How I Use My Journal to Capture Ideas & Bring Them to Life
I have ideas that pop into my head all the time. Ideas for room details, garden projects, parties, sewing projects, a gift to make, the list goes on and on and on. How about you? How do you keep track of them? I can capture ideas and bring them to life using my Curated Life Journal. I sketch out the ideas or write them down, or if I am on the move, I note the website, store, or magazine so I can return when I have more time.
I will explain the process using the hanging planters I made for our upper back deck. I found these wire globes while doing the spring cleaning under the back deck.
A Side Note Here ~
During our move, I had put a few things I didn’t know what to do with under there; then, last fall, I slid my porch pots under there until spring. So, I was tackling the “put-off” project of dealing with garden pots And cleaning all the winter leaves out. Yes, “put-off.” I didn’t want to face the excess pots and all the bending in half to rake. The space is only 4 feet tall.
Anyway, back to my story, I found these globes. Two houses ago, I would plant white impatiens in them; these white globes were hanging in the party porch area of that house. White flowers glow in the night beautifully. And since we were usually out there with the fire pit lit, they were glorious. Then, at the last house, I had a scorching spot by the garage, so I planted them with succulents – I wish I could find the pictures to share. They were awesome succulent globes. So what to do at this house?
Back to How I Use My Journal to Capture Ideas & Bring Them to Life
I pondered that as I cleaned, it hit me – use them as a basket. What? Yes, I could use moss and only fill half with soil, then plant in that area of the globe. So, this is where the journal comes in.
Idea Meets Journal
I stopped for a coffee break. I grabbed my journal and sketched out my idea. Then, as ideas came, I would pause cleaning and add more details. Ta-da! A beautiful idea becomes a plan.
Journal Creates Plan
From my sketches and notes, I gathered the items I needed. I could also see what I needed to purchase. I could also note how much sun the plants would get, so I would be sure to buy plants accordingly. Then, I took an evening to spray paint them so they would be ready for the weekend to plant.
I had made a note in my journal. I wanted some uniformity, so I spray-painted them the same color. Furthermore, I planted white impatiens and golden creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ – pronounced ye-sih-MAK-ee-ah num-yew-LAR-ee-ah) to all three of them. Again, I used the white flowers when evening dinners lingered into dusk. Then they would glow in the moonlight, and with the twinkle lights there, the creeping jenny for the bright glow on the shady porch since it is a great trailing plant.
As I was sketching the ideas, I realized I didn’t want them all uniform, so I decided to plant different variegated-leaved plants that could tolerate the shade. I decided on houseplants to re-pot and move them into the house in the fall. If you don’t wish to bring them inside, treat these plants as an annual and let the frost kill them. Or purchase three interesting annual plants. I was able to plant these on a Saturday afternoon. This picture shows I used pieces of a cocoa mulch liner and then added a coffee filter to help the soil before planting the globes.
Plan Comes to Life
And I love my idea! As the planters fill in, I will take a photo of them (the photo of them in this post is taken two weeks after planting). Then, I can print my photo and put it in my journal. I love how this is a scrapbook for my idea. It shows the whole process in my journal – sketch/write ideas, create notes/lists, take action then document completion. As you’ve heard me say, “My journal is always close by.” This is one of the reasons. I can capture an idea, sketch it out in my journal, and bring the idea to life.
What are you dreaming of bringing to life? Please let me know in the comments below. If you are interested in other ways I can use my journal, head over to this blog. Also, if you want to know more about my Curated Life Journal class, check it out here or sign up for a free download to create your first page of a journal.
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