Here I'm going to share some of the materials I include in my notebooks. The possibilities are endless, seeing as the world is literally overflowing with stuff. I remember when I was a teenager, I would even keep the tags from tea bags I used and stick them in my journal. This was especially fun when traveling (more on that later ;)
1. Punch holes to tie ornaments. Mostly, I use scraps of ribbon that I find attached to clothes (you know those strings inside cardigans and t-shirts that help the items hang on the hanger). Sometimes I use them simply because they're cute, but other times they're actually useful; you can tie cinema/theatre/museum tickets to a page. The reason why I prefer this technique instead of sticking them with glue is because some tickets are printed on both sides, so if I glued them, one of the sides would never be seen.
2. Tabs. Extremely useful to help you find the most important pages, those you want to re-read often. Use a cd marker to write symbols on the tab that will indicate what the page contains. The other thing is I'm always adding new ideas to my lists and manifestos, and this expansion of the content comes in waves, sometimes months after having written the original page. At that point, there's no space for the new content, and here's where the tabs are useful. I simply continue writing as if there isn't 50 pages of other random stuff in between, and then I connect them with tabs. Said tabs are the same color and have the same symbol drawn in it, which indicates continuation.
1. Punch holes to tie ornaments. Mostly, I use scraps of ribbon that I find attached to clothes (you know those strings inside cardigans and t-shirts that help the items hang on the hanger). Sometimes I use them simply because they're cute, but other times they're actually useful; you can tie cinema/theatre/museum tickets to a page. The reason why I prefer this technique instead of sticking them with glue is because some tickets are printed on both sides, so if I glued them, one of the sides would never be seen.
2. Tabs. Extremely useful to help you find the most important pages, those you want to re-read often. Use a cd marker to write symbols on the tab that will indicate what the page contains. The other thing is I'm always adding new ideas to my lists and manifestos, and this expansion of the content comes in waves, sometimes months after having written the original page. At that point, there's no space for the new content, and here's where the tabs are useful. I simply continue writing as if there isn't 50 pages of other random stuff in between, and then I connect them with tabs. Said tabs are the same color and have the same symbol drawn in it, which indicates continuation.
3. Envelopes. Most of the things I keep inside envelopes could actually be content written on the pages of the notebook, but for personal reasons I prefer to have these things tucked away. Here's the inventory of what I keep in my envelopes:
✧ An outline of the contents of the journal. Mine gets re-written every 2-3 years, depending on where I'm at with my journaling and the discoveries I make.
✧ Manifestos for different areas of life.
✧ Scraps of paper with ramblings you come up with on the train, the bus, the cafeteria, etc.
✧Intimate letters (to yourself or someone you'll never send it to) that you don't want to have at the forefront of your mind/journal.
✧ Affirmations in scraps of paper. Take one or two out when you're feeling yucky.
✧ Dried flowers and petals.
✧ Medium-sized photos (that you took yourself, or cut outs from magazines).
✧ A folded sheet of paper with useful information about the people closest to you. Data such as their phone number, address, e-mail and birthday. I haven't had a planner in years because I don't need it -though I do want one because I'm a planning/productivity maniac! but I just wouldn't have a real use for it since my life is not that busy-, so a simple paper enclosed in my journal is enough.
✧List(s) of your goals and dreams for the year. I make 2: the intentional & the celebrational. After I write the 100 Things to do This Year in my Amazing Workbook, I narrow it all down to the most important 25-30 goals, the ones that excite me the most. Then I make another list of the completed goals as the year progresses. I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping track of our success stories (no matter how small they seem) because they build self esteem and fuel courage and momentum.
✧Folded photocopies of book passages you like and want to re-read. This is great when you don't own a book (say you borrowed it from the library or a friend) and you didn't like it enough to purchase it, but there's a page that you really love and want to keep.
✧Pep talks to yourself for when you need them.
✧Souvenirs and little gifts. The paper doll below is a bookmarker that my sister got for me at a museum in Barcelona city. I also have a card that came with the latest Little Women edition I bought (yeah, I collect editions heehee).
✧Stories of extreme heartbreak. I refuse to fill my journal with negativity, so when I need to vent I do so in a piece of paper. This will either be burned or kept hidden in an envelope for future revisiting (and then burned anyway, probably).
✧ An outline of the contents of the journal. Mine gets re-written every 2-3 years, depending on where I'm at with my journaling and the discoveries I make.
✧ Manifestos for different areas of life.
✧ Scraps of paper with ramblings you come up with on the train, the bus, the cafeteria, etc.
✧Intimate letters (to yourself or someone you'll never send it to) that you don't want to have at the forefront of your mind/journal.
✧ Affirmations in scraps of paper. Take one or two out when you're feeling yucky.
✧ Dried flowers and petals.
✧ Medium-sized photos (that you took yourself, or cut outs from magazines).
✧ A folded sheet of paper with useful information about the people closest to you. Data such as their phone number, address, e-mail and birthday. I haven't had a planner in years because I don't need it -though I do want one because I'm a planning/productivity maniac! but I just wouldn't have a real use for it since my life is not that busy-, so a simple paper enclosed in my journal is enough.
