Make Your Own Capsule Journal

Capsule journals are my love letter to a joyful, fulfilling journal practice.

They combine the benefits of journaling — seeing and understanding who we are, recognizing what’s important to us, and taking action that makes a difference — with playful moments of papercraft and creative making.

These tiny, handmade treats keep me coming back to journaling, even when I feel like I have nothing new to say, when I’ve been away for a time, and especially when I need a little inspiration and encouragement in the middle of a busy life.

Here are three delightful reasons to give capsule journaling a try:

1. Capsule journals are tiny — in both size and time commitment.

These journals measure 2.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall and use only one sheet of paper printed front and back! They can be made — and journaled — in just minutes.

This is why their name feels perfect to me. Capsule journals explore one idea from beginning to end in the tiniest of packages. And, as you cut, sew, and write, each one becomes its own rewarding, handmade object of self-expression and discovery.

2. Capsule journals put your creative and reflective energies to good use.

When you’re craving a few moments of creative rejuvenation, crafting a capsule journal gives you something to focus on: a tiny book you’ve made with your own two hands and a collection of lighthearted journal prompts to tickle your imagination and inspire your next steps forward.

And, since they’re printables, you can make new capsule journals to write about your days and explore your bright ideas again and again.

3. Each capsule journal becomes part of a growing library of your life story.

As it grows, your collection of tiny volumes tells the story of your days, your experiences, your memories, and the meaningful steps you’re taking toward the things that matter most to you.

If you’d like to try one for yourself, the printable template for my 12 Little Things About Your Day capsule journal and step-by-step instructions for putting it together are below! You’ll also find an ever-growing collection of quick and colourful capsule journals in my shop.

12 Little Things About Your Day

This cheerful little journal is all about noticing the tiny details of your day. It ends with an invitation to choose one idea or insight you’ll take with you into the days to come.

Step 1 - Download your capsule journal template

I’ve created two different files depending on which size paper you’re using:

• 12 Little Things Capsule Journal Template - For Letter-Sized Paper

• 12 Little Things Capsule Journal Template - For A4 Paper

Step 2 - Printing

Print just the first page of the template. Then, turn your printed page over, put it back into your printer’s paper drawer or feeder, and print page 2 on the other side.

The images below show the front and back of the single-page template.

Step 3 - Gather your other supplies

You’ll need:

• scissors (or a paper trimmer)

• something pointy for poking holes (I use my little red sewing awl)

• a sewing needle

• a 10-12 inch length of thread (I use embroidery floss)

• a pen, pencil, marker, or colourful pencil for journaling!

Step 4 - Check to make sure your pages are aligned

After you’ve printed your template, you’ll notice a blue dot in the upper right-hand corner on the cover side. When you turn your page over, there should also be a blue dot in the upper left corner. If you hold them up to the light, they should be back to back so you know your pages are correctly positioned.

Step 5 - Cut out your pages

Using the edge of the cover page and the grey boxes around the remaining pages as guidelines, cut out all four page sections. I like to cut just inside the edges of the cover page and grey outlines.

Step 6 - Fold and place your pages

Fold your page sections in half so the front cover and pages 1, 3, and 5 are on the top half of the fold (as shown below). Then, place the pages inside the cover.

Step 7 - Make three holes for sewing

Use your awl to make three holes in the middle fold of your stacked pages. I start by estimating the centre of the fold and poking the hole there first, then adding one hole below and one above.

Step 8 - Bind your journal

To sew the binding:

1. Holding the journal open in front of you, pass your needle and thread through the front middle hole, leaving a tail you’ll use later to tie a small knot and bow. (Image below, top left).

2. From the back of the journal, pass the needle through the bottom hole to the front of the journal. (Image below, top right).

3. Pass the needle through the top hole to the back of the journal. Ensure your tail is to one side of the long stitch you’ve just made (Image below, bottom left).

4. From the back, pass your needle back through the middle hole, this time coming through the front on the side of your long stitch opposite to the tail (image below, bottom right).

Step 9 - Complete your binding with a bow

Separate your needle from the thread and tie a knot in your thread on top of the long stitch in your journal’s binding. Tie a lovely little bow and snip the ends of the thread. As an extra step to keep the bow from loosening, you can add a tiny dab of glue to the knot.

