by Linda | May 24, 2015 | my creative journal
If you are new to the Midori Traveler’s Notebook and don’t know what it is… you may want to check out the Midori 101 video by TheResetGirl – it pretty much explains everything!
I should have watched the video myself before experimenting in making my own notebook which I blogged about – Make Your Own Midori (Fauxdori) Traveler’s Notebook – previously.
After fiddling around with my DIY notebook for awhile, I realized that I kept thinking that the elastic bands had to be more than the height of the insert you slip in, but that’s not entirely true. Technically the elastic can stretch out, but the key is to get the tension perfect, otherwise you start wrinkling up stuff.
Anyway, I decided to make another fauxdori from my DIY learnings… and yes, this means I’m building up a collection already, but each one is slightly differently since I’m actively experimenting with the little details.
I decided to reinforce the holes punched with eyelets – duh! Since I’m a scrapbooker I have lots of tools anyway, so why not use them? I also used a decorative one for the center hole, pretty darn cute, huh?
The funny thing is that I’m such a homebody and SAHM nowadays that I’m not really traveling much as compared to my 20s (I toured Europe and backpacked all over!). However, I’m making this fauxdori to be my in-the-purse notebook, so I have a pretty journal for when I am out and about. Waiting for the doctor, appointments and those kind of situations.
So the result is a roughly A5-sized fauxdori notebook cover with the regular midori sized inserts. I also added a paper pocket on the inside front cover and a back area for a quote to attach my pen holder elastic.
Slowly but surely, I’m customizing and getting the details down to create something I really like.
Yay for DIY, right? With just a little bit of effort you can really get crafty and create your own custom planners and notebooks, suited just for your use and taste. Are you getting crafty or into the whole planner world?
by Linda | May 19, 2015 | my creative journal
I’ve been taking it easy this month, waiting for our 2nd baby to arrive (any day now!) but still keeping myself creatively active via Instagram. It’s probably because Instagram is so easy to update on a day-to-day basis. I joined in on the #The100DayProject challenge all about the process of making for 100 days in a row. You pick your own challenge and get to it for a 100 days, posting your progress. I kept it simple by challenging myself to create a simple sketch every single day and it’s working because I’m still going at it 40 days later. Pretty cool!
Even though I know that when the baby arrives, I might run into a time crunch, it’s worth incorporating a creative routine into my day, no matter how small or quick. It’s proof that it doesn’t take a lot of time to inject a bit of creative mojo into our busy schedules. It always seems like such trivial progress, but when you look back you realize how much you have accomplished. It’s never too late to join in or start your own initiative or challenge, so I say go for it!
by Linda | May 13, 2015 | my creative journal, Uncategorized
I’ve been looking into paper planners recently and kept seeing the mention of Midori journals and notebook inserts. Although it’s been around for a long time, I never actually understood what it was. The Midori Traveler’s Notebook is basically a leather cover with elastic bands inside that enable you to slip in and out saddle stitched inserts. This means that you can use the same journal cover over and over, just swapping out your notebook insert inside.
Of course, the original brand name is Japanese and not the cheapest on the block. People have copied the idea and often go DIY, calling them fauxdori. Although the Midori was originally intended for travelers who would swap out inserts for every trip, nowadays people use the same idea for all kinds of purposes. Everyday sketchbook artists, planner addicts, list makers, diary writers, bullet list journalers – you name it! The system is so flexible, it’s just a great way to keep a perpetual journal for any topic or hobby.
I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try my hand at making a Midori (fauxdori) Notebook. There are lots of tutorials out there and definitely some variation in regards to sizes and how the elastic band is bound into the cover. But ultimately, all you need is durable material for your cover, the elastic band material and some basic bookbinding tools. All the other details are sort of up to your preference.
After rummaging in my stash, I decided to use the dark blue leather for my first fauxdori notebook. Unfortunately, the leather is not a very thick and quite floppy. I know that not everyone has access to leather, but you can definitely consider any kind of material that will hold up to be a cover. Whenever I want to strength my cover material, I just cut a piece of cardstock to size and glue it to my leather. Besides adding strength, it’s a nice way to add a pop of color and design to the inside of your journals.
