Before my May began to go downhill, I started to play with two different journals while I sat in front of the television.

I need to figure out where the photos of my projects are so I can post them here.

For my first journal was a blank unlined journal my daughter had given me. Before she gave it to me, she ripped out the first few pages because she had done something on them. When I got home, the journal was sitting on my stack of detritus that builds up near me (books, yarn, junk my son stacks up for me to hold for him, more books). I had just gotten done cutting a bunch of scrapbooking papers into A5 pieces so I could work them into my daily planner…and then a third journal required A5 sheets as well…but that will be another post another time.

I had a bunch of scraps from cutting the scrapbooking paper down. I pulled a bunch to make regular journals. I cut even more to make small, closer to tiny, journals. I think I have enough of the smaller bits to make ten or more of the smaller journals. Have I done that yet? Nope. I am still deciding what to use for covers for these little things.

Anyway, I had plenty of smaller offcuts left from the paper cutting, even after all the journals (yes, they are all stacked up in signatures and ready to bind) were prepped, folded into folios and set aside safely in bags) — I opened up the journal my daughter gave me and started to look at it. She’d only taken a few pages out of the front of the journal, but there were several rough edges and I knew if I didn’t seal these down, the pages on the back of those folios would also want to slip out as well.

So, I took a glue stick and starting to glue scraps of paper randomly onto the pages. At first, I did every other to-page spread, but after about six pairs, I went back and did the inside front cover and the two-pages spreads I had skipped previously. I still have a long way to go before I finish covering every single page. I also started to work in the back, covering the inside back cover and moving towards the front. I didn’t, and don’t, work on the back ad flip directly to the front. I glue, and when I feel like it, I move to the other side — for example, I work on spreads in the front until I feel like working on spreads in the back.

I find matching up the rectangles and creating smaller pieces to fit into odd gaps that crop up and gluing it all down can be quite calming and relaxing. There is no reason to get caught up in matching colors, or anything like that. Sometimes I glue things over things and don’t even worry about it. Doing this can be very meditative and I enjoy it.

What do you think? Comments? Questions? Leave them down below.