I have an ever-expanding collection of creative books, most of which I keep near my desk. These are the four I have been reaching for lately.
This book is chock full of little tidbits of advice. And the advice that resonates with me changes each time I pick it up. Right now, I’m loving this advice:
Keep a logbook, a place to write down what you do each day
Create a blog: “Having a container can inspire us to fill it.”
“Surround yourself with books and objects you love.”
This is the book that inspired me to start a creative journal in the first place, and to do so in a composition notebook. This book collects hand-drawn syllabi, assignments, and handouts from the college classes taught by artist Lynda Barry. There is tons of inspiration here, including the Daily Exercise.
This is by far the best collection of collage images I have found. The paper is thick, and the images are high quality. There is a bit of a vintage tilt to the subject matter, but I have found myself coming back to this again and again as I collage.
This book contains dozens of creative prompts. What I love about it is that it combines visual creativity with written creativity, which is my happy place. It also includes interviews with other journal keepers. No matter how much of a funk I’m in, I can always find something inspiring here.
Yes, that’s a technical term: ink smooshing. It’s one of my favorite techniques for a quick and easy background in my notebook. Here’s how you do it.
Materials
Water-based markers (I’m using two Tombow Dual Brush Pens.)
A piece of flexible plastic (I’m using a piece of packaging.)
Spray bottle
Paper or notebook page
Step 1: Scribble
Scribble your marker(s) on the piece of plastic. There are really no rules here. You can use one or two or five colors – whatever your want. I like to use two primary(ish) colors that make a third color. Here, I’ve chosen a pink and a blue that will combine to make a nice purple.
Step 2: Add Water
Add some water. I like to use a little spray bottle. Play around with different amounts of water to get different results. But note that the more water you add, the longer it takes to dry. Here, I did two sprays.
Step 3: Smoosh
Pick up the plastic and smoosh it on to your notebook page or whatever paper you’re using. When I want my colors to mix, I fold the plastic a little before smooshing to let the colors come into contact. That’s what I did here.
Step 4: Play
Keep smooshing until you have the coverage you want. You can add additional layers and colors, too.
I use this technique ALL the time. I hope you enjoy it too!
Today, I reached the end of my current creative notebook and began my newest creative notebook. The notebook is dead; long live the notebook.
Reaching the end of a notebook is always a little bit exciting and a little bit sad, as firsts and lasts tend to be.
Here is a look at a few of my “last” pages, including the one from today:
Historically, I have had a hard time writing on the first page of a new notebook. But in my creative notebooks, I look forward to the first page. It represents a fresh start, but it is also a continuation of what has come before.
As you can see, I use the first page to mark the beginning and, eventually, the ending of the notebook.
Here is the first page in my new notebook from today:
Full disclosure: I did not like my first iteration, so I covered it up with this beautiful paper from Ali Edwards.
Zines are amazing small handmade booklets. They can hold just about anything, but they have often been used to spread ideas about political and social movements. Some other common topics include poetry, quotes, comics, glossaries, and favorites. The possibilities are really endless.
Here’s one I made recently using Taylor Swift lyrics:
Here’s another one I made about writing, by my friend Edgar Allan Toad:
I’ve got plans to do one about my favorite books that I can then copy and give out. (Maybe as a gift or something to stick in a library book.)
There are lots of tutorials online about how to make this kind of zine from one sheet of paper. One of my favorites is this video from Austin Kleon. Another good one is this visual tutorial from BookRiot. Here are some other resources if you want to delve more into the land of zines:
I really mean this. Take complete ownership of your notebook.
Those bullet journals online are beautiful and lovely, and I want to bullet journal sometimes. But I know from experimentation that it doesn’t work for me right now. I don’t want to spend that much time on the aesthetics.
I used to love the structure of planners like those from Franklin Covey and Day Designer. But those don’t work for me right now either. My digital calendar and task manager handle the day-to-day life stuff.
My notebook handles the ideas and freeform thinking and planning. Right now me needs my notebook to have less structure and less pressure. It is a place to just be and write and create.
Choose a notebook because it works for you, not because someone (or apparently everyone) else is using it.
Decorate your notebook, so it makes you happy when you see it.
Put things in your notebook for you – current you and future you but not past you.
Exercise
In your notebook, make a list of things you want to put in it. Take 2-3 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind.
