Hello, and welcome to January's write. Saturday!
One thing I love about creativity prompts is how they can take people in such different directions. This month's gallery theme was "today" and when I browsed through it, I was seriously amazed at how we each put our own unique spin on it. From Karen's writing about a small moment with her son to Christa's journaling about her upcoming grand adventures—and everything in between!—it's inspiring to see all the places a little word like "today" can take us.
Another useful thing about using one idea to create more is how the original idea helps you do something you might not otherwise have done. Today's journaling prompts hopefully will help you do exactly that: journal about something you've been meaning to write down but haven't yet. They're each inspired by a layout from the January gallery.
One Vacation Moment
I don't know about you, but when I write the journaling for vacation photos, I tend to take a long time. There is so much to tell! Rather than trying to cram all the stories into just one layout, get specific. Write about one small moment within the scope of an entire vacation. It might be the magical moment, the experience you knew while it was happening would be the one that made all the pre-vacation stress worth it. Or maybe it's something you remember, looking back. You might not even have a photo of the moment—and that's okay! Write the journaling, then find a photo that fits well enough.
Ann did this in her Today She is a Princess layout. Think about all the experiences you have at Disneyland—yet this moment with her daughter had to be better than anything else. (Even, I'll bet, Space Mountain!) In a decade or two, Kira might not remember anything else from the trip—but this is unforgettable!
Marnie and I both used this "one moment" idea to create our layouts.
When my family was last in California, we took our kids on a whale-sighting cruise. I didn't get the fabulous photos I was hoping for, and my camera battery actually died, but the words help me tell the story anyway!
Marnie also took one moment from a recent vacation and let it be the reason for this layout.
Everyday Messes
Documenting the everyday details of our lives is one of the best thing about scrapbooking. Your perspective on those little details changes when you make a layout about them. Write about one of the little piles or messes you usually find around your house. Think about both where the mess comes from and how you feel about it.
Donna's These Days captures the pile of shoes, helmets, and jackets that are the evidence of happy childhood hours. A house with such a pile is an exuberant, child-filled home! What do your home's messes reveal about you?
Celeste played along with this prompt. She focused on one little mess: shoes. I love this layout because it reminds me that the shoe mess is universal!
In my messy layout, I focused on my three hot spots—the places in my house that always accumulate clutter. (I hope I'm not the only one who has those!) But I also pushed a little bit to think about what those hot spots say about me and how I really feel about clutter in the first place.
Dramatic Weather
The goings-on of the great outdoors is something that's easily overlooked in our layouts—until the weather grabs your attention. It's when a storms surprise us, derail our plans, or cause unexpected damage, great stories are made.
Celeste's Today layout documents the aftermath of Storm Alfred this fall. All those fallen branches! Can you think of a weather-related story (it doesn't have to be as dramatic) you've never told before?
Last year, we were hit with five inches of wet, heavy snow—on May 24! It was incredible. I'd already blogged about the damage, but I realized I'd never told the story for my son Kaleb, who was with me when the damaged branches came crashing down. It's his story, too, and I'm glad to get it told!
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Isn't it fun to see how one little word, "today," generated such a variety of topics! I hope one (or all!) of these prompts will get you thinking in new directions. To recap, here are our journaling challenges:
As you ease back into your everyday, January routines, I hope you'll find some time to write a few stories you haven't before. We'd love to see the results!
