yours. You can keep it private, or share it with the world. It’s about no judgement and having no fear of what others will think. Allow yourself to be open to new material and new methods. Its not about creating something "perfect" its about creating something that is of value to YOU.

Art Journaling is often used as an art therapy technique. It is found useful to patients with PTSD and other anxiety disorders. It is often used by professionals when they are working with at-risk kids and/ or children on the Autism Spectrum.

I learned about the world of art journaling and alter-booking while in a treatment program. I have always loved art but i always need instruction or prompts and needed my artwork to be perfect. This often frustrated me to the point where I avoided art at all costs. It was in this program that I was given the last donated book they had. It was a bird encyclopedia. I didn't know what to do or how to start. They said, "Let yourself be inspired," which I laughed at because I didn't know how a bird encyclopedia was supposed to be inspiring. I painted the cover black. Then, I added some sparkles. At first I would take ideas from others or look up ideas on the internet.

Now, a year and a half later, I pick up the first supplies i see, and I let my imagination and feelings lead the way. I've learned a lot about different bird species while trying to find words to use for poetry. Sometimes, while I'm binge-watching Netflix at 2 a.m, I get a random inspiration to add a page to my altered book. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, depressed or anxious, I add a page to my altered book. When I graduated high school, I added a page to my altered book. When I go to a concert, I add the ticket stubs or bracelets to my altered book. I can look back to see my progress and create vision of where I want my life to go. My life is in this book.

SO, you're probably wondering how to get started. Here are some tips:

• Get a book. Any book. An old book from the back of your closet will work fine. Personally I like books with larger, thicker pages but anything will do. Pick a book with a stern spine!
• Head to the craft store! Some suggested supplies are paints (of any color or type!), Mod Podge (to help give your work a more polished look), and Magazines (For collaging). Roam the aisles! TIP: Michael's and AC Moore almost always have coupons!!
• Using a blow dryer and plastic wrap helps to keep your pages from sticking together!

Other types of art journaling include:

Glue Books: Strictly for collaging

Junque journal: When you collect all of the scraps that you collect throughout your life that may or may not have meaning.

Scrapbook: usually uses personal pictures and stationary.

It's all about finding your fit.