Nature Journaling | Stay Motivated
‘How do I stay motivated in my Nature Journaling journey?’, is a question that a follower asked recently. What a great question, and an issue that I’m sure we all struggle with from time to time. I know I certainly do. Let’s jump right into the why’s and how’s of staying motivated.
Finding Your ‘Why’ Is Key to Staying Motivated in your Nature Journal
Finding your why — terminology coined by Simon Sinek, a motivational speaker/entrepreneur. Catch his TED talk on the topic at or read his book ‘Start With Why’. In a nutshell, dig deep and figure out why you want to keep a nature journal in the first place. Make sure it’s not just another thing to tic off of your, ‘I should do this’ list.
There are many ways to connect with nature besides Nature Journaling. Our brains balk at the ‘shoulds’ in our life. Your own personal ‘why’ will help keep you motivated naturally.
How A Growth Mindset Keeps You Motivated to Nature Journal
A fixed mindset is another way we ‘should’ ourselves.
I believe that we often underestimate the power of the words we speak to ourselves. Think about it for a minute. Words can be used to sell, to motivate, to inspire, to belittle, to degrade, to uplift, . . . and the list goes on.
How we speak to ourselves matters!
A ‘fixed mindset’ might say, ‘I should get out my Nature Journal and create a page. It’s been so long since I’ve done one.’ Notice the ‘should’? See the way that those words conjure up shame and guilt? That’s not motivating, and yet most of us speak to ourselves this way all the time. Shame and guilt are never going to motivate us to create that nature connection that we’re looking for.
A ‘growth mindset’, however, might say, ‘I get to go Nature Journal for a while’, or ‘Woohoo, I have time to work in my Nature Journal today!’ Just a few tiny little words, but what a difference in perspective and staying motivated in your Nature Journal!
Learn to use the power of words to your advantage to build yourself up rather than tear yourself down.
How Time of Day May Affect Motivation
Are you a morning person? Do you have a day job and come home too exhausted to do anything else, much less get out your Nature Journal? Have you really drained all your energy, or are you, perhaps, a morning person?
No matter what time of day you feel most energetic, that’s the time of day you can try to carve out a bit of time for Nature Journaling. That’s when you will find it much easier to get out and explore! Find times that work for you.
- Get up just a bit earlier in the morning.
- Carve out morning time on your days off.
- Are you a night owl? You can Nature Journal at night too! Sketch a star map or work on cut flowers and fruit at your kitchen table.
- Take your journal with you to work and slip in some sketching time during your lunch hour.
Baby Steps to Staying Motivated
‘An object in motion tends to stay in motion, while an object at rest tends to stay at rest.’ Newton’s first law of motion.
Most of us are probably familiar with that part of the law of motion. But do you know the rest of that statement? The rest of that law states: unless acted upon by an outside (unbalanced) force.
So what does this have to do with staying motivated with your Nature Journal?
It only takes a teeny, tiny change in motion to get you re-motivated. Start with a tiny commitment. Just 5 minutes. You can do anything for 5 minutes, right? Get out your journal and sketch something simple — an apple, for example. Set a timer. If, after that 5 minutes is up, you don’t feel like continuing, give yourself permission to put it away.
Keep those 5 minute appointments with yourself. You’ll be surprised at how often that 5 minutes turns into 10, 15, or 30 minutes.
Set out on a stroll. Take your Nature Journal along, but don’t plan to get it out. Just enjoy your stroll. Often for me, I’ll head out in a bad mood and as I stroll along, I find myself noticing the bird sounds. Pretty soon, my mood has lifted and I get my sketchbook out. I allow myself to just stroll and enjoy, however, without any expectation of Nature Journaling that day.
So much of the time, the goals we set are unrealistic. We are ambitious, which is a good thing; but when we fall short of our goals, we end up feeling like failures. We beat ourselves up. (Think New Year’s resolutions — and ‘the shoulds’.)
Expectations Can Block Your Nature Journaling Motivation
Do you expect a perfectly executed sketch or painting in your Nature Journal when you head out for the day? Does your finished page live up to your expectations — whether it’s the artwork, the lettering, how well you identified species?
Nature is unpredictable! So, it follows that predicting an outcome in your journal may also be unpredictable.
Go back to your why. Why do you want to keep a Nature Journal? If your why is to create beautiful works of art on your pages, then you need to adjust your journaling to accommodate that goal. That kind of page takes much more time, more tools, and more practice than say, a journal page that is more of a diary of your encounters along the way.
Make sure that you’re enjoying the journey of creating your pages — not just looking for that perfect end product. Don’t let BIG expectations steal your ability to stay motivated!
