I was trying to decide what to blog about this morning, and decided to pull out my Discovery Journal to look at some pictures in it for inspiration. I came across this one and thought "that's it!" You see, my scrapbook room is a disaster because I haven't been home much this week and have been running in and out of it to get things to wrap presents with, work on the pages for Michelle's birthday book, and so on so I have piles of stuff and very little floor space to walk in. This makes me crazy, though there's something about the idea of sorting through it all and reorganizing it that appeals to me too. That's why this picture jumped out at me. My room looks nothing like this of course, but I'm inspired by this picture because of it's clean, organized look. I love the big bulletin board, I love the big file drawers, and I will be keeping this in mind today as I try to clean and organize my own little, closet-sized room.
Also, I decided to start a new gallery on my smugmug site for rooms I find inspiring. I scanned several pictures from my Discovery Journal and am already happy about being able to see those more regularly.
I started my Discovery Journal back in 1998 after Claudia gave me a copy of Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. The book has daily thoughts for becoming your authentic self, for discovering what you love, and giving yourself permission to pursue the life you want. It's a wonderful book.
In the January 28th passage she talks about starting a Discovery Journal to help us figure out what really appeals to us. She says,
"At night before you go to bed, when you're in a drowsy, relaxed, and receptive state, flip through magazines. When you see an image you love, cut it out and paste it in your book. Don't try to arrange the pictures in any specific sort of way. Let the collages you are creating simply evolve. Soon they will give you directions about where your heart wants you to go. I have also added quotes, sketches, greeting cards, and art postcards to my discovery journal, crafting with paper what the poet W.H. Auden calls "a map of my planet."
**What inspires you and helps you turn your home into a refuge from the world?**
9 comments:
That's so great you kept a discovery journal for almost a decade now. Very cool. I wish I could say the same. Would have like to know what my younger self was like in a creative way. Also love the bulletin board idea. I would like to do something like that to keep ideas and inspiration on. I am really feeling the need to get photos on my walls. My house seems so bare. Thanks for sharing
Ohhhhhh....the big bulletin board! I've been eyeing one of those forever! I find a lot of inspiration in catalogs and magazines. I've also found that window coverings and having photos on display are great ways to warm up a house. Those things and making sure to have lots of cozy blankets around.
Hmm. Apparently I need to start keeping a discovery journal! I love that idea. Magazines always inspire me, as well as anything my mom does and projects that my friends create!
That is such a wonderful idea! I have always been sad that I do not have the fantastic creative gene that you (and my two sisters) seem to have. I believe part of my problem is that I never know exactly what I like, or how I want something to look. My mind gives me flashes of ideas, but I can never seem to grasp at any of them. A Discovery Jouranl sounds wonderful, I feel like I would learn so much about myself.. I am going to start one, Thanks for the inspiration!!
What inspires me to turn my home into a refuge? MONEY! jajajjjaa...what I mean is that I have soo many ideas in my head from looking at model homes, magazines, hotel lobbys, etc., that sometimes it is frustrating not being able to get it all at once. I supposed acquiring them slowly has its enchantment too! Well I would say probably what inspires me is the word COZY...I love Pillows, Throws??, clocks, Art Pieces, Mirrors, picture frames, fire places and RUGS--TONS of them and specially FLOWERS and good inciense. It is very late, and I don't know how to spell anything anymore!
you have given smugmug a whole new meaning for me. i love what you put on there.
what inspires me ... yikes... hmmm... photos for sure. Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic, is one of my favorites i always check her books out from the library. she loves WHITE like me.
I am so envious of the big bulletin board- although does big make it organized or if I had a big one would it be a mess like my small one? I am also envious of the natural light in this picture and in Amy's studio! My room, day or night, is SO dark and that hinders my creativity!
I am trying to keep a discovery journal like you describe. It's a slow and sometime painfull process (my back hurts from sitting indian style and bending over my piles of magazines and cutting out pictures.) But I like the thought of looking back on things that I like and finding that I still like them. I have a cut out from a magazine that I have had for about 15 years of my dream kitchen. One day maybe... I get alot of my ideas from magazines like, real simple, martha, coastal living, design, etc...
From one not into writing (just reading) blogs, I love the tall tree to the left and the lovely roses in the jar of water. The organization of this entire scene is relaxing and comforting.
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