5 Ways to Enrich Your Mind

The other day I came across an interesting blog post that listed 25 Ways to Nourish Your Mind. I found it interesting that six of the ideas listed are all related to notebooks and journaling in some way. And they are already things that I am doing!

Start Journaling

Journaling has been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember, high school at least (and that is a long time ago for me)! I love colourful patterned notebooks and offer several options in my shop, namely blank, dotted or lined.

Get a Planner

I have been using a planner for 2 years now and I cannot say how freeing it is to have everything written down. My mind is free of the worry that I have forgotten to do something or that I will not have time to do the things I need to do. It took some time to get into the habit, I must admit, but now that I am using my planners regularly I am so much more efficient!

Create a Bucket List

Everyone needs to dream. Bucket Lists are a wonderful way to imagine what you want in life and then when you are in the throes of hard work, you remember what it is all for! I keep adding to my Bucket List as life unfolds and I am more aware of what I truly want for myself.


Try a Brain Exercise or Do a Puzzle

When I saw this one listed I nearly laughed. Puzzles and brain challenges are my jam. Doctors agree that word or number games exercise unused parts of the brain, so I am banking on that! My game of choice is something called Blackout Poetry.

You simply start with book page and look for random words that make sense together. I love a good fun challenge. I have made vintage book pages into notebooks for this purpose and I fill them to exercise my creativity.

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Start Making Goals

When your dreams and Bucket Lists are written down in your journal, and your planner is begging for you to fill your time efficiently, you will find that you want to set some long-term goals to work towards. These goals can be big lofty, I’m-gonna-get-there-someday goals, or they can be goals that are easily achieved during the week. Either way, writing them down allows them to be in front of your face regularly, making them more likely to attain. As well, setting these goals allows you to break them down into manageable and doable steps that you will portion out in your planner.

Learn Something New

This one can be a stretch, but it is always worth it. A couple of years ago I set out to learn the art of calligraphy. I bought books, watched YouTube videos, took a few online classes, then practiced and practiced and practiced. I used my journals for this daily practice and it is so rewarding to look back to see where I have come from. Finding every chance I could to do calligraphy ensured that I didn’t get bored of just writing random words. I lettered quotes, phrases, poems, and even did Bible journaling using this new skill. I cannot say I have arrived, but I have definitely progressed to where I am happy with my calligraphy.


So, do you partake in any of these activities that are said to enrich your mind?

This is my challenge to you…


Cutest Ever Library Pockets

Do you remember when you were a kid and it was Library Day at school? If you are like me, it was the best day ever! Not only did you get a break from the seat work in class, but it was so exciting to browse shelf after shelf of stories that would take you anywhere you wanted to go. Now, I may come off a bit nerdy here, but as much as I enjoyed a good story, I was also intrigued by the little library pocket at the back of the book. It always looked so perfectly important there, all official and organized, protecting the card holding all the names of the previous readers who enjoyed this very story. I used to check the pocket to see if anyone ever left something in the there (no, but I was always curious and hopeful) and every once in a while I would store my bookmark in that pocket until I started reading the book.

That little pocket made enough of an impression on me that I still hold the memory as an adult. So now, when I am creating items for my Etsy shop, and my goal is to make useful and beautiful things, the idea for a library pocket pops into my head. Even though the ones you’ll find in library books (only the old ones of course as now everything has gone to a digital scanning system) are so cute and tiny, I decided to make these ones long and sturdy.

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This past spring, Hubby and I went on our Bucket List trip to Italy. There were 6 stops on our adventure and for each one we had collected all kinds of paper to keep us organized on track - and that was even before we left home! We had AirBnB reservations, train tickets, event bookings, restaurant suggestions, maps, itineraries, and ‘must do’ lists for each destination city that we were to visit. So, in a moment of need mixed with nostalgia, I had the idea to make a long library pocket to hold all of the pertinent pieces for each of the 6 towns on our list.

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I simply adhered one pocket in my travel journal every few pages (left blank for documenting the daily goings on while on our actual trip) to not only indicate the order of our trip, but to store and keep handy all of the important papers that we had to produce when we arrived at the next town on our list. Then, when needed, I knew exactly where to go to find the address for the AirBnB. It turned out to be a brilliant idea!

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Each of the pockets is fashioned from recycled shopping bags. Not only does this offer a unique and varied characteristic to my journal, but the shopping bag paper is much sturdier than regular paper, making it durable and able to stand up to me reaching in to pull things out and then return them over and over again. And in a world where recycling is a household word now, I figure I am doing good by the environment to use up these pretty bags!

Perhaps you are not going on a trip anytime soon but you are intrigued with this library pocket idea. No worries, there are many other uses for them as well. They could be used in a baby book to hold birth stories or hospital information for new moms. They could hold love letters or pen pal letters (I know people still do that kind of thing because I’ve seen it on Instagram). They’re great in a scrapbook to keep archival documents that are too fragile to be glued in or that need to be read on both sides. And, if you love making lists, they could even hold the weekly shopping list on your fridge for you!

So, if you are interested, I’d love for you to go check out my Etsy shop at rePaperedShop.

I’d even love it if you were to leave me a comment here telling me your idea for how to use one of these lovely long library pockets. Or, perhaps you’d like to share your memory of the good ‘ole Library Days from your childhood - I’d love that too!

3 Ways I Plan to Document in 2019

The excitement of a new year is heightened with all the plans to be made!

I just love how everywhere I look people are declaring their goals, insights, changes, and ways to make their lives richer. My life is pretty fulfilling and yet I have been making plans too! There is just something about the opportunity for a fresh start.

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Of course, I will be documenting my way through 2019. In 2018 I almost exclusively used a Traveler’s Notebook format for all my scrapbooking and enjoyed it very much. However, I found that I did not always fill a notebook for each month and yet I felt I should be. I mean, who wants to waste all that lovely space in a notebook, right? So I am making a few changes for 2019 and thought I would share with you the 3 ways I plan to document my life this year:

  1. Traveler’s Notebook

    Ok, so I did say that I did not fill a notebook every month last year, but that does not mean that I am abandoning this format altogether! I still really enjoy this format and treat it much like I would a traditional 12x12 page layout. I cannot give up the hands on cutting and pasting and moving bits of paper and photos around! The traveller’s notebook is staying but I am refining it’s purpose a bit (as you will see below).

  2. Pocket Pages

    I have worked in pocket pages in the past, so this is not a new format to me. However, as of late, I had abandoned this method of documentation and replaced it with the Traveler’s Notebooks. But something has been missing for me. I enjoyed creating pocket pages in the past and have a strong desire to use them again. So, the plan is that I will document the everyday goings on of my life (the shorter stories) in pocket pages and then use the Traveler’s Notebooks for the longer stories.

  3. Planner / Bullet Journal / Bujo

Once again, I have attempted this format in the past, but failed miserably. I did learn a lot though, and spent a considerable amount time researching the different methods and techniques that one can use (they are endless!). One of the things that tripped me up last time was that I chose a formula and felt that I should stick with it all year (type A personality here). I got bored. So this time I am going to be more flexible.

I designed the first few pages of the planner (cover shown above) just to get January started and then left the last half of the notebook blank so that I can play around with what and how I want to document. This is exciting to me. I am going to build it as the year unfolds. I will try different formats and formulas to see which ones I like and do not like and which ones to continue the next month (or let go). If it takes me all the way to December before I can say that I am happy with what I created, then so be it! I will have explored and learned so much along the way.


So here we go!

What are your plans for 2019? How will you be documenting? Please let me know in the Comments below as I am still looking for new ideas!