Here’s a peek inside several of the Five Things journals I’ve created in the last few years. The basic premise of this course I teach a few times a year is using list writing as a daily short practice of mindfulness and creativity. Each round is different and you can learn more about the next round of Here: Five Things right here.

Over the years I’ve used a variety of journals - from handmade to simple notebooks. I am a big believer in using what you have, so if you're planning to keep a journal when taking this course, I encourage you to look around your home and gather up what's available. Maybe you will continue with a journal you've already used in one of my other courses. Maybe you have a journal you keep saving for something and THIS IS THE TIME! Maybe you will use a spiral notebook or legal pad.

Below you’ll find some simple ideas along with a video that shows a look at several of the journals I’ve used for this course.

First up is something really simple: Here's a look at a journal I created for my kid for her Five Things lists that she kept when we first started this class back in 2020. I simply gathered up 4x6 and 3x4 inch Project Life/scrapbooking cards, 4x6 envelopes, a couple of 4x6 postcards, and paper I cut to that size. I used a hole punch and then gathered it together with book rings. This way, when she wants to make a list, we can just take that page out so she can write on it, put it in the typewrite, decorate it, etc.

For a different variation of this course I did with one of my online communities, I used a pocket-sized Moleskine Cahier notebook. I made my lists on a double spread page - creating a small collage on one side and writing on the other. In some of my other journals, I enjoy pairing my lists with a single image. The photos below share a peek at both of these ideas. The journal on the right is a Moleskine Cahier notebook (XL with blank pages) and you can see the cover of it at the top of this post.

Sometimes I like to get a little messy with paint and stickers and stamps and photos inside handmade journals (that I make or made by another artist) that has a wide variety of papers to create on.