Holiday Gift Guide: Ellie Claire Art Journals

Coming up with an unique gift for the holidays for a family member or friend can be a bit of challenge. This is one of the reasons why I started an annual Holiday Gift Guide on this blog, so I can help other people pick out the perfect gift for their loved ones.

I am recommending "journals" as a Christmas gifts. Journals can be either cheap or expensive, all depending on what type you are buying.

Today, I am highlighting three beautiful Ellie Claire Art Journals from Worthy Publishing Group - Illuminate Your Story Journal ($18.99; Amazon, B&N), The Illustrated Word: An Illuminated Bible Coloring Journal ($15.99; Amazon, B&N), and Faith & Lettering Journal ($15.99, Amazon, B&N).

Illuminate Your Story Journal is a lot more than just your average journal. It's a step-by-step guide to teach you how to draw illuminated letters, like the ones that once adorned the pages of books and Bibles. The first few pages gives you an introduction and a brief history lesson about the world of illuminating. Then you are given instructions on how to use the journal. In six steps, you'll learn how to illuminate each letter in the alphabet. Plus, you'll learn how to draw a flourish shape with leaves. There is a two-page journal entry after each letter, where you can put your new illumining skills to use.

The Illustrated Word: An Illuminated Bible Coloring Journal is a coloring book journal. There are forty illustrations to color in the 160 page journal that are recreations of the ones found in ancient manuscripts. It also features fully-colored illustrations from the archives of the Museum of the Bible.

Faith & Lettering Journal features a step-by-step guide to teach you the basis of hand-lettering. The
journal has a short introduction by the author Krystal Whitten. There are several exercises through throughout the journal that will help you learn to hand-letter beautiful letters, saying, and phrases. There are also Pro Tips which will show how to draw banners, leaves, flowers, arrows, bibles, etc.. Lastly, there are many lined pages where you can put your hand-lettering skills to the test.

Final Thoughts

The Ellie Claire Art Journals are high-quality journals with sturdy hardcovers. My favorite out the three is Illuminate Your Story Journal, only because of the "History of Illuminated Letters" section at the very beginning of the journal. I've always been fascinated about illuminated letters and now I can learn how to create these marvelous letters.

Faith & Lettering Journal and The Illustrated Word: An Illuminated Bible Coloring Journal are both gorgeous journals in their own rights. Faith & Lettering Journal has easy to follow tracing and drawing instructions for making letters and phrases. The Illustrated Word features very detailed illustrations to color. The actual journal pages are beautiful.

Overall, if you're looking a great gift this holiday season, I recommend getting the Ellie Claire Art Journals.