Happy May! During the next 4 weeks, lets jumpstart our creativity. I’ve come up with 28 creative art journal prompts that can be done anytime you need a little creative boost. Some are tried and true and others are just on my list of things I’d like to try.

creative journal prompts | crafty whatnot.com

I’ll be posting these in 4 segments, so check back over the next few Mondays to get that week’s creative ideas!

1. Decorate the cover of your journal or sketchbook

When your journal is pretty and personalized, you’ll use it more! Use collage, lettering, stickers, markers, paint… whatever you’ve got around! Stay away from too many 3D elements, you’ll want to throw this journal in your bag on the go and don’t want things falling off.

2. Press flowers

Take a walk through your yard, the woods or a local park & collect some pretty flowers and leaves to press. Place the petals between two pieces of white paper, put this under a stack of heavy books and let them dry there for a few weeks. You can speed up this process with an iron, but personally I think having to wait and see how they look is part of the fun! When your flowers are ready arrange them into a pretty collage in your journal.

3. Hand letter a favorite quote

Wether you’re channeling your inner tween with some old school bubble letters, or getting your fine art calligraphy on, choose a quote that brings you some positive energy!

4. Be a photographer for the day

Walk your neighborhood with your camera or smartphone. Take photos of something you never noticed before, or something you always notice but never document. Pretty flowers, an old building, living creatures, whatever catches your eye. Print your favorite photos to place in your journal, don’t forget to include captions!

5. Still life drawing

Choose a simple item in your house (think an interesting vase, succulent, keychain) and try to draw it. You can be as detailed as you’d like, or do a simple line drawing. Don’t worry about being accurate, this is just a practice to get your brain working differently. Try to think of the object as a shape. For example, if you are drawing a key, don’t draw what you think a key looks like, really study it and try to draw what you see.

6. Travel wish list

Think about amazing and inspiring places you want to visit and write ‘em down! They can be states, countries, specific monuments or special restaurants! Top of my list in the Statue of Liberty… I live in NYC and have never actually been!

7. Make a collage

Break out the Modge Podge and old magazines. Cut & paste your favorite images, colors, letters, whatever catches your eye! Let the Modge Podge dry completely before closing your journal. Even after its dry, you might want to put a piece of wax paper between those pages so they don’t stick to each other.

Share your progress in the comments here, or on Instagram. Tag @jessiekatzgreenberg and #craftywhatnot

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