Hi friend! Elizabeth here from @thejoyfulsojourn on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, to share with you how to create a shared journal!
Supplies – Discount code "JOYFUL10" to save 10% at A&O!
- Notebooks – Today I’m using the smaller A5 journal from the spring 2026 quarterly subscription box, but any notebook will do! Choose a B5 if you like to write a lot or want a lot of real estate for decoration, choose a B6 if you like to focus on writing and less deco, and pick an A5 if you’d like something right in the middle!
- Pens are a must for me to achieve today’s finished pages. I used the Acrylographs in the quarterly sub box for all my headers.
- Lots of Washi! Today’s washi is from the sub box, but A&O has a lot to choose from as well!
- Stickers! Again, from the sub box, but you can pick out great sets here!
- Don’t forget your Tools! Scissors, craft blade, tweezers, and a glue stick were all used today.
Starting a "Shared Journal"
I first heard of the idea of a shared journal on Instagram. A mom dedicated a journal for her daughter that could be used for passing notes between the two of them. The journal was tucked under her daughter's bed, where she could write down anything she wanted her mom to know: challenges, hopes, ask questions, etc., and her mom would collect the journal periodically, read it, reply to her daughter within the pages, then return the journal to her daughter's bed. What was shared on the pages stayed between them, it was an open door for communication without judgement or fear, and it became a valuable source for intimacy in their relationship that transcended the pages.
This is an idea that has stuck with me, and while my daughter is still young and can't yet write, I want to be intentional about pursuing it. So today I'm setting up the first couple of pages in our shared journal and I hope my daughter is game for it!
Whether or not you have children, think about how a shared journal - passed between friends, spouses, etc., can be incorporated into your relationships.
The first step to setting up my journal, was stamping the front cover. The black legacy ink worked really well on this cloth cover and it did not bleed. I decided to add a metallic acrylograph pen on top for extra shine, and that did bleed a little beyond the stamp edge. I like the way this turned out, and it's given me some courage to consider stamping on future cloth notebooks!
The front cover page is always decorative for me! I ripped up sheet of notepad paper, layered strips of washi at the top and bottom, and layered stickers on top. Since this journal is for me and my girl, I printed photos of her and I and layered them on top of the elements. As she gets older, I'll add photos to the front cover so it grows with her!
On the other side of the name page, we have a pocket! This is one of the first things I do in every notebook I start. The page after the "this notebook belongs to" page is always wonky, so I cut a good portion of it off, add glue to the remaining flap on the bottom and side, and adhere it to the back of the name page. (See YouTube video for visual!)
Before gluing the flap-turned-pocket down, I covered it with sub box washi tape, added three stickers from the ephemera pack, and kiss-cut along the stickers at the top to make a fun edge.
Two sheets of pink paper from the sub box's A6 notepad were used to cover the upper portion of the page. Laying down pink really made the pocket stand out! And I ran washi tape and a couple of extra stickers to cover where the two sheets of pink met. Note that the A6 sheets are the perfect width for the A5 page!
On the right side of the spread I wanted to have fun with the ephemera stickers! In the upper right corner I layered a checkerboard sticker with a curtain sticker, and created a peek-a-boo flap for a photo using tip-in tape (washi would work too)! In the lower left corner I laid down a frame sticker and cut out the center, revealing a photo on the next page.
I used a stencil to letter out "our story", and colored in the alphas with the Acrylographs from the sub box. I also lined the page with a few of the colors to help close things off. I've found that borders make a huge difference visually when journaling and planning!
Flipping the page over, you can see I completed the frame cutout by lining it with washi tape. While there are two of each sticker in the sub box, my cuts on the first page weren't straight enough for me to easily align the same sticker on the back. No big deal, happy accident! I love how this washi turned out around the cut-out.
I used one of the ephemera sticker tags to label the top of this page with "Journal Together". Pro tip: when using multiple A&O pens from the same box set, follow the color sequencing EXACTLY as it appears on the back of the pen packaging! The A&O team always nails those details - not just putting complementary colors together in a set, but putting colors next to each other on the box that maximizes their overall aesthetic.
On the final set-up page you can see the photo that was in the window, framed with washi and adorned with stickers and washi. I also repeated the Acrylograph color pattern with the names of my daughter and I.
Across the two-page spread I ran 3 different washi tapes diagonally across the pages to take up space and add a lot of color and texture. I very rarely actually write on the first few pages of a notebook, I see them as creative space to play, to "break it in", to set the scene for the journal. And while the "SPECTACULAR" theme isn't going to be carried through the duration of the journal, these intro pages are a fun way to get things started.
Whether or not you decide to use one of the sub box notebooks to create a shared journal like mine, I hope you walk away with some inspiration for your notebook pages and enjoyed the creating process with me!
Watch this on YouTube
If you'd like to hang out with me in real-time over on YouTube, head over to the Archer & Olive channel now where you can see me build these pages!
Printable
If you're interested in starting a journal with your child, check out the printable below with simple prompts to get you started.
We would love to see how you use the Archer & Olive sub boxes in your projects, be sure to share your pages on social media by tagging myself and Archer & Olive with your project using: @archerandolive @thejoyfulsojourn @archerandolive.community #AOShare #archerandolive
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