✧List(s) of your goals and dreams for the year. I make 2: the intentional & the celebrational. After I write the 100 Things to do This Year in my Amazing Workbook, I narrow it all down to the most important 25-30 goals, the ones that excite me the most. Then I make another list of the completed goals as the year progresses. I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping track of our success stories (no matter how small they seem) because they build self esteem and fuel courage and momentum.
✧Folded photocopies of book passages you like and want to re-read. This is great when you don't own a book (say you borrowed it from the library or a friend) and you didn't like it enough to purchase it, but there's a page that you really love and want to keep.
✧Pep talks to yourself for when you need them.
✧Souvenirs and little gifts. The paper doll below is a bookmarker that my sister got for me at a museum in Barcelona city. I also have a card that came with the latest Little Women edition I bought (yeah, I collect editions heehee).
✧Stories of extreme heartbreak. I refuse to fill my journal with negativity, so when I need to vent I do so in a piece of paper. This will either be burned or kept hidden in an envelope for future revisiting (and then burned anyway, probably).
4. Tags from tea bags. I don't do this in day-to-day life, only when traveling. I keep separate notebooks for my travels, and fill them with everything I find in that city, including the tags from teas I drink, and make annotations on which cafeteria I had that drink.
5. Images from magazines, newspapers, flyers, the internet, etc. As well as interesting stories or articles. A few years ago, there was an excellent 3-page article in the newspaper on Frankenstein and the year without a summer; it's one of my favourite possessions. I wish I came across a headline as hilarious as this one!
6. Your own photographs.
7. Photocopies of favourite passages from prose & poetry & illustration books.
8. Stickers. Buy them at the euro/dollar & craft stores.
9. Mini vision boards. Don't have a clue what a VB is? Go here.
10. Postcards. Both unused (some have gorgeous illustrations that fill the journal with visual inspiration) and with text, in which case you can punch a hole and tie them to a page.
5. Images from magazines, newspapers, flyers, the internet, etc. As well as interesting stories or articles. A few years ago, there was an excellent 3-page article in the newspaper on Frankenstein and the year without a summer; it's one of my favourite possessions. I wish I came across a headline as hilarious as this one!
6. Your own photographs.
7. Photocopies of favourite passages from prose & poetry & illustration books.
8. Stickers. Buy them at the euro/dollar & craft stores.
9. Mini vision boards. Don't have a clue what a VB is? Go here.
10. Postcards. Both unused (some have gorgeous illustrations that fill the journal with visual inspiration) and with text, in which case you can punch a hole and tie them to a page.
11. Leftover incense. Don't throw away the little packets with remaining powder, it makes the journals smell amazing. You can also keep perfume samples.
12. Easter feathers and/or real feathers gathered from the woods/park. You can find easter feathers at the 1€ store.
13. Dried leaves, flowers and herbs. I like to collect physical proof and bits from every season, both from the wilderness and my personal garden.
14. Your drawings.
15. Tickets from the theatre, cinema, museum, etc. Personally, I choose to throw away cinema tickets because it's a relatively frequent activity for me; I don't even review movies in my journals. But since I only see live theatre once every blue moon (so expensive!), when it happens I'm exceptionally overexcited, so I will review the play and keep the ticket. Sometimes I glue or tie it to the page, and sometimes I put it in the envelope closest to the page of the review.
12. Easter feathers and/or real feathers gathered from the woods/park. You can find easter feathers at the 1€ store.
13. Dried leaves, flowers and herbs. I like to collect physical proof and bits from every season, both from the wilderness and my personal garden.
14. Your drawings.
15. Tickets from the theatre, cinema, museum, etc. Personally, I choose to throw away cinema tickets because it's a relatively frequent activity for me; I don't even review movies in my journals. But since I only see live theatre once every blue moon (so expensive!), when it happens I'm exceptionally overexcited, so I will review the play and keep the ticket. Sometimes I glue or tie it to the page, and sometimes I put it in the envelope closest to the page of the review.
16. Typewritten texts. Your own words or transcribed passages from books. Gives it an old-fashioned vibe.
17. Textiles. I find pieces of lace in old boxes & suitcases that belonged to my late grandmothers. And the 1€ store sells packs of ribbon all year round, but the best patterns come out at Christmas time (it's best to shop after the holidays for all the cheap clearance stock).
18. Wrapping paper. For fun backgrounds.
19. Tea/coffee stained papers. What can I say, I don't like modern looks, I prefer ancient-looking stuff.
20. Post-it notes. For quotes, visuals (doodles or cut-outs) & impermanent information such as day-to-day reminders, or words you're currently adding to your vocabulary.
17. Textiles. I find pieces of lace in old boxes & suitcases that belonged to my late grandmothers. And the 1€ store sells packs of ribbon all year round, but the best patterns come out at Christmas time (it's best to shop after the holidays for all the cheap clearance stock).
18. Wrapping paper. For fun backgrounds.
19. Tea/coffee stained papers. What can I say, I don't like modern looks, I prefer ancient-looking stuff.
20. Post-it notes. For quotes, visuals (doodles or cut-outs) & impermanent information such as day-to-day reminders, or words you're currently adding to your vocabulary.
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