There is something about August that feels like being right in the middle of two seasons.
Summer definitely isn't over. There are still beach days to squeeze in, iced drinks to enjoy, flowers blooming, and plenty of sunshine left.
But there's also that little feeling in the air that change is coming.
Maybe that's why I've been doing so much organizing lately.
I've been organizing my creative space. Moving around the tools I actually use. Making new graphics. Organizing my business. And, of course, officially changing my name to Teresa's Spot for Creativity.
I joked during my latest journaling video that I feel like I'm nesting.
Apparently we're nesting in August now. 😂
But while I've been organizing everything around me, I've also been thinking about something else:
Creativity doesn't actually need to be organized.
Sometimes you just need some paper, scissors, glue and permission to play.
And that is exactly what happened when I sat down with my August Creative Simple Joys Junk Journal Printable Paper Pages Bundle.
Eight Months of Creative Simple Joys
I can't quite believe I'm saying this, but August is month eight of my Creative Simple Joys journal series.
When I finally decided last December that I was going to stop thinking about this idea and actually DO IT, I didn't really know what it would become.
I just knew I wanted to create something that encouraged us to slow down and notice the little things.
Not necessarily the giant, scrapbook-worthy moments.
The little ones.
The ordinary Tuesday.
The coffee you loved.
The funny thing somebody said.
The place you stopped on the way home.
A pretty piece of paper.
A ticket you didn't want to throw away.
A summer afternoon when absolutely nothing monumental happened.
Those are Creative Simple Joys too.
And now here we are in August.
If you've been collecting the bundles since January, thank you. Truly. It means so much to me that this little idea that was sitting in my head for years has become part of your creative time too.
Your Junk Journal Does NOT Have to Be Finished
Here's something I admitted during the video:
Are all of my Creative Simple Joys journals completely filled?
Nope.
Are some months fuller than others?
Yep.
Do some pages have journaling while other pages have doodles, scraps or practically nothing yet?
Absolutely.
And I'm perfectly okay with that.
Because this isn't a competition to see who can fill a journal fastest.
We're not being graded.
There is no Junk Journal Police Department coming to inspect August and ask why page 14 isn't finished.
Thank goodness, because I have enough things on my to-do list. 😂
Sometimes the joy is simply in getting ready to create. Sometimes Getting READY to Create is CREATING
Printing the pages.
Tearing the edges.
Folding the paper.
Choosing what goes where.
Making a little journal that's waiting for you whenever you have ten minutes to play.
That's creative time too.
What's Inside My August Creative Simple Joys Bundle?
Like the previous months, I designed the August pages so they coordinate while still giving you plenty of freedom to make the journal your own.
Inside you'll find things like:
- A coordinating August cover
- Calendar page
- Decorative printable pages
- Journaling pages
- A to-do list
- Ten journal prompts
- Doodles
- Tags
- Ephemera and fussy-cut pieces
- Extra elements you can use for layering, pockets and embellishing
Some months I print pages double-sided. This month I didn't.
Some pages I folded with the design facing out.
Some I folded in.
Some white areas I intentionally left alone because white space is GOOD.
You can journal there later.
You can doodle.
Add a photograph.
Glue something over it.
Or leave it exactly as it is.
You do you.
That's pretty much the official rule around here.
Actually, it might be our only rule.
The Best Part Happened When I Stopped Following My Own Plan
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I went into this project thinking I knew what I was going to work on.
Then I started pulling out things I'd saved.
And the plan went right out the window.
Which, honestly, is when junk journaling gets really fun.
I added a postcard I'd picked up after teaching an in-person beach journal class in Sagaponack. I had stopped at the sweetest little general store afterward, treated myself to coffee frozen yogurt with chocolate chips, and picked up a postcard.
Was this some huge life event?
No.
Will seeing that postcard someday remind me of driving through the Hamptons on a summer day after teaching a group of girls how to make journals?
Absolutely.
That's exactly the kind of memory I want these journals to hold.
Stationery Fest, Business Cards and the Stuff We Normally Throw Away
I also had a collection of little things from Stationery Fest 2026.
Business cards.
Stickers.
Packaging.
Freebies.
Thank-you cards.
