The Documented Life

OK, you guys have heard me talk about my Cheap Thoughts Journals before (I swear, you have). This year, Kelly and I decided to do The Documented Life project. They use a particular planner for it, a Moleskine weekly 12-month planner. A page is tipped in (the instructions call for 140lb watercolor paper, but I used Stonehenge printmaking paper, like always).

They're tipped in iwith washi tape. (Which doesn't hold all that well, if we're being honest.)

Here is one of my weeks. On the left is the actually planner ptage. I don't really have appointments, and I don't actually keep a paper calendar (I'm a Geek, I use Google Calendar for that). But I thought it would be a good place for some of my Project 365 pictures, and some of the graphic stuff I design, and the scrapbook pages I do for Sweet Digi Scraps.

I tried it for about a week. I went back and filled in the whole month of January with pictures and little stories from my weeks, etc. I named it James. I carried it everywhere. And I hate it. One spread for a whole week? Plus, I hate those tip in pages. "Treat it like an art journal page" is what everyone says. The problem is that I don't "art" and "CTJ" in the same place. I used to keep noted and lists and things in bewteen art pages in my first Moleskines and then I just glued those pages together. But I haven't really done that in several years, and I don't have that need that some people seem to that says I have to keep everything in one journal.

So I broke up with James and moved on (quickly, because I'm a bitch like that) to this red Moleskine sketchbook that my friend Maggie sent me for my birthday.

I painted the new one and the name Abby is in my head for her, but we'll see if it sticks. I do tend to go with the first thing that pops into my head, so it's likely. I painted it green and of course I put my face on it.

And here is the first spread, with a tip in for the week. I sprayed every page already, so there will be some color in the background. There is some writing in the background, too - just notes I jotted when I was on the phone. Pictures that are just bits of things from my week. Actually, it's only a couple of days because it's supposed to start February first (which is not the beginning of a week).

So far I like it, but I guess we'll see!