My Russian Travel Journal

One of my favorite things to do to relax is to work on scrapbooks or my many journals. Back in the USA I have a few scrapbook journals. I'm not an artist in the least, so I tend to focus on mixed media journals rather than drawing or painting. I think I started these journals when I was in middle school. Along with the hobby aspect of it, I have a terrible memory and I'm very sentimental. In some of these journals I keep pictures or notes people have given me over the years that I have no particular place for but I don't want to throw out. My first travel journal was a souvenir given to me by my sister from India. I used it solely to write down every single moment of my trips to Mexico and Southeast Asia. I am almost certain I wrote down every detail, from what I ate to little inconveniences. It is much more personal than my blog.

DIY Perpetual Journal Calendar

I saw this project a while ago on Design Sponge and wanted make my own. I figured January would be a perfect month to start because then I would be able to start the journal from day one. I am one of those people who can't start something in the middle of the year. I have a lot of peculiarities about me. It just wouldn't have been right to me to have my journal start in April because then it would just throw it off every year.

What you need:

• 190 4x6 Notecards-  this size notecard is actually a lot harder to find than you would think. I ended up buying them at K Mart for more than I would like to spend, but it was cheaper than CVS and WalMart was completely out. I know! How can Wal Mart be out? Also, make sure you start off with more notecards than you would need because I did make several errors, especially while stamping.
• Vintage Post Cards- I bought mine on Etsy, but depending on what you want and how much you are willing to spend you can also check out Amazon.com or Ebay.com. Also, check out your local antique stores!
• Paper Trimmer- I got mine at Joann Fabrics, but I know they sell them a lot of places, including Walmart.
• Berry Box- I bought mine from Sur La Table, but you can find nice ceramic ones from Anthropologie. You can also find an a real berry box from local flea markets or online, like Etsy, Amazon, or Ebay.
• Ink Pad
• Pen
• Date Stamp- I bought mine from Danni on her Etsy site, but now she sells on Storenvy. I also believe you can probably find them on Etsy or other craft stores.

I started by cutting my cards in half. DO NOT cut more than two cards at a time or they will end up not cutting straight. I also trimmed my postcards to be the same width as my notecards, but slightly taller so they can divide the months.

Then I stamped all of my notecards. This is a very mind numbing task. Make sure you make a notecard for February 29! You don't need to add years!

I stamped by day, so I did Jan 1, Feb 1, etc. and then I put the cards in piles by month. It was easier for me.

The point of the notecards is that you add to it every year with just a little something to remember the day. It's a one line journal! The hardest part is keeping the entry on one line! Your memories can be anything from "breakfast with mom" to "got engaged!"

It's a really cute idea and I hope to make several for friends.

Journaling

I absolutely love love love this article by Emma Dajska called "Where Your Book Begins" in Rookie Magazine. In short, the article talks about expressing yourself through journaling. Your journal can be done using any type of medium (writing, drawing, painting, even powerpoint). I love expressing myself artistically, but I sometimes become frustrated because I'm not very good at art. I tend to compare myself to others constantly, and journaling isn't any different. Although I consider myself to be a fairly good writer I never have been content to just journal. I think journaling, no matter what form you use, can be very therapeutic. I some day hope to use it in my own classroom with my students if I am ever lucky enough to land a job as a teacher because I think it can be very beneficial.

After reading this article I was all gung-ho about journaling, but then I started comparing myself to the examples in the article thinking I would never be able to make my journal "good enough." However, I realized a few things. The first was that I don't need to impress anyone. The second was that I had actually been "journaling" since 7th or 8th grade, I just never thought of it as journaling. I actually have over seven journals. I decided to share these with you, but I left my actual written journals out because they are more personal letters to God that I would like to keep to myself.

[ONE] Harry Potter Notebook

I am in love with Harry Potter. I used to keep a zip up binder full of all my Harry Potter articles and other papers that I collected since seventh grade. A few years later I decided to paste them into a notebook, and my Harry Potter journal was born.

[TWO] Drawing and Sketch Notebook

My second notebook is dedicated to drawing and doodling. I practice a lot of hand lettering and small comic drawings. I also use it to practice more difficult pencil drawings. I wish I used this journal more often but I get too frustrated because I'm not naturally talented at drawing.

[THREE] Global Warming Notebook

Fun fact: I was obsessed with stopping global warming my junior/senior year of high school. I wanted to become an activist for getting people involved and aware. Obviously, I gave up on that goal but at the time I made a notebook full of article clippings on global warming, from what activists were saying to ways I could be environmentally friendly.

[FOUR] Collage Notebook

This was the first journal I ever made. I have always spent a lot of time by myself and this was a way to keep me occupied. The upper pictures are colleges I made for the covers of my assignment notebooks in high school. I had a lot of magazines, and I used to cut them up when the collection would get too big.

[FIVE] Christian Journaling

This is one of my few written journals. It is mostly filled with notes from church, Bible studies, and books I read. At first it was also a personal journal as well until I decided to separate the two so that I could keep the other journal private. I like to look back on this one to be reminded about my Creator. Filling this journal up with notes always gave me a lot of joy.

[SIX] Lesson Planner

I started this journal during my student teaching. I have a terrible memory! The worst! When I brought this up to my mentor teacher and my supervisor because I was stressed out that I would always forget some piece of information or another they told me that it was okay to carry around a notebook in order to make sure I keep on topic and remind myself of what I need to. It also allowed me to be crafty and artsy in a career that sometimes isn't known to be so.

[SEVEN] Catch All Journal

This is my absolutely favorite journal. I always told myself that if my house were to catch on fire I would run back in for this. Are you like me and have papers, pictures, and notes but have no where to put it? I hate clutter and I neeeded a way to organize my life. I partially came up with this idea from my friend, Haruna, who made a similar notebook while she was an exchange student. She had a notebook and a lot of it was pictures of bodies with different heads. It was so funny and looked like fun. I decided to make it a fun notebook as well as other papers I had collected over the years. This notebook is very eclectic but looking through it it is definitely a journal of what I used to be and who I am now.