All those little paper pieces we pick up, bring home and then wonder:
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
Put it in the journal!
I created a Stationery Fest spread with some of those pieces, including business cards from makers I wanted to remember.
And I love that.
Now those little pieces aren't floating around my craft room waiting for me to forget why I saved them.
They're part of August.
They're part of the story.
Layering Is Your Friend
One thing I say all the time when I'm junk journaling is:
Layering is your friend.
Don't know what to put there?
Add a layer.
Don't like what you just did?
Add another layer.
Something looks a little strange?
Guess what?
Another layer. 😂
Book pages, catalog images, scraps, stickers, printable ephemera, postcards—they can all work together.
I pulled images from a catalog because the artwork felt like summer to me.
That was the entire reason.
I didn't go somewhere wearing that dress.
I didn't sit in that particular chair.
Those images don't document something I did.
They simply felt like August.
And that is enough.
Your Journal Doesn't Have to Document Anything
Check out my step by step youtube video here:
I think this is one of the biggest things I want you to take away from Creative Simple Joys.
A junk journal can hold memories.
But it doesn't have to.
You are allowed to make a page simply because you like making the page.
You can cut out a pretty flower because you like the flower.
You can use an image because the colors make you happy.
You can glue down a scrap of paper because you had twenty quiet minutes after dinner and wanted to do something with your hands instead of scrolling on your phone.
There doesn't need to be a deeper reason.
Creating can be the reason.
Paint. Paper. Create.
That idea is also a huge part of why I've recently changed my business name to Teresa's Spot for Creativity.
My creative world has grown.
For a long time, painting was at the center of what I shared.
It still is.
But somewhere along the way I learned to play with scissors. 😂
Then came paper crafting.
Junk journaling.
Mixed media.
Creative Simple Joys.
And yes... true crime crafting wandered into the room too.
For a little while, I felt like I had all these different pieces and wasn't quite sure how they fit together.
Then I realized something.
They already fit together.
Because the point was never really the paint.
Or the paper.
Or the canvas.
Or the journal.
The point has always been what happens to us when we make something.
We slow down.
We stop thinking about the giant list of things we're supposed to be doing.
We play.
We experiment.
We make mistakes.
We cover the mistakes with another piece of paper. 😉
And for a little while, we're simply creating.
That's Teresa's Spot for Creativity.
Paint. Paper. Create.
Different supplies.
Same purpose.
August Doesn't Have to Be Perfect
So if you haven't documented your summer...
If the photos are still sitting on your phone...
If you bought the pretty journal and haven't touched it...
If you printed your Creative Simple Joys pages three weeks ago and they're still sitting next to the printer...
You're fine.
Pick them up today.
Cut out one thing.
Glue down one piece of paper.
Write three sentences about something that happened this month.
Or don't write anything at all.
Make a page simply because the colors make you happy.
August doesn't need to become another project you're behind on.
Let it be somewhere you can play.
Your journal doesn't need to be finished.
It doesn't need to be perfect.
It doesn't even need to make sense to anyone except you.
It just needs to give you a little place to create.
And maybe that's the real simple joy.
Come Create August With Me
If you'd like to see exactly how I put together my August journal, come hang out with me on YouTube.
You'll see me tear and fold the printable pages, figure out the order as I go, use my new stapler, add my calendar, create a Stationery Fest memory spread, add my Sagaponack postcard and make a completely-for-fun summer collage.
In other words, you'll see the real process.
No perfectly planned journal.
No rules.
A little technology drama.
Quite a bit of changing my mind.
And lots of paper, scissors and glue.
Pretty much a normal creative day around here. 😂
And if you have the August Creative Simple Joys Printable Paper Pages Bundle, I would LOVE to see what you're creating with yours.
Most importantly, remember this:
Carve out a little time for yourself this week.
It doesn't have to be hours.
It doesn't have to produce anything useful.
It doesn't have to become something worthy of posting on social media.
Ten quiet minutes with a glue stick counts.
A doodle counts.
One journal page counts.
Because those tiny creative moments?
They count too.
Create. Relax. Enjoy.
Teresa
Teresa's Spot for Creativity
Simple creative projects for more joy, less stress & a little time for you.
