Paths
In early Spring last year I stumbled across this weird word whilst reading an article. Bujo. What in the world? Was it some ancient sorcery like voo doo, or a different way to say bad juju? A bit of research later and I discovered it meant bullet journal, which led me further to find out what that was. A bullet journal (for those of you late to the party as I was) is a journal with tiny little dots rather than lines or graph squares. They're designed to make your own layout rather than the usual planner-type journal or diary already done for you.
I've been a diary-keeper since I was a kid and probably have at least 15 adult journals stashed around the house right now, none of them finished. I either forget to write, get too busy to take the time, or just plain lose interest. The bujo idea intrigued me enough to want to give it a try.
I watched several YouTube videos, read lots of online stuff, bought some books, then in April I ordered my first journal. And totally screwed it up. I tore out pages, started over, used the wrong pens that bled through the pages, made lettering mistakes...you get the idea. I almost gave up, but persevered and quickly learned there is a difference between journals--and pens!--so ordered a different journal that I happily used from May 1st to December 31st and never missed a day. I'm not very artistic so I had a real learning curve on lettering and design elements, though did find what worked for me and have been doing it ever since.
One person in particular on YouTube, AmandaRachLee, has been a real inspiration to me. She's a young woman in Toronto with the most incredible talent; I've learned much from her. One day last October, she was talking about a company called Archer & Olive, who make journals by hand. I hadn't purchased my new 2020 journal yet, so I thought I'd order one of theirs.
It came in a beautiful box, and was just wonderful to unwrap. My only concern, it was so lovely, I was afraid to use it!
I've since gotten over my reluctance and have been merrily journaling all month.
I decided not to have two pages for photos (12 photos for the year) and instead I'm doing one photo in each month. January's theme was snowflakes because it usually snows and I expected to take some snow shots. Figures there hasn't been a single flake all month. Today I gave up and took a shot of my prayer flags that send healing, compassion, love out into the world whenever the wind blows. Better than snow, I think, especially in these desperate times.
Here's January...(you'll have to click on the photo to see the tiny picture)
Interesting really, isn't it, how one little word can lead down a path never expected. I've expanded my lettering skills, managed to write every day, and my artistic endeavors have improved beyond anything my high school art teacher could have imagined!
Maybe bujo is a little bit of sorcery after all...
I've been a diary-keeper since I was a kid and probably have at least 15 adult journals stashed around the house right now, none of them finished. I either forget to write, get too busy to take the time, or just plain lose interest. The bujo idea intrigued me enough to want to give it a try.
I watched several YouTube videos, read lots of online stuff, bought some books, then in April I ordered my first journal. And totally screwed it up. I tore out pages, started over, used the wrong pens that bled through the pages, made lettering mistakes...you get the idea. I almost gave up, but persevered and quickly learned there is a difference between journals--and pens!--so ordered a different journal that I happily used from May 1st to December 31st and never missed a day. I'm not very artistic so I had a real learning curve on lettering and design elements, though did find what worked for me and have been doing it ever since.
One person in particular on YouTube, AmandaRachLee, has been a real inspiration to me. She's a young woman in Toronto with the most incredible talent; I've learned much from her. One day last October, she was talking about a company called Archer & Olive, who make journals by hand. I hadn't purchased my new 2020 journal yet, so I thought I'd order one of theirs.
It came in a beautiful box, and was just wonderful to unwrap. My only concern, it was so lovely, I was afraid to use it!
I've since gotten over my reluctance and have been merrily journaling all month.
In December Amanda did her 2020 layout and had a two-page section for her year in pictures, using her little Polaroid camera. I thought that was a cool idea so found a Fujifilm Instax mini that is just too cute, was on sale, and takes these tiny little photos that fit perfectly in my journal. The pictures come out sort of faded and old looking, like photos from the 50s. I actually love how they look.
I decided not to have two pages for photos (12 photos for the year) and instead I'm doing one photo in each month. January's theme was snowflakes because it usually snows and I expected to take some snow shots. Figures there hasn't been a single flake all month. Today I gave up and took a shot of my prayer flags that send healing, compassion, love out into the world whenever the wind blows. Better than snow, I think, especially in these desperate times.
Here's January...(you'll have to click on the photo to see the tiny picture)
Interesting really, isn't it, how one little word can lead down a path never expected. I've expanded my lettering skills, managed to write every day, and my artistic endeavors have improved beyond anything my high school art teacher could have imagined!
Maybe bujo is a little bit of sorcery after all...
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