Hi there! Valerie Sjodin here. I have a question for you: Do you ever feel hesitant starting to put words or marks in your new, pristine notebook? I have, and after asking some people about it, I found I'm not alone. Do you need some ideas for breaking through the hesitancy to begin in a pristine, beautiful notebook? 

In this post you will find some easy ways to push past the apprehension or even fear of 'ruining' such a beautiful journal. 

There are numerous optional supplies available. Many of the materials are found here at Archer & Olive.

Use this link https://www.archerandolive.com/?aff=816 and Discount Code VALERIE10 to receive 10% OFF your order.

Here is what I and/or my granddaughter use in the video and pages shown.

Supplies:

• Archer & Olive dotted notebook of choice
• Stickers from Sticker Book
• Stickers from themed kit
• Washi Tape
• Colored Dotted Notepad paper
• Acrylograph pens
  
• Gel pens
• Pencil, eraser, and black writing pen
• Corner rounder punch
• Double faced tape or glue stick

Inspiring ideas to help break through starting a journal hesitancy

Leave a blank page for a title page to revisit later. That way it doesn't feel like you're starting on the very first page.

Begin with a quote that inspires courage and creativity. If it is hard to make the first mark, you can always write the quote on another piece of paper, such as colored dotted paper from an Archer & Olive Notepad or themed kits. Then glue it onto a page of your notebook using double sided tape or a glue stick.

Another way to start with a quote is to put a strip of Washi tape across the top of one side of the page. Write the quote underneath it and then put another strip of Washi tape under the quote. Under that journal about your thoughts and feelings that go along with the quote.

Typing and printing a collection of themed quotes on a sheet or two of paper can be helpful to prompt page content, layouts etc.

What are you passionate about? The answer to this question can help give a theme focus to your journal page in writing, design, and imagery. Put that passion onto paper!

Choose a limited color palette of 3-5 colors. Look for collage and content fodder that has those colors in it and the color will unify your page.

Invite a child to start in a notebook

When I thought of jumping right in to starting in my journal, my mind immediately went to my granddaughter and how she jumps right into creating on the page. She may change her mind as she goes, but she doesn't second guess herself. That gave me an idea: to have her start the pages in my pristine new journal. So I invited her over and she was happy to come and make a journal page.

Having just received the Archer & Olive sticker book, I offered that as a way to get inspired and pick a themed page of stickers to include on her pages. A variety of pens were also put out, and we chose some Washi tape that color coordinated with the sticker page she had picked out to use. She likes books and reading, so the theme went along with one of her interests. Then she jumped right in.

One thing I noticed is that she didn't put any pressure on herself to meet a certain standard and seemed unconcerned with the outcome. That causes me to marvel. Her freedom in creating shows me how outcome oriented I am and how letting go of expectations and taking off the pressure would really benefit my and my creative process and bring about a lot of joy - like a child.

"Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant. There is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing."      - Georgia O'Keefe

In the video below, it shows the process my granddaughter went through and some quotes to inspire you. Go for it!

Remember:

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live only as you can."          - Neil Gaiman

To find more inspiration on facing the blank page, check out Ian's blog post: 5 Easy Ways to Overcome the Blank Page

You also may be interested in: 10 Creative Ideas For A Small A6 Notebook

Visit my website and blog at: https://valeriesjodin.com