This is something that I have been trying to keep up with for several years. I began this format of journaling in 2018 respectively, but didn’t really work it all out until about 2019. At first it was a way to organize photos and ephemera, but when I started using my Happy Planner as a journal it soon became the perfect place to document all my memories and ponderings.

I’m sharing some of the first half of 2022 with you to give you an idea of how I put this together. It’s still a work in progress and there are a few more tips and processes that I will be sharing in future blog posts.

Today’s post starts in March because January and February were journaling pages and I really wanted to share just the memory keeping pages today.

March: Two small pages of gratitude.

I keep my pages pretty simple because the point of this is to document what’s been going on so that when I finally get around to working in my pocket page albums, I have the thoughts and memories to write onto the journaling cards.

On the left is a memory of trying to cheer my grandson up, as you can see I was eventually successful. But on the previous page I was telling him not to smile “Whatever you do, don’t smile” while I was taking a photo of his grumpy face, when he started to smile I said “Stop smiling…” until he was laughing! So fun!

On the right, running Wes to school the next morning and then a screenshot of a text my son sent me of the bow he purchased with his birthday money. (He lives in South Korea, so he’s on his own with choosing his gifties) I use screenshots of texts quite a bit in my memory keeping, but I’ll share that in another blog post.

April: Wedding dress shopping.

We found the right dress, but it needs a lot of work.

Behind this photo you can see a gratitude list. After a while I figured out that this entire journal is a gratitude list, and that it isn’t necessary to write out a list everyday, but to just get the thoughts and memories down on paper.

A birthday memory, a car wash helper, and more wedding dress drama, it was not going to be ready for the wedding!

I wish I could say that all of the memories in this journal were positive, but that is just not realistic. One of the biggest reasons I’m slightly obsessed with documenting is because life seems to go by so fast, and I often wonder where the time went. Planning and journaling is a way for me to grasp where the day went…along with sweet photos of course!

May: Getting ready to leave for the wedding venue.

I got to spend a little time with Wesley before we left, actually a lot of time, we didn’t get on the road until 9:30pm and we got there at 1:am. Yikes that was a scary drive into the mountains in the middle of the night!

Chocolate bars on our pillows helped though. Pages of these journals may end up pulled out and put into a pocket page album later, so I’m not too worried about using any of my ephemera in these.

Wesley’s Birthday:

I don’t use all the photos I’ve taken in this journal, just the ones that I can tie into my journaling. I made a note on the left there to remind myself that there are a few more photos that go along with this memory. Sometimes I run out of time and space for documenting, so small notes work. I will be using a professional printer when I put my final album pages together, these are from my home printer.

This project is also a great way to use up years worth of stickers and memory keeping flotsam that will never make it into my albums. I have a lot of extras left over from scrapbook paper pad sets, I loved the paper, but the stickers…?

June: Taking walks and going to the park.

I’m happy to say that because my daughter was working, I was able to step in and help take care of my grandson quite a bit over the summer. At the time we didn’t know that by the end of the year they would be relocating, so I will be forever grateful that I had all this time with him!

Of course I wish I had taken more photos, but because this is also a journal, I was able to document small memories too. All of these things will eventually make it into our albums. That’s why I love the pocket page system so much, I plan on rewriting some of these memories onto journaling cards as keepsakes. Along with small collage art pieces and a few of my grandson’s (and children’s) masterpieces. There are so many ways to be creative with it!

I still love art journaling, I used to do all my memory keeping in them, but I really prefer this method more. For me, art journaling is more of a way to document my moods than memories, and I still have a lot of those!

So, until next time,

I hope you are looking forward to this new addition in content as much as I am,

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Take Care,

~Patty

This year, I seem to be bouncing between busy and lazy, but I have made a little time to work in my Christmas journals.

Up until a week ago it was go, go, go…then my daughter left! She and her little family have relocated to their new home just in time for Christmas. Her husband relocated in September, so now they are together for the Holidays.

She and our grandson arrived just ahead of the “Storm of the Century” with a large dog, 2 cats, a goldfish, and a partridge in a pear tree. Now she’s snowed in…but safe!

My husband and I have a very relaxed plan for Christmas this year, movies, food, and watching snow fall.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and wish all of you a

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our home to yours,

As always,

Thank you for stopping by,

Much Love,

~Patty

This little journal has gone through more than one incarnation. It started as a “List Journal”, you know “30 Days of Lists” or the olde “Listers Gotta List” by the Reset Girl. I participated just to have an excuse to decorate my journals…and to play along, but I quickly lost interest in the list making part (kinda the point!)

So, I tore most everything off the pages to start from scratch, it was (is) a mess. Pages stick together, some even have holes. I’m not sure if I love a challenge or just like to torture myself, the jury’s still out.

Anyway, I (it) needed to go in a new direction…

…not just with this journal, with my world view.

Over the past few years I have really let the divisiveness in the world get to me. I didn’t realize how much it was affecting my general attitude and mental health.

Now, I realize there isn’t much I can do to heal the rifts on our planet, but I can step away, do some personal soul searching, pay attention to how I respond, and try to understand other people’s points of view.

I don’t have to agree to understand!

So, I’m filling this journal with visual inclusiveness, dropping borders, and adding small fragments of love…

..and trusting the process!

Every time something comes up that makes me a little anxious or disappointed with the world and it’s shenanigans, I spend a little time playing around in this little journal. The only down fall is this journal is inspiring me to make another one that is just a ‘visual journal’ (no journaling), and I really need to get on with finishing up the journals I have first…

…oh what the heck, I’m starting a new one right now, I deserve it! (I’ll share it soon).

I hope this post made sense. I’m trying to say something that is a bit difficult to talk about without potentially rubbing folks the wrong way. So, I hope you get what I’m trying say. I’ve had this blog post on the back burner for a few weeks trying to find the right words, and I’m still not sure I was successful.

I’m work in progress!

As always,

Thank you for your time,

Have a great rest of your week,

~Patty

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

I thought I would take a minute to to say hello and share a little something I played with between Turkey day meal prep. I usually don’t have time on Thanksgiving to get artsy, but it was just my husband and I this year. There were phone conversations, emails and texts throughout the day, but this was definitely the most relaxing Holiday I’ve had in many years!

I kept it pretty simple with some paint and a few embellishments…

…and a library pocket to jot down a few memories.

I hope your day was as enjoyable as ours was!

As always,

Thank you for stopping by,

Much Love,

~Patty

Hi friends, a lot has been happening in my neck of the woods, but I wanted to take a minute and say hello while I have the chance.

Lately most of my time has been dedicated to home projects and spending time with family. No complaints here on that score, but things will be changing soon because my daughter and her family are moving east a few states and I won’t have them close by anymore. It’s all for the better for her little family, but I’m really going to miss them. Suffice it to say, I’ll have a lot more time on my hands soon.

I found a fews minutes to pull out my little “A Cottage For Betsy” journal for some playtime, this is probably the best page spread I’ve done in here yet.

An homage to working on the house and using up some stash. I found that little frame stuck to the bottom of one of my containers (eye roll emoji)

Spending time with family over the last couple of months has really been a joy, but I really need to back on the “memory keeping bus” before I forget details…

…like this!

Raking leaves with my grandson.

I really miss chatting and sharing with you all!

With the colder weather arriving, I’ll have lots more time to spend on creative projects. I’ve been working on some crochet projects I’d like to share soon.

So, until then,

Have a great week,

~Patty