Partner Up
Accountability. It’s not the perfect word here, but stay with me for a second. Having Nature Journaling partners, keeps us motivated to get out there if for no other reason than we don’t want to disappoint or let others down.
There are times when I’ve committed to a Nature Journal outing with other people. Like most introverts, the day comes and I think to myself, ‘I really don’t feel like doing this today.’ Because I’ve let others know I’ll be there, I force myself to get it together and go. I am never sorry that I followed through! But left to my own devices, on those days, I guarantee I would not have gone by myself.
There are Nature Journal groups and clubs all over. Jack Laws has graciously created a page on his website where you can search for one near you. If there isn’t one, he also teaches you how to start one where you are.
Be Kind to Yourself
Be kind to yourself! We are literally living in unprecedented times — our brains are filled with the chaos and fear of what’s happening around us. It drains us of energy and focus. Although spending a bit of time connecting with nature through our NJ can help with that, ‘shoulding’ all over yourself will only add to your chaos!
Nature Journaling, done right, should be a relaxing, engaging hobby — don’t make it your job!
So there you have my take — 6 ways to increase your motivation to keep Nature Journaling; or doing almost anything else for that matter!
Warm-Up Exercises: End ‘Sacrificial Pancakes’
Warm-up exercises are one of those things that most of us avoid, right? Most of us like to dive right into the ‘fun’; whether it’s exercise or sketching.
How many times have you gone out to sketch in your Nature Journal, only to be disappointed in those first sketches you attempt? If you follow Jack Laws, or Marley Piefer, they call these initial sketches ‘sacrificial pancakes’. It’s just like making pancakes for breakfast. The first one is almost always a flop.
Good news! There is a way to put an end to most of those initial awkward sketches.
Why We Need to Warm-Up
Anything we do that has more than one step involved, over time, creates a connection between the muscles used to accomplish the task and our brains. It’s a bit like a short-cut key on your computer. Think about something like driving a stick-shift. When you first start to learn, you have to very consciously think about each and every step. It’s difficult to coordinate the movements. Once you’ve driven that car for a while, you no longer need to think it through. It becomes subconscious — you can think of other things as you drive. You have created a muscle memory.
Creating muscle memory for sketching and drawing is similar. Your brain makes the connection between certain shapes and your brain. You know what those common shapes look like and how to create them.
There is another element involved, however, and this is where the warm-up comes into play.
Warm-up exercises for sketching help us to switch gears. It signals our brain that we’re going to draw now, so that your muscle memory kicks in. It’s much like winding down after your work day. During our commute home, most of us listen to music or maybe our favorite podcast. That activity tells our brain that work is over, we’re switching to personal time now.
Simple Warm-Up Exercises
I’m not gonna lie. I don’t always remember to warm-up before I begin a drawing session. But when I do, I’m happier with my first results and the session as a whole is much more enjoyable.
Start off with some simple lines; vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. Switch-up the pressure. Go from light to dark, dark to light; play with the line weight.
Begin with lines – vary the direction and weight 
Move on to s-curves. Again vary the direction and weight
In case you were curious — my favorite graphite drawing pencils — Derwent Graphic Pencils. These have been my go-to pencils for years. For me, the graphite is smoother and creamier.
Now try more organic-shaped lines, s-curves and such. Again, vary the direction and the line weights.
Next move on to basic shapes: circles, ellipses, cones, and rectangles. Make sure to vary the sizes and angles.
The last exercise I do is putting some of the shapes together. A triangle + an ellipse = a cone, which can become a bird’s beak later when you’re sketching.
Turn the 2-D shapes into 3-D forms. A triangle becomes a cone — which becomes maybe a bird’s beak.
A rectangle becomes a cylinder, which in turn becomes a tree branch or the body of a mammal.
A rectangle plus a couple of ellipses = a cylinder, which later becomes a tree branch, or perhaps the body of a deer. You get the idea.
So there you have it. Written out, it looks a bit intimidating but in reality we’re only talking about a few minutes to do all of these exercises. I promise that taking those couple of minutes will reward you with much better sketches from the beginning. Remember, this is not about perfecting anything. It’s about switching gears and letting your brain know that you are getting ready to draw.
Hone Your Drawing Skills with Coloring Pages
How can you hone drawing skills with a coloring book?!
Bear with me, I promise you won’t be disappointed! I have had a life-long love affair with crayons. It’s true! I remember as a child, the best part of ‘back to school’ was getting that brand new box of 64 Crayolas to start the year. Close your eyes — can you smell them?
