Hi friend, Elizabeth here from @thejoyfulsojourn on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok! Today we're going to talk about my new favorite thing – creative listing! And we’re going to set up a new creative lists journal together.

What is creative listing?

Creative listing is a way to catalog, memory-keep, and journal, extraordinary and everyday moments. Lists could be likes and dislikes, information about yourself currently or your childhood. They could be a lists of what's happening now in the news, what happened on that date over different decades. etc. It prioritizes decorative play and succinctness in writing. And the possibilities for creativity and listing ideas is endless!

Creative listing is similar to journaling with prompts, in that you have a category, theme, or prompt that tells you what the list is about. But instead of writing in sentence or paragraph format, you simply respond to the topic with a list (think bullet list)! You can be as brief as one word, or as robust as a sentence – there are no rules here, do what works for you!

Why “creative listing” instead of regular journaling?

There may be seasons in your life when you don’t have as much patience for writing for an extended period. Perhaps you’re craving more time exploring your creativity and playing with different mediums like scrap paper, stamps, watercolors, brush lettering. Maybe you have a bunch of Archer & Olive notebooks that you don’t know what to use for, or you have a child or grandchild who loves you, loves learning about you, and desires to understand who you are, who you were, and the world you live/lived in.

For me, pregnancy brought on carpal tunnel in my hands, and since then – almost 3 years later – I still have recurring cramping in my hands when I write more than a few consecutive sentences. The discomfort of long-form writing has been a huge deterrent for me to stay consistent in journaling.

So when I saw creative listing done by Layle over at LayleByMail, I wondered if that might be a solution and if I could adapt it to my design style and my notebooks! Creative lists are what I most look forward to creating in my notebooks, not just for the chance to play with my supplies, but for a long term book of my life that I can pass down to my daughter.

Note - in today's first list, I did more writing that usual. But it’s evidence that you can make your list be whatever it needs to be, for the context of the topic, for the decorations you choose, etc. Creative "listing" simply gives you permission to write LESS if you need to. And sometimes I need that permission. 

Supplies –use discount code "JOYFUL10" to save 10%  at Archer and Olive!

• Any sized journal – I’m using the A5 journal in the Rest & Renew self-care box.
• Kit Club – the one-stop-shop for decorative planning and journaling! Today I used the “Antique Florals” kit in the every day collection (everyday collection means you can purchase it any time independent of the kit subscription)!
• Pens – whatever tickles your fancy! Today I used duographs from the summer 2025 subscription box
• Stamps – they add such a great decorative element to any spread when layered beside stickers! I used stamps from the summer 2025 subscription box, as well as the old beekeeper collection.
• Tools – my personal fav is the stencil! You’ll also want glue for today’s project.

Getting Started

Alright friends, grab an archer and olive notebook you love that you’ve been too scared to use, one that you’ve been ‘saving for something special’, or that helps get those creative juices flowing! Your book of lists IS special, IS worthy of a beautiful cover that you’ve been saving!

Now’s a great time to grab all those papers, stickers, washi, and stamps you’ve been hoarding from previous sub boxes and kit clubs! We’re just going to play and use all the things in this notebook! With each turned page, you can create a TOTALLY different look or theme based entirely on how you feel, or the topic of your list.

Name Page Set-up

The first thing we’re going to do is decorate our name page. If you’re anxious about starting a new notebook, always start here! This is the place to ‘break the seal’, and to label what the contexts of the book will be.

I used the new alpha stamps from the A&O summer 2025 seasonal subscription box to stamp down my name. I then used alpha stickers from the 2024 Halloween release (shocker right?!) to add a little bit more movement and texture. I framed out the page with scrap papers and stickers from the everyday collections kit club, “Antique Florals”.

Setting Up Your Index

You know that always-awkward page immediately following the name page? We’re going to turn that into a pocket!

Simply cut that first dot grid page horizontally at whatever height (from the bottom) you want your pocket to be. Stop cutting when you get close to the spine, then cut vertically on the last column of dots closest to the spine, all the way to the top.

Glue down the small remaining flap along the spine and glue the outer perimeter of the flap to the back of the name page. Do NOT glue the top of the horizontal piece as you want that open for your pocket. **Feel free to jump over to the Archer & Olive YouTube channel to watch this part in action when you’re done reading, I know sometimes it’s easier to see it! The video is linked down at the bottom of this page.

Now that we have a pocket, grab a piece of memo pad paper (mine is from a previous sub box) and insert it into your pocket. This can be your index, your table of contents, or as I labeled it for fun, your ‘list-ex’! I haven’t decided how I’m going to catalog my lists just yet, but do it in a way that makes sense to you – alphabetically, by date, by theme/topic, etc.

Once you’ve determined the size and shape of your index cards, fill it in with decorations! I used a bunch of decorative items from the summer 2025 seasonal subscription box, including the alpha stamps, new duograph pens, floral stickers, and married them with stamps from the original beekeeper collection!

Let’s Make a List!

I’ve provided a printable below that gives you a bunch of different lists you can make to get started. Once you get the hang of what a list could be, you’ll find more ideas to creative list!

I thought I’d start my creative lists notebook with lists ‘about me’, and this first page is a list of where I’ve lived. Since I’ve only lived in 3 cities, I decided to take up a little bit more space writing explanations for where I lived within those cities and why I moved. You can see here listing comes in handy if you have more than 10 places to note!

Because this page is ‘next door’ to my summer bee themed index page, I made them coordinate by using additional stickers from the summer sub box!

Because I’m planning on using this notebook through the end of the year with my lists, I suspect that future notebooks may have repeating lists because information will change. And over time I will have a collection of lists spanning from ‘what’s in the news’ to ‘what I have to keep stocked in my fridge right now’!

Need More List Ideas?

Creative listing could be your answer to memory-keeping, to weekly, monthly, and annual journaling and reflection, and an encouragement to you to explore your creativity and use your supplies! I know I’m excited about it, and I hope this idea inspires you to start a lists notebook as well.

Get your creative listing notebook started with these list ideas in the printable below!

Want to see how this came together in video format? Check out my corresponding video below on the Archer and Olive YouTube Channel.

If you decide to start a creative list notebook, be sure to follow me @thejoyfulsojourn on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, where I plan to share my creative listing with archer and olive notebooks more frequently! I was inspired by Layle over at LayleByMail, and recommend you check out her style as well.

Be sure to tag me and Archer & Olive with your A&O creative list notebooks using: @archerandolive @thejoyfulsojourn @archerandolive.community #AOShare #archerandolive