We take lots of photos of birthdays, anniversaries, and fun trips and remember them well, but we tend to forget the trivial things in our daily lives. Some time ago, I thought that it would be good to remember the ordinary things in our daily lives, so I started "Daily Memory Keeping," a system that records the random things in our daily lives. I've been doing it in various styles for a long time, but this year marks my fifth year since I settled on my current style, which is a fusion of a diary and a scrapbook.
I love using a Traveler's Notebook for memory keeping . I used a regular size until last year, but this year I switched to a passport size. There were a lot of things going on last year, and with each day passing by in a flash, I often felt pressured to keep up rather than enjoying my memory keeping. So I decided to make a fresh start and try a passport size for the first time.
The size changed drastically, so I was confused about how to balance it all, but now I think it was a good decision. In weeks when there are a lot of events, I can't record everything, but for me , it's important to enjoy memory keeping and to continue it for a year without forcing myself. There are weeks when I'm busy with work and feel down, but I don't feel any pressure to "fill in the blanks!", so considering my current lifestyle, I think that memory keeping using the passport size has just the right balance.
I have introduced Traveler's Notebooks on Instagram many times before, but I am often asked, "Which stamp set does this stamp design come from?" So on this blog I would like to introduce the stamp sets I use as well.
The 2019 memory keeping started on December 22, 2018. That was the week my family came to visit from America, so it had a more special meaning than starting on January 1. Looking back at the page now, I can remember it all so clearly, and I'm really glad that I started on that week.
The Daruma and White Robe Kannon stamps were from Takasaki Station. I didn't have a notebook with me that day, so I stamped them on the back of a paper bag I had with me. I cut them out and colored them with watercolors.
"Bishoan" was a sticker on the packaging of "Strawberry Mochi", which is similar to strawberry daifuku. It was so delicious that I peeled it off cleanly. I keep anything that I think I might use for memory keeping later. My craft friends and I often joked that "what may be trash to most people is a treasure to us."
Below are the stamps used on this page.
1. Passport, immigration stamps | 365: Trip Guru
2. Map of Japan | 365: Nippon
3. JAPAN, Let's go on an adventure｜ Amy Tangerine I Heart Japan
4. TAKASAKI (Alphabet) | 365: Hikari
5. Travel Icon, "Go See Do Eat" | 365: Trip Guru
6. Train｜ 365: Tabi
7. Best --- Ever!｜ 365: Amusement Park
The "Day" part of "Best Day Ever!" is not stamped.
If you see any other stamps, masking tapes, stickers, etc. on this page that interest you, please feel free to contact us at (eri(at)sakuralala.jp). (Please change the "at" part to the @ symbol.)
I hope to upload the "Memory Keeping" series every week. Please look forward to the next one!
Created by Eri (IG: @_sakuralala_ )