{the five year journal}

Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but for as long as I can remember I’ve always had an addiction love of school supplies.  Some of you may refer to them as office supplies, but I never worked in an office, I worked in a school, therefore I’m sticking with my third grade mindset of school supplies :).

When I was paired up with Melanie for the Christmas in July Gift Exchange sponsored by my good friend Adrianne, I scoured Pinterest to find the perfect gifts to make for her.  I loved the idea of giving her some kind of a handmade journal, and soon was linked up with a post on something called The Five Year Journal.

I basically found a few variations on the journal.  Some keep a box of index cards, one card for each day of the year, and record a moment from each day, every day for five years.

{Source}

Others kept a more traditional journal, with pre-printed dates and enough space to add to each day for five years.

{Source}

Instead of ordering one online somewhere (there are several that you could find out in the good ‘ole world wide web), I decided to make my own using a beautiful bound journal I found at Target and my own handwriting.  Again…ex-teacher here…I’ve been told at times that my handwriting looks like a font on Microsoft Word.

I liked the idea of having some dates just left blank for Melanie to simply write a line about a moment that occurred that day, a reflection, a wish, etc…  Some days have a prompted question to mix things up a bit.  I looked through old journal prompts from my teaching days and of course did some pinning and googling to come up with about 175 prompts.  Soon, I had a good amount of questions and was ready to put the journal together.

Overall, it took about three days to complete the dates and questions.  I did a lot of the writing in front of the TV at night or during little guy’s nap time.

I also included an explanation of the journal in the front inside cover and used a corner punch to fancy it up a bit.

I think this is an excellent gift idea for so many people.  It’s perfect for a new mother wanting to keep a record of the first five years of her little one’s life, a student about to go to college, a newlywed couple reflecting on their first five years of marriage, and so many more!  You could give it for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, a birthday, or simply just because.

I hope that Melanie enjoys writing and reflecting in hers for the next five years!  I had so much fun creating it for her!

What about you?  Do you have an odd obsession with school supplies?  Do you keep a journal?  Do you think I’m crazy for handwriting every single day?  Let me know!  I love to hear from my readers!

I’ll be linking up at these fabulous parties…

The Pinterest Challenge {Summer Edition}