When I sit quietly with an empty page in front of me, pausing for a moment before picking up my paint brush, I’m often surprised by what comes out on paper.

I get answers on almost every page. Art journals are great that way, even for those of us who don’t consider ourselves great painters or sketch artists. I love the freestyle mix of text and color.

And I find that when we’re willing to just splash color on the page and see what happens, things can get really interesting.

Speaking of art journaling, I recently got my hands on a copy of “‘Journal Bliss: Creative Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Eccentric by Violette (North Light Books, $22.99) who was a guest on CraftSanity episode 5 way back when I was just getting started.

This book is vibrant and colorful just like Violette and super inspiring for folks inching to bust out with some creative doodling. I love the fact that Violette starts her introduction with this invitation to readers: “I invite you to join me- don a pair of magical boots and come along on an exhilarating adventure to find Journal Bliss.

It doesn’t matter if your magical boots are real or imaginary; all we have to do is let go and and listen to our intuition, and they will guide our steps on an amazing creative journey…”

Violette inspires readers to silence their inner critics and then guides them through a series of creative prompts to create their own brand of whimsical lettering, borders, backgrounds and image transfers. You don’t have to live in a purple house and drive a painted van like Violette to appreciate this book.

But if you happen to secretly wish to paint your and house and vehicle or maybe just take a short walk on the wide side – even if it’s only within the pages of your journal – this is a great book to get you started.

I have a huge stack of books that I want to tell you about, so check back here for more reviews in the coming days. Okay, I have to make dinner and then head out to Craft Club. Later.