Intentional Living: Memory Keeping with Project Life

 About a month ago I fell down the Project Life "rabbit hole". Creating a scrapbook to share with my family in the future has been on my list for years. What kept me from starting was all these professional level scrapbooking pages and magazines that are out there. Then I saw Project Life pages on IHeart Organizing and it gave me new hope.
   Project life is super simple. All you need is an album, pocket pages, a core kit and a pen. It can be as simple or crazy as you wish. I choose the simple way (with some embellishments latter). The core kit comes with 600 cards in both 4 x 6 and 3 x 4 sizes. All you need to do is pop in a few cards into the pockets and fill in the rest with photos. For embellishments I picked up this gold foil half kit to spice up some pages in the album.

 So far I am am loving the system and seeing all my memories in one place. Intentional living and tea go hand in hand. it is part of my "Tea Journey". When I say intentional living I am referring to living in the present and celebrating life. I feel by documenting memories I am able to look back during the present and inspire myself to live fully.

 What type of memory keeping do you do? Share in the comments below.

Learning embroidery for Tea

    Ever Since the Spring One of a Kind Show, I have been stitching away. Embroidery has been a craft I have longed to learn and apply to projects. One project being creating tea mats with simple embellishment such as flowers, kanji or other seasonal motifs.

   To get myself on the right path towards this project I have been stitching away at these adorable little kits by Kiriki Press. There are three levels and the instructions are easy to follow. The little fox was level two and the other three are level three. 

      As I write this post I have finished the little racoon and have moved on to the barn owl. All three so far have some similar stitches on their bodies but also new ones. If you are like me ,and did not have any supplies to start, Kiriki Press a starter kit has everything you need to get started (if you don't have a 6-inch embroidery hoop, needles and scissors) and a printed guide of all the stitches.
    Stay tuned for a special DIY on sewing your own tea mat!

Kiriki Press is based in Toronto and is independently run by Michelle Galletta.

If you would like to learn more check out her website or etsy store.

    Kiriki Press Website //  Etsy Shop // Instagram

Moving on: Start a Gratitude Journal

  When life throws you a lemon, wouldn't it be nice to have somewhere to go to pick you back up? Starting a gratitude journal can be that very thing to tip your day back into better and then good. I personally thought that this type of journal was well..lame, but that was before I did some research and tried it. 

      What the process does, is it takes all the good and it exists in one place. No negativity can go into this journal.  After becoming jobless and making a decision on who I want in my life, I was bombarded by old thoughts. "You can't do anything without them", "You won't get a job", "Why are they going to hire you?", "You need them", "what makes you think that you can be an entreperur?" And "no one is there for you without them".  

       It was a tough spot to be in, but when I decided to start my gratitude journal they began to dissipate. Hell , I can do what I want. I am a loving person and thats the type of people I want in my life. If I want to create my own job, I am going to do it. There is nothing that can stop me but myself, if I had let it.
   Back to the Journal.  The first entry was the following:

            I am grateful for the friends I have.  I am greatful for my blog readers.  I am content with my life and wish to grow more as a person.  I am greatful for family. I am greatful for my boyfriend.  I am grateful for my path and where it has taken me.

Writing in a gratitude journal is just that simple. Abandon the stress of spelling right, getting grammar spot on and creating paragraphs that flow. It is your space and that is all there is to it.

Start your own gratitude journal

Buy a Journal

 Pick one that feels special. Mine is embroidered and from Christian Lacroix paper line (gift from mom). Alternatively you can go the digital route. Fire up a blog and set it to private (or not). Or even  use the memo app on your phone.

Decide how often you will write

Writing once a week is enough. but I have heard other writers using it every night. Personally I use it when I am in the right mind space, but is also going to become space for post-meditation free writing. Remember a journal is YOUR space, do what feels right.

What to write

What are you grateful for? Write it out and bring the gratefulness inside you out. If you want to add something extra, goals are a great addition.

    In addition to my 3-5 things I am grateful for. I strive to write a few goals for myself.

Rules of Gratitude Journals

• Read it when you are down to lift you back up
• Write at least 3-5 things
• Be specific
• Turn negatives into positives
• Don't go through the motions. Make a decision to be consistently more grateful.
• Don't wait for the right time
• Think people, no things
• Don't rush, savour every word