What better way to start the new year than being surrounded by paper, paint, scissors, paste, and a marathon of artsy inspiration! I’m starting off 2026 by plunging into two art journaling adventures: the and Junk Journal January 2026 and 2025/2026 Artsy Marathon. These are the two junk journals I’ve made specifically for the occasion.
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| New junk journals to ring in the new year. |
My 4th Junk Journal January
As in the past three years, I’m joining the Junk Journal January Challenge. It’s becoming a bit of an annual tradition since I ventured into art journals with my first Junk Journal January in 2023. After doing JJ January and JJ July the past few years, this will be the 6th junk journal for me. I’m looking forward to responding to the prompts and getting creative and messy with my art supplies.
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| Junk journals from January 2023, January 2024, and January 2025. |
To get excited about making junk journal art again, I’ve pulled out my previous five journals from my JJ endeavors. It’s becoming quite a library!
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| Five junk journals from previous Challenges. |
Checking out a new virtual meet-up: the 2025-26 Artsy Marathon
This year, I’m also trying a new art journaling experience with an online event I recently discovered—the 2025-26 Artsy Marathon.
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| The 2025-26 Artsy Marathon. |
From the morning of December 31 to the morning of January 1, I’ll be binge watching the 2025-26 Artsy Marathon hosted by Kiala Givehand of Life Alchemy for 20+ hours of “art journaling bliss,” as the program description indicates. A perfect way to ring in the new year, don’t ya think?
Whether I actively participate in real time, or just watch the artsy goodness unfold, I hope to get a plethora of fresh inspiration from artists I haven’t been exposed to before. I also want to pick up some cool techniques to use for Junk Journal January that starts on January 1.
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| Junk Journal 2026 prompts. |
With these two upcoming art journaling activities, it should be a quite the creative workout from which to launch into a new year—responding to prompts, experimenting, playing with succulent art supplies, and creating one messy, joyful journal page after another—for the next 31 days.
It’s not too late to join either or both of these! Start the new year with something “magically delicious.”
