A new journal helps me believe that anything is possible in a new year:

It’s a leap year – 366 days in which to celebrate and be grateful.  This journal is to remind me to be grateful, as well as to help me be motivated to set and keep goals and memories.   I used a retired This ‘n That journal and covered the front with Perfectly Artistic Sale-a-bration Designer Series paper (DSP).  The letters are some self-adhesive chipboard I had stashed in the craft room, and the numbers are stamped and die cut with the Number of Years bundle from the Occasions catalog.

It’s simple to fit the paper over the spiral binding.  Mark the spacing for the holes, use a punch (this is 3/8″ from my Crop-a-dile) to punch the holes, then use your snips to make a little slit between the edge and the hole.  Once it’s adhered to the cover (I used Tombo, the Wonder Adhesive) you won’t see the slits.

I also made a new cover for my To Do list journal.  I’ve always been a list-maker, and for the past few years I’ve used the Circa system from Levenger to organize my lists.  I like that I can add pages, move pages around, and punch and add my own pages to the journals.  And I especially like crossing things off my list!

I chose not to stamp these images, but to focus on the colors and textures that I could get using card stock cut with Thinlits.  I began with a few pieces and just kept cutting and adding until there were too many, and then I took a few away.  It’s a fun type of trial and error, but the real fun comes when you try to adhere them down just exactly where you put them in the first place.  It helps to take a photo.

I use a lot of digital lists, calendars and reminders, but there’s still something very satisfying about paper and pen.  How about you?  Tell me about your lists.  And then maybe you’ll make a new journal too.