Journals and Papers

I’ve been noticing recently that retired seniors are coming up with activities they can do, which are meaningful, creative and a lot of fun. Some of these activities are off-chutes of others, such as scrap booking and taking journal writing to a new level.

I’ve met one lady who wanted to take photos of me at my home-based business office. We both live in a rural area, and “just for fun – and something to do”, she was taking pictures of local businesses, printing them, adding business cards and brochures, and notes about the business and compiling it all into a scrap book page. One thing to note here is that in the country, not all businesses of the norm. Some are quite different and encompass anything from ranching to knife carving to taxidermy. Once her project is finished, she’ll have a memory book full of interesting businesses and people she met along the way. (In the future, it can always be donated to the local library.)

Not knowing what to do with his time when my Father-in-Law retired, he decided to continue his computer work, but made a shift from business to personal writing. His days are always busy and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all he does. So everyday at night or during the day he writes a few paragraphs about his activities and people he was with. He adds such things as ticket stubs, cards, receipts and photos. He’s not even six months into his daily journal and he has already filled up a 3 inch binder full of writing and collectibles from his activities. He loves doing this, as it is an activity that again lets him interact with others, not to mention his children love it too. Now we get to know what keeps him so busy!

I am sure there are many other ideas on how seniors are keeping journals. Please comment on them and share your ideas here on this blog.

Hope is something we conjure up in deep times of sadness and grief. Hope comes from within, an awakening, a desire, something to believe in. Hope moves us forward, gives us a sense of purpose. Hope is anticipation of a better time to come.

When we journal, we sometimes journal for hope, especially if we are going through a rough time. We journal to write words we believe in, words to give us comfort. A journal becomes a cane in times of hardship. We can lean on it; use it for support and strength.

If you have cancer, or know of someone who is suffering from the disease, or are survivors, the Hope Every Day Journal by Compendium is a delightful gift for the journal writer. It features uplifting, meaningful quotes on every two-page spread that give hope and inspiration.

With every cancer battle, there also come many success stories. Explain first steps taken, fears that are faced and conquered, healthcare workers who have helped. Write about friends and family who have stayed with you and provided support. This small gem of a journal is a wonderful tool for wellness and to track a powerful journey of hope.

One thing I have wondered is: when sticking to a lined journal, am I limiting my creativity? I am a writer and have very little artist flair inside of me, so I prefer a lined journal. I write - period. I only doodle when I am on the phone. I very seldom draw, add to or trace anything into a journal, unless I am specifically doing scrapbooking.

Should I expand my journal experience and buy an unlined or blank journal? Would I feel compelled to doodle or draw in it? I know if I write poetry I might feel more inclined to add a flower or something to the page. If you are like me and are looking for more creativity with your journal writing experiences, and want to expand your entries, try adding some visual effects and details. Artwork added to journal pages help to define your story in more detail.

With a blank journal, you can add photographs, sketches, make a collage or do calligraphy. What about using color? Perhaps describing a vibrant sunset with splashes of reds and oranges across the page. An angry entry might be embedded within a dark shadowy cloud. There are many different types of colored pens, and acid free archival pens that could be used to color words, sentences or drawing on a blank journal page. Play around with calligraphy and different writing styles.

If your inner artist wants to come out, by all means, draw, paint or sketch around a paragraph. Use inner imagery to show your feelings. Test your journal page first to make sure that the medium you use won’t destroy pages below it. You can protect the rest of your journal by inserting a piece of waxed paper with a blank sheet of paper on it and place it underneath the page you are working on.

I’ve seen some journals, where people use ribbon to create an attractive border. There are many scrapbooking tools that are available, such as stamps, decals and specialty paper for cutouts. If you are describing a favorite walk, what about picking up a special leaf or small flat-sized pebble to attach to the page.

Journal creativity doesn’t have to exist with just words. Try embellishing your journal today. I am always envious of playschool children. They never seem constrained to the page they are working on. Color and words flow, things get added to the page, and they do it with such flare. Don’t be afraid to release the inner child and expand your journal entries.

Spring has arrived and so have two new product lines for www.journalsandpapers.com. Each journal line is Canadian made and has something truly unique to offer clients.

