For all of my notebook and stationery lovers, this post is for you! Have you ever found yourself staring at a stack of themed unused notebooks, brimming with untapped potential?
We’ve all been there—captivated by the idea of preserving our memories in a charmingly themed notebook, only to find them unused and collecting dust on a shelf. Well, this is exactly what I am going through at this very moment.
As I have been cleaning and organizing to get better situated in this life we live, I have come across multiple unused themed notebooks. Each time that I have planned for us to attend a fun event, activity, holiday, or road trip, I have found myself buying a new themed notebook.
The goal has been to use the themed notebook to document whatever it is that we are participating in with diary-style entries, notes, doodles, and event mementos like napkins, stickers, and polaroid style photos – very much like a traveler’s journal. The only problem is that I have failed to do so. Now, I have a bin of themed notebooks that have gone unused.
But fear not! In this blog post, we’ll explore creative ways to breathe new life into our neglected notebooks, transforming them into captivating scrapbooks and cherished moments.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Unicorn Notebook
The first notebook that I have been holding on to is a cute unicorn notebook that I found at Dollar Tree at the very beginning of the year. The plan was to document our moments during our magical weekend away at Unicorn World and the Enchanted Fairy Festival. Only I never documented a thing in the notebook.
My hope for this notebook is to use it as inspiration for future adventures. Now, that I have a little girl, our unicorn escapades are certainly not over yet. In fact, we’re just beginning.
Strawberry Notebook (2)
On two separate occasions, I have purchased strawberry notebooks. I actually used the first strawberry-themed notebook during National Strawberry Month for my Book of Positive Aspects.
It was from Dollar Tree last year, however, on our recent trip to New York, I found a smaller version of the strawberry-themed notebook. This one is a bit nicer than the first. It has a planner-style gold elastic closure, as well as two thin ribbon bookmarks. My plan is to hang on to it to use during National Strawberry Month next year unless something strawberry theme appears during the remainder of the year.
Barbie Spiral Tab Notebook from Five Below
When I stumbled upon this notebook online a Five Below, I knew I had to have it. So much so that I ordered it online immediately with the plan to take it along with me to the Barbie Cafe’ in Chicago to document the experience, but again it didn’t work out that way.
Had I had the opportunity for a do-over, I would have taken the notebook in with me, documented some of the fun outfits seen, written my immediate thoughts about the food and the ice cream float that arrives in a convertible, as well as placed in instant prints of all the pictures taken at the various photo props, the menu, and stickers and tags to anything that I purchased at the gift shop while exiting.
Juneteenth Notebook
A notebook that I did not plan for that I stumbled upon was a Juneteenth notebook from Dollar Tree in Kankakee, Illinois. On our way from Bounce the Mall in Aurora, I made a pit stop at Dollar Tree and was shocked to see an end cap dedicated to Juneteenth. I picked up some paper plates, napkins, cups, a sign, and a Juneteenth notebook.
My intentions were to take it with me throughout the day and document various conversations that were held around Juneteenth to widen my perspective and to share in a family dialogue. Sadly, the notebook when unused. Perhaps, next year?
Pink Yellowstone
Finally, while in New York at Dollar Tree, I picked up a beautiful, yet simple pink Yellowstone National Park notebook. While I didn’t plan for this one either, it has now become my inspiration to plan some travel adventures to some national parks such as Yellowstone National Park and Joshua Tree National Park in California.
This pink notebook would make a fun collaborative traveler’s journal. Hear me out. I could take this notebook on our family vacation (that is not yet planned). Ha!
Everyone would then add to the journal daily with written notes, thoughts, feelings, etc. We could then also tuck in mementos such as postcards, photos, napkins from restaurants, coffee sleeves, etc.
The collective memories and shared laughter will transform those pages into a cherished keepsake strengthening the bonds that connect us and our scrapbook of the vacation would mostly complete! How amazing would that be?!
Other Misc. Notebooks
Then there are a few that are completely random and beautiful that I have just not done anything with. Perhaps I shall make it a goal to work them into everyday life to make sure that they are used up.
What would you do?
Final Thoughts
Overall, the final way that I could think to use these notebooks would be by combining the charm of the physical notebook with the convenience of digital media. Although many of the events have passed, I could actually go back and pull from the photos taken, take some screenshots, and/or print out my favorite moments from each event, activity, and road trip.
Then, use your themed notebook as a scrapbooking hub, arranging and pasting the digital mementos alongside of my thoughts and reflections. It could actually be the best of both worlds—retaining the tangible essence of a notebook while incorporating the dynamic nature of multimedia.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your positive suggestions in the comments.
