I hate it when my creative juices dip. In the heat of the summer, it's harder for me to push forward with my creative projects. My energy tends to lull and drain and I just want to lie on the back porch and pant in the shade with Breena, the family dog.
I've discovered that when I'm feeling weary, trying to push, push, PUSH to get something else done doesn't work very well.
As a result of this idea, I've been pivoting and integrating some fun creative-inducing-but-not-work-related-projects into my life.
One of them is pulling out my dream journals.
I started creating dream journals a few years back when I had stacks and stacks and STACKS of magazines. The piles were so bad my friend Krislyn commented on the amount of magazines I had. Her comments struck home because she is a fellow magazine aficionado; if she was commenting on my hoard, ahem, collection, I needed to downsize.
As I go through magazines, I mark articles I like with dog eared pages or stickers, making it easy to find what I wanted to pull out for my dream journals. There were themes in the articles I liked- women who had taken their DIY skills and built businesses and artists who had spread their wings from hobbyist to artisan entrepreneur. I pulled pages of homes that were homes with color and themes designed by everyday folks, not houses decorated with a hefty interior design budget. There were articles of beautifully set tables with the recipes for the menu items.
I started to collect these articles and call them my dream journals. I don't want to imitate the women or businesses, I want to emulate their spirit. Many of the women- whether they were artists, business owners or the DIY home creators talked about the journey, the struggle, the set backs, the time they almost threw in the towel. These creators had taken their ideas from inception to completion.
Hearing their stories helps me realize the journey is full of ups and downs and thorny paths for each of us. These artisans stories and pictures also gives me ideas for my own journey. I love the way one artist integrates traveling into her work or the way the botanical gardener took her love for herbs and created a body and bath line (pictures showed here) after deciding she was ready for a new chapter in her life after her corporate career.
Creating a dream journal is a fantastic project when your creative energy is a little low. Sometimes I'm too tired to think of an idea to paint or the next chapter of a book to write. Creating a dream journal rejuvenates my creativity (I'm creating something and I always find that inspiring), helps me organize my thoughts and produces ideas for stories, color combinations, etc.
I'm a bit of a romantic so I call these creations dream journals; it's both an imagination and recording exercise. I'm imagining what my life might be like in the future from all the ideas I'm receiving and I'm recording and re-emphasizing the values and ideas and life practices that are important to me.
Your dream journal hardly needs to take on a romantic or DIY look to be effective. The goal is to collect ideas that inspire you, keep them in a organized place, and reflect on them when you feel like giving up or need a bit of inspiration.
How to Create an Inexpensive Dream Journal with Basic Supplies
Ingredients:
- Scrapbook or blank journal or sketch pad with thicker pages (regular pages won't hold up well with paper stuck to them). I find scrapbooks on clearance - usually for less than $5.
- Tape or a glue stick. Tape dots work very effectively.
- Scissors- basic scissors or "fun" edge scissors
- A couple of pens for writing ideas or thoughts that came when looking at articles
- Non essentials: stickers, stamps, back round pages (this could be scrap book paper, construction paper, card stock. Keep it scrappy- use what you have on hand).
Instructions:
1. Take the magazines articles you like and cut them out. For extra fun use scissors with fancy edges. Cut out the pictures as well.
2. Find a scrapbook you haven't used (or dig through the clearance section at your local craft store. Sometimes Wal-Mart and Target carry them too).
3. Re-arrange the pictures and articles as fancy and plain as you like. Sometimes I just stick them in there.
4. Take the opportunity to add your extra notes.
5. Keep extra pages available for when you come across your next best inspiration. Keep the glue and scissors nearby too. Make it easy to continue to add to your Dream Journal. This cuts down on the piles of magazines and keeps everything for when you want to find it!
Have fun!
What do you do to stay inspired or revive your creativity?
You have found such a great way to not only organize your "collection" but to use the ideas you love in a way that will help you remember them. I have a notebook full of articles and ideas and I call it my "Business Plan" -- I got plastic sheet protectors and dividers and keep them handy. One of my best finds was in Real Simple Magazine -- each issue has a "thoughts" page with a picture and a comment -- I use these as covers for notebooks for clients once I know what helps them feel happy.
I love your creative thoughts Melissa -- you are a treasure.
Sherry recently posted...Every Family Has A Story
Sherry, thank you so much for your encouraging comments! I really appreciate you! Real Simple has so many eye catching illustrations and ideas. What a fun and thoughtful way to make your clients smile- I love it!