Ellie Claire Art Journals {Review}

Ellie Claire Gifts

I have three amazing art journals to share with you from Ellie Claire. These have been such a blessing to both my daughter Ana and me. We have had such fun creating, coloring, and writing. This was a wonderful review that we both very much enjoyed thanks to Ellie Clair and Worthy Publishing.

The Illustrated Word – An Illuminated Bible Coloring Journal

My very first impression of this journal was that the cover was embossed and had foil accents. My goodness! It was very lovely and perfect for a lover of old time art as almost every page has some sort of drawing on it. Such as the one I show below. The page I began to color is from The Church of England Book of Common Prayer from 1662. Absolutely stunning in its detail and beauty.

I was inspired to copy the chapter and verse from the scripture on my coloring page on the journaling page that was on the opposite page. There was more than enough room for me to write all 11 verses of Psalm chapter 46 on the journaling page. I plan on continuing to write the scripture as I use this journal. No better way to instill the word in your heart than by writing it down daily.

The Design:

• The lay flat design is an absolute favorite design feature.
  • It makes it incredibly easy to color every part of the picture. This allows me to not fear messing up the picture because of the binding. I love this so much!
  • The lay flat design also makes it easier to write in the journal instead of fighting the binding coming up as you come close to the middle of the journal.
• The paper for this journal does not truly hold up to heavy pen or marker usage. I used Sharpie fine tip markers and it was an almost complete bleed though. I also used Paper Mate flair felt pens and they too tried to come through, though not nearly as dramatic as the Sharpie markers. I believe that my future coloring pages will be done in either colored pencils or archival ink pens.
• The front and back of the hardcover jacket is so beautiful in its embossing detail. There is so much going on in the picture that is makes you want to get your own coloring implements ready for use.

Overall this is a journal I would recommend to those that have a love of historical art. I anticipate much use in the future.

Illuminate Your Story Journal

The first thing I noticed was the accent color on the journal. I’m a fan of teal (it’s so popular right now!) and the binding and the elastic closure both stand out for me. The back and front cover are hardback and are delicately decorated. The letters and the design are imprinted or pushed into he cover giving it an old fashioned book feel. I love it! As an added bonus there is an elastic holder on the spine that allows for you to keep a pen or marker handy at all times. This is very convenient for me as I tend to be a bit absent minded with my writing implements at times.

As I began to use this journal I was delighted to find that the introduction of the journal lead straight into the history of illuminated letters. How wonderful to learn about where this technique came from and know that this is an ancient artisan craft. I fell in love with the Gothic style as it was an awesome blend that tied together the Romanesque and the Renaissance periods together and it is so “flow-y” and feminine in its design.

The instructions are easy to understand in how to create your own illuminated letters.

The Design:

• The lay flat design is an incredible feature.
  • It makes it so easy to write in the journal portion instead of scrunching up the letters trying to fit it on the same line.
  • There is plenty of space to practice your letters without messing up because you run into the binding.
• I used archival ink to outline my letters and make small details and then I used my Paper Mate Flair felt pens to color. The paper holds up fairly well when using these two types of ink. I didn’t see hardly any bleed from them which is nice.
• There is a place to hold your pen on the binding! Brilliant feature and one I happen to enjoy.
• Hardcover front and back for ease of storage and keeping the pages nice and non-wrinkly.
• There is a “secret” keepsake pocket on the inside of ht back cover. This is a fun design perk that allows you to have a safe place for small pictures or papers.

My daughter Ana also used this journal and she thought that the illuminated letters were so interesting. This is a journal that I can see us using more of down the line. There is plenty of practice space for the letters as well as actual writing pages for any type of journal writing.

Faith and Lettering Journal

This was a fun journal to review. Ana was already beginning to work on calligraphy so when this showed up in the mail she was thrilled to review it for me. Just look at the cover, isn’t it marvelous?! Between the imprinted (deeply pressed) letters and images then you also have the elegant foil lettering. It is simply a pretty journal to look upon. We both loved the look of this particular journal. It feels more “young lady” to me, i.e. fun, flirty, carefree.

I was pleased to find that the instructions were easy to understand due to my never having much practice with hand lettering before. Ana found it simple to comprehend and got straight to using the practice pages.

The Design:

• The lay flat design is again one of my favorite features.
  • The lay flat feature makes practicing your hand letters so much easier.
  • You never run into the binding when it it open.
  • It allows you more usage of your pages with this design.
• The front and back covers are hardcover which allows for better storage and ultimately a stunning book to behold.
• There is a place to hold your pen on the binding! Brilliant feature for any journal.
• The pages hold up well to using fine tip Sharpie pens, there is no bleed through at all.

Overall this is one of the favorites in this batch of Ellie Claire art journals. Ana had a blast trying to replicate the original designs in the book. I loved watching her writing The Word and using her God given gifts at the same time. This is one is on her bedside table as I finish up this review. She is 14 and truly enjoyed this hand lettering journal the most.

Final Thoughts

As I reviewed these journals from Ellie Claire I found myself very pleased as well as blessed by each one. There are different aspects of each journal that appealed to me and my semi-artistic nature. By far the best part was that I knew I was placing more scripture on my heart with each page I completed. That pleased me and turned out to be the greater gift with these journals. I found that with each use I was always looking forward to the time I set aside for them. These are wonderful journals that would be a blessing to any one that should receive them.

Please visit again son to see what others goodies I have to share with you!

In His Grace,

Callie