When the new crayons for school arrived, last year’s box became my play at home box. And boy did they get some use!
So, what’s the point of that little story? Actually, not the crayons, but the coloring books!
Coloring books have the power to help you get better at sketching and drawing. What? But the drawing is already completed, right? We just color in the image.
And that is where the power lies. How will you color in the image? Will you use color at all?
Grab a coloring page and a few tools and let’s get started. You’ll need:
- A pen, pencil, or fine-line marker
- Coloring media of your choice
- Colored pencils — I use Prismacolor Premiere
- Markers
- Watercolor
- Or yes, even crayons!
- A coloring book page (you can download free ones from many sites, I’ve gotten these pages from Crayola’s website.)
For these exercises, I prefer children’s coloring pages because they are usually just outlines without the added shading that many adult pages have. We’re going to be adding the shading ourselves!
Use Color Variation For Shading
The first technique we’re going to play with is creating shadows and shading with color. Let’s begin by choosing 3 shades of a color; a light, a medium, and a dark. I generally begin with coloring the entire area with the lightest shade. Make sure to leave the highlight white or very light. Putting the light color over the whole area kind of helps to tie and blend all the colors together a bit more seamlessly.
3 shades of blue + dark purple for deep shadows 
Color whole area with lightest color
Next, take the medium color and lay it down in the darkest and medium toned areas. Again layering the colors this way helps to tie all of the colors together.
Now for the darkest areas. When using colored pencil, I put down a bit of really dark purple — in Prismacolor pencils, it’s the Black Grape pencil. This helps to give the darkest areas a bit more depth. Use this one lightly, sparingly. Over the Black Grape goes your darkest shade.
Medium blue in the dark & mid-tone areas 
Dark purple in the deepest shadows 
Darkest blue in the shadows to blend out the purple
Make sure as you go that you are lightly blending all the colors together — in general, you don’t want harsh lines and transitions. Hard lines do happen in nature when the lighting is particularly bright, so this isn’t a hard and fast rule.
Last step: Go over the whole image one last time with the lightest blue to blend everything together Now, step back a bit from your page. Doesn’t it look more life-like, 3 – dimensional?
Keep practicing! Try imagining the light coming from different angles and see how that changes the drawing.
Hone Those Drawing Skills Using Mark-Making
Next up — let’s look at adding another dimension to the shadowed areas with a fine-line marker or pen. To play around with this process, you need to find a really simply done coloring page — one that doesn’t already have a lot of lines and shading. That’s what you’re here to do!
For this technique you’ll need a waterproof (or at least a smear-proof) pen or marker, 3 shades of pink (or your own color choice), plus a dark purple.
My favorite waterproof marker is the Faber Castel Pitt Artist Pen
Any place where your chosen subject is round or goes around a corner, you’ll add some marks:
- Hatching
- Cross-hatching
- Scribbles
- Or a combination
Make your marks darker and closer together in the deeper shadowed areas, lighter and farther apart in the mid-toned areas. Also think about following the contours of your subject — that alone will add an element of realism to your work.
Using your pen, make hatches in the shadowed areas. Make the marks more solid and closer together in the deepest shadow areas; lighter and more spread apart in the mid-tone areas.
If you choose, you can also add in color over the ink after you’ve given it sufficient time to dry. When adding color, follow the same procedure that we used in our first example.
Color entire image with lightest shade 
Fill in dark and mid-tone areas with medium 
Hit the darkest shadows with dark purple 
Go over the darkest areas with darkest shade to blend out the purple 
Go over the whole piece again with the light shade to blend everything together
These are just 2 quick ways to practice realism and hone your drawing skills using a coloring book! Play! Have fun! Challenge yourself! Once you feel you’ve gotten the idea with the coloring pages, move on to use these shading techniques in your Nature Journal — you’ll be so happy you allowed yourself to play like when you were a child.
Barefoot Shoes: My First Year
Wow, it’s been a year already since I bought my first pair of Xero Barefoot Shoes! And what a year it’s been. I’ve:
- assisted my Dad in his recovery from a broken hip (he’s fully recovered now!) — actually, he broke his hip the day after I got my first pair and I wore them for 48 hours straight in the hospital with him. I was hooked on the shoes from there!
- spent hours outdoors in the gardens sprucing up the yard at the home we were selling.
- spent more hours repainting, cleaning, and purging inside the house.
- helped move 6 people from 2 houses into 1.
as well as, of course, a bit of hiking squeezed in along with my day job that continued during the Pandemic.
Read the full Disclaimer HERE.