Your journal is now completely assembled and ready for journaling! I hope you fill it with oodles of observations, reflections, and memorable moments from your days.

Happy journal-making!

P.S. If you’d like to make more capsule journals, visit my hand lettered shop for more tiny templates!

How One Quick Journal Prompt Can Inspire Three Surprising Results

I thought I had today’s And Other Things journal page all figured out.

It was filled with all the things you’d expect, including colourful prompts about things that go together and afternoon treats, and a playful twist in the word search list.

Little did I know that one sneaky prompt held a triple surprise. I can’t wait to tell you all about it — and in a brand new way!

But first, if you’d like to download this page for yourself, you’ll find it right here.*

Okay. Now that you have your page, let’s chat about that sneaky prompt!

I recorded my first ever voice memo on that very subject and sent it out with my newsletter, where I first shared this page.

It's unscripted and off the cuff – a peek at the joy and inspiration that can emerge while discovering new things in your journal.

Click below to listen!

P.S. If you have any difficulty playing the audio file or would prefer to read my message, I've included a transcript of the voice memo below.

P.P.S. If you missed the first three pages in my And Other Things series and would like to try them, you'll find them here, here, and here!

* The pdf file includes two versions of this journal page (colourful and greyscale) and two page sizes (letter and A4). For instructions on printing one or more pages, visit my shop welcome page and scroll to the bottom.

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Voice Memo Transcript

Hi there, it's Christie.

Welcome to my first ever Newsletter Voice Memo!

Today I'm sharing a few thoughts about the newest page in my And Other Things printable journal page series where I'm taking a playful approach to the serious reflective work we do in our journals.

I hope when you see this page for the first time the playful part will jump right out at you. It's super colourful and filled with hand-lettered prompts that explore lots of different ways we can reflect on our days and get to know ourselves better in our journals.

If you'd like to download a copy of this page for yourself, you can! It's available right here in the newsletter. You just need to click the link above the image.

I wanted to chat with you today about one of the prompts on this journal page that really surprised me. And, of course, it wasn't the one that I thought was going to surprise me.

There were two prompts I was super excited about sharing. The first is at the top of the page. It's a new prompt called things that go together and I was excited to share it with you because it's one I haven't used before. I haven't used anything like it before in my other journal pages, so I was really excited to share it in this page.

There's also a word search. There are other word searches in this series, but this one has a bit of a twist. I've mixed up some of the words in the word list, so you'll have to put them back together before you can find the words in the puzzle.

But neither of those two prompts is the one that surprised me!

For a little bit of background: in each of the pages in this series, I've tried to include at least one prompt that reminds us how strong and capable we are, how much we do every day, what our strengths are. I try to do it in a way that's super specific because I think it can be really difficult – for example, if someone asks you, “hey, what are you good at?” – it's hard, on the spot, to come up with an answer. But if someone asks you something very specific about one of your skills, sometimes it's a little bit easier to reflect on the question.

The prompt that surprised me in this page is: When your day is super busy, one thing you're good at.

The prompt looks for you to imagine one of those super busy days where there are a million things happening at once and you're running in all sorts of different directions. And on those days, you know, what are the parts you're really good at?

When I answered this prompt, I came up with two answers. One was calming myself down when I get a little bit flustered during a busy day and the other one was finding perspective, finding perspective in terms of, what are my priorities for the day? What do I really need to get done? And making sure that at least those things get done even if the rest of the day is very difficult to navigate.

I wrote those two answers down in the prompt and finished the rest of the page. Then I sat back to kind of reflect on the page, review it, and think about what my takeaways might be. And when I looked back on this one prompt, it dawned on me that, yes, these are the things that I think that I'm pretty good at in the middle of a busy busy day, but they're also the things I need in the in the middle of a busy day.

When it's super busy, I need to find ways to calm myself down, I need to be calm in order to navigate it well. And I need to know what my priorities are. I need to have a good perspective on what I want to accomplish on that day. That was part of the surprise of this prompt. It turned out that it wasn't just a prompt about what I'm good at. It turned out to be a prompt about what I need as well.

And then when I took another look at it, I realized there's a third aspect to this prompt. It's kind of a how-to. I've kind of given myself, with those two answers, a little bit of a how-to on a busy day – how to make the most, how to get the most out of a busy day. One is to make sure that I'm calm, that I go into that day calmly and continue calmly through it as much as I can and the other is to make sure I have a good perspective on what I want to accomplish.

