A few weeks ago, Ali Edwards posted about noticing and the importance of a practice like this during a year like 2020. She gave the prompts of comfort, delight, rest, nourishment, and play and then encouraged us to take photos of each and share them on social media with the hashtag #aeartofnoticing. I loved seeing the perspective of others and participating in this challenge myself, especially since one of these is my word for next year.
Here are the photos and words I shared during this week:
COMFORT
Comfort is my spot on the couch. Comfort is dogs for blankets. Comfort is homemade bread and pot roast and crockpot soup and mac & cheese and meatloaf. Comfort is being wrapped up in a long hug. Comfort is sun streaming across my face. Comfort is a big fluffy comforter and the perfect napping pillows. Comfort is watering my plants. Comfort is warm clothes fresh out of the dryer. Comfort is tradition, and rhythms, and seasons.
DELIGHT
Typically delight looks like deep conversations, hosting all the people, and traveling. There hasn’t been much of that in 2020, so I’ve tried to look for more moments of delight in the small things. Sunsets, cinnamon rolls, art journals, growth, and nuggets of space for quiet and rest.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit that changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. – Maya Angelou
REST
Taking photos of my feet is my regular practice of grounding myself, getting present, and in-the-moment rest. (This is just a reminder to myself that rest doesn’t have to be big. Sometimes it’s taking a pause in the midst of the most full day.)
NOURISHMENT
I felt like I needed a little jumping off point for nourishment, so i checked out the dictionary definition: the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition.
So here we are, looking up. Enjoying the fresh air and nourishing my mind with the beauty around me.
PLAY
Enjoying this Art Journaling box from Let’s Make Art. Love getting to play with new-to-me mediums and techniques.
Kevin recently shared how he documents his life over on the FinalVibe blog, so I thought I’d take some time to share a little about how I document mine. We are a little different in how we like to see our memories but regardless, we both find so much value in visualizing our journey and how we got to where we are today. Both come down to pictures and words, and being intentional about looking back to see how we’ve changed and how we can inspire our future selves.
1. Project Life
Eight years in and I still love memory keeping with pocket pages. I love the opportunity to be creative and change my process on a whim while still having the cohesive photo sizes. For the past couple years, I’ve done monthly layouts in 12×12 albums which has allowed me to use just four albums over the eight years. One of my biggest fears about this project is how much physical space they take up, but there’s just nothing like having printed pictures. Kevin sometimes sends me photos, too, and I just love getting his perspective in our albums. This project helped me to document through college, graduation, engagement, marriage, pups, and becoming homeowners. Looking back on photos of my college duplex, friends living next door, random celebrations, and first days with our pups are such sweet reminders of the blessings in this life.
One of my favorite things to do as a kid was look at photo albums when I was at houses of family members. I love the way that photos capture stories and feelings. Words do, too, and that’s why I always make sure to include them, even if it means tucking them away behind photos. I always want these to be books we can flip through to remember all of our favorite moments.
2. Chatbooks
Chatbooks are photo books made with your photos on Instagram, Facebook or camera roll and only takes 30 seconds to set up. I keep my scrapbooks in my craft room, so I like to have something smaller and less precious to have on the coffee table in the living room. These have been a piece of cake to make and are always a talking point when we have guests over – everyone picks them up. We go with the softcover edition and print one with highlights from the year and one for each vacation.
Price-wise, these are super reasonable at $10 (+ free shipping). You can get your first one free with my code JACQUELINEREAPE-TXQQ.
3. Hobonichi
I started using the Hobonichi Techo last year after going down a rabbit hole on YouTube. It’s technically a planner but I use it for daily stream of consciousness journaling. It has both monthly spreads and a day per page, which is a great contained way for me to journal (aka I have to keep it short and sweet). Also being that the pages are numbered by the date, it keeps me motivated not to get behind. This space is more raw and unfiltered than project life and includes fewer photos in comparison. I don’t plan on anyone reading these but me.
These notebooks are A6 (4-1/8″ x 5-7/8″) and believe it or not, the ones pictured above started out as the same size. I love how chunky they get as they are filled up over the year. I think I’m going to switch from the Hobonichi band to Stalogy next year, but I definitely plan to keep up the process as long as it’s working for me.
