Have you ever lost that perfect idea because you thought you’d remember it (because it was so brilliant how could you NOT remember it?) but you did not write it down and then *poof* it’s gone? It’s terrible when that happens and even worse when you miss out on a great concept because your memory betrays you.

There are a lot of us creative types who aren’t necessarily ‘artists’ strictly speaking. There are great tutorials and advice on creating an art journal but what about the rest of us who are ‘artisans’ but not necessarily ‘artists’? A great alternative to the more in depth art journal is a simple inspiration log. It’s nothing fancy, just a literal log of all those brilliant ideas you have in the shower, on the way to work, at the grocery store or in the middle of the night.

The important part though is this; the inspiration log must live with you. The trick is to keep it small enough to be portable but big enough to be useful. I recommend those thin moleskin journals that you can find at just about any book store. They fit great into a purse, backpack or in my case; knitting bag. I divvy up my journals into sections with those great little neon page markers you use for college text books. I create section headings so that I can keep the brilliance organized and easily search-able.

Here’s how you use them: every time one of those moments of genius strikes you; put it into a section of your log. Draw a rough sketch if it’ll help jog your memory later, write as detailed a description as you can get down. Write everything you can; your impressions, your feelings about it, the colors, the taste, the light, the texture. Write everything that will remind you later of the brilliance you just experienced.

The really tricky bit? Make sure you have a pen or pencil on you at all times.

(Image courtesy of www.moleskine.co.uk)