Recently, I've noticed that many journalers are planning
to buy less and more mindfully, sell some of their pre-loved stationery, and be more mindful
of how they use their existing stationery. One of the ways to do that is to create a stationery capsule box. In December last year, I was inspired by a lot of people creating and
using their Christmas-themed stationery boxes. People discovered they
already had accumulated quite a lot of holiday-themed stamps, washi
tapes and stickers from previous years and did not have to buy new ones
to decorate their December planner spreads and journal entries.
I am passionate about both knitting and journaling, so I
have accumulated a lot of supplies for each craft. Often I like to work
with my stash for a while without going to buy anything for a
project. I often feel inspired to work with the same materials for many consecutive projects, so I keep those close at hand on my desk. A stationery capsule box is going a step further, though. Stationery box is a curated selection of preferred stationery to use over a defined period (i.e a week, a month, a season). It should all fit into a shoe box or a small desk toolbox.
How to create a capsule collection of stationery?
You can begin by first deciding on a theme for your collection (see more on that topic below), or alternatively, just browse your stash first to get an idea of what you have. When going through your stash, you might rediscover something you've forgotten about,
or neglected to use. You can discover that you have a lot of
some product or material and might want to build your capsule around this material, or,
alternatively send some of this to your penpal, journaling buddy or
offer for sale on your destash account.
The capsule could be
seasonal, or color-coordinated, or just compiled of items that you are
most excited about at this moment. For a while, I kept
Plus x Minus DejaVu washi tape on my desk and made almost every collage with this tape, since I was so inspired by its vintage vibe and neutral tones. At the moment, I am most inspired by the cute-kawaii style of Freckles Tea, so I keep a few samples of the MoriPoetry tape close at hand to use in my journals.
The capsule collection could also be based on the theme of your main journal (for example, bookish stationery for your reading journal, or everything connected to gardening and plants for your gardening or houseplant journal), or you could pre-pick a theme for each month and work with this theme to create a capsule collection for each month.
Why create a stationery capsule collection?
There are several benefits to creating a capsule collection. For example, it might
- help you consume less and more mindfully, appreciating what you already have.
- spark creativity: using a defined set of stationery items can be a challenge, but it will surely spark your creativity to find various ways of using what we already have.
- declutter both your workspace and your mind, creating more room for your inspiration to flow.
- your daily, weekly and monthly spreads will look more coherent when using a defined set of materials and tools creatively. It is easier to create rhythm and patterns with a defined set of tools, and having a predictable pattern might have a calming effect on you.
Another option to downsize or simplify your journaling is to create
a stationery capsule folder. In a folder you can store a variety of paper ephemera, notecards, tickets, stickers, tape cut-outs, etc. This is a
great option for traveling and for taking journaling with you on the go. You could keep the folder alongside your journal or planner (for example, Traveler's Notebook kraft paper folder alongside your other inserts), or just store it in the pocket of your planner cover. Obviously, you cannot store your rubber stamps in your folder, but you could
prepare your own stamped ephemera beforehand, stamping on a separate sheet of paper and cutting out shapes to make collages later on the go. You could also create
small collage clusters or journaling cards for your capsule folder to use later in your journals.
Have you tried this before, or are eager to try? Do let me know via DM on Instagram :)
Thank you for reading!
Until next time,
Marianne