This post contains affiliate links. I may get a small commission. This does not in any way affect the price of the product for you. Affiliate links are one way that I make money to keep this blog and my YouTube channel going. Thank you!
The Results of My Year With Xero Barefoot Shoes
After that first encounter with barefoot shoes , my feet felt so much better that I ordered my second pair of Xeros; the TerraFlex.
- Before barefoot shoes, I had on and off issues with plantar fasciitis. I wear the Xeros almost exclusively now and have had no more fasciitis issues.
- I’ve also struggled with bad knees since I was a kid. Walking/hiking downhill can be punishing to my knees! While I still have bad knees, I have noticed that the pain with downhill hiking is much less than it used to be. I have to wonder if that is due not only to the ‘barefoot’ styling which has made my gait more normal, but also the fact that the shoes weigh so little compared to my former clunky hiking boots.
- After working for several years at a garden center, wearing those clunky boots, I developed problems with ingrown toenails. The hiking boots never fit tight enough in the heel, so as I walked miles and miles through the day, my feet were forever sliding forward and jamming my toes into the toe box. After a year with my Xero barefoot Shoes, ingrown toenails are a thing of the past.
These are just a few pairs of my and my family’s Xero barefoot shoes collection. We all agree these are the most comfortable shoes we’ve ever worn! We all wear them for active adventures as well as at work and in our everyday life. Unexpected Benefit As a Nature Journaler
As a Nature Journaler, I have come to appreciate the super thin Vibram sole on my Xero barefoot Shoes. They allow my feet to feel the terrain almost as well as if I was actually barefoot. So what, you’re thinking?
In my old hiking boots, I was forever tripping over roots, rocks, and other trail trippers. Is there anything more annoying when you’re trying to get a good look at a skittish bird or other animal to sketch them? The sound and sudden movement when you’re tripping is not conducive to stealthy stalking!
Now I can feel what’s under my feet without having to look down all the time. Less tripping — hey, I’m still a bit clumsy!
Xero Shoes: The Company
At the time I’m writing this, Xero barefoot Shoes have more than 26,000 5-star reviews over 97 countries. That speaks volumes.
And, did I mention — they guarantee their Vibram soles for 5000 miles of use!
Head on over to the Xero Shoes website and check them out for yourself.
Create a Nature Journaling Sit-Spot at Home
Creating a sit-spot at home is not only easy, but also a fun and engaging way to connect with the nature in your own yard or garden.
What is a Sit-Spot?
A sit-spot is a place that you can visit often and at all seasons of the year. It’s a place where you can just relax and ‘be’. It can be a quiet, zen spot or a dynamic and engaging place — or sometimes both. Visiting this spot year ‘round can take you nature journaling practice to new levels.
Nature Journaling in one consistent spot throughout the year, kind of forces you to be more observant. Too often, we become sort of blind to the things that we see every day. You know, like when you pass by that chair in your bedroom that’s filled with clothes — and you just don’t see it anymore?!
Why You Need a Sit-Spot at Home
I believe we can all benefit from having a sit-spot at home. There are several reasons I can think of:
- Life happens. The past year and the pandemic has certainly shown us that the completely unexpected can come upon us at any time! I was fortunate enough to have a couple of good spots in my yard to use.
- The need to care for loved ones. Whether you’re looking after an ill or aging relative or taking care of kids, having a convenient spot to sit and connect with nature is a real life-saver for your mental health. Bonus, if your charges are able to sit with you, it’s good for them also!
- You may become temporarily incapacitated yourself, whether after a surgery or injury.
Having a sit-spot where you are ensures that you have a constant connection with the nature around you, whether you keep a nature journal or not.
Creating Your Own Personal Spot
The patio door leads to my studio desk — making this a perfect place for a ‘sit-spot’! First you need to decide what kind of sit-spot you want to create. Are you most interested in plants? Do you want lots of colorful flowering bushes. What about wildlife? Would you like to attract birds and squirrels to your spot? What about bees and butterflies? Do you want it in a secluded area of your property, or close to windows so that you can nature journal in inclement weather?
Once you’ve answered all of those questions, the fun begins!
If you want to attract birds and squirrels you’ll need:
- Nearby bushes and trees to provide shelter and protection from predators.
- Unless you’re looking to attract just specific birds, you’ll probably want to provide a couple of different types of feeders; one for loose seed and a suet feeder. If you live in an area with hummingbirds, you can also add a liquid hummingbird feeder.
- Having a water supply of some type nearby will encourage the birds and squirrels to hang out in your yard for longer periods of time. It can be just a shallow bowl of water is also a great addition.
