100 Day Journal

This is a journal you will keep for 100 days. So to start you need a journal with a minimum of 100 pages. You can make your own, around A5 size (7" x 5") or larger, or you can buy one. The Moleskine Large Sketchbook is the only universally available book I have found with this amount of pages as it has 108 pages and being the sketchbook, the pages are thicker and will take all sorts of media. I get mine from Amazon however if you are in the USA I believe they are widely available in real life shops. A weighty paper is essential for your arty pages, so if you are making a journal ensure you have some heavy or wet media pages.

You should fill your book with 20 list pages, 20 theme a day pages, 20 diary pages (which could include ephemera from your day), 20 arty pages (drawings, doodles, patterns, collage, colour, art journal pages) 10 pages about yourself (your life, what you are like, what you do with your day, your dreams, your stories, ambitions, hopes... these are all suggestions, just make sure your partner knows who you are and include some photographs). Then there are 10 free pages to do whatever you wish, more of the above or anything else of your choosing. I like freedom when I journal so you will choose your own lists and themes, whatever is relevant to you.

This is not a quick rush journal, it's not a scrapbook either. Take time with your pages and make the kind of book that you would like to receive. The one thing that always disappoints me with journal swaps is when I receive a book that is not even half full, so don't take on a 300 page book that you won't be able to fill. You can go larger on page size, work on whatever suits you and your style.

You can fill in the pages in any order, so I could write a diary page about the event I went to on Satuday and stick the ticket stub in... I could doodle a pattern on a lazy Sunday afternoon, art journal Monday, write a list on Tuesday etc. Make it interesting in every way.

You will start your journal on Saturday 1st January and fill your journal every day for 100 days until 10th April. On the 10th April I will check profiles and contact everyone in the swap to ensure they have a completed book. This is to ensure minimum flakage, so the partner you are originally assigned may not be the one you send to, so no posting early! Your journal is not profile specific so doing it this way won't make any difference to your book. I know this is an unusual way to do things but I've been flaked on 8 journal swaps now and I don't want to send my book to a flaker or not get one back. I am currently in a page a day for a year journal swap and my partner has suddenly disappeared on me. With a long term swap this is always a risk. So by Monday 18th April I will confirm with you who you should be sending to. This looks like a good group of reliable swappers but things change, life happens and people do get lost along the way.

If you have any questions about the swap please post below as others will probably have the same questions. Thanks, enjoy your journal and happy swapping :-)