Friday, March 13, 2015

Have You Met Midori?

First meet Faux-Dori,


cousin to the Midori.Traveler's Notebook. When I discovered it a few days ago, immediately I was smitten.  Midori is a Japanese company that makes the Traveler's Notebook; however, this product is not limited to traveling as implied by the name. Rather, the Traveler's Notebook was designed to become ones "company in the journey called life".



Available in various sizes, ranging from passport size to a larger traveler size, the Traveler's Notebook, aside from being infectious, is an organizational tool with elements of scrapbooking, journaling, scheduling, planning and documenting and so much more. It's simple design, consisting of a leather cover, one or more notebooks and filler accessories (ie. folders, pockets, etc.) allows you to collect your thoughts, ideas and  meaningful remnants of  the everyday in one place with the functionality of easily modifying it's contents to suit your changing needs. How wonderful!

It didn't take long for me to discover it's DIY (do-it-yourself) version, the Faux- Dori, and seize the opportunity to create a special one of a kind personalized notebook. Need I say more?  I am hooked. This design concept is so me! I made two covers already



They can be made from leather, vinyl or fabric. I used a vinyl remnant leftover from a another project.  I adore the simplicity and colorful elastic and of course my favorite word, "dream"; because its my favorite thing to do.





Here is a great "how to " video to show you how to make one.


As for the inside, I will save that for another post but here's a sneak peak; a purchased mini book and a larger one I made below.



In the meantime, I hope you will get acquainted with the "dori" concept and maybe try one out for yourself .  I love, love, love both the Midori and Faux- Dori. Does it appeal to you too?



Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Does a Blank Page Scare You?



I am afraid of a blank page! Crazy, right?  Oh sure, writing my thoughts down is an effortless task and my go-to for self-expression. But when I entertain the thought of taking it to the next level, a visual or graphical level, I cringe and hold myself back. The judgemental thoughts start swirling around in my mind and I allow non-productive hold me back from expressing myself on a deeper level. Why? Can you relate? I sure hope so. I so don't want to be alone on this.

Let's put this into perspective. Isn't it just a piece of paper? What's the worst thing that can happen? An attempt doesn't turn out as envisioned? It falls short of what inspired me to make the attempt in the first place. Why is that so terrible? A different result then anticipated? My result? Your result? Is that what keeps one from embarking on a journey in the first place?

I realize now that the blank page represents fear. Your fear, my fear, any one's fear. It represents the barrier to anything we shy away from for fear of  not being good enough or messing up. We avoid it, try not to think about it and find other things to distract us from thinking about that pesky blank page. But guess what? It's not going anywhere! If we shy away from that one page, how many other pages opportunities will we shy away from? Perhaps a toddler approach is the best way to begin eradicating the fear; reverting back to a time when blank pages weren't scary and coloring outside the lines was perfectly acceptable! Anything we created was worthy and a masterpiece to be proudly displayed.

If you too find yourself resisting the blank page, how about we make a pack? Let's toss aside perfection and expectations! Results are not important, but taking that  plunge is! With  that classic Joan Crawford conviction, let's say it together,  "NO MORE BLANK PAGES!" LOL Let's move past the fear to a place that has only our personal best in mind. Let's focus on the ultimate goal, and that is showing the world who we truly are.

With that said, what does the blank page symbolize for you? What is the blank page in your life? A cyber penny for your thoughts?