My spot for creating the new ‘sit-spot’. It has great ‘bones’, including a bush for small birds to hide from predators. That fire-pit will become a small water-feature, further creating attraction for small birds, butterflies, and bees. Plants for Your New Sit-Spot
If you’re new to gardening, make sure you know a few things about your chosen spot before you go shopping for plants — avoid costly and disappointing results!!
- Know what your plant growing zone is. Check the appropriate map for your area; in the U.S,. in Europe, and in Australia
- Know approximately how many hours of shade and sun your spot gets each day. Pick a relatively sunny day. Go outside once every hour to check — don’t guess! Remember to think about trees when they are in full leaf — it may be sunny in winter, but completely in shade in the spring, summer, and fall. A plant that gets either way too much or way too little sun will never thrive!
- Know if your chosen spot is extra dry, extra wet, or somewhere in between
If you need more help choosing plants, I highly recommend that you visit your local garden center. The staff will be able to help you select the right plants for the spot you’ve chosen. Their expertise is worth its weight in gold and can save you time, money, and headaches down the line.
Now, . . . Sit and Create Your Nature Journal Pages!
Planning, planting, maintaining, and observing through the seasons really helps connect you to your sit-spot in a meaningful way. There’s just something magical about planting and watching it grow and change. Putting fresh feed out for birds and squirrels can also help you make that connection as well.
Creating your very own sit-spot in your yard or garden, even if it’s just a small pot of flowers or a tiny balcony or patio, will give you so many opportunities to Nature Journal from the comfort of your own home.
Follow along with me as I add to my own sit-spot at my new home. I’ll be posting monthly updates in my newsletter. Sign up for my monthly newsletter at the bottom of the page.
Portable, Disposable Watercolor Palette
Need a smaller, portable, even disposable watercolor palette for sketching in your Nature Journal? Here’s an easy way to create a custom one of your own.
When I’m out and about creating Nature Journal pages, I use a small half-pan watercolor palette that holds 12 colors. It’s portable enough for most field sketches, but sometimes I want something even smaller and easier to balance. So I created this little system for those times.
Creating a Watercolor Pencil Palette: Gather Supplies
Say hello to my easy, peasy and disposable watercolor palette. It’s flat, weighs almost nothing, and clips right to your sketchbook.
Supplies needed to create your own:
- Index cards
- Watercolor pencils
- Binder clip or paper clip
- Access to a laminator (many libraries and copy shops have one)
Watercolor pencils are so versatile! Did you know that you can color with them dry, then use a watercolor brush to pick up paint just like it was a pan watercolor set? That’s how this system works. Choosing artist grade pencils can make a big difference in the intensity of the colors. For that reason, I use Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils.
Premier Watercolor Pencils (Set of 24)Create Your Personal Palette
Just like working with fill-able half-pans, you get to create your own custom palette of colors. Because this is temporary and disposable, you can make as many different palettes as you need!
- Choose the colors you want to take along on your sketching adventure. This might vary from trip to trip depending on season and ecosystem. For instance, if you’re traveling to the beach, you’ll probably want a selection of blues; greens if you’re headed to the mountains.
- When choosing your colors, remember that you can mix them just like pan colors. You don’t need every color that you own! The more colors you choose, the more index cards you’ll need to get enough pigment to be usable.
- Don’t have all the pencil colors you’d like? You can certainly mix the dry colors right on your index card — nothing says that you have to use only pure, 1-pencil color to create your palette! (create an index card with mixed pencil colors)
- Color large swatches of your chosen colors onto your index card. Make sure to really saturate the card with plenty of pigment. I usually keep it to 6 colors plus a strip of black on one index card.
- Leave space between your swatches, otherwise you’ll end up with mud when you begin grabbing your color.
- Take 2 blank index cards, place them back to back and have them laminated. I use 2 back to back to make the mixing palette sturdier. You’ll use this over and over. This becomes your mixing palette. Pro tip: you can usually get more than one card on a sheet of lamination — use all of that space! You can give extras to friends or carry them in more than one sketchbook.
Using Your Portable Palette in the Field
When I use this system, it’s generally because I’m hiking and don’t have a lot of time to sit and paint. This is a great system for standing and sketching. I tend to use this more for creating color swatches on my page and not so much for coloring a whole image, although with a tiny sketch you could certainly use this palette for the entire image!
On the far left is the laminated card-mixing palette. The watercolor cards and mixing palette are clipped to my 4″ X 5″ mixed media sketchbook. Using your binder clip, or even a paperclip, attach your palette and mixing palette to your sketchbook (they might blow away otherwise!). Take your water-brush and grab a bit of your chosen color from the corner of a swatch. Just like in a regular pan palette, your colors will muddy over time — if you use the corners first, there’s less accidental mixing. You can now go straight to your sketch or over to the laminated card to do some mixing — it works just like your half-pan palette!