4. The Blog
We’re coming up on 11 years of blogging! I haven’t always been consistent but I truly treasure what I have been able to write in this tiny little corner of the internet. I love doing regular posts such as my currently series, because it’s so fun to see those stack up over time.
Even though I’ve considered quitting more times than I can count, I’m thankful for the fact that the internet seems more concrete and “forever” than physical photos and paper. I look back on posts from 2010 or even just last year, and can get such a clear picture on who I was at the time and what was going on in my life. It might not feel that way for other people, but that’s why I continually keep doing this for me.
Kevin makes a point in his post that you have to document in a way that makes sense for you – but at the end of the day, you just have to start and then stay consistent for long enough to see the effects of being intentional with a practice like this.
What are you doing to document your life and visualize your legacy?
I thought I would pop on with a quick post about all the ways I’m documenting my life in 2018. Even though we are only halfway almost three quarters of the way through the year, I’m already starting to think about what next year will look like and how I’ll preserve my stories.
Project Life
Six years in and I still love memory keeping with pocket pages. I love the opportunity to be creative and change my process on a whim while still having the cohesive photo sizes. For the past couple years, I’ve done monthly layouts in 12×12 albums which has allowed me to use three albums for the six years.
This year, I tried mixing it up with this 6×12 cloth album from Hobby Lobby. This size felt much more comfortable to work with as far as flip through, but I just had a hard time keeping up because the one page spread didn’t feel substantial enough for a whole month but I’m just not at a place where a spread per week makes sense either. I ended up switching back to the 12×12 layouts in March and reworking what I had done for January and February.
Otherwise, my process remains the same – photos, words, and the fun stuff of life. Kevin is a pretty avid documenter of life through the Day One app so I’ll continue using both of our photos and experiences to keep the album from both perspectives.
Chatbooks
Chatbooks are photo books made with your photos on Instagram, Facebook or camera roll and only takes 30 seconds to set up. I keep my scrapbooks in my craft room, so I like to have something smaller and less precious to have on the coffee table in the living room. These have been a piece of cake to make and are always a talking point when we have guests over – everyone picks them up. We go with the softcover edition and print them on a yearly basis.
Price-wise, these are super reasonable at $10 (+ free shipping).
One Little Word
This is the first year in a while that I’m not taking Ali Edward’s One Little Word Class. At the beginning of the year, I was trying to pair down some of my projects and this really felt like one I could sustain on my own without the online content Ali provides. I think I’ve been able to keep up with the documenting as much as I’ve wanted to here and in project life, which is perfect for me right now.
As far as my goals go for this project, I could probably be doing a bit better.
Bible Journaling
I feel like Bible Journaling is getting a lot of unnecessary flak right now for being too curated or inauthentic, but I’m still over here loving it. I’ve slowed down a bit because of how my Bible reading looks right now. I am currently reading the same chapter over for multiple days in a row which is allowing me to dig in deeper than I have in the past. Some of my pages look really over the top with color and ephemera while some are literally just words and notes – I’m totally ok with that!
I just want to always keep in the forefront of my mind that this isn’t about being pretty (even though it sometimes is) but more about growth and what God’s word is teaching me. I think the inauthenticity comes when this important component isn’t happening. Hopefully you’ll be seeing more of this around here soon.
Planner
The planner (similar to this one) is a craft-free zone this year and it has been working wonders. Each day has three vertical boxes, one is dedicated to daily reoccurring tasks based on my monthly/weekly/daily goals, another is unique daily tasks, and then work tasks. Even though its not as pretty, there are no distractions and I’m actually happy when all my to-dos are completed and I can throw old pages away.
Traveler’s Notebooks
I recently threw away a lot of my journals that didn’t have sentimental value or stories in them, so I’m now trying to figure out how future journals fit into my life. That seems really dramatic, but in the past, I’ve used Traveler’s Notebooks for ALL THE THINGS. This year with that in mind, I’m reserving them for vacation mini books and collage projects. I tend to find that creating and the outlet is more important to me during the process than the actual result is for me. (Just talking about this format has me itching to go back to carrying my gorgeous Chic Sparrow TN.)
Prayer Binder
At the beginning of 2018, I made a good to put a priority on intentional prayer based on my One Little Word, connect. I read a few books and blogs, but I found The Reset Girl’s prayer binder to be really inspiring as far as how to get my prayer time organized and feel less overwhelming.