So, you know, when I started answering this prompt, it was super simple. It was just trying to reflect on the things that I'm good at. But when I saw it on the page, when I sat back and really looked at it, I saw there was so much more to it.

It reminded me what I need so that I can remember that on busy days and it gave me a little bit of a an action list of things that I can do when I'm in the middle of a busy day and find myself flustered or overwhelmed. 

I wanted to share that with you. I'd love for you to journal this page for yourself and see which prompts surprise you. I hope you'll love journaling this page, and I hope you'll let me know how it goes for you!

How Changing One Word Can Make a Huge Difference in Your Journal

Let's talk about the difference a single word can make in your journal.

One changed word or turn of phrase can transform how you see an experience, how you remember it, and, ultimately, what it means to you. (Needless to say, this is what I absolutely adore about journaling!)

With that in mind, I'm experimenting with a new, two-part prompt in today's And Other Things journal page. It begins with one thing about your day, then asks you to change one word or phrase and write your answer again.

Can one word really make a difference?

Let's try it right now!

Here's one thing about my day so far:

This morning, I took my pup for a lovely walk in the cool air.

Okay. Let's change one word.

After reflecting on our meandering journey through the woods, here's my new answer:

This morning, I took my pup for a lovely wander in the cool air.

You know what? This is much more accurate! She's always wandering off the trail and into the brush, following her nose and ears. (Plus, I loved using wander as a noun!)

Now that I think about it, there's one more change I can make that truly describes our experience this morning:

This morning, my pup took me for a lovely wander in the cool air.

This is such a fun way to remember our walk – I mean, our wander! I know it will make me smile when we head out together again. Maybe I'll even have a little more patience for her inevitable detours.

Want to try another one?

I do!

Here's another thing about my day so far:

While I was out and about, I ran into someone I hadn't seen in years, and we had a wonderful chat.

This entry is a little more complicated than the morning walk because it was such a surprise, and it evoked forgotten memories and emotions.

Here's my answer again with a change of phrase:

While I was out and about, I ran into a person I hadn't seen since before Covid, and we had a wonderful chat.

Here's one more change I made after thinking a little more about our chance meeting.

While I was out and about, I ran into a person I hadn't seen since before Covid, and our wonderful chat brought back precious memories and sparked new ideas about future adventures together.

I love how this prompt gave me a second chance to look at two small parts of my day. I pulled out my journal to write more about the unexpected meetup and my feelings around the slow return of some extracurricular activities that used to be a huge part of our lives. In the end, I felt an enormous wave of gratitude for the chance to reconnect!

Overall, it felt like a playful approach to serious work. :)

Now it's your turn!

Here's a peek at today's page, the third in the series, with our “change one word” prompt in blue toward the bottom:

If you'd like to play with this page, click here to download it now.*

And if you're keen to share your thoughts, I'd love to hear them in the comments below! Let me know what you think about the page, or share how changing one word made a difference in your journaling.

P.S. If you missed the first two pages in my And Other Things series and would like to give them a try, you'll find them here and here!

* The pdf file includes two versions of this journal page (colourful and greyscale) and two page sizes (letter and A4). For instructions on printing one or more pages, visit my shop welcome page and scroll to the bottom.

How to turn colourful prompts and puzzles into meaningful journaling

I like to think of my journal work lately as a playful approach to serious work.

Playfulness in journaling, for me, means colourful layouts, lots of free association in my prompts and writing, and following my curiosity and intuition wherever they lead.

The serious work is what happens along the way, including:

• Knowing ourselves better.

• Thinking, dreaming, and discovering what works and what doesn't.

• Capturing important moments, figuring out what they mean, and taking purposeful action.

• Connecting the good stuff out there to our everyday lives – so we can access it easily and often.

• Seeing challenges and their solutions from new perspectives. (Because if we always reflect the same way, we'll always see the same things.)

• Developing our voices so we can advocate for ourselves, others, and the issues we care about.

I've made three hand-lettered pages so far. (You might notice that they look a little different from my usual printables!)

Each page is filled with prompts and puzzles inspired by meaningful reflective practice. Some sections are quicker than others, but they all count.