Since I live in Italy and we use A4 paper, I decided to size my notebook accordingly. You can see a bunch of note system page sizes here and decide what you want to go with. Depending how thick and expansive you want the notebook to be, you’ll have to calculate enough width for the spine area. I would have preferred to make mine wider, but I’m limited by the size of the patterned paper that is 30 centimeters wide.
I cut my paper to size first, then glued it to my leather with standard white glue. After everything dried completely, I trimmed my leather to size and made some measurements to punch the holes for the elastic band. I ended up purchasing some colored elastic that you usually see with these types of notebooks – but I didn’t realize 3mm is actually really thick. I think it’s too big because I had to punch really large holes to get it to fit through.
I punched a hole in the middle of the spine for the wrap around part of the elastic. You might have seen that some journals have the closure cord separate and knotted on the back, but I don’t like the idea of having a bump under the writing area of the notebook pages. Now comes the part that tripped me up a bit in the process. I realized that the cover has to be much larger than your notebook insert size from top and bottom, because you have to punch holes for the elastic and the notebook has to slip in. How close did I really want to punch these holes to the edge of the cover? Especially since my cord is so thick, I was risking weakening the whole cover structure and possible tearing through use.
In fact, with all the wrangling I ripped the paper lining at the bottom of the cover as shown in the picture above. Below you can see a view of the finished cover from the outside.
In the end, it wasn’t a total loss, because I just had to cut my notebook insert paper down a 1cm to fit into the cover. I suppose it’s not too shabby for my first try.
Of course, from the hands-on experience I immediately wanted to make another fauxdori with a few improvements. Instead of punching holes in the cover to string the elastic through – reducing the size of the insert that can slip in, I wanted to try wrapping the elastic over the top and bottom of the cover. Of course, it depends on you having a strong enough cover material to withstand that pressure, so this second attempt uses a heavier weight black leather.
I also added a little strip of leather with the wrap around part of the elastic, so the pressure wouldn’t rough up the notebook papers on contact, when closing it up.
Obviously, all this has to be tested with tried and true usage, to see what really happens. I ended up with two fauxdori covers to test out… perhaps will carry it around in my purse to see how the wear and tear goes.
Coming from a bookbinding perspective, I know there are lots of variations possible in terms of where to punch the holes and how many strands of elastic to include, depending how expansive you want your notebook to be. I’m thinking of horizontal row of holes and needing more width for the cover in general. Or maybe even using slits instead of holes.
Lots to consider and think about… not to mention real-world testing.
Well, since I have a whole lot of material available, I will be making more of these to try out some variations in construction and sizes for different purposes. I’m thinking that personally I would definitely use this system for notebooks in my purse, because it’s usually quick notes and things I jot down, not necessarily to be kept forever. It seems the kind of usage that makes sense for something that can be perpetually swapped out.
Have you tried to make a fauxdori? Did you run into any issues or would you opt for traditionally binding a journal?
by Linda | Apr 27, 2015 | my creative journal
Losing Steam
Some days you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and feel like blah. Perhaps you are physically tired, anxious, uncertain, generally out of sorts… all of the above?
It can be a struggle to get out of bed and start your day. You feel like you have so much to do, but you can’t get yourself to be productive.
Are you losing steam? Losing motivation? Is this failure? Are you giving up on your dreams?
Doubts immediately swirl in – what you are doing with your life and if it’s worth it or going anywhere at all. The inner critic starts to take over…
I know the feeling and I know how unhelpful it can be to wallow in all of those depressing thoughts. This kind of dip is inevitable, because we all have these kind of downer days. The question is, how do we snap ourselves out of it?
Get Back On Track
The trick is to have an arsenal of tools that will snap you back into positivity and action. We will all have different options that will work for us, so it’s important to explore and identify your unique triggers. Here are some ideas:
- Re-energize: What activities actually build up your energy level? Usually surfing the internet is draining and not at all restful even if it seems like a zombie mode of intaking inspiration. Perhaps it’s better to get outside? Get some exercise? Go to a bustling cafe and grab your favorite drink? Take a hot shower? What does it for you? What helps you to snap out of lethargy?
- Self-care and love: You might just need some pampering and self-love. Does that mean a spa day or scenic drive? A red velvet cupcake or a steamy cappuccino while reading your a book quietly? We all need downtime and some TLC. Have you been neglecting yourself?