Re-cover Journals are hand-made in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The company offers a ‘novel’ concept (excuse the pun), with the journals covers bound from old book covers. “Re-cover Journals specialize in transforming used hardcover books into delightful and innovative journals“, explains this small, socially-conscious company that loves recycling. Each journal is unique and one-of-a-kind. Old books, destined for demise, are picked up at garage sales and flea markets, and the covers are used to make a hard cover journal, filled with 70 pages of 100 percent recycled blank paper. The journals are coil bound and have durability and strength, not to mention a quirky cover depending on the book choice. A great gift idea for someone wanting a unique journal.

Pebblestone Papery Journals are handmade in Calgary, Alberta Canada. These beautiful hand bound journals are covered in hand-screened, Japanese Chiyogami cover with a coordinating silk Japanese book cloth binding. “At Pebblestone Papery, we proudly create beautiful and unique stationery, combining lush, handmade papers with modern design.” says Veronica Stewart-Cameron, company founder. The smooth 120 (240 sides) lined ivory interior pages are ideal for ink or pencil. Available in a writing journal, there is also a blank page sketchbook or larger journal size. Both sizes are of archival quality and are acid free. These journals are sturdy and stand up to the elements, such as humidity and different environments, making them also a great travel journal.

Discover these new journals today at Journals And Papers, featuring quality journals and fine papers for the creative mind.

Not all journal writing is the same. Some people keep journals just because they have to. It’s part of their makeup it’s ‘in their blood’ to quote a cliche. Their entries can be varied and many depending on the day, week, month or emotion they are feeling.

But, what if journal writing is not that way for some folks. What if they picked up the journal for another purpose, for a healing purpose. What if they are screaming inside and have no other outlet, except to write furiously that which they are compelled to write.

Sometimes we need a journal just to get us through those tough spots in life. Those dark periods where there is no respite from the pain, but to write about it. Are you coping with cancer? Fighting grief? Dealing with separation? Divorce? Climbing out of depression? Contemplating suicide? The tough stuff hits us when we least expect it. If you need to, seek professional help through your dark times. Many professionals do have journal writing as a part of therapeutic healing.

Journal writing is easy, it’s private and it’s soul searching. the blank pages and pen in hand seem to invite your thoughts. When you no longer need your journal, you can save it for a look back in reflection of those times that you had and managed to pull through. Or you can burn it. That is what makes it uniquely yours; the choice of how it is filled and what you choose to do with it in the end.

Yikes! Sometimes I don’t even want to remember my dreams, let alone record them in a journal. However, by journaling about the dreams you have, you can begin to understand and interpret your dreams better. Our dreams are a doorway to our inner selves. When we journal about our dreams, we discover truths about ourselves. We can be open and honest, jotting down the dream and the meaning we derive from it and how it relates to our inner most thoughts and feelings.

So what do you record? Start with the date and time of the dream. Even afternoon naps can get you dreaming, be sure to jot the time of the dream. You need something to remember the dream by, so give it a title. I recently dreamed that Oprah interviewed me about a book I had written. Unfortunately, I flubbed up the interview and demanded a retake. I was told there were no second chances. Would this be reflective of how I view my life at this time? In this instance I’ve dubbed it my “Oprah Dream Interview”.

Explain your dream contents. What was it about? You can go into as much detail, or as little as you feel like. Then, can you define your dream as a story in less then 5 sentences. Finally, what was your dream ending?

Emotion plays an important part of your dreams Have you ever woken up with tears streaming down your face, or your teeth clenched so hard your jaw hurts? Journal the emotions your felt while dreaming. Are they related to any vivid images you had?

I find that throughout the day, if something triggers a feeling in me, I will have a dream about the subject. This can be as simple as seeing a commercial or reading a news article or discussing a topic with friends over dinner. What were the events of your day prior to the dream your had?

Now look at all that you have written about your dream. Can you find a pattern or connection? What is your interpretation of the dream?

Finally, journal about the message you think you have derived from your dream. What meanings did you discover?

The above guidelines are just that, if you find there is more to the dream you’d like to record, perhaps images, or colors, then journal about that too. Include all the sensory details. Even bits of conversation that stick out in your mind and people involved are clues to your life’s innermost thoughts revealed through your dreams.