This disposable watercolor palette system works great for me because I can carry just a tiny sketchbook with everything I need all in my jacket pocket. I also keep one in my glovebox for those unexpected adventures as I go about my day. I hope you’ll give this a try! Let me know what you think in the comments.
Step-by-Step Field Bag from Cargo Pants
Here it is — for those who have been asking! Honestly the YouTube video where I talked about my field bag made of cargo pants is my most watched video! Crazy!
Many have asked for more specific instructions than I gave in that quick-look. So hang on, . . . here we go!
First you need to find a pair of cargo pants. (They don’t need to be long pants–cargo shorts will work just as well) I’m fortunate that I live near the largest Salvation Army thrift store in Ohio. I can almost always find cargo pants. This pair had a price tag of $3.99 on them, but I was there on 1/2 price day, so I paid only $2.00 for these. If you can’t find cargo pants at your local thrift store, it’s still cheaper to buy a pair than a pricey pre-made bag.
Wrangler Authentics Men’s Classic Twill Relaxed Fit Cargo Pant, Black, 36W x 32LI also picked up a small kids bag. Why? This particular bag had a nice, sturdy web strap with a buckle adjustment. It was priced at $1.99, so again 1/2 price day, I paid $1.00 to get a strap — MUCH less than it would have cost for a new strap from the fabric store + the cost of the adjusting buckle.
Let’s measure and cut out the body of our bag. Most cargo pants have pockets on both legs, so you’ll have to decide which pocket you’re using for the body of your bag and which you’ll use for the flap.
First Time Sewing: The Absolute Beginner’s GuideOnce you’ve decided, lay the pants leg flat with the pocket centered (and the other leg tucked up out of the way). In the photo, I’ve drawn a line above the pocket that just misses the crotch seam. You can feel this through the fabric. I want as much fabric above the pocket as I can get.
For the bottom cutting line, I laid down the largest sketchbook I carry to decide how far down below the pocket I wanted to cut.
Repeat the cutting for the other pocket. This one will become the flap for your bag — this one you’ll only need the top part of the leg with the pocket. You can cut off the back part of the leg.
Cut lining fabric for the body of the bag as well as for the flap. For the body of the bag, lay your cargo pants piece down onto a doubled piece of your chosen lining fabric. (I happened to have this piece on hand, but you could buy a small piece, or if you want to stay with the thrift store items, a large men’s button-up shirt should work.)
Cut a single layer of fabric to line the flap. In the photo, you can see that I’m using a plate to round the edges of my flap. This is just a personal preference — I think it looks more finished than a square edge.
Stitch around the sides and bottom of the lining fabric, right sides together. Leave the top open. Make sure you know which is the top and which is the bottom of your bag lining. As we’re working with a pants leg, it’s usually a bit tapered.
Flip the body of the bag inside out and stitch the bottom edge. 
Place the lining inside the body of the bag and set aside. Stitch the flap lining to the flap. Place the flap lining right sides together with the flap. Stitch around 3 sides, leaving the top side open.
Pin the flap to the back 1/2 of the body of the bag. Now, with right sides together, stitch the flap to the back 1/2 of the body of the bag.
Stitch the strap to the sides of the bag. Make sure to stitch this down in several places — make a square or an ‘x’ or both, as the strap will take a lot of punishment with use.
I’ve chose to finish the raw edges with double fold bias binding. There are many ways to finish off the raw edges that you’re left with. Since, for me, this isn’t a high fashion bag, it’s a bag I carry on hikes, I’ve chosen the easiest method.
I purchased some ready-made double fold bias binding from my local Walmart. (You should be able to find this anywhere that sells sewing supplies.) It’s easy to use; you simple sandwich your raw edges inside and stitch it down! Easy, peasy.
Jetec 1/2 Inch Double Fold Bias Tape Bias Binding Tape Wide Fold Cotton Tape for Sewing Seaming Hemming Piping Quilting Projects (Black,30 Yards)And there you have it! A finished field bag that will hold tons of art supplies, nature adventure tools, your sketchbook, sunscreen, and insect repellant!
So what are you waiting for? Grab your bag and get out there with your nature journals. No more excuses that bags are too expensive!
There are so many other ways that you can re-purpose older things! What ideas can you come up with?
Wear, Repair, Repurpose: A Maker’s Guide to Mending and Upcycling ClothesPage Layout: Make It Engaging
How do I create a pleasing page layout?
