Are you one of those lovely but misguided people who buys beautiful stationery, gets it home and thinks: “but it’s too nice to use”? Sure, you could add your super cute Mini Journal to your growing collection of beautiful but unused notebooks over there on your shelf, but wouldn’t it be more fun to... you know, use it?
Have you thought about using your Miniature Journal on a daily basis to practice mindfulness and nurture your creativity? Or shall I say on a near-daily basis, or even on a 'when the muse strikes' basis, because who needs more pressure in their life?
Well, this blog post is packed with great ideas! Its prompts for creative uses and mindfulness draw on ideas from artists, poets, writers, business coaches, psychologists and my own practices. It’s designed to help you reduce your dust-collecting stationery stash, get the most from your Mini Journal and have a little fun along the way.
Every night just before I go to bed I write down my gratitudes for the day. I try and identify five, but sometimes there are more. However challenging my day might have been, I can see that there were times the universe looked out for me. Sunshine features pretty frequently, as does my garden, pets and loved ones. My customers and my newsletter community frequently make the gratitude list, too. Becuase without them I wouldn't get to make books every day. What five things (experiences, people, etc) are you grateful for today?
Why not sketch something you saw today: interesting faces, street signs or doorways. If you stayed at home, perhaps you could doodle the outfit you wore. If you travelled somewere, could you map out the journey you walked or took on the bus?
One of the highlights of my days in the studio is when a creative customer gets in touch to share how they use their books. Here's what my brilliantly creative community has been doing with their Mini Journals:
Lara uses her Mini Journal to sketch portraits of her dogs and also the local birdlife found in her corner of New York:
Artist and creative practitioner Chloe Breen specialises in printmaking with materials found in nature - such as cow parsley seed heads - and uses her Miniature Journal to play with new ideas for larger pieces:
And Eirian spent a rainy Sunday afternoon with her Mini Journal, writing down quotes and painting outdoor scenes inspired by the book she was reading. The artistic adventures of the artists, photographers, illustrators and other creatives who use my books inspire me to keep working, and I hope inspire you to try different ways to use your books, too!
For example: curiosity, patience, authenticity. Pick words that align with your values, and that are realistic and achievable. The Mini Journal serves as a record of what you've been focusing on lately, and has enough pages to last you a hundred days. You might also like to put a reminder in your phone or a post-it note on your desk that you can change every day. Making abstract things visible is really helpful for keeping up with new habits.
I like to include what nature is doing in my journal. The flowers that have come out in the garden, the weather, that sort of thing. If you're artistic you might like to record the colours of the season: the particular green of the grass at this time of year, the different tones in the sky or the sea.
"I keep it in my bag so I can capture sketches / ideas for new pieces when I'm out. So handy and just lovely to use." - Regina, Dublin, Ireland"
Back in the Autumn of 2004 I ran a Twitter (RIP) Haiku competition to win one of my handmade Mini Leather Journals. As you may know, haikus are a form of Japanese poetry that traditionally include a seasonal reference. They consist of 3 lines; the first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the final line has 5 syllables.
Mini Journals are perfectly suited to mini poems and so here are some competition entries to get your creative juices flowing:
Leaf shoals shivering
In the mist-nest of the trees.
Silvered slivers fall.
- Andrew Boobier, award-winning poet and author of 'Reader, help me'.
The seasons, siblings -
Autumn, the older sister
who puts them to bed.
- Gathen
A bee bumbles by
Summer sounds drifting away
Tongue dips in honey
- Damian Grounds
Lay down new pathways in your brain and develop a new outlook with positive affirmations. Just as if you were learning a new language, writing your affirmations down will help you embed them into your brainbox. And as we're thinking in terms of language...
You could write down any new words you come across in the book you're currently reading or the audiobook you're listening to. Or, if you're preparing to go on holiday or take a work trip and you want to learn a few key phrases in a new language, you could use your Mini Journal to create a vocabulary list (and keep it in your pocket or bag to refer to when you take your trip).
Adorable! Perfect size for carrying around and tracking daily activity patterns." - Jishen, California, USA
Follow in the footsteps of writer Alan Bennet and write down anything amusing you hear or see happening as you go about your day. Perhaps a random item on the wrong shelf the supermarket, indicating a shopper decided to swap an essential range tin of beans for a luxury toiletry item? A funny conversation or totally nonsensical fragment of gossip you heard on the bus or the tube? These needn't be lengthy, just little snippets that might form the seed of a future creative idea. Talking of ideas...
I once lamented that I had so many ideas but relatively little energy to do anything with them. Futhermore, I had such a poor memory that I wouldn't remember my ideas on the rare occasion that I did have some energy to spend on them. A psychologist advised me to write all my ideas down; that way they wouldn't be wasted, and they wouldn't be lost. He said that having ideas and recording them is an act of creativity in itself. And maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to pick them up in the future when I had more spoons (energy). It's worth a go, don't you think?
I adopted this daily practice from my brilliantly inventive ADHD business coach, Siobhan Fox. You can use it as a fun way to review your day, either with yourself or a loved one. It goes like this:
Here's an example from earlier this week:
I had another use for Mini Journals in mind that I had intended to include in this list then I realised it would be an absolutely terrible idea. Do not use your Mini Journal for writing down passwords. Your handmade miniature book is just so attractive and adorable that you're likely to leave it sitting on your desk, or on display on a bookshelf. You'll pop it into your pocket when you go out for the day, or tuck it into your bag. Public access to your passwords? I don't think so.
It's just too risky. Don't do it.
Don't!
What prompts are you going to try today? And do you do something different with your daily journal practice? If you've got some great ideas, drop them in the comments section below!
If this blog post has inspired you to pick up a pen or paintbrush, you can buy a handmade Mini Journal here in tactile leather or vegan cork, or just scroll down to quick shop. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions!
Susan the bookbinder
contact form | +44 (0)7748 759371 | info@boundbyhand.co.uk
p.s. Would you like to see your Mini Journal featured here? Just email me some pictures for consideration! I'd love to include a link to your website or social media account to share the word about your creativity, so don't forget to include that, too.
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This Cotton Rag Sketchbook was inspired by mourning stationery I saw at a Victorian Gothic event at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum in Bournemouth...
What do those professional bookbinding terms mean? Can I use any kind of glue? Where do I find waxed linen thread? Do I need special paper? Is that awl as good as the one I already have? I hear you. I was you.
