Wreck this journal: now in colour (version UK) /anglais

The first word that comes to mind in describing Wreck this Journal is EDGY. Take every off-beat idea you'd never think of, describe it in a way that makes people WANT to do it, add some really terrific exercises for exploring your limits, and you come up with this book. I first heard about Wreck This Journal in an altered art group I belong to - one of the list owners gushed about the zany things she was trying based on the "instructions" in this book. Some of the ideas hit me as, "duh - why didn't I ever think of that?" to endeavors I was pretty sure I'd never do. But boy - how wrong I was! I really got into "wrecking this journal" - and in the process, expanded creative limits I didn't even know I had. Keri Smith definitely thinks outside any box you can come up with - and she's certainly not just a "color outside the lines" kind of girl. No...she's someone who wouldn't even pick up crayons to color, preferring instead to run over the paper with her car tire, fill areas with random staples, mail the page to herself, and then find some other totally cool way to radically alter the paper. Her spirit of exploration comes through loud and clear in this book - and it's impossible not to catch her energy. This great Journal will remind you that paper is just paper and that art is just art - and I mean that in the best sense. You'll be more tempted to explore your art in new and exciting ways after reading this - and the fun is contagious. I'm having such a great time with this that my 7 year old daughter (the Diva in Training) begged me and begged me to get her a copy...which she'll be delighted to find under the tree this Christmas. You may purchase this book with the thinking you wouldn't/couldn't follow some of Ms Smith's suggestions - but it won't be long before you're attacking the Journal with reckless abandon. That's just the effect this book has on you. You'll adopt a no-holds-barred attitude - and have great fun in the process. You'll also be more than a little surprised at how much you end up loving the finished Journal. This book is an addictive impetus in a sense - and whether it was Ms Smith's intention or not - you'll find yourself pushing your boundaries in your art...and your life. But isn't that what it's all about?

When this journal arrived, my heart sank when I saw there was a tiny tear on the bottom of the spine. My first reaction was to contact Amazon and have them ship me a brand new copy. Then I came to my senses; the whole purpose of the journal *was* to wreck it, and in light of what I was going to do to it, a tiny tear would be the least of its worries. You see, I made a promise to myself: Follow the instructions and wreck the journal, no matter what my better judgment told me. It took a few days to get started. In fact, I spent those first few days grieving over what I had to do to the journal (yes, I started by reading through some of the instructions). When it comes to my books and journals, I'm a perfectionist and *damaging* any of them makes me uneasy. Even the sight of someone else damaging a book makes me uneasy. But, when I finally let loose and did one of the tasks in the book, suddenly it didn't seem so bad. (Plus, it helped that I started with such an innocuous task -- sticking a sticker from bought fruit on a page.) Before long, I was flinging the book at the walls, ripping pages, drawing with glue, showering with it, and a bunch of other interesting (yet highly suspect) activities. At the end of the day, my family members may think I'm a little nuts for buying a journal I would eventually destroy, however, it's incredibly fun, liberating, and therapeutic. Enough so that I enlisted the aid of a Starbucks barista for my recent experiment (and I think he liked it too). Truth be told, it exceeded my expectations. Usually, I'm not a guided-journal girl, but Kerri somehow transformed what could be a boring task into something amazing. Kudos to her for it. (Between you and me, I'm strongly contemplating getting one just for my journal collection. It's *that* good.)

To begin I have already purchased three copies of this book in less than a month. The first was for myself the second two were gifts. I think this book is great for all ages and varying personality types (i.e. artsy, uptight, "no good at stuff like that", wild, vibrant, timid... ANYONE) I have always enjoyed doing creative things... this book has really shown me that I have been restricting myself and has pushed me out of my regular comfort zone. Sensory barriers have been tested for sure, which has not been an altogether unpleasant experience. I was definitely surprised by that! There is a limit to the growth that can happen in your safe, clean and cozy cocoon! Even though there are some kind of disgusting things going on in my journal... it keeps getting more and more pleasant aroma as different ingredients go into it. I also really enjoy how what you do with one page can literally spill over and effect other pages. I have been in this book every day since I got it, more than once a day. I will see something or think of something and say ooh I gotta grab the journal. Although I am working on the prompts in random order (or course) I found it helpful to skim through the "instructions" once through before I did anything else. It's really quite an experience and hopefully you learn things here that can open you up creatively or just breaking any perfectionist tendencies you may suffer. This is either the best or worst thing for OCD-types!!! Maybe the best and worst thing! Like I said, I think there is something to be found in this book/experience for absolutely anyone. WARNINGS: This book may be seriously addictive to some users. It is likely to deter your attention from other things you "should" be doing and even make more work for you than the work that you are ignorning while do just a little more wrecking. You will make a mess of this book. You will make a mess of yourself, your home, your clothes, etc. etc. If people do not already consider you crazy, they will after they see you working on the wreckage mission. Possible reactions include acting out of normal character, experiencing delight and pride, needing to wash your hands every time you touch the journal, rash and unpredictable actions and results. You could also become dizzy if you breathe too heavy with the glue and any chemical substances used in the wrecking of this book. You may be compelled to buy multiple copies of the book to share with family and friends. This book could actually change your life, I know it has mine. You may see things different in the world and notice art possibilities and inspiration all around you. In conclusion... The paper does not taste good. You may find a blowdryer handy, on either the hot or cool settings. If you cannot figure out where to begin, I highly recommend the coffee page and or cracking the spine. Both very helpful for those used to taking good care of books. I would love to share some pics of my journal however, it's presently tied up in the bathroom sink. Perhaps another time!