Before, I might not have considered this “memory keeping” however I am keeping track of all my prayers and the things that are going on, so I think it makes sense to include this in how I’m documenting my life.
I’m thinking about writing a whole post about what this looks like, but in the meantime, I would highly encourage you to check out this video by The Reset Girl.
The Blog
This has easily been my most successful year on the blog, not only in content, but in the number of viewers that have checked out this little spot on the internet as well. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging for 8 years (read that post here) and I’ve been documenting my story and my photos for just as long.
Even though I’ve considered quitting more times than I can count, I’m thankful for the fact that the internet seems more concrete and “forever” than physical photos and paper. Even though I hate that, I really do think it’s the truth. I look back on posts from 2010 or even just last year, and can get such a clear picture on who I was at the time and what was going on in my life. It might not feel that way for other people, but that’s why I continually keep doing this for me.
This Christmas was full of our favorite traditions. As usual, it was a whirlwind of all the family, all the preparations, and all the fun. Favorite parts: picking out our Hallmark ornaments, ice skating, Christmas eve with my parents and Kevin’s Mom and Scott, day after Christmas shopping, and my first ever candlelit church service.
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Project Life has been a main staple in my creative process for the past four and a half years. Many things have changed in the way that I’ve completed it between then and now, but one thing remains the same – this project helps me get photos out of my camera and into physical albums. This is the primary way that I document our lives – all of the travelers notebooks and journals are gravy. Documenting my life in this way has followed me through some of the most exciting times of my life – graduating college, getting engaged, our wedding, the honeymoon, adopting our dog, buying a home and lots of daily life in between. We love cracking those albums open to take a peek at our memories and how much has changed in just a couple years.
I was originally introduced to Project Life by my Aunt who encouraged me to try out some of her supplies for an album of a trip to California. As soon as I started, I was hooked. For Christmas, I asked for all of the supplies – an album, pocket pages, and even Elise’s Seafoam Edition of the cards – so that I could get started on January 1st of 2013.
The way that Becky Higgins intended it and the way that many of her creative team members use the system, is on a weekly basis. While there are a lot of options when it comes to the sizes of pocket pages, the main pages are 12 x 12 and have spaces for 8 – 4×6 inch photos or journaling cards and 8 – 2×3 inch photos or journaling cards. Many people use a card a day in the middle row and then a coordinating 4×6 photo but I was just finding that it wasn’t working for me. There were three major things that were holding me back: 1) my life isn’t that exciting, 2) printing photos is expensive, and 3) space is limited.
The other two points aside, space and clutter are issues for me as I tend to be more of a minimalist than most scrapbookers. The idea of having multiple albums for a year terrifies me, so I had to find a way that worked for me that still documented my life in a way that was meaningful yet, more realistic for me. As you will notice in the pages below, instead of doing it on a weekly basis, I just do one spread for each month and then if we go on vacation or there are extra photos, I’ll simply add another page. This has allowed me to fit about two years in each album which is a significant win in my option.
Since I use a month format, I have a lot more photos to choose from than I would if I were just working with a week at a time. I try to include photos that go well together, but also ones that tell full stories. I use a piece of scrap paper to plan my layouts so that I’m only printing the photos that I need. From there I grab a bunch of supplies in similar color families and then use each pocket opening as if it were it’s very own scrapbook layout. As a more visual person, I tend to hide a lot of my writing. I generally use a card to write “highlights” for the month and then include specifics, such as names of friends, places, and events, on the back of the photos.
At the beginning of this year (my 5th doing Project Life), I started considering alternate ways to document our lives – possibly something online. Obviously, I decided to keep going but my thought process changed a couple months ago when I plugged in my external hard drive to back up my iPhone photos, only to discover a blank folder where all of my files once were. All of a sudden, well over 50,000 photos were gone. I couldn’t help but feel SO thankful that I had a few Project Life albums full of our memories.
I’m not sure how long it was later (it felt like hours), but we finally were able to get the files to show up. I virtually thumbed through my photos feeling reassured that, indeed, the best ones were printed. It was a good reminder, that photos are a priority to me and that I cherish documenting my stories and my life. I care about it so much that even now when I’m at my parent’s or grandparent’s homes, I’ll look through family photo albums that include everything from travel to family history and everything in between. I can’t imagine not having my own stories to share with… well, basically anyone who’s interested.