This is a question that I see often from beginners who are tentative about getting out there with their nature journal. They do a few pages and they’re really unhappy with the way it comes out.
There’s no pre-planning involved.
Are you ready to start creating Nature Journal pages with a little forethought? Here are a few basic rules that you can follow to help you create pages you’ll love.
Page Layout Using The Golden Ratio
The first rule that we should pay attention to is Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence is a mathematical formula that defines the shape and the pattern of everything that we see in nature, including people. Since we see these patterns in our everyday existence, it’s very pleasing to our eye.
Almost everything in nature follows the mathematical formula of the Fibonacci sequence The Fibonacci sequence is a complex mathematical formula but artists, photographers, and graphic designers use what’s called the ‘Golden Ratio’.
‘The Golden Ratio’ is a simplified version of the Fibonacci sequence that we can use as Nature Journalers to get that ‘pleasing to the eye’ effect. Simply divide your rectangular page into nine equal sections; three by three.
Any place where those lines intersect is a great place to put a focal point. You should, in general, avoid putting anything smack dab in the center of a page. That center positioning tends to create kind of a dead spot in your page.
Instead, what you want is to create little pockets of interest in multiple different spaces on your page. Placing your sketches and text blocks on the line intersections or even stretching them along the lines will give you the kind of interesting Nature Journal page you’re trying to create.
Little pockets of interest sit on the lines — nothing sits exactly in the center of the page Face the Center
Here’s another compositional thing that you should think about. Say you’re drawing a bird and you’ve decided to put him on the left hand side of your page. He should be facing forward or to the right — the center. Why? When you have faces, whether it’s a person, a bird, or even a flower facing into the center of your page, they’re seen as part of that page.
To our brains, it appears as though they’re looking at the rest of the page — and enticing the viewer to do the same. They lead your eye to bounce around between different elements, back and forth and stay on the page. If, however, you have them facing outwards away from the page, it leads the viewer’s eye off of the page — following their gaze to see what they’re looking at! (We are curious by nature!) You want to avoid that most of the time unless you are trying to create a specific look for that page.
‘Faces’ face the center of the page! See how your eye bounces back and forth between the birds? Odd Numbers
An oddity about the way our brain perceives things: we are especially pleased with things that are arranged in odd numbers! We are particularly fond of things that come in threes.
Use this to your advantage when planning your page layout! Arrange the sketches on your page in groups of 3 or 5.
Our brains are really pleased with elements in groups of 3 Using the Triangle in Your Page Layout
Another compositional trick to keep your eye bouncing around the page: triangular placement. In other words, put your main page components in a triangular arrangement around your page. If you’re using the magic of 3 elements on a page, you’ve automatically got a triangle!
The sketches should all face the center of the page. Bonus points if your sketches kind of face each other in a diagonal arrangement. This causes your eye to bounce around the page, taking in every detail.
The Importance of Negative Space
Last but not least, let’s take a quick look at negative space. Negative space is a place or places on your page where there are no words, and no pictures. It’s a resting place; a spot for your eyes to take a break for just a second. It should be carefully placed so that it doesn’t cause your eye to bounce right off the page! Without negative space, your eyes and brain quickly become overwhelmed. The viewer isn’t sure where to look! Negative space can be a very powerful element on your page — make sure to include some.
Don’t crowd your images too closely — a bit of negative space creates a resting spot for they eye. Phew! That’s quite a bit of information to absorb! Don’t let the overwhelm get the better of you. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel yourself. Inspiration for page layouts is everywhere!
Finding Inspiration for Page Layouts
Look to the graphic designers and artists who’ve already done the heavy lifting for you! In other words, pick up some magazines, copy the way they have words and pictures laid out on their pages. They know what they’re doing. They know how to make your eyes bounce around the page. Check out a few graphic novels (modern-day comic books) from your local library to see how they pair pictures and words together.
Creating dynamic, engaging Nature Journal pages is within your reach! Choose to incorporate one or two of these compositional rules on your pages and make them pop!
New to Nature Journaling? Grab your Free copy of my Quick-Start Guide to Nature Journaling from the Freebies Library!
Hand Lettering in Your Nature Journal
Creating fun hand lettering on your Nature Journal pages can really take your pages to the next level! Take a quick look at this video to see how easy it can be.
To pick up the free tutorial on the lettering styles shown in the video click here to sign up for the Freebies Library.
My favorite pens when I’m Hand-Lettering on my journal pages. The ink is archival, meaning it won’t degrade the paper over time. These are my go-to when I want to outline letters — when they’re dry you can watercolor over them with no bleeding or smearing. That’s the reason I use them for any notes or observations also. The non-smearing effect means I can highlight text with watercolors!
