Hi everyone! With Valentine's Day just around the corner, the team here at Archer and Olive have been having some discussions about what Valentine's Day means for us. Do we celebrate it? See it as a cheesy holiday? Love it?

In one of these discussions, Irene from Simply Gilded had such an amazing outlook on it, and it really inspired us. Rather than Valentine's Day being just about couples buying each other heart shaped presents, she told us how she likes to focus on the meaning behind it. About being thankful and grateful for your loved ones. And not just romantic relationships! Celebrating your friendships and family, no matter what that looks like to you. This was something Irene worked hard to bring into her collaboration with us in January 2022, and we wanted to round up some resources so YOU can get started with a gratitude journal or memory keeping.

Supplies For Gratitude Journaling and Memory Keeping

• Archer and Olive Journal – The lovely and thick pages have no bleeding or ghosting, so you get a clean start for each journal page! The collaboration with Simply Gilded is particularly perfect as the pale pink pages will really make your spreads pop and make your journaling experience extra special!
• Pen – Your favorite pen to plan with—something that flows well!
• Decorative Touch (optional) – This could be anything from stamps to acrylographs, or of course, nothing!

Ideas For A Gratitude Journal

Gratitude journaling can look like so many things. It can be freehand writing, following prompts, or even being creative.

One really common way to start a gratitude journal is to write about one thing you are thankful for each day. It could be anything big or small that you take time to appreciate and feel grateful for. Here's an amazing blog with a tutorial on how to create a thankfulness log spread to help you feel motivated to come back and add an entry each day:

If you want to gratitude journal creatively, mindfullness journaling is a brilliant technique. This blog is an amazing introduction on creative mindfulness, and can really be adapted to show gratitude and thankfulness to yourself.

Finally, if you enjoy following prompts or you're not sure where to start, they can be great for exploring your life and finding things to be grateful and thankful for. Some great prompt ideas are:

• Write about a time you felt happy.

• What part of the day do you most enjoy?

• What three things you are you most grateful for?

• What was something that made you smile today?

Think about prompts that can help you focus in on something positive! If you would like to find more, here are 100+ you can start with. Not all of them are catered to gratitude journaling, but skip those of have fun adapting them in a way that does focus in on being thankful:

Ideas For Memory Keeping

Memory keeping is an amazing way to commemorate things you feel grateful or thankful for. Maybe it's something small you have achieved that day, big goals you finally reach, or just simply celebrating the loved ones in your life - but documenting those in one place can be amazing to do in the moment AND look back on in years and years to come.

If you're wanting to start memory keeping, the first place you want to start is this blog. In here, Nicola talks all about what memory keeping is, why it is important, and even shows you examples.

If you want to do something more structured or akin to bullet journaling, Vivian shares with us how to create a spread perfect for memory keeping. Find the full tutorial here:

Finally, if you celebrate Valentine's Day and want to get a special gift for a partner, friend or family member, we also have a special edition box launching alongside the Simply Gilded collaboration. Here's a peek, and a link to where to get it!

I hope this blog helped you come up with some new ideas for your gratitude journal and memory keeping. Make sure to let us know if you feel like these tips helped you! Find us on Instagram at @archerandolive @archerandolive.community, and tag #archerandolive and #AOshare or post them on our Facebook group at Archer and Olive Community so we can see your creations!