Having a little more fun with my printed painted pages, making handmade envelopes and printing hidden journal prompts under the folds. I think I’d like to find a way to share these. Wouldn’t it be neat to find a colourful envelope and secret prompt in the mail? I’m not sure yet how to do it or how many I can send out, but I’m thinking about it.
In my journal today . . .
I’m finally finding my rhythm in a project that feels overwhelming in scope and difficulty. I was reminded today, after a few false starts and more than a few postponements, that doing the hard work feels so much better than avoiding it — so much so that I’m adding that thought to my journal.
What are you working on today?
Handmade journal envelopes
I made some tiny envelopes using my painted pattern pages and hid secret journal prompts inside. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.
Tell me about your day
The longer I journal, the more I appreciate the stories of our days. Short enough to wrap our heads around, long enough to recognize the actions and reactions, big and small, that made a difference.
When we tie those stories together over weeks and months, moments become patterns, choices become paths, and, if we’re so inclined, the insights that emerge become opportunities for transformation. It’s a line of inquiry I find endlessly fascinating, with boundless potential.
If you’re up for sharing, tell me a little something about your day today. What’s one thing, big or small, you did today that made it better — more productive, more impactful, more enjoyable, or more interesting?
Patterns journal
Trying something new over here — when am I not trying something new? — a little journal to keep track of painted page and pattern experiments.
These aren’t the originals, but scanned and printed copies. Mostly to see how they scan and print and copy. Possibly material for future printables. Possibly not. I’m not entirely sure where I’m headed with this, but I do love the journey.
Reverse engineer your day
I wrote this margin note after reading a fascinating chapter on learning outcomes and wondering how to apply its principles to daily living. This little snippet of an idea emerged: what if, instead of thinking about your day from the morning forward, you worked your way backward? What if you thought about how you’d like your day to end and then what you could do to make it happen? What if you reverse engineered your days?
New printable journal pages almost ready to go . . .
What did you figure out today?
I’ve been thinking about new ways to play with colour and shapes in my journal pages — both my personal pages and my printables. Today, I think I figured out the beginnings of a new journal project — one that will involve a little paint, a scanner and lots of prompts. I love new projects!
What did you figure out today?
The 7 characteristics I'm bringing to my experiences this year
Last week, Joy the Baker wrote about the 6 ingredients she’s baking with this year and her post has been on my mind ever since.
She wrote:
With the new year coming into focus I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to play with in my kitchen, what I want my baking to taste like, and how I want to stretch myself and my ingredient list.
It got me thinking about applying this approach to my own life. What ideas do I want to play with this year? What do I want my experiences to be like? How do I want to stretch myself?
I wrote my answers in my journal, above. Thank you, Joy, for the inspiration!
How about you? What characteristics are you bringing to your experiences this year?
Painted paper
Growing my painted paper stash for future journal pages . . .