I hope they'll show you that there are as many ways to reflect as there are words to reflect with!

I'm sharing the first page with you today and will follow up with the next two in future posts. Before I do, if you're wondering where they might fit in your day, here are a few thoughts.

When to use these pages:

• When you want to journal but need a place to start.

• When you're in a journal rut and want to shake up your practice a little.

• When you need a quick pick-me-up in the midst of it all.

• When you want to play with the words and ideas around you.

• When you want to joyfully connect with the things that matter to you.

How to use them:

• Just print and write. I keep my pages in my favourite binder. When it fills up, I move the older entries to bound folders.

• If printing isn't an option, try typing or writing your reflections onto the page on your tablet or in your PDF reader.

• When you have more to say about a prompt or when it leads to new ideas, you can write on the back of the page or start a new page in your notebook or note-taking app. But don't stop there! Share your ideas, follow up on your discoveries, and, where you can, delight in the serious work of embracing a full life with all its gifts and challenges.

If you'd like to play with this page, click here to download it now.*

Next time, I'll share more of my thinking behind this little project – including its title! Until then, I wish you oodles of colourful inspiration in your journaling!

* The pdf file includes two versions of this page (colourful and greyscale) and two page sizes (letter and A4).

Journal pages that don't quite work

A huge part of my creative process involves the pursuit of journal ideas that don't quite work. I know this part very well. Somewhere along the way from initial idea to final draft, a creeping sort of doubt sets in. I find myself staring at the page or screen thinking, hmm, this isn't how I imagined it. Maybe if I try it this way. Nope. How about this way? Also nope.

It takes a lot of nopes, but eventually, in order to move on, I have to concede that an idea isn't quite ready for sharing and might never be. My folders are overflowing with printables and posts in various stages of completion that don't quite work.

Here's an example...

My original idea was to create a variation on my alphabet-inspired pages, with colourful letters serving as writing spaces.

I can't tell you how much fun I had arranging the letters! That little m. Who says all the stems have to be the same length? It was so much fun that I also made a numbers page and a few other variations. I couldn't stop! Writing the prompts was also a treat -- some are easy-breezy and some a little more challenging.

But when the time came to journal the page, writing into those simple letter shapes kind of ruined it for me. The end result looked messy, which is usually fine by me where journaling is concerned, but not in this case. Some letters didn't offer enough space and some offered too much. I mostly sorted it out in a second attempt by writing along the inside borders of letters, but still felt the page needed to be filed away.

Until today.

Today, I thought I'd share it with you anyway.

Maybe it truly doesn't work or maybe it does after all. Or maybe it's a step along the way to a better idea. It's often hard to tell the difference and in the past I've been hesitant to write when I just don't know. But now I'm wondering if sharing what I'm up to, even when it's not quite working, might be an opportunity to chat about our creative projects, to revisit ideas we aren't ready to give up on yet and cheer each other on through the nopes.

I'll start. If you'd like to give this page a try, you can click here or on the image above to download it. I'd love to know your thoughts. Truly. And if sharing ideas that don't quite work -- yet! -- is something you'd like to see more of in future posts, just leave a comment below to let me know that too!

P.S. The pdf page file includes two page sizes: letter and A4.

S is for Sequel - New alphabet-inspired journal page

While experimenting with variations of sequel-related ideas for this page's first prompt, I realized that I don't spend nearly as much time thinking about follow-ups to the stuff that's going well as I spend figuring out next steps when I'm slogging through a problem.

I think it's because day-to-day successes often feel like the end of the process, reaching the goal. Done. But what if we took a moment, every once in a while, to envision a recent achievement, big or small, as the first in a series instead?

Which is why I love the sense of continuity that a sequel evokes -- the next instalment in the franchise, one that builds on what came before, with familiar settings and the characters we've grown to love, but with a whole new set of adventures.

What do you think? What's a fitting sequel to one of your recent accomplishments?

If you'd like to journal the letter s with me, I'll send it to you! In the comments below, tell me one possible sequel to one of your recent accomplishments. Not only will you get a head start on the first prompt in this printable, but I'll also send a reply in return along with the pdf file* so you can keep journaling!

