Project Wednesday ~Keri Smith Book Collection

So this Wednesday I thought I'd introduce you to my Keri Smith collection- an ongoing project I do one book at a time x3

A seemingly prolific writer, Keri Smith is best known for the 'Wreck This Journal', which has had it's fair share of internet fame, and seemingly every tumblr kid and youtuber has one! Here I have quite a few of her books, though there are a couple missing- I have A 'Wreck This Journal Everywhere' which I've managed to misplace currently (fail ;d), and she hasn't long released another which I have put on my Christmas wishlist ;p

My first of the collection was actually the Wreck This Journal, which I carried about for a good couple of years, doing off and on until it was complete. I did this flip through once I'd felt it was done, and it has gathered quite a bit of attention on Youtube! I think at the time I uploaded it, it was the first completed WTJ up too, which is pretty cool. I did really enjoy doing the WTJ, and I think looking back on it, it's one of the easier Keri Smith books to do. I'd like to think that one day I'll do another with some new ideas, and make sure there's something drawn or written on every page, but just look at what I already have to do XD

After the WTJ Keri released 'Mess', which I've always felt was a reaction to the prettying up a lot of people do to the Wreck This Journal, something that may not have come to mind when you first see it, and doesn't really follow along the 'Wrecking' guidelines. However, with the tagline 'To Create is to Destroy' and a rule that all instructions were up to interpretation, you can't really argue when the books weren't coming out as messed up as you may've first imagined. So I think that's where Mess comes in. There are specific rules not to be pretty, be unafraid of the mess you create and just go with it. And it may be the very reason you don't see many of these books around the internet. As you can see, mine is still pristine and I've not really got any intention to do it next either. I bought this book as the follow on to WTJ, but couldn't face trashing it for trashing's sake. Looks like poor mess is going to have to wait awhile before it gets it's own flick-through video from me.

Third in the series is 'This is Not a Book', which I'm sure you've already heard too much about from me already XD (You're gonna hate me next week if that's the case... :x). I dragged the completion of this unbook out for nearly 3 years. Ouch. Eventually earlier on in the year I completed it. I did enjoy doing the TiNaB, but it was more difficult than WTJ, I thought anyway. It seemed more in depth and you had to think more to complete the pages, but on the other hand, I also put a lot more effort into putting something onto every page, which was pretty time consuming. There aren't too many TiNaB examples around the internet which is a little sad, because although it doesn't quite measure up to the WTJ, I'm sure some of the arty people who do those could come up with some super clever ideas to the TiNaB's prompts.

I believe 4th in the series was 'Finish This Book', or 'F nish Th s B k'. It's basis is that Keri found a manual in a nearby park, but some of the pages were missing so it's up to the owner to study the manual and complete the book. It does seem quite an interesting idea, particularly for the outdoorsy types, but so far I just haven't got around to filling it in, or even studying it particularly hard, unfortunately. Maybe it will be the next in the project line, so long as something else doesn't distract me when I finish my current task-

'The Pocket Scavenger' is my current in the Keri Smith line which I officially started with a photo on Instagram last week x3 So far I'm really enjoying myself with this one, although I'm toning it down a little by trying not to have quite the excessive use of colour I usually go for, and just keeping it simple. This way I think I will enjoy the book more, and perhaps complete it a little quicker! Pocket Scavenger is pretty much what it says on the tin: you hunt for things listed in the book. The twist comes in when you flip the book over and there are a bunch of prompts to get you to alter the item you have found. You are supposed to go for the first one you flick to, even if you're not keen on it, which is a major struggle for me. For example, I don't want to loose the thing I just found! Being the massive hoarder I am, this book suits me pretty well until it tries to tell me to destroy something I've just gained :x Anyway, a week in and I'm having fun, here's the first page I did:

Do you have any Keri Smith books? If so, which ones and which is your favourite? x3



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I did it!

Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with myself, I finally managed to complete my This is Not a Book after a couple of years trying XD Now what'll I do in Januarys?
I decided to talk over this one to explain some of the pages better, but I think it's actually quite annoying. I enjoyed the sound of the pages turning in my Wreck This Journal video, but in my mind that was was more self-explanatory, and I suppose it helps a lot more people know what WTJ is. I filmed it in the bay window on a very dull day so that's why my voice seems really weird I think...maybe it's just that I'm not used to hearing myself on these things xp
You may also be able to tell...I'm not the smoothest video editor XD Hope that's not too distracting!
Anyway, now that's done I guess I need a new book project...what's next? We'll see =D

Project Wednesday #2- This is Not a Book (~or is it?)

Today's Project Wednesday is about a book, or rather, not a book, by Keri Smith: 'This is not a Book'. This is getting confusing, I think from here I'm just going to call it a book for ease xp Anyway, Keri Smith specialises in activity journals and is best known for 'Wreck This Journal. I had a WTJ a few years ago and when it was complete I decided to move onto this one.
I didn't expect me to still be doing pages in it like 2 or 3 years on though! It really shouldn't have taken this long but I'm not exactly known for my punctuality or productivity :x I end up putting it down for long periods of time before remembering I want to complete it around every January xp So this is my book. I'm not really sure I like what I did with the cover, it's so busy! But it does mean I get to see these cute stickers more than I would if they were stuck in a book somewhere xp
The problem of TiNaB to WTJ is that it seems so much more in depth. I struggle with some of the pages, just staring at them and nothing comes to mind. The beginning of the book has an introduction that says if you don't like a page, cover it up, but that almost seems like cheating, I just can't bring myself to wuss out so easily even though it kind of is what is holding me up from finishing my book!
This page has been haunting me for years! I actually only have *quick count* about 15 pages left to do, with a couple that just need the odd touch up here and there so I feel they are complete. It doesn't help that in this journal I'm trying to do something that I didn't really manage with my WTJ- putting something on every single page, whether it be doodles, notes or just simple patterns. It's really time consuming and I can only get one or maybe two of these types of pages done in an evening, I told you I'm not a quick worker XD But, I'm enjoying it and that's what matters I suppose.
I don't really draw as much as I like so I enjoy using TiNaB as a kind of notepad! When I began TiNab there were no completed ones on Youtube, but now there are two or three within the last year. I suppose I shouldn't have put it down for so long!
Even though TiNaB can be hard work at times, I really like it and if you like being creative and occasionally bending instructions, (and are not particularly keen on the idea of wrecking books) I reckon you should give it a go! Let me know if you've ever tried out This is Not a Book or Wreck This Journal, I'd love to see pics x3