I want to give you a super-quick overview of how and why you should create ‘just word’ pages in your Nature Journals.
Sit-Spots and Nature Journal Pages
I have been practicing ‘sit-spot’ for a while now. A sit-spot is a place that you can go, preferably at home or at least very close to home. You visit your sit-spot on a regular basis. Visiting your sit-spot without an agenda, without your phone, without your sketchbook will allow you to just get quiet and make a real connection with nature.
Over time, you will find that you are becoming familiar with the wildlife at your spot. You recognize the calls of the local birds and notice how their calls and songs change when they are looking for a mate or are warning each other of a potential threat. You’ll follow the progress of the seasons in the trees, perennials, and annuals that live near your sit-spot.
I do this on an almost daily basis. I’ve watched sparrows nest, lay eggs, feed the nestlings, and then finally watched the nestlings fledge and fly off on their own. These are the things that I write about in my Nature Journal pages after the fact. Since I’m not drawing as I’m watching, I use only the words. I do, however, help to tell these stories with creative Hand-Lettering on those Nature Journal pages that are words only pages! For me, it makes those pages so much more interesting and more like a story.
If you haven’t tried just sitting still in nature without any agenda, I urge you to give it a shot and see how it can change you!
DANIEL SMITH 285610005 Extra Fine Essentials Introductory Watercolor, 6 Tubes, 5mlCreate Shading With Watercolor
How do you create highlights and shading with watercolor? We’ve looked at shading before when we talked about turning simple shapes into forms. Today we’re going to do it with watercolor rather than graphite.
With watercolor you need to know a few different techniques and some new terminology.
Let’s Watercolor Stacked Rocks
Let’s do a hands-on project and do a simple painting of some stacked river rocks.
Reference photo: Natural shadows have soft edges — cast shadows have hard edges The first thing we’re going to do is make a very light pencil sketch of the rocks; sort of a map of where we’re headed. The next step is to do a very light, simple, wash on all of the rocks. There’s our first new term — wash. A watercolor wash is a very light overall color that is our background color.
DANIEL SMITH 285610005 Extra Fine Essentials Introductory Watercolor, 6 Tubes, 5ml
Watercolor Shading: Washes and Glazing
A wash can be either wet or dry. A dry wash which means your brush is not super wet and it’ll give kind of a stuttered feeling across the paper, leaving a little texture behind. A wet wash means there’s a little bit more water involved, and it gives a more even coating across the paper. With our rocks, we’re going to begin with a wet wash as our stacked rocks are smooth river rocks. Consider using a dry wash if you’re painting something with a rough texture: a rocky mountainside or the skin on an elephant maybe.
Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush Assorted Tips, 4 Pack Carded (FRHBP4M)Let that first wash dry completely.
Now we’re going to go back in and begin to darken our rocks. Adding wet watercolor over dry is called glazing. And when you put wet over dry what we’re doing is called glazing. Watercolors are great at this because they’re naturally transparent — the under color will show through. Work slowly until you have the color built up where you want it.
Be careful not to overwork an area. If your glazing layer is too wet, it will re-wet the under layers and lighten rather than darken!
My favorite watercolor set is this Daniel Smith set below. The colors are highly pigmented and smooth. This particular set is great to get you started as it has both warm and cool primaries — you can mix almost any color using just these 6!
Shading: Natural and Cast Shadows
With the natural shadows, begin at the darkest spot and work your way up. Blend as you go. The edge closest to the light source should just blend with the rest of the rock — no hard edge! If your shadow isn’t dark enough yet, add glazing layers until it is. Make sure to continue blending out those hard edges!
Now let’s turn our attention to the cast shadow areas — where the object (in this case a rock) is casting a shadow on the surface where it sits. Take a minute or two to study the reference. Notice that the cast shadows are much darker and they have very sharp, defined edges.
A couple of special things to notice about cast shadows; shadows are not black! Often our eye reads them as black. Most of the time shadows are a dark purple/gray. If you remember this little tidbit of information, you’ll always get a much more realistic result! And pay attention to the depth of color in the cast shadow — the darkest area is always where the shadow touches the object.
With those 2 things in mind, let’s paint our cast shadow areas. You can add the color all at once, or build up a few layers using the glazing technique. Just remember to go slowly and don’t use too much water!
Add in any small details. I used a Gelly Roll pen to add the white lines in the large rock on the bottom. If you haven’t already painted a surface for your rocks to sit on, add that in now as well.
And voila! You’re finished.