P.S. If you're new to this alphabet-inspired journal series, I'm sharing the process with you -- and these printable journal pages! -- as I go. You can find more information about pages a through r, plus some of my other page projects, here.

P.P.S. As always, there's no need to limit yourself to one idea in that first prompt. Why not consider two or three (or more!) possibilities and move forward with the one you like the best?

* The file will include two page sizes: letter and A4.

R is for Rationale - New alphabet-inspired journal page

Starting our latest alphabet-inspired journal page with a prompt about rationale feels a little risky. It tends to put a person on the defensive when you ask them about their rationale for that thing they're up to, don't you think? As in, explain yourself! I worried this could be off-putting. (Especially since I haven't posted in a while.)

But I hope you'll bear with me because I think there's another way to look at it.

My trusty Gage Canadian Dictionary, circa 1983, charmingly defines rationale as "the whys and wherefores." To me, this description feels less like an inquisition and more like an invitation to explore the reasons we do the stuff we do everyday.

That's how I've approached the first prompt on this page -- as a way to look more deeply into one of my everyday things. Because, and this is my thinking, an affirming sense of purpose resides in the why. It's a lovely reminder that even the smallest, most ordinary parts of our days are meaningful and part of a bigger whole.

And, if there happens to be one thing you're up to that doesn't have a why or it has a wherefore that no longer works for you, perhaps there are tweaks or alternatives that could make an impact on your day. And where better than your journal to sort through the possibilities and map out new ways forward?

If you'd like to journal the letter r with me, I'll send it to you! In the comments below, tell me your rationale for one thing you're up to today. Not only will you get a head start on the first prompt in this printable, but I'll also send a reply in return along with the pdf file* so you can keep journaling!

P.S. If you're new to this alphabet-inspired journal series, I'm sharing the process with you -- and these printable journal pages! -- as I go. You can find more information about pages a through q, plus some of my other page projects, here.

P.P.S. Another charming Gage definition related to this page -- ramble: "wander about for pleasure." Love this!

P.P.P.S. After writing my rationale, I took the prompt a step further and wrote a rationale for my rationale. The why behind the why. I'm quite thrilled with the result -- a lovely little list of new ideas to consider. If you give it a try, I'd love to hear how it goes. :)

* The file will include two page sizes: letter and A4.

Q is for Quick - New alphabet-inspired journal page

Chapter Q in my lovely old dictionary was quite a quick read for today's alphabet-inspired journal page. Only 7 pages of q words!

To me, this letter q page feels very much rooted in the everyday, with quick thoughts in the moment, qualities you admire, and questions you're happy to answer, among other experiences and encounters. No quests for paradoxes this time!

Still, I was surprised while journaling the first quick prompt, as I often am in the course of regular, everyday journaling, by just how much there is to notice and appreciate in a given moment. I was reminded that a quick pause to take stock, even in the middle of the busiest of days, can gift you with a new perspective or sense of direction.

I hope you'll find a quick moment of inspiration in your journaling today!

If you're familiar with my previous letter pages, this is the part where I usually write, "If you'd like to journal the letter q with me, I'll send it to you!"

Today, I'm switching things up a bit. Keeping to our quick theme I've made today's q page available right now. You can click here or on the image above for a speedy download*.

If you're looking forward to our usual email chat, I’d still like to hear from you! In the comments below, tell me one quick thing you appreciate about this moment right now. I'll write back with my quick thoughts and so much appreciation for yours!

P.S. If you're new to this alphabet-inspired journal series, I'm sharing the process with you -- and these printable journal pages! -- as I go. You can find more information about pages a through p, plus some of my other page projects, here.

* The letter q pdf file will include two page sizes: letter and A4.

Backstitch journals

Tinkering with a new journal project. These are the first four tiny journals, each containing short journal entries focusing on one step forward in my thinking and doing.

I’ve pared down my process to two simple prompts: “last time,” then “this time”. Each new journal is connected to the one that came before. One journal’s “this time” is the next journal’s “last time,” which gives me the chance look back for a moment and reflect on what I’ve done so far before deciding what to do next.

That forward-backward rhythm reminds me of the backstitch in sewing and embroidery, which creates a strong, unbroken line by bringing new stitches back to connect with the ones that came before — until finally you’ve created something that endures.

Backstitch journal project - covers!

Three little journal covers.