Give yourself permission. Start a new notebook, decorate your cover, or begin a new page with something from your list. Take it and make it yours.
I love that cairns are signals of human presence, of attention and time. Someone placed rocks, one on top of the other, fitting them together, balancing individual pieces into a whole, and making a little alter to those who came before or who might come after.
I noticed these two cairns in my daily travels. The one on the left appears and then gets knocked down. But it always eventually reappears. The one on the right is newer, sturdier. They make me happy each time I see them. I like to imagine the hands that made them.
I think writing is the building of cairns. We carefully stack words together, making meaning out of raw materials. We write to erect a memorials, to mark our presence here, and to guide those that follow us.
In the journaling realm (and just about every other hobby realm on the internets), there is a lot of focus on hauls and supplies and whatnot. And those things are super fun. I love stationery.
But at the end of the day, all you need is some paper and a pen.
I’ve been thinking about thinking seasonally. I live in a place that gets all four seasons, with an emphasis on long hot summers and long cold winters. The rhythms of my life change with the seasons and the light. Why not embrace that change?
I have always been one to make New Year’s Resolutions (with a capital “R”). Sometimes I accomplish them. Often, I lose sight of them in the midst of the tumult of time. This year, I’ve been trying out monthly goals. I like thinking about my months in this way, but the time period is short enough that I don’t set more intense goals.
Enter, the seasons. A season, which is roughly a quarter of the year, feels like it might be just right for pushing toward bigger goals without losing sight of them.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’m in a reflective, goal-setting mood. I’ve always associated September with the start of school and thus with fresh starts. The time feels right to me to set out on some quarterly quests. I’m pondering goals in the realms of learning, physical activity, and gift-giving.
The autumnal equinox is this Saturday (September 23), and the first day of the quarter is the following Sunday (October 1). Now is the perfect time to test out whether thinking seasonally will work for you.
I just finished listening to Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, by Matt Paxton. I had not heard of Paxton before, but I tend to read a lot of decluttering/minimalism books. This one approached things a little differently, acknowledging the emotions attached to stuff.
Paxton is an expert in helping people downsize and declutter their stuff. One of his key ideas is a legacy list, which he defines as 5-6 must-have keepsakes. This concept helps people to select only those inherited items that mean the most to them. I love the idea of curating items from my grandparents and parents that have meaning, and I will definitely be working on my legacy list.
But Paxton emphasizes that the stories behind the physical items are even more important than the items themselves. Which brings us to notebooks, of course. I feel called to write down my stories.
“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin
As a young teenager, I was faced with the problem of what to get my grandparents for Christmas. I had a budget of near-zero, which required some creativity. Eventually, I landed on making a memory book. I created a list of questions I wanted to know about them, purchased some spiral notebooks, decorated the covers, taped a baggie with the questions cut into strips into the notebook, and wrapped them up. That was about 25 years ago. My dad’s parents both eventually completed their books and gave them back to me as gifts. They have both since passed away, and those books are treasures, not just to me but to the whole family. It is the only place I know of where any of their stories are written down.
I have written a daily journal off and on for most of my life. I compile photo albums religiously. But I don’t always take the time to write down the stories. I am going to make an effort to write down my stories, starting with this list I created for my grandparents:
List the important dates in your life.
What fun things did your family do together?
Write down make-believe games you played when you were young.
Describe your best friend in grade school.
Describe your grade school years.
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
What special activities were you involved in in school?
What was the best part of high school?
Tell about the fashions when you were growing up.
Describe the first time you drove, your first car, and when you got your license.
When you were a little girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What was your first job? How did you get it, and what did it pay?
Describe your wedding day in detail.
Write about your first child – the pregnancy, the preparation, and the arrival.
Describe each of your children’s personalities and funny quirks.
List and describe hobbies you’ve had throughout your life.
List some special awards and recognition that you’ve received.
What is your favorite food and what exotic foods have you tried?
List the top ten influential people in your life.
Describe everything you remember about your mom.
Describe everything you remember about your dad.
Describe everything you can remember about your grandmas.
Describe everything you can remember about your grandpas.
There are times when I look at my creative notebook, and I have no idea how to fill the page, how to invite the creativity. Sometimes I just need a little push.
This is a list I have compiled to help me get unstuck. Maybe it’ll help you too.