Our 30th anniversary has us taking a trip down memory lane. This week we’re looking back on our top 30 blog posts of all time, sharing some favourite features from years past that you may have missed.
Check them out below and click the links to read the full articles!
Creativity & Inspiration | People & Interviews | Arts & Culture
Creativity & Inspiration
7 Truths About Keeping a Diary from 10 Brilliant Minds
We extracted the best observations and truisms we learned about journalling from 10 brilliant minds, including Virginia Woolf who observed that writing for no audience – writing just to write – is great practice.
Paper vs. Computers: Which Is Better to Write With?
This article lists five advantages that pen and paper have over computer devices, including offering fewer distractions and a more personal experience.
The Top 20 Artist Stereotypes You Can’t Avoid
Positive and negative, we’ve unpacked some of the most clichéd assumptions made about who or what an artist is in this (mostly) just-for-fun list.
Cross-Writing: When People Wrote Across the Page to Save Paper
Discover the once-common practice of cross-writing, or cross-hatching. Essentially the writer would reach the bottom of the page, turn the paper sideways, and continue writing!
Journal Your Cares Away: 3 Mental Health Benefits of Keeping a Diary
Writing down your private thoughts, as opposed to holding them in, can not only inspire you creatively but offer mental health benefits as you relieve yourself from stress and emotional burden.
5 Ways to Stay Mindful Over the Holidays
Though this article was specifically about reconnecting with the true meaning of the holiday season, taking time to fully relax, spend time with loved ones and be thankful for what we are so lucky to have is always important.
5 Surprising Benefits of Keeping a Pocket Notebook
Having the ability to write down your creative inspirations and observations at any moment is clearly a wonderful thing, but what makes a pocket notebook just so special? You may be surprised.
6 Tips for Starting an Art Journal
Art journalling is a personal expression and has no “right” or “wrong” way to do it. If you are looking to create a more interesting-looking journal, try these six steps to get it started.
10 Inspiring Quotes to Justify Staying Home to Read All Weekend
As wonderful as it feels to curl up with a good book, do you ever suffer from a nagging little voice in the back of your mind telling you to get up and do something? If you’re looking for a reason to stay home and read this weekend, then we have the justification you seek.
When Does “Ghoti” Sound Like “Fish”?
With seemingly more exceptions to rules than actual rules themselves, English is one of the most frustrating languages to try and master. The most cited example to demonstrate the frustrating spelling and pronunciation irregularities in the English language is the made-up word “ghoti,” which we unpack in this article.
People & Interviews
A Peek Inside Rebecca’s Abstract Art Journal
In this Peek Inside we asked the very talented Rebecca Blair of Rebecca Blair ART to give us a look inside one of her journals.
Peek Inside… Gerson’s Sketchbooks and Journals (Part Two)
In this special double edition of “Peek Inside…” we are getting to know Gerson Petit, a multitalented young man with a passion for classic art.
Peek Inside… Sara’s Novel Planning Journals
We received an insider’s look at Sara’s novel planning journals in this feature.
9 Questions with Nikki Farquharson, Freelance Illustrator
We chatted with Nikki Farquharson, a supremely creative freelance illustrator who uses vibrant colours and intricate details to create her mixed media artworks.
10 Questions with Benjamin Lacombe
Benjamin’s artwork has been exhibited in Paris, Rome, Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo, and his books have been published and translated all over the world. This post celebrated the launch of our Esprit de Lacombe series, which features two of his most recognizable works.
Cover Artist Interview: Catrin Welz-Stein – Free Your Mind
We talked to Catrin about her process and the materials she uses as well as her inspiration in creating such unique imagery.
4 Big Ways Leonardo da Vinci Changed the World
Leonardo’s works in the realm of art, particularly painting and anatomical sketches, are well celebrated, but his achievements didn’t end there. Owing to a highly curious nature, his interests spread to fields like architecture, engineering, astronomy and beyond.
13 Questions with An-Magritt Wibell Nygaard-Ech
In our conversation with An-Magritt W.-Nygaard, an author, freelance writer and bestselling novelist in Denmark, we found out where she draws her inspiration for her novels and received a preview of her upcoming novel, her most difficult project yet.
Cheryl Yeung – Web & Graphic Designer
In one of our earliest blog posts, Cheryl shares what you would find in her journal, including “half sketches, full sketches, ideas for designs and blog, code, book titles, recipes, and plans on how to get Ferrero Rocher to let me manage their social media accounts for Nutella!”
#PeopleOfPaperblanks: Interview with Nicole Barlettano
We had the pleasure of speaking to bullet journalling addict and bujo inspiration to many, Nicole Barlettano. She is a multitalented bullet journalist, designer, illustrator and mother but is known to many (45,000 fans) as Bujo Blossoms.
Arts & Culture
5 Surprising Reasons You Could Find Your Book Banned
If you are an aspiring writer looking to get published then you can probably learn from the tribulations of D.H. Lawrence, whose novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover was banned for obscenity, but you may be surprised by some other reasons you could see your book banished.
Stab Binding: 5 Things to Know About This Classic Bookbinding Technique
This article focused on stab binding, an ancient technique that is now especially popular for making homemade scrapbooks and photo albums.
The Pleasures of Spring
See some of our nature-inspired covers along with words from our favourite authors who have found joy in embracing this blissful season and who we are sure will bring inspiration to your day.
3 Life Lessons from Ray Bradbury We Can’t Afford to Ignore
Ray Bradbury wrote complex cautionary tales about society and morality, disguised as science fiction. Though many of his most influential works are now decades old, the lessons and warnings within are timeless.
Literary Landmarks: The Real-Life Locations of The Great Gatsby
Thanks to the fact that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote largely about what he knew, it’s relatively easy to step back in time to the world of The Great Gatsby. If you’re a Fitzgerald or American literature fan and find yourself visiting New York state, be sure to check out these Long Island locales.
Top 5 Misunderstood Monsters in Literature
The Gothic novel Frankenstein, and the monster it describes, is a staple in horror lore. However, along with featuring one of the most misunderstood monsters in literary history, the book itself (and others like it) is often greatly miscalculated!
5 Reasons Why We Should Save Shorthand
What was once the language of private detectives, reporters and historians is now relegated to the courtroom and with that, an important piece of our linguistic development is threatened with extinction.
The Top 5 Enduring T.S. Eliot Quotes
Even if you profess not to love poetry, there is no doubt that you have heard at least one of Eliot’s iconic works and likely even find yourself unknowingly quoting him from time to time.
Six Degrees of Joseph Conrad
The theory that, through a chain of friends and friends of friends, we can be connected with any other person on earth through a maximum of six steps, was first posited by Frigyes Karinthy. One of our favourite artistic instances of this phenomenon is the seemingly infinite number of connections that can be made by beginning with Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness.
The Voynich Manuscript… Decoded?
We’ve long been fascinated by the infamously indecipherable Voynich Manuscript – a 240-page document from the early 15th century that is often referred to as “the world’s most mysterious book.”
How many of these have you read? What would you like to see us write about next?
