50 art journaling ideas to try this year

I have created a list of 50 art journaling ideas to try in the new year. I made the list for myself, but you are more than welcome to try a few or all of these ideas in your own art journal practice.

For this list I have looked through my own blog for ideas. Each art journaling idea is linked to an older blog post where I have shared a page or spread using the material or technique described in the listed “prompt”. I have kept the list descriptions brief, in case you want to print the list and tuck into the pocket of your current art journal. So if you need clarification on anything go ahead and ask your questions in the comments below and I’ll reply ASAP.

I hope you feel inspired by this!

iHanna’s list of 50 art journaling ideas

1. Swatch colors – Swatching is a great way to get started without thinking too much about what to put on the first pages of your journal. Also it’s a great activity to do when you have some new paint tubes, but it can be done on any art journal page to test out different (or all) color combinations before you start painting
2. Quilt grid – paint a grid! It’s fun, easy, quick and a bit like creating a quilt, but using acrylic paint
3. Cut flowers – big flowers, tulips or something totally different cut out of paper
4. Add in a bird – at least one – I’m partial to Bluebirds, but all birds are beautiful
5. Strip tease – tear paper strips to create a layered background – or a finished abstract spread
6. Rainbow of Hearts – paint a rainbow of hearts or a heart filled with rainbows
7. Tribute to Love – create a tribute page to someone you love, use images and themes that they’d appreciate, write about them, use photos or magazine images
8. Document Valentine’s – play with the themes of the holiday (pink, red, romance) – or document a place or activity that you love
9. Paint a personal color wheel – this was a workshop I created years ago – and I love this project
10. The Flower garden – fill an entire spread with different flowers in different styles
11. Fabric patterns – find a blanket, curtain or any patterned fabric in your house that you like, and try to replicate it in your journal (in your own style) – maybe copy down a pattern that you see every day, like your pillow case, your knitted socks, the shower curtains…
12. Fill a page with doodles – in one sitting, or by adding to it for a whole week or until you can’t fit anything more (for example like this)
13. Paper doll collage – it’s when you cut out different body parts and creates a new human (or humanoid or animal). Grab a fashion magazine and start cutting
14. Experiment on loose pages – create a finished journal page before you bind it into a notebook (or tip it into an existing journal)
15. All-over-collage – create a page from many smaller images or paper scraps. Let it evolve organically and start with one or two pieces in the middle. This is one of my favorite ways of creating!
16. Use a quote – use someone else’s words to inspire you further, write it big or illustrate it
17. Abstract relaxation – poor up 5-8 different colors and cover a spread with mark making in paint
18. Self portrait – create a self-portrait (and no, don’t skip this one, be as creative as you like and please don’t worry about likness, just do ot for fun)
19. Found Poetry – cut out words from a book page or magazine and glue them together to create new meanings (maybe subconscious wisdom, maybe poetry – maybe it will be nonsense)
20. Journaling in a Heart – write inside a heart shape a list of things, people or places that fills your heart with happiness and/or love
21. Home of Random things – what’s on your desk right now, what post-it notes and images, markers, junk? Let your art journal be a home of random things
22. Least liked color – create a monochromatic page or spread using the color you like the least right now, still trying to create something that is pleasing to you
23. Song lyrics – copy or print a song lyric and use it in your Art Journal page (you can often google song title + lyrics” to find the text online)
24. Grid Sampler – document old or newly acquired papers that you own by creating a grid sampler on a page in your current art journal (or in a specific book for documenting your materials)
25. Background Grid – cut squares, glue them down in a grid and then paint a light coat over them (of white gesso or any color you like) to create a background from scraps
26. Journaling Block – leave empty space on a page to journal on, add the date and some thoughts – even if you don’t enjoy writing diary entries, art journaling sometimes needs a bit of journaling/scribbles
27. Circles ad infinitum – I will never tire of polka dots as a pattern, or creating them one by one to fill an entire spread or journal
28. Copy cat – find any image and make 3-5 printed copies of it, use all of them in different ways on your spread (idea from Lynne Perrella’s most excellent book)
29. Letter your own saying – Write a personal sentence big on a page, like it was the most important quote or a saying, something you often think to yourself or have heard often
30. Scrappy pages – a favorite method of art journaling for me is to create using just scraps, little paper bits and a glue stick
31. Wing it, baby – yes, you can! So create something with wings, in any shape, matter or form. There is no rules to what an art journal can contain
32. The Starburst – not my idea, but a fun color-, writing-, and doodle exercise to fill the entire page with
33. Write a List – if you’re not a journaler, you can always create a list on your page, a list of anything. Linked are just one of many starting points for creating a list.
34. Create a Sub-Page – a great art journaling idea. That your journal is already bound together doesn’t mean you can’t add in new pages, just hinge in a postcard, or a couple of fold out pages, or any bits you want to see both sides of
35. Journal a Season – my art journal pages tend to be influenced by nature, but you don’t have to document the current season, you can pick any season, create a journal page about it or simply use colors that you see outside your window
36. Scrape and scratch – try this method of scraping the colors on the page instead of painting them – it’s super addictive
37. Tissue Paper – decoupage on the page, glue down that thin flimsy stuff and create a page you like
38. Arrange some triangles – I’m not just a fan of grids and circles, but all geometric forms. How about painting or cutting out some triangles (or pyramids) to fill a page with – in any way you see fit
39. Creative Doodles to color – create a random scribble doodle all over the page, choose a paint palette and color in all the forms
40. Headline page – cut out a headline or magazine title that is big and bold (preferably one that’s filled with joy or encouragement), glue it to the middle of your art journal page and create something around or about it on the page
41. Typography Fan Art – use words from a magazine and fill an entire page with different fonts, words, letters (with our without meaning to you)
42. Use the Neon Colors – I love neon paint, but if you don’t own any neon pencils or paints, use the brigtest stuff you’ve got and get to playing on the page
43. Don’t forget about the crayons – I tend to forget about mine even though I love them, so I want to create many pages using my water-soluble crayons this year
44. Find the flow – paint or draw a mass of water, something blue, something that feels like it’s flowing along your entire page
45. Drops of Water – use paint along with a lot of water, let it flow out on the page, drip and run – be messy
46. Use one of your stamps – or all of them, on a page – stamps is a tool many love that I tend to forget about, but I think I have some stamps here somewhere…
47. Wrapping paper background – I love cheap material that allow you to not care about the outcome. One such material is wrapping paper, so use what you have and use it liberally on the page, fill the page with one pattern or glue bits together to create a new background/competition
48. Mix some gray – black and white creates gray, but how often do you mix it for a journal page?
49. Holiday Collage – make sure to document the holiday in some way, why not as a crazy colorful spread in your art journal
50. Welcome the Year – say welcome to another new year of art journaling and creative play by creating a title page for the year, or write about your creative aspirations and goals. Take a deep breath and keep going. This is your year of art journaling!

I am already in love with this list and plan to use it all year myself. If you want to join me then let me know in the comments below.

Here’s another inspiration list that I compiled, of one hundred ideas to spark you into creative action:

I would love to see what you come up with, and I’ll share my progress as well.

Here’s to a fabulous creative year. Cheers.

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Ideas on what to include in your journal

Fun free prompt list to try out