With a bright pink strip along its sturdy spine, the rest of its cardboard shell remained a blank slate until I removed its plastic encasement, popped open my art supplies, and got busy. Soon purple, blue, orange, and pink flowers with green leaves emerged to adorn its cover. Looking at it now, the bottom right-hand corner appears to be chewed on. Perhaps Capers, our beagle at the time, was the culprit? A standard 7.75” x 10.25” notebook with a pink elastic band that once held a black marker glue stick combo, was a treasure I recently discovered in a closet while reorganizing. Wow – my very first “for the moments & musings that stick” book!
First sold 15 years ago, these notebooks were produced by K&Company. Called Smash books, they are a cross between a scrapbook and art journal. With pre-designed themed pages that support mixed media like paint, ink, marker, and various glued, taped, and paper clipped items, the owner can literally “smash” anything into them, hence the name. As soon as I heard about them, I wanted one!
December 15, 2011, Newbury Park, California
“What do I want in the new year? …eat better, volunteer, new exercise, paint, collage, write!..I’ll record it all in my new Smash book…”
Prior to my Smash book days, I was already an avid documenter of my life. And, I still am. This interest began at the tender age of eight when I began writing daily notes on the pages of my diaries. It was a way to put my thoughts into words. When I was a little older, journaling was a way to relive all the ups and downs of growing up and process all the rites of passage. As an adult, putting pen to paper has provided a way to express gratitude, clear space for new ideas, reflect, plan, and problem solve.
Over the years, my life recordings not only included words, but visuals, too. As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a collector of all things ephemera. Greeting cards, ticket stubs, playbills, postcards, handwritten notes, menus, maps, and more! And as my collections grew, I found ways to use and manage these objects. Collages created from photos, magazine cut outs, and cards, hung on my bedroom walls as a kid. During my scrapbook period, I incorporated photos, trinkets, and descriptions of family and friends into my books, protected in plastic sleeves. Next came my art journal years. Ink drawings, paintings, and stenciled and stamped images accompanied by special objects melded together between the covers. Working on these journals was time consuming so when Smash books came along, I gravitated towards them. With their decorated pages and prompts, it was easy to incorporate my saved bits and bobs into them.
The one I uncovered this past week could appropriately be entitled, “My 50th Year of Life”. Cards received from friends, family, and co-workers for my milestone birthday are glued in. There is a Walt Disney Concert Hall ticket stub from an LA Phil concert we enjoyed. A beautiful card that was given out at my mother-in-law’s memorial service is in there. Photos of me and Robert being fitted for our new Franco bikes are pasted inside. As are playbills from “Wicked” and “Spamalot” that we saw at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Personal notes from loved ones, my bib from the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘N’ Rock ½ marathon we ran in Arizona, and memorabilia from running our last marathon in London, it’s all in there. What an amazing year filled with meaningful events and awe-inspiring adventures!
Finding this Smash book this past week reminded why I continue to record my life in words and pictures. The ephemera and writings in every book and journal evoke thoughts and feelings of the places I’ve lived, my experiences, and the people I’ve shared them with. Each item and entry tells a part of my story, each one, a piece of my life. Memories are held in every one of these precious things. And it’s these memories tucked away on the pages and in between the covers, they are the real treasures.
A Journal Journey 