Welcome to July 2025, and a new Art Journaling Challenge!
This month, we invite you to explore the theme of "Connection" in your art journal. Connection is the thread that ties us to each other, to nature, to our past, and to ourselves. It is the warmth of shared experiences, the strength of relationships, and the beauty of understanding. This challenge is an opportunity to reflect on the connections in your life and express them creatively.
Connection emphasize the importance of human relationships, highlighting how shared experiences, empathy, and belonging contribute to a fulfilling life. They suggest that connection is not just a feeling, but a vital part of our existence, giving purpose and meaning to our lives.
Some prompts about "Connection":
Reflect on a meaningful relationship in your life. How has this connection shaped you?
Depict symbols of connection—bridges, trees with intertwined roots, hands reaching out, or anything that represents unity and togetherness to you.
Use words, textures, and colors that evoke a sense of belonging, love, and harmony.
Explore the balance between solitude and connection—how do you maintain a connection with yourself while engaging with others?
Tips for your creative process:
Some Symbols of Connection:
Bridge
Hands
Web
Circle
Tree Roots
Emotional & Spiritual Connection:
Empathy
Unity
Trust
Love
Intuition
Take this theme as an opportunity to celebrate the bonds that shape your world, to honor the relationships that uplift you, and to express the beauty of connection in your journal. We can’t wait to see how you bring "Connection" to life!
Here is a mood board to get your juices flowing:

And my page:
I wanted to share a picture of a connection that scrapping gave me! Cheryl and I met finally after years of talking online. Her daughter was coming to Vegas and she tagged along and stayed with me for a few days!! True connection can really happen when you start out as online friends!!
You can choose to do a single page, double page, tag, TN each week, or use a divided template—one part for each week. If you don’t have the Divided Template and would like to have it, you can get it here at Dropbox. Thank you to Ona @wombat146 for providing the template choices for us! If you use the template, we would love it if you post incrementally: post one done in the first week, post an image of the two together on the second, and so on until the finished page in the fourth week.
Again—the template is NEVER a requirement, just something fun and different if you want to use it.
Challenge Rules:
Adding a linked layout from the Gallery to a thread:
Everyone who participates in any of this month's challenges will be entered into a drawing for a $5 gift certificate to Oscraps. You can receive up to four entries into this month's drawing.
We look forward to seeing your art journaling pages!
This month, we invite you to explore the theme of "Connection" in your art journal. Connection is the thread that ties us to each other, to nature, to our past, and to ourselves. It is the warmth of shared experiences, the strength of relationships, and the beauty of understanding. This challenge is an opportunity to reflect on the connections in your life and express them creatively.
Connection emphasize the importance of human relationships, highlighting how shared experiences, empathy, and belonging contribute to a fulfilling life. They suggest that connection is not just a feeling, but a vital part of our existence, giving purpose and meaning to our lives.
Some prompts about "Connection":
Reflect on a meaningful relationship in your life. How has this connection shaped you?
Depict symbols of connection—bridges, trees with intertwined roots, hands reaching out, or anything that represents unity and togetherness to you.
Use words, textures, and colors that evoke a sense of belonging, love, and harmony.
Explore the balance between solitude and connection—how do you maintain a connection with yourself while engaging with others?
Tips for your creative process:
- Embrace collaboration—consider incorporating words or artwork from loved ones into your journal.
- Try weaving, stitching, or layering materials to symbolize interwoven lives and relationships.
- Include affirmations or quotes that inspire a sense of unity, empathy, and connection.
- "We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep." – William James
- "Connection is why we're here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives." – Brené Brown
- "Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much." – Helen Keller
- "A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees." – Amelia Earhart
- "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." – Mahatma Gandhi
- "We are all connected; to each other, biologically. To the Earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe, atomically." – Neil deGrasse Tyson
- "Happiness is only real when shared." – Christopher McCandless
- "A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew." – Aberjhani
- "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." – John Donne
- "The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." – Coretta Scott King
Some Symbols of Connection:
Bridge
Hands
Web
Circle
Tree Roots
Emotional & Spiritual Connection:
Empathy
Unity
Trust
Love
Intuition
Take this theme as an opportunity to celebrate the bonds that shape your world, to honor the relationships that uplift you, and to express the beauty of connection in your journal. We can’t wait to see how you bring "Connection" to life!
Here is a mood board to get your juices flowing:

And my page:
I wanted to share a picture of a connection that scrapping gave me! Cheryl and I met finally after years of talking online. Her daughter was coming to Vegas and she tagged along and stayed with me for a few days!! True connection can really happen when you start out as online friends!!
July Art Challenge Week 1 - Connections with Friends
- pachimac
- 9
I wanted to share a picture of a connection that scrapping gave me! Cheryl and I met finally...
You can choose to do a single page, double page, tag, TN each week, or use a divided template—one part for each week. If you don’t have the Divided Template and would like to have it, you can get it here at Dropbox. Thank you to Ona @wombat146 for providing the template choices for us! If you use the template, we would love it if you post incrementally: post one done in the first week, post an image of the two together on the second, and so on until the finished page in the fourth week.
Again—the template is NEVER a requirement, just something fun and different if you want to use it.
Challenge Rules:
- You have until 11:59 p.m. CST on July 31 to complete your pages for this challenge.
- To qualify for the drawing, you need to use 80% Oscraps products that are currently in the store (non-Oscraps products or retired O designer products can be used whether the designer is selling elsewhere or not).
- You need to credit all the products used on your page.
- You cannot use a page you create for this challenge for another Oscraps challenge.
- Upload your page to the Art Journal Gallery and then add your layout to the challenge thread. (Below you will find instructions on adding your page to this thread.)
Adding a linked layout from the Gallery to a thread:
- Upload your layout to the gallery first. In your forum post, click the Gallery Embed icon (little camera).
- This will open your gallery; simply click on the layout you require, then scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click the Continue button.
- Your linked layout is now in your post; the image will appear once you have clicked the Post Reply button.
Everyone who participates in any of this month's challenges will be entered into a drawing for a $5 gift certificate to Oscraps. You can receive up to four entries into this month's drawing.
We look forward to seeing your art journaling pages!
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