Olá, dear creative Reader

As December unfolds and a few Care December prompts are already making their way into my days, I’ve been noticing a quiet tension at the heart of my art journaling practice. A pull between two ways of creating. On one side, there are flowers. On the other, there is everything else. And I’ve learned that my practice doesn’t ask me to choose. It asks me to stay present with both.

Exploring With and Without Flowers

Working with flowers gives my creativity a gentle structure. A starting point. A language. A bloom carries symbolism, seasonality, and emotion. When I sit down with an anemone, a marigold, or an amaryllis in mind, I’m not facing a blank page; I’m entering a conversation.

The flower offers meaning, mood, and direction. It suggests colors, shapes, and stories before I even pick up my tools. Flower-inspired journaling feels intentional, reflective, and rooted. It invites slowness and observation. It reminds me that creativity can be guided without being constrained.

And then there are the days when I don’t want a reference. No symbolism to follow, no petals to interpret, no expectations. This is where intuition takes over.

Pages emerge from texture, marks, scraps, layers, and instinct. Sometimes they feel messy. Sometimes unresolved. Sometimes surprisingly honest. These spreads aren’t trying to mean anything; they’re trying to feel something.This side of art journaling is about freedom, exploration, and trusting one's intuition.

Whether guided by flowers or by intuition alone, both approaches feed my practice and enrich my pages with their complementary energies. It’s where I remember that creativity doesn’t always need a story. Sometimes it just needs space.

Why the Duality Matters

For a long time, I thought I had to make a choice. Was I a flower-inspired artist? Or an intuitive mixed-media journaler? The truth is: my practice thrives in the in-between. This duality becomes especially clear right now, as I move between two journals at the same time.

My Fall Floral Journal is rooted in flowers, their symbolism, their seasonal energy, and their quiet guidance. Each page begins with a bloom and unfolds through color, texture, and meaning. It’s reflective, anchored, and deeply connected to the natural world.

At the same time, I’m working in my Care December Journal, guided not by flowers but by open-ended prompts and inspirational videos. Here, there’s no floral language to lean on. Instead, the pages respond to words, emotions, memories, and intuition. This journal invites care, presence, and gentleness, without a visual theme dictating the outcome.

Moving between these two journals feels like breathing in and out. Flowers ground me when I feel scattered. Non-floral prompts free me when structure feels heavy. One nourishes reflection through symbolism; the other supports exploration through feeling. Together, they keep my creativity alive.

If you keep an art journal, especially in this season, this is a gentle invitation to return, not to begin again. You don’t need to catch up. You don’t need to make something finished or beautiful. Simply notice where your energy wants to go today.

With love,