Kawaii Journaling at Home

Hello Teens! This is Nikki! Today I am writing a blog post about my favorite hobby: Kawaii Journaling! I hope this post inspires you to start this hobby too!

What is Kawaii Journaling? To understand what Kawaii Journaling is about, you must understand what the Japanese word Kawaii means. The definition of kawaii simply means “cute.” This can mean many things to a person: a character, or a cute stationary item, like a doughnut pen. It all depends on the person and what they think is cute! In journaling, it is up to the journaler to decide what stationary items are cute to them, from cute stickers to memo notes to washi tape!

If you have scrapbooked before this, it is similar to that. This type of journaling is about your life adventures, your personal interests, hobbies and goals in a positive way. A journal spread can even be about a simple day you enjoyed. For instance, staying home and baking cookies or playing video games.

Let’s face it, life overall is simple, and we do a lot of the same stuff: go to work or school, come home and cook dinner, then relax with our loved ones or watch TV. However, journaling is a great way to reflect upon your life, enjoy the little things in life that are memorable, remember gratitude & keeping track of goals you want to achieve. You see yourself change and grow over the years into the person you want to become. It is also fun to look back at all the memories you wrote about in your journal. 

This is my Masters 2019 Graduation spread. I finally reached my education goal that I had been working towards for a long time! Go Me! Celebrate your achievements! 

How to get started: 

What journaling supplies you will need:

If you want to begin this type of journaling, you need to start by gathering together supplies. Journaling supplies can be expensive, therefore, it is good to make a budget of how much you want to spend, and always use coupons and watch for sales.

For sure, you will need a journal. You can use any type of journal that you can afford or a journal or notebook you already own. I personally use the official Japanese Hobonichi journal and it is an A6 size, which is about 4 inches by 5.5 inches. A6 size is smaller than the typical A5 journal size you see normally, which are usually 5.5 by 8 inches. A6 journal size is great if you do not want to write a lot but decorate more, and good for traveling.

You will also want to have different types of pens, from gel pens to marker pens to highlighters. Marker pens can bleed through the paper if it is thin so it is good to test it before writing or drawing a lot. You can also use different types of washi tape or masking tape, and stickers to decorate your pages. 

There are two different types of stickers, sticker sheets and sticker flakes. Sticker flakes are just individual die cut stickers that are not on one sheet. You can also download and print out your stickers on sticker paper from an artist you support or like. Journaling supplies are abundant; it just takes research to find what you like and the quality of the stationary too. The more you pay for an item the better quality it will probably be, hence why some of the authentic Japanese stationary can be pricey.  

Using your creativity and beginner tips:

It is up to you how to use your creativity to decorate your journal spread, there are so many themes you can do, it’s endless!

I always lay out my washi tape and stickers on the paper before placing it permanently on the page to make sure I like the arrangement. I also make sure to leave space for writing, especially if I am going to write on memo notes.

It may seem like you have to journal every day but this is not true. It is your choice to decide when you want to sit down and journal. I definitely do not journal every day, and sometimes it can be hard to think about what you want to journal about when you are starting out. This is why as a beginner, it is good to start by writing about yourself. 

You might discover something new about yourself or maybe choose to write about changing something you don’t like about yourself. Are you a person that sees things in a negative way? Maybe you want to change your perspective and start trying to look at life in a positive manner and the good things that are happening in your life. Maybe you have some goals this year you want to achieve, like changing your studying habits, or learning to cook. Many journalers reflect upon themselves and it helps to change and grow who they are in a positive way. You are the only person who can change yourself and your life, remember that!

My last tip is checking out all the many kawaii journaling prompts available online. Journaling prompts are pre-made themes created by different people in the journaling community. You can check out some of these prompts by searching the hashtag #positivitykawaiijournalingchallenge on social media. 

I also recommend the newbie kawaii journaling challenge hashtag: #kawaiijournalingnewbiechallenge. In general, you can search for hashtags #kawaiijournal or #kawaiijournaling to see inspirational spreads from the kawaii journaling community.

There are many Journal with Me videos on the Internet too. I definitely find inspiration from others and I think you will too! Do not worry if you feel your spreads are not up to par or don't look like other people’s, you will find your own style. As long as you like your journal spread, that is all that matters! Try not to be hard yourself and remember that journaling should be enjoyable! It is supposed to be fun!

I hope my tips and this blog post have helped you and inspired you to start kawaii journaling! To end my post, here are some more example photos of my some of my spreads! Keep an eye out on our blog and library’s Instagram to see the teen staff’s future online programs! Until next time!