Have you ever gone back and looked through some of your old journal entries? Sometimes it can be a real eye opener. If you have, do you find at times that you really feel like you don’t know the person who wrote the entries? That happened to me recently. I looked through a creative journal I had started in 2001. I had crayoned throughout, clipped magazine photos and added quotations and put little creative sayings in to match my journey of thoughts at that time. I didn’t do very many pages, but for the ones I did, the writing is very profound.

I am really amazed at some of the quotations I wrote, and wonder where they came from. Was that really me? It’s my hand writing, I put my signature below each one (I do that when I’m writing so that I know they are my words). Your past journals are but pieces of your heart and soul at a given point in time. We are forever changing and can’t expect that the things we write about will be the same things that affect us a few years from now. Don’t be afraid to go through your old writing journals. Your entries can reveal some things about you that you may have forgotten.

Here’s an entry from my Discovery Journal I’d like to share with you:

“Waves leave behind ripples in the sand,
like the tides of life
forever changing, always rearranging.
Enjoy the beauty of the ripple changes.
Study not for too long,
for tomorrow another tide comes,
which will change the surface of the sand once again.”
(2005  by Patricia L. Atchison)

Have you ever looked through an old photo album and stared at a photo wondering where it was taken and who the heck was in the photo? Sometimes when we’re on vacation or at an event we take snapshots of something that must have been important to us at the time. Maybe we met someone that day who was really funny and we made a connection so we took their photo. Maybe they are a distant relative from a family reunion. Whatever the story, if it is worth journaling about, then add the photo too.

Is this much different than scrapbooking? Not really. However scrapbooking usually takes into account a complete vacation or event worth recording. I’m talking more about individual incidents or memory journaling, where you can use one or two photos to compliment a journal entry and vice versa. 

If you have some ’snapshot moments or stories’ that you’d like to remember, consider printing your photos and putting them into an album that also acts as a journal. Try a larger format journal - 8″ or 9″x 11 3/4″ to 12″ with blank/unlined sheets. If it is acid free, that’s even better as you’ll be preserving the journals for years to come. Make use of an acid free pen too.

You can get artistic and make it ’scrapbook-like’, or simply write your journal entry around it. You can even consider a theme for your photo journals e.g. Where are my cousins now?  or Favorite tour guides and what made them so special.

I’ve often thought about starting a wildlife photo journal. Living in the country we have so many incidents relating to animals and we take photos. It might be cool to remember years down the road when and what happened when we took the photo. If I do, I’ll share it with you. 

You may not find a journal or work planner for every need. For example, if you are looking for a food diary or food journal, it may not be in the format you require.The same goes for a yearly planner. When I go planner shopping, I always come home empty handed because all the planners are the same! Hourly by day, by week, or by month. Keeping track of my work tasks and needs are different and to that end, I would like to share an article with you on how to turn a journal into a Weekly Work To-Do Journal/Planner Template. Whew that’s a mouthful.

Within this article, is a template that you can incorporate into any journal, lined or unlined. It explains how to use the template and provides some detail on how to keep a weekly work to-do list within a favorite journal. Download this article: Weekly Work To-Do Journal/Planner Templatefor more information.

I thought this would be appropriate seeing as I am off on a short vacation. Do you journal while away on vacation or traveling? There are many types of journals one can use for traveling. You want a sturdy journal, one that will hold up well, especially if you are back packing, or a soft leather cover type to mold into small luggage areas.

What things would you write about? I like to write about the sights and sounds of what I am seeing, the culture and how it affects me. When I was in Mexico, I sat for a few minutes and just listened to the ocean and tried to write down words that would describe what I was hearing. It was actually quite difficult especially without a thesaurus at hand. Even moreso, as my other senses of smell and touch (the wind on my arms) were also sensing, combining for an overall feel of what was going on around me. It is a great writer’s exercise. I just figured it might help me if I ever wanted to set up a beach scene in a story or novel.

I can’t seem to go anywhere without a journal in hand, and if I am travelling to inspirational places, that makes it all the more fun to be able to write when ever and where ever I want.