Introducing flower journaling

Recently, while browsing the web in search of ideas for simple homemade journals, I stumbled across this gem–how to make a book with only paper, one rubber band, and a “backbone” of choice, such as a twig…

…a pencil

…or chopsticks.

{Check out the instructions here, from twowritingteachers.}

It’s too cool an idea, and adaptable for any age from preschooler to adult. You can use it for a notebook, a sketchpad, a journal, a love letter… you name it.

I’m going to use mine for flower-journaling, which is, as the White Knight would say, a tune of my own invention. I stumbled across that too, and I love it.

Sometimes I just feel muddled, especially at this time of year–either by a task list, a complex sequence, or a boatload of conflicting emotions.

So I draw a circle on a piece of paper, and I write in it the topic at hand: What I’m Feeling, or Urgent Tasks, or Dreams for This Summer. What I Love About My Life. Ingredients Available For Supper. Frustration. Happy Things From Today.

I draw petals extending from the circle, and begin to write in them. If I’m assigning the project to one of my children (Things You Like About Your Sister), I draw 5-7 petals. If I’m making it for myself, I draw petals as I progress. Who knows how far I’ll go? Maybe I’ll start a second row behind the first and it will turn into a chrysanthemum…

I’ve found it a valuable way to condense what I’m feeling into a few key phrases; to separate the parts, and yet visualize the whole.

Try it?