Archiving the treasure from 2013...

Right around the same time... every year... I gather all the treasure from the past year and create a collage of memory... things I want to remember. I used to make a jar for each year but since last year... I switched a gear and have decided to archive them in a more accessible format using MIDORI Bee Notebook.

This process really helps me to organize little artifacts that are too precious to let go... but don't have a permanent locations... you know... things that tend to collect in little corners of the house (everywhere). I am thankful that this notebook gives just enough so it can accommodate slightly three dimensional things like hospital tags from Coco's birth, etc...

Since the notebook gets so "full" after putting everything inside, I usually like to put a secure closure. Last year I made a make shift string and button closure but this year... I was able to use MIDORI eyelet and string sticker to make sure nothing falls out of the notebook. (thank you MIDORI... for making my life easier and simpler).

I like giving each page (an envelope with a window to be exact) a little theme. A page about welcoming Coco in our life (that was a big one in 2013...), our travel, a page about sisterhood, opening the shop... I write a few things around the window on each page to remember why certain artifacts made it to the page with a hope that our girls will someday look back and sense our life in a tangible way.

2013... you were good to us.

In case you are interested, here is a list of tools I used:
MIDORI Bee spiral notebook
Brass alphabet bookmark
Brass number bookmark
MIDORI eyelet and string sticker
mt masking tape
Label sticker / cream
Brass pen

 

Ready to get creative? MIDORI Spiral Notebook!

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by so many friends who LOVE stationery! It's little bit like an obsession, isn't it? I have few friends who collect beautiful stationery (we talk about how we are going to display and be immersed in these stationery in our future life)... then I have other friends who get really hands on with them. I kind of like both and maybe that's why I have the Baum-kuchen shop. I do shop often at my own store if you haven't noticed:)

I seriously can't wait to break into these MIDORI Spiral notebooks I just added to the shop in the near future!
Enjoy:)

MIDORI Elephant Spiral Notebook comes with heavier weight papers in grey. Just like the name of the notebook suggests..., it is inspired by a graceful and sturdy elephant that travels the land slowly but steadily. I have a big plan for sampling this notebook... which is perfect for collaging and scrap booking.


MIDORI Camel Spiral Notebook... inspired by the textures and colors of dessert landscape. I always felt that the paper that was not pure white is easier to break in... (you know the fear of blank paper??) so this notebook will be perfect for letting the creativity loose and free.  Just have fun with it:)

Reflecting and archiving the year: 2012

I think I should dedicate a day (or two) a week as my creative outlet day. Take a day to slow down on the operational/logistic side of the shop and use my hands & right brain to create something... possibly using materials and supplies we have available at our shop.

Making a book for the year of 2012 has been on my "things I like to do" list for a while (it was really supposed to happen in December... oh well.) so it was a perfect project to tackle today. For last six years, I put all the trinkets from the year's adventure in glass jars. I always enjoyed this annual ritual as a way to capsule some of the great memories with the hope that we will open them someday and look back with smile.

This year, I wanted to try something different - to create a system that is little more accessible to look back whenever we want to. And that's when I realized that MIDORI Spiral Bee Notebook with windows will be just perfect!

Since we were on the road quite a bit last year, 2012 box was filled with travel memorandum. Mix of Japanese, German and American trinkets. A perfect caption to our family:) This is how my desk looked when I emptied the box...



I decided to dedicate the back of front cover to our 2012 letter to ourselves since this is how we welcomed the year...

Then filled each page with bits and pieces of our life from the year. In order to keep some visibility to the items, I avoided putting everything in the envelope with window. Instead, I glued and clipped some of the larger items like photographs on the page. For example..., while we were traveling, we mailed a few postcards to ourselves with special quotes, so I inserted the postcard on the back of the page using Film Pocket Stickers in Postcard Size.  (left side of the page on the below picture).

More photos after jump!

Keeping the keepsake with MIDORI Bee Notebook

One more project post to share with you:)

I was pretty thrilled when MIDORI came up with a new Bee Spiratl Notebook last year. It's like their Kraft Envelope with Window meets a spiral binding!!

I instantly knew that this will be so perfect to collect little goodies that come from our family in Germany. The other day, Roo received a letter from her omi + opi with a pressed four leaf clover! That's special, right??

I love that I can write a little memo directly on the envelope.  I know there will be a time in the future that Roo will be able to look at this and appreciate the letter...

Until then... it's safe and secure in this special notebook:)

Traveling time with MIDORI Kangaroo Notebook

Seeing how Vané of Brookly Bride is using her MIDORI Kangaroo Notebook and Bee Notebook made me want to travel more... Since we have no further travel scheduled for 2012 and 2013, I figured I can enjoy my "travel" by revisiting some goodies I collected from last few trips.

I am working on two MIDORI Kangaroo Notebook. I am using the horizontal one to create an adventure journal for our little Roo and the vertical one to collect inspiration for myself.

While we were visiting Hamburg, she had a chance to visit a zoo with her opi and papa. When she came back from the zoo, she was really excited and told me all about animals she just saw... pointing at the illustrated zoo map.  I am hoping in a few years... she will be able to add more memories by herself. 

And here is how I am using the vertical MIDORI Kangaroo Notebook to collect odds and ends of analogue inspiration. I know we have Pinterest and other digital tools to keep a personal creative collage... but it's just not the same as having something physical we can touch and play with, isn't it??  I tend to collect more things when I am traveling... so the book is becoming 1/2 inspiration, 1/2 travel reflection. I love the process of editing and reframing the things I have collected. I tend to make a page based on the visual interest... seeing some kind of relationship between one artifact to another. Even though it feels little random right now, I know when I look back the notebook, serendipity of the random collection will bring some new thoughts to our design.

Oh how much I love paper products...

Hello {Midori Kangaroo Spiral Notebook}

I am pretty flexible when it comes to "how" I use my sketchbook. I doodle, lists, collage, capture... anything and everything that comes to my way that is inspiring and thought provoking... so it wasn't hard for me to completely fall in love with these Midori's Kangaroo Spiral Notebooks when I found them!

Isn't it clever? It's like they are the perfect hybrid of a sketchbook and envelopes. A match made in heaven... and it totally hits the sweet spot!! 

I am definitely taking one (or more) to my next trip and FB suggested that I would use one just to keep our little roo's memorandum... which makes me wonder if this would be a pretty cool gift for a baby shower. Maybe customize the cover and a few inside pages for specifics like "first name tag at the hospital"... etc. etc.  I think its potential is endless.

I decided to carry them in two sizes at my shop. A5 in a vertical format and B6 in a horizontal format. Let me know what you think:)

Purchase Information:
Midori Kangaroo Notebook (Vertical/A5) Price: $13
Midori Kangaroo Notebook (Horizontal/B6) Price: $13