No-sew, One Piece Sketchbook

Hello! Thanks for being here. Wherever you are in the world, whatever the weather, I hope you are enjoying the benefits of being out in nature.

Today I want to share something I like to do to make nature sketching and journaling easy and fun. I make small pocket-sized sketchbooks for times when I want to travel the lightest I possibly can and still have sketching tools with me. For me, this is often!

All you need is a single piece of paper and a pair of scissors.

I’ve made the video to show you how. If the tutorial video was helpful, you can encourage me to make more by letting me know in the comments! Or, if you need more clarity, you can help me improve by letting me know that too! Thanks in advance for your help!

Below are still photos for those who learn better that way and so you can get a closer look at how I used this method on a recent trip to the beach at low tide.

This is the sketchbook spread out again after I was done.

A closer look at a two-page spread. Illustrated: things I found on the eelgrass - an anemone and algae.

This two-page spread shows two types of egg masses I found on and around the eelgrass.

This two-page spread shows the pattern I was observing of a large brown algae.

This two-page spread shows more observations: algae shaped notes about a Shaggy Mouse nudibranch.

A pretty binder clip holds my double-pointed pen and sketchbook in a convenient, compact bundle. Just big enough to fit in the back pocket of my jeans or a shirt pocket. I used the cover of my sketchbook to record date, time of day, place, weather and more.

Did you notice that my sketchbook background was painted ahead of time? This is another way I like to make it easy and I wrote more about this in my previous post.

How I'm Finding My Way Back to Nature Journaling

Another reason I love sketching using small sketchbooks like this is that they get filled up fast! I like this a lot! Maybe it’s because order, patterns, and consistency are all soothing to the nervous system for me. Maybe is it an easy way to get a feeling of success. Maybe it’s just the cuteness factor. Whatever the reason, I have to admit that there is something very satisfying about a completed sketchbook AND a completed sketchbook that has a thematic thread all the way through. What do you think? You too?

Thanks for reading! But before you go, I would love to reach more people. You can help me do this by sharing this newsletter with someone who you think might enjoy it too!

Thanks and Happy Journaling!

Alma