July: Light and Dark

Hi, everyone! In 2024, we’ll periodically give away the prompts for our monthly Cafe Analog’s friendly journaling challenge #caprojectme24 to