This is the part that feels like a new beginning - full of possibility and creativity.Take note of the various ways Washi tape is used. It is only the beginning... fun!

Here are some of the beginning pages of my Word of the Year Calendar Journal:

Of course your planned pages will be customized by you with what is important to you. That's what I love about using a dotted or grid journal as a base - being totally personalized and customizable. I started my ordinary day journal writing on page 22, but of course, you can do it any way you want to. There are no blank pages for journal entries missed. Also, other years I left some pages blank at the beginning, and honestly, they're still blank or a few pencil lines on them. Going through some of my old journals made me feel like I'm not as much of a perfectionist as I though. It was quite encouraging to know I could leave pages messy or unfinished or even blank without regret. This type of journal is for real life living.

This is the inside cover of my journal that has a paper surface. This year I wanted the first pages black so I could put my word "Light" on it to really stand out really bright. The paper took the gesso nicely. I drew the design and words on the pages and then used a Posca extra-fine white marker, fluid acrylics, Micron black pen and Washi tape to finish it off.I looked up various definitions and rewrote a condensed version here. The other side of the page has my name and title of type of journal along with a key verse and quote for the year.

The next page in the Leuctturm journal are kind of funky because there is the first heavier page glued more out of the spine to a thin page like the rest of the pages. I decided to glue these together and put some of my top Light quotes separated with Washi tape vertically. The black page was previously the first Table of Contents page. I've never used all three pages, so I decided to cover this up. I first painted white gesso on the page. Then, after it dried, I painted black gesso. Wrote the words with the white Posca pen, and a light wash of acrylic color on top. It is finished off with Washi tape.

I covered up the Table of Contents/titles of my Leuchtturm journal with strips of Washi Tape. Wrote pages and Contents with a gold Posca pen and then began to write the page numbers and Titles in the spaces provided.Moleskine journals and many similar do not have Table of Contents. you can certainly make your own. One reason I like the Leuchtturm journals are the page numbers. I find I often return to my journals for reference.

On the Themes page I include things like: Word of the Year, Colors, Symbols, Shapes, Animals, Style, Song, or anything else that speaks to you as something that might represent your chosen word over the coming year.Using the Mid-Century Modern stencil, I made the "Themes' Title using Micron pens, Gelatos, Extra Fine White Posca Pen and Bright Gold fluid acrylic paint, golden brand. The Nesting doll was made with my Nesting Doll Stencil, gelatos, pen and Washi tape. The crown is made with the Doll Crowns stencil, gold paint and colored posca pens.I've found it helpful to include a Year-at-a Glance page.

Scripture is one of the foundations of living my word for the year. I look up my word on Bible Gateway and copy or type them into a word document on my computer. From those verses I choose about 15-20 as verses to focus on throughout the year. I squeezed them into four pages. Writing them in my journal helps get me familiar with them and provides a written reference in the journal I use most often. I used the Mid-Century Modern stencil for the heading, with Micron pens, the doll crown stencil, Gelatos and Posca pens.

This is my favorite page: Ideas, Interests & Projects. I like how it reflects the Retro style. It was a good change for me to change my Goals page to this. Now I list things I want to explore. I've got more done on these lists since I renamed them into something that feels more positive to me.The pages were made using Micron pens, the Mid-Century Modern stencil, and Washi tape.In hindsight I might have put this after the quotes pages, but it's okay....

This Quotes page was done the same way as the Scripture page, but more simply, which I like better. The pages were also made using Micron pens, the Mid-Century Modern stencil, and Washi tape. The second spread of the Quotes pages just has quotes written on them with a little space to add more.

This is the first time I've included a birthday page. We're getting new grandchildren, and I thought this would be a good way to write down the names and birth dates. I like how the heading banner with Washi tape is cut to meet the stencil drawn with a pen. The candles were added and gave me the chance to play with more Washi tape :) I used colored pencil to color the shadow of the diamonds holding the letters.

To See All Stencils designed by Valerie Sjodin Click Here