Secret journal prompts

Update, April 10th, 4:00 pm EDT: A quick note to let you know that this secret journal prompt giveaway is now closed. Thank you so much to everyone who commented for sharing your replies to my journal prompt. I loved reading them all! I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be sending out a secret package to Jill, Larraine, Deb, Fantasia, Donna, Mariam, Laura, April, Skye, Beth, Amy, Mo, Julie, Hayley, and Robin. I decided to choose everyone! I’ll be in touch by email within the next day or so to obtain mailing instructions. Thanks again, so much, for journaling with me. :)

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This project is a little more experimental than my usual experiments, which I kind of love — because who knows where it might lead? — but it also makes me more nervous than usual about posting it.

It was actually ready to go last week, but when the time came to write about it, I couldn’t figure out how to explain it. It’s journal-related, so there’s definitely that, but on a very small scale. I’ve made just five little packages with my printed painted pages, each with a mailing envelope and a smaller envelope inside containing three secret journal prompts.

Even now, I find it difficult to narrow the explanation down to one primary motivation. It’s partly about the colours — I’d like more excuses to paint and scan and print. It’s partly about finding better ways to reach out and connect — these pages and prompts come from a joyful place in my journaling and I’d like to share that in a personal, tangible way. It’s partly about seeking out new possibilities and new perspectives on the sorts of journals I make — maybe I’ll discover a new way to deliver prompts or encourage journaling that I hadn’t considered before. And it’s partly about creating a little magic — just for the fun of it.

Practically speaking, the prompts are small enough to be tucked or taped into a journal or stashed away in a pocket or drawer for future discovery. They’re just 2.25”x3” when folded. I’d like to send these five tiny packages out into the world and while the number is small right now, I’m open to making more, if this turns out to be something you’d like to see on a regular basis.

If you’re interested in receiving a little package from me, leave a comment in reply to the journal prompt below. In two days, on Wednesday, April 10th, at 3:00 pm EDT, I’ll choose five comments at random, announce them in an update to this post, and follow up with an email to each of the five commenters to obtain mailing instructions.

Here’s your prompt, one of my favourites: One thing about your day today that is exactly as you would like it to be.

 

New emergency journal pages ... for the bumps in the road

There was a long afternoon, not too long ago, when I was thinking of giving up on one of my dreams. This guided journaling dream right here, actually.

While I was giving it a good mulling over, another thought came to mind instead: what if there was a journal page for moments just like this? An emergency journal page that tackled the scary and discouraging and worrying stuff head on. A journal page with lots of colours and lots of prompts that was right there with you in the moment, reminding you that this was just another bump in the road and that you are strong enough and smart enough anyway to make it over and beyond it — and the next one, too.

Long story short, instead of giving up on one of my dreams, there’s a new set of journal pages in the shop. The first one is free for you to try — from my resilient, dreaming heart to yours.

 

What/who are you admiring today?

It’s March! Time to start a new journal calendar page and I can’t wait!

Today’s prompt is “admired.” Lately, I’ve been admiring kindness. I’m seeing examples all over the place — at home, in my community, in my inbox, out in the world. I think I’ll write a lovely little list of kindnesses I’ve encountered or observed recently.

How about you? What/who are you admiring today?

 

Reverse engineer your day - new 10-minute journal pages!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about reverse engineering your day — starting with the way you’d like your day to end and working your way backward from there to figure out how you’ll make it happen.

Since then, I’ve been working on turning that idea into a new set of 10-Minute printable journal pages. I’ve just posted them all in my shop and this first one (in the photo above) is free! If you’d like to give it a try, just click on the photo above or right here to download it.

The rest of the pages in the set take the idea even further — from a page dedicated to thinking about how you’d like to feel at the end of the day to a page for testing out one of your new ideas by day’s end. I hope you’ll love them all!

 

New printable journal pages!

Every set of journal pages begins with a vision for the kind of writing and thinking I hope each page will encourage. With this new set, which includes my latest experiments in watercolour backgrounds, I envisioned the sense of optimism and possibility held in each little tube of brightly pigmented paint. I pictured colourful pages intended to brighten your day and bring joy to your journaling. I hope you’ll think so, too.

You’ll find the first page, pictured above, right at the top of my recent additions page. It’s free and it’s all about this moment right now.

Here are my three things in this moment:

(1) I can hear the sounds of family all around. (It was a rare super-snow day due to freezing rain. Even the university where my husband works was closed.)

(2) The butter on the counter is almost at room temperature. There are sugar cookies in our very near future.

(3) I’m totally distracted by ideas for new backgrounds — including something that might be fun for next week, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

How about you? What’s on your list?

 

What did you share today?

New month, new journal calendar page. Bring on the new.

Today’s prompt was “shared” and, at first, I couldn’t think of a single thing. Then I thought about my lost tripod and how I called my husband earlier today, hoping he would remember what I’d done with it — and how we shared our memories of the last time I used it — because it was new and figuring out the best setup became a group project — and how we ended up finding it, right where I left it.

(And then I discovered I didn’t need it after all. But I had the loveliest chat with my sweetheart, right in the middle of the day. So, it all worked out exactly as it was meant to.)

How about you? What did you share today?

 

What did you prepare today?

I love these little boxes and their odd questions.

Today, I prepared yet another batch of painted pages. I think I’m at 9 attempts now. Not quite there yet, but I’m learning to use a mop brush (and makeup sponges as makeshift brushes!) and my scanner’s settings make a little more sense every day. There might even be a new journal page, somewhere in the distance.

How about you? What did you prepare today?