Hi everyone! :-)
I started working on a Vision Booklet close to the end of 2015 and I have been so excited to share it with you. And now I can! This is going to be a lengthy and image heavy post, because I have so much that I am wanting to tell you about.
First of all, this is a companion blog post for my YouTube video about my Vision Journal. So be sure
watch that video here.
Last year, I decided to add Vision Board Pages to the front of a new journal that I had plans of writing in that new year. Well, I ended up only writing in it a few times, didn't like it (it was too thick and hard for me to write on) and ended up putting it on my bookshelf. Needless to say, I never looked at those Vision Board Pages again.
So this year, I thought that it would be fun to create a small booklet, just for my vision pages. I made it small enough so that it easily fits into my journal that I'm happy working in, which is a Moleskine Art Plus Sketchbook. It also fits into the back of my Personal Size Filofax that I use as my daily planner. I'm not sure if I will ever really take it anywhere with me, but if I want to, I can. For now, it's sitting on my art table, where I can easily see it, pick it up, turn the pages, read the words, feel the paper....all of those things that help me focus on what I've put into my booklet.
Just some tips if you would like to create a Vision Booklet for yourself:
* Decide how big/small you want your booklet to be: Do you want it to fit in a journal or more than one sized journal? Or will you just be keeping it out on your work area? Use this information to decide what size to create your booklet.
* Pick out some paper to use for your booklet. Use papers that make you happy and that you enjoy! Scrapbook paper is great for the cover, especially the thicker, card stock type. For the inside pages use paper that you like to look at/use also. I used patterned paper from a FLOW Paper Magazine because it was easiest for me to grab. You could use: scrapbook paper, notebook paper, graph paper, watercolor paper, etc. I did discover while working on my pages that I liked working on the patterned side of the paper that I was using better than the off-white/plain side. Make sure that you have enough pages: at least one page per category. I worked across two pages for each of mine in my booklet.
* You need something to bind the pages together. I used black, wax thread. But you could also use yarn, floss, twine, even ribbon if you carefully thread it through the holes so to not tear the paper. I also used an awl to puncture the paper and a big needle. There are lots of videos out there on binding a booklet, but I would just keep it simple.
* Choose some areas that you would like to focus on in your Vision Booklet. I have six: mind/thoughts, art/art career, body/fitness, faith, food/eating, and family/friends. You can have as many or few that you want. I wouldn't choose too many, because you want this to be a positive tool to help you acknowledge areas that you would like to work on throughout the year, not something that you look at and think, "Ugh, I have so many things I need to change about myself. It's too much. Too hard. So I don't even want to look at this" and onto off to The Shelf of Misfit Art Projects it goes.
* Find some magazines. Look at the categories that you chose to help you decide what type of magazines you will have the best luck finding images/words/phrases in. For example, a lot of my areas have to do with my health, fitness, mind, food....so I found a lot of useful things in a Cooking Light and Dr. Oz magazine. I also used Midwest Living, Real Simple, Life Beautiful and a free magazine from Whole Foods. I also have quite a collection of words/phrases/images that I've been gathering for over a year, so I went through a lot of those as well. Magazines can be expensive! Do do what you can to find magazines for cheap or even free. Ask friends if they have some they don't want anymore (since I share so much of my collage on line with my friends I have had several people ask me if I can use their old magazines they no longer want), check your local library and library book sales, Half Price Book Store, thrift stores like The Goodwill, garage sales, and even places like FreeCycle. I am signed up for FreeCycle of our city and I have seen people offering their magazine piles often. You can even put out a request on FreeCycle asking for magazines. Don't pass up on sale flyers/ads/magazines that you can find at your grocery store. They all have words and phrases in them that you can use in your found word collages.
* Don't try to do this all in one day. Make this an enjoyable and non-rushed project. Find joy in this process! It's there, I promise! And don't worry that it's already the middle of January. These are things that are important to you and that you want to focus on throughout the year. Who says that you have to start making changes on January 1st? Anytime that you start is the best time for you. Just starting is what's important.
* Keep it real. Don't be afraid to express your fears/worries/insecurities on these pages. It's good to get them out onto paper, let them be seen and acknowledged so that then you can start thinking about ways to do something positive in relation to it instead. No, I'm not a therapist or have gone through any art therapy training, etc...I'm just sharing what I've learned helps me process some of the not-so-great thoughts/feelings/emotions that I have sometimes. Please seek help if you are dealing with serious issues that you should not be tackling without professional guidance.
* Listen to some relaxing music. I love Pandora and listen to the Cafe Del Mar channel a lot when I'm working in my collage journal.
* Light a candle. I have a wood-wick candle that smells amazing and I love to listen to the crackle as the fire burns the wood wick.
* Have a comforting drink...hot coffee or tea, wine...whatever! ;-) And a non-greasy snack. You don't want to get icky fingerprints on your magazine pages. My favorite is pretzel sticks.
* Other supplies that I had on hand - scissors, a small and large paper trimmer, glue stick, tape runner, Post-It notes (to write you categories on to help when clipping words/phrases) and some business-size envelopes (one for each category to put your clipped items in, just in case you need to clean up your work area for some reason) and a small paper sack for trash/clippings, if I was working somewhere besides my art area.
Mind/Thoughts Pages:
Art/Art Caree Pages
Health/Fitness Pages
Faith Pages
Food/Eating Pages
Family/Friends Pages
I hope that you enjoyed have a look into my Vision Booklet and I truly wish that you are inspired to create a booklet for yourself. Looking at my pages now as I'm typing this, I realized that I don't really have many specific or detailed goals listed. They are expressed more so in the thoughts that I am reminded of as I read the phrases. I love this, because it gives me room to change and grow and doesn't make it feel like it's "This or Nothing at All".
Feel free to interpret what I've shared with you today in any way that works the best for you. If it would help you to list specific goals, then please do! Remember, this is YOUR Vision Booklet. Create it in a way that makes you happy and that will make you want to keep looking at it as we travel along through 2016.
My most heartfelt thanks and gratitude go to you all for helping me grow so much as an artist in 2015 and I am so excited to see what 2016 brings!
Take care,
Dianne