so i bought this book on a whim. it was recommended when i added THE SECRET ME A QUESTIONNAIRE JOURNAL to my cart. looked in to it and saw that this book was in amazons top 100 books. figured a book that popular couldnt be half bad. and it isnt! flipping through a few random pages made me think this was going to be shallow. but then i started having fun with it and found more depth than i bargained for. some of this may seem juvenile and pointless, but it sure is fun! youve probably never thought to treat a book like this. its refreshing and exciting and artful all at the same time. and here and there youll find some really neat pages worth looking back at. its lots of fun. so pick one up.

I needed this book. I had found myself paralyzed when it came to art journaling, because I was afraid that a real art journal deserved a better artist than I was capable of being, and that I didn't want to waste a perfectly good book. If you are like that, then you need this book as much as I did. You have to begin with the understanding that you will not keep this book. Nobody will. It will be thrown away, if not by you, by someone who loves you, and cannot stand the smell any more. You can't buy the book with the idea that you aren't going to do any of the things that will seriously harm the book because you want to keep it; there is no point to that unless you want proof positive of your anal retentiveness and also that you are not really an artist. You have to buy it with the attitude that it is a 15 dollar lesson in how to let go of your fear of experimentation. The exercises are ridiculous and destructive and creative and exciting, and it will be far more important that you can make yourself do them than it is that the book records that effort. When you are done, you will be proud of how awful the book looks. You will not look at an art journal the same way again, you will be more open-minded about what constitutes art and what qualifies as art media, and you will have an increased appreciation of art as a process as opposed to a product. You will also have more confidence in yourself as an artist... assuming you can bring yourself to actually do all the things the book asks you to do.

Having found this book at Books-A-Million, I read through it quickly, but didn't buy it at the time. But, when I went back the other day, I couldn't find it again. And so started my search on Amazon. Now I finally have the book in my possession and am enjoying it thoroughly! What I found hilarious in BAM, I find excitingly fun at home, with my own copy. I've even started documenting what I do each day just so I have those memories later. This book is truly an inspiring thing, and I am constantly amazed at how much fun I am having following the instructions. I am a perfectionist in the extreme when it comes to book, especially about cracks in the spines. It's freeing to be able to destroy a book so wantonly and not worry about it. I love this! Keri Smith is a genius to have created a book like this, in a world where we live by the rules, mores, and expectations of society as if they were the final say. Don't get me wrong, some are in place to protect us, like driving a certain speed so we don;t crash. But some of society's expectations can be a bit overwhelming at times, such as following a certain tradition for Christmas, or indeed, not messing up a book. This book firmly disabuses readers of the notion that something that looks and feels pristine is perfect. This book tells me personally that perfection can be found in ugliness, in rattiness, in not-pristine condition. Just like a favorite pair of jeans, the perfection isn't in the way the book looks, it how it feels at the end of the day. And at the end of the day, the memories a person creates wrecking this journal are more important than the state the journal is in at the end of the journey. To paraphrase a favorite cartoon: "The adventure is in the journey, not the destination."

What an awesome book. It's truly like an activity book for "big kids" (children through adults, really!). I got this as a gift for my fiance's younger sister, and she LOVED it as soon as she opened it up. She immediately starting reading through the pages and laughing, and couldn't wait to get started! We read through them with the family and starting working on the pages right away. (The first one we started, of course, was "Ask a friend to destruct this page. Don't look.") A great book for any age, and so much fun for a laugh! There are tons of pages to have fun with. And it's great for those creative people you don't know what to get a gift for! My only complaint is that I think it could seriously hamper my productivity for about a week while I am anxious to complete all of the tasts, so that's why I haven't bought one for myself... yet! :)

I bought this journal after reading a review of a couple. They noted their experience as being fun and creative. While so far the journal has been interesting, it's a bit...dare I say...boring! We didn't like that the journal instructed a lot of "scribbling, or writing, or drawing, -whatever- of circles, lines, dots, etc." It is fun the first time, but the repetitions did not spur any creative moments. All in all, not bad concept. Would be great if the author created one specifically for adults -couples. Nothing R-rated, just simple, romantic fun.

Très original. Très bonne idée cadeau pour un ado.

Ottimo regalo

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Highly recommend as a gift for teen girls.

Just bought it and I’m loving it already!!! Ordered a copy for the bestie too.