- Revisit your mission: Whether it’s the mission statement for your business or your life mission statement, it’s a good idea to regularly revisit the core “why” – the guiding light that defines all we do. Many people have a favorite quote or a poster stuck on their wall as a reminder of what drives us to do what we do, day-to-day.
- Friends and loved ones: I think we often forget that as humans we are social animals and sometimes it could be that isolation is contributing to our downward spiral. It’s important to interact and be social. Oftentimes, friends and loved ones will help trigger your usual self and get you back on track. They will provide you with unconditional love and support… so use it! Maybe you just need a hug?
Remember that we all have bad days, when everything just seems off. Help yourself by taking note of what helps you get out of that darkness and always know that tomorrow is another day!
What methods do you use to help you get back on track when losing steam?
by Linda | Apr 20, 2015 | my creative journal
In talking to many creatives online, I’ve realized that so many of us are blocked and stuck in paralysis. We have dreams and goals, but feel that it’s too far fetched, too difficult or too late to start working towards them.
I want to help us break through the false impression that success only happens with massive action and investment (whether it’s time and/or money).
I’m certainly not against the times in our lives when a major change certainly can kick us into action… but on a day-to-day basis, experience tells me that just 10 minutes a day can lead to success.
We often underestimate the power of incremental change and progress. Consider that 10 minutes a day is over 60 hours of time in a year. That’s like spending more than a month of business work hours – straight – on one project… and that is a substantial amount of time for many types of projects.
When I became a mom, I had to learn the hard way to make use of all the little bits of in-between time I had available to me. The luxury of giant blocks of free time are rare! And if you think about it, the availability of little chunks of time is much greater in our lives today. Waiting in lines, the transition times between errands and tasks, the few minutes before your day starts or day ends… lots of little pockets of time. It makes so much sense to learn to make use of them, rather than just letting them pass you by.
To give you some examples of how 10 minutes a day can lead to success for various projects and goals, consider this:
- Daily doodle/drawing/pattern/collage projects even with a quick 10 minutes means you will have 365 entries at the end of a year. Even if you skip days you would have still accomplished a lot. That is why I love 100 day challenges or daily routines of that sort. It’s a great way to develop a creative practice routine.
- Daily exercise like a set of crunches, lunges or stretching poses. It always seems like nothing, but if you actually take action for 10 minutes a day, you’ll be surprised how much more fit you’ll be after a year of practice. Again, even if you skip a few days, the results are still better than doing nothing. This kind of practice can be as simple as a 10 minute walk around your work building at lunchtime!
- Meditation for 10 minutes a day. It’s a great way to give yourself that calming, centering time. You’ll be surprised how this simple practice might change the way you feel the rest of the day! Not to mention, it helps when you are going through a difficult situation – deep breaths, right?
You might agree with the fact that daily routines are great, but perhaps have trouble keeping up. So how do you set yourself up for success when it comes to nurturing a daily routine?
- First you have to set up the goal or activity you are wanting to accomplish. Keep it simple and realistically possible for a short period of time.
- Then you have to simply make it easy for you to jump in and spend those 10 minutes of time when it comes along. Like having your sketchbook always ready and available. Or memorizing those exercises you want to do, so you can break them out anytime anywhere.
- The point is to set yourself up for success and just keep moving forward day by day, chipping away at it.
- Finally, don’t let a missed day trip you up. Think of every single day as a new start. Doing something sometimes, is better than nothing all the time.
Daily routines work for so many creatives and if you ask anyone who has achieved any kind of success, they will inevitably tell you it’s the slow and steady work of chipping away at the task.
If you need a bit of motivation, think of declaring your intentions in public or getting a partner or buddy who wants to do this routine with you. Accountability works and community motivates! Generally you can also keep your eye on the prize and visualize all that you will accomplish by the end of the year.
I’ve embarked on the #100DayProject, posting my simple pencil sketches on Instagram daily. It’s a small creative exercise, but it’s about keeping my drawing muscles flexed and turns out to be a fountain for inspiration. A simple creative play exercise can turn into a full-fledged idea and project!
Are you ready for creative success?
