Illustrated Life

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Start Here!—Looking for an Illustrated Life?
Make the most of creative margins, document your life with an illustrated journal, and generally seek balance and mindfulness through art.
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Amy Cowen
Wrapping Up 52 Diary List Comics for 2024
Finishing up a year-long weekly series, but I think I’ll do it again.
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Amy Cowen
11
Questions for Planning a Creative Year (2025)
Thinking about your creative year for 2025
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Amy Cowen
The Year the Tree Stayed Up
It turned into multiple years. I’m not sure I can take it down. Plus, a sparkly vintage jewelry tree—enchanting or gaudy, your call.
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Amy Cowen
42
Week 52 Prompts for Illustrate Your Week 2024
Prompts for Week 52 of 2024 for #illustrateyourweek in your illustrated journal
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Amy Cowen
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Year-End Review 2024

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Sketchnote Your Creative Year! (2024)
Document your creative year with a sketchnote to summarize 2024. This is a favorite personal, annual, year-end sketchnote challenge.
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Amy Cowen
2
Wrapping Up a Creative Year (2024)
Reflecting on the creative year and thinking about 2025
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Amy Cowen
1

Simply Sunday Letter

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Wrapping Up 52 Diary List Comics for 2024
Finishing up a year-long weekly series, but I think I’ll do it again.
 • 
Amy Cowen
11
The Year the Tree Stayed Up
It turned into multiple years. I’m not sure I can take it down. Plus, a sparkly vintage jewelry tree—enchanting or gaudy, your call.
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Amy Cowen
42
A Tree of Paper Cranes
Stringing popcorn and cranberry garland or tossing it all in the air and seeing where things land
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Amy Cowen
21
A Heron Between Here and There
The lake, a new game, and other dots on the map, as seen through the fog
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Amy Cowen
26
A Month of Twilight
Into December we go, with a look back at the quite tones of morning
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Amy Cowen
30
Send a Snowflake in December
No two are the same. A snowflake-themed postcard prompt for the month.
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Amy Cowen
6
A Chorus of Ceramics
When the pottery sings
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Amy Cowen
25
All the Holidays
A year of missed holidays
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Amy Cowen
17
Portraits of Writers
An October pen and ink series of portraits of Substack writers
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Amy Cowen
50
Tracking Morning Light
Standing in the dark each morning for a November project
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Amy Cowen
19
Perspective & Fitting Gratitude In
Gratitude and perspective, the up-close and far-away of it
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Amy Cowen
22
Hermit Crabs, Snails, and a Spiral Prompt
Gratitude, spirals, and the "snail mail" postcard prompt for November
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Amy Cowen
32

Reader Favorites

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Who Would Know?
Loneliness in multiple parts + Seek You, a haunting graphic novel
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Amy Cowen
42
Of Curtains and Orange Sky
On the sadness of blackout curtains and blocking the light, with a sidestep to September 2020.
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Amy Cowen
48
Victorian Puzzle Note Folding
Making a Victorian puzzle purse, or note, or letter.... it was all about the folding
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Amy Cowen
25
Holding Space--Until You Can Take It Back
Holding space, recording days, and a window in the trees
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Amy Cowen
25
Documenting a Year—Birthday Reflection and a Lighthouse
Considering an illustrated journal project, a string art metaphor, and photos from the week.
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Amy Cowen
43

Loss & Grief

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All the Holidays
A year of missed holidays
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Amy Cowen
17
Perspective & Fitting Gratitude In
Gratitude and perspective, the up-close and far-away of it
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Amy Cowen
22
Widowed—Almost Five Months In
A breakdown at the library and a decision to show up, to open the gate and navigate in the open.
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Amy Cowen
11
Creative Ease
Reducing friction and making creative habit easy and inviting
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Amy Cowen
29
Reducing Friction
Tribology, creative habit, and weathering,
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Amy Cowen
22
Of Curtains and Orange Sky
On the sadness of blackout curtains and blocking the light, with a sidestep to September 2020.
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Amy Cowen
48
Making and Moving Piles - A Tower of Hanoi View of Decluttering
On not being okay, the Tower of Hanoi, a petrified Cheezi-it, and a mystery tool
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Amy Cowen
11
A Teddy Bear Project
Visual documentation and saying goodbye (or not)
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Amy Cowen
40

Illustrate Your Week

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Week 52 Prompts for Illustrate Your Week 2024
Prompts for Week 52 of 2024 for #illustrateyourweek in your illustrated journal
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Amy Cowen
Week 51 Prompts for Illustrate Your Week 2024
Prompts for Week 51 of 2024 for #illustrateyourweek in your illustrated journal
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Amy Cowen
Week 50 Prompts for Illustrate Your Week 2024
Prompts for Week 50 of 2024 for #illustrateyourweek in your illustrated journal
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Amy Cowen
Week 49 Prompts for Illustrate Your Week 2024
Prompts for Week 49 of 2024 for #illustrateyourweek in your illustrated journal
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Amy Cowen
2

Keeping an Illustrated Journal

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100+ Lists for Your Illustrated Journal
Lists can be an easy, practical, and wonderful addition to your pages. Making lists…. It’s a lot like eating potato chips.
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Amy Cowen
5
12 Ways to Keep Your Journal Private
You want to keep an illustrated journal as your daily art container, but you don’t want to share the nitty gritty details of your life with the public…
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Amy Cowen
24
Icon Practice and Building Visual Vocabulary
A bit of background information about the "icons" that appear as part of Illustrate Your Week, plus a story of a clover and a shamrock
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Amy Cowen
7
General Information - Illustrate Your Week
Basic information, answers to commonly asked questions, and reminders about keeping an illustrated journal and doing illustrate your week.
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Amy Cowen

Comic Affirmations

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Positively - 100 Diary Comic Affirmations
A look at the full set of diary comic affirmations from my 2024 100 Day Project
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Amy Cowen
27
Comic Affirmations, 92-100
An exercise in simplified line and positive thinking, a daily affirmation comic for the 2024 100 Day Project.
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Amy Cowen
12
Comic Affirmations, 85-91
An exercise in simplified line and positive thinking, a daily affirmation comic for the 2024 100 Day Project.
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Amy Cowen
3
Comic Affirmations, 78-84
An exercise in simplified line and positive thinking, a daily affirmation comic for the 2024 100 Day Project.
 • 
Amy Cowen

Series & Challenges

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A Month of Twilight
Into December we go, with a look back at the quite tones of morning
 • 
Amy Cowen
30
Portraits of Writers
An October pen and ink series of portraits of Substack writers
 • 
Amy Cowen
50
Tracking Morning Light
Standing in the dark each morning for a November project
 • 
Amy Cowen
19
A Teddy Bear Project
Visual documentation and saying goodbye (or not)
 • 
Amy Cowen
40

52 Weeks of Diary List Comics (2024)

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Wrapping Up 52 Diary List Comics for 2024
Finishing up a year-long weekly series, but I think I’ll do it again.
 • 
Amy Cowen
11
Diary List Comics / 52 Weeks (2024)
52 weeks of colorful weekly life summaries
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Amy Cowen
10
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Recommendations
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© 2024 Amy Cowen
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