I'm a list-keeper.  But unfortunately, those lists are usually on my phone and computer.  My life in bits and bytes. Unseen little snippets of what I do all day.  So when I heard about The Documented Life project – I was all in.

It isn't an astonishingly new idea.  How many times have I seen 'Picture a Day', 'Art Journaling Every Day', etc. etc. etc., and I don't keep up with them.  But this is a nice implementation of combining a weekly planner and notes with art journaling. And like the rest, the additional idea of weekly prompts to keep the art part flowing is a great way to keep motivated.

It appeals to me because my art journals are often very random in theme, and the writing usually gets pretty much covered up in the art process.  I will still continue to do art journaling in that manner. Those journals are more private and experimental. 

But this project is more about the documentation of daily life along with the art part that is inspired by the minute details.  I would hope it could connect the dots in some way for my kids at some point in their lives.  I'm not in the scrapbook enough, because I'm the photographer.  Now I'm front and center in this book.  We'll see how it goes.

I started by looking at what I had on hand to make my journal.  I chose a blank weekly planner, and removed it from it's plastic spiral binding, cutting off the bound edge.  I trimmed the width to 8 1/2" so that it could be run through my printer.  Then I printed digital images of antique ledger paper, old handwriting, interesting backgrounds, etc. on the blank back side of these pages.  

I punched these with my Bind-it-All and added a masonite (clipboard) cover, slightly larger, at 9" x 9".  I attached a canvas I had previously painted, and altered it further to use as my cover image.  A little fabric trim and ribbon, and a strap binding finished it off.

I used some 'old stuff' from my stash, including these great stamps from CTMH, metal file folder tabs from DaisyD's and stickers from Imagination Project to date my pages.  Don't laugh about that last sentence!  More about these things later. 🙂

As the website suggested, I began to attach sheets of 140 lb. watercolor paper to the edges of my weekly journal pages, with washi tape and other decorative tapes.

The jury is still out on the tapes.  The polka dot one is no longer being used.  It definitely will not hold up over a year, much less a day.  The cold weather doesn't help.  I did several pages, and have to admit, the Prima tape (which is moreof a traditional adhesive, not washi) is working the best to adhere to the watercolor paper and hold up to being a hinge.  Bookbinding this is not – so just be aware of that.  I'm holding off for a few weeks to see how it goes.

Then I added the file folder tabs to the tops of the pages to mark out each month.

And finally, I went back to last week and started documenting my trip, pulling information off my cell phone and my e-mail calendar and writing about my week.  No art yet, but I'm happy!

So now here is the fun part!  As I was going through my stash of supplies to put this all together, I realized that I could easily part with the stickers (a set of four, enough for a year), a roll of my favorite tape so far, from Prima, and an unused set of CTMH stamps, 'Through the Year'.  I have three sets of these stamps, that I had purchased to teach workshops – and these are untouched.

So that means it's time to comment, dear reader.  If you want to jump in and start The Documented Life project for yourself, I'll make it easier on you to DIY your own journal/planner.

Comments open until Wednesday, 1/22/14, at midnight EST.  Then I'll random pull a number and give away this little prize package.

Do you like the idea of documenting, journaling and art all in one?  Art journaling not your thing?  How about some pictures from your week?  Jump in.  Now is a great time to start.

SL