Provo, UT

One of my favorite hobbies is a thing called giant journaling, which I was introduced to by a couple of my roommates two years ago. It’s exactly what it sounds like—a giant journal is a big black sketchbook with blank pages in it, and what you do in it is a combination of journaling and scrapbooking. I used to do scrapbooking, but I’m such a perfectionist that it took me hours and hours just to finish one small page, and I was always nervous about messing something up. Giant journaling is a much more casual way to document memories and express yourself creatively.

You can buy the books for $20 at Michael’s, on the aisle where they have sketchbooks (it’s the 11-inch x 14-inch one), or you can buy them from Tidal Wave Books, a local company owned by the parents of the roommate who introduced me to this. They have a giant journaling blog, which gives ideas for new pages and tips and other useful things. (You can also buy a booklet they put together with even more ideas and tips for $7.95. You can buy this separately or with the giant journal, and you can order either or both from the lefthand sidebar on the blog.)

You can use anything you want in your giant journal—markers, colored pencils, crayons, paint, ribbons, buttons, construction paper, magazine clippings, movie tickets, programs from events you’ve been to, photographs, scrapbooking paper, fabric, and literally anything else you can think of. Craft stores like Joann, Michael’s, and Robert’s (all have locations in Provo and Orem) have all these supplies and more, and you can also find tons of things at stores like Walmart and Target (both in Orem). And if you’re interested in kind of a different idea, there’s a scrapbooking/craft store in Pleasant Grove called Fidjiti that has a studio with stations where you can work on your crafts. The studio has a really adorable setup and stations can be rented for $8.00. This would be a really fun place to go with a couple of girlfriends and spend a few hours giant journaling or scrapbooking.

These are some of my favorite giant journal pages. My girlfriends and I love to get together with all of our stuff and sit around on the floor, talking or watching a movie while we giant journal together. It’s a great thing to do alone, too, when you have some time to yourself. Supplies vary depending on what you what you buy and where you buy them. Anything you use for scrapbooking will work, and you can even make just a collage from magazine clippings. Everyone I know who’s tried it has gotten addicted to it, and I guarantee if you try it you will too.