Needless to say, I’m not giving up on Project Life anytime soon and I might even share it here more frequently.
Morning pages are one of my favorite practices that I’ve carried over from 2015. I discovered this practice last year through Julie Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way. I really enjoyed the book and it had a spiritual aspect that I definitely wasn’t expecting, but the intensity that it required with all of the prompts and weekly artist meetings with myself just wasn’t something I could prioritize at the time. That being said, morning pages are introduced in the beginning of the book and come highly highly encouraged by Julie if you plan on succeeding creatively.
While this “self-help” style book is meant to reduce creative block, Julie is very straightforward in letting the readers know that the purpose of the morning pages is to clear your mind. Though it may sound counter-intuitive to write when you’re “blocked”, she suggests that you write three pages on loose-leaf style paper, first-thing in the morning. When each page is complete, she suggests sliding them into a large envelope without looking back at them, at least for a few months.
When I first started, I followed Julie’s tips closely although I did use a composition notebook because I didn’t want to have loose sheets of paper running around my house. Similarly, I often write before I get out of bed so this made it easier because of the hard surface of the notebook cover. I didn’t use any specific pen and often allowed my handwriting to be atrocious. The first couple days, I would write until I couldn’t think of ANYTHING else and then I would fill up the rest of the pages with “I have nothing else to write about” over and over again. If you’re thinking, “what a waste of time”, then you’ve read my mind because that was exactly what I was thinking. As I navigated the first week of pages, writing all three quickly got easier and I began to allow myself to include bullet style journaling (more information on bullet journaling here and here) within those pages as well. I would then transfer those important to-do items and lists over to a different notebook before closing up the book for the day.
Here’s the deal. Sometimes these pages are super prolific and wonderful and sometimes they are bogus, but every time I feel relieved that they are done and ready to start the day. It’s like all of the swirling thoughts get dumped out and I have room for new (and often more productive) ones. I don’t even force myself to write all three pages anymore, because I often know what it feels like when I’m done and ready to move on with my day. I haven’t graduated to a nice notebook because, chances are, I’m going to throw this one away. Anything even remotely interesting has been transferred somewhere else.
How to make morning pages work for you:
Find a time that works. It’s clear by the title that the intention for this practice is for it to be done first thing in the morning before you do anything else. While this is ideal, I don’t think it’s realistic for everyone. Lately, I can hardly roll over to check the time in bed without Chloe (our dog) hopping up to let me know that – regardless of what the clock says – it’s time to eat and go outside. In my opinion shooting for the same time every day is a win. In the past, I’ve found that having a journaling routine directly before bed helps to alleviate the buzz of thoughts before falling asleep. Regardless, I think that this is something that needs to be done when it’s most convenient for you, otherwise you won’t do it.
Make them handwritten. This is a must. I originally thought that writing would be tedious and annoying and sometimes it is, but for the most part it’s worth it to have no distractions.
Don’t stop. At first it may feel silly but if you can’t think of anything just write “I can’t think of anything to write” over and over until you think of something. I promise it will come. The subject doesn’t matter and neither does your grammar or spelling. Just write.
Have a system. Whether it’s a pen and loose-leaf paper that you keep in a folder or a journal that you keep next to your bed, try to keep it consistent. This doesn’t have to be anything special, but I think having all of the junk in one journal will help the creative process everywhere else. Pro tip: spoil yourself and use a fountain pen or nice paper! I’ve found I lose the nicer things a heck of a lot less.
Get comfy. This really gets to the heart of cultivating a good routine. If you’re in a hurry and uncomfortable, you won’t want to continue the process. It will undoubtedly be miserable and just make matters worse! Pro tip: have a specific spot where you go to write like a desk or comfy chair by a window and enjoy a cup of coffee as you write it out.
You’re worth it. Above anything else, what I’ve found from doing these morning pages is that just the practice of having this outlet and making time for myself is a form of self care that is so worth it. It helps me start my day on a good foot and only takes fifteen minutes.
Go ahead and give it a shot. What are you waiting for? It doesn’t have to be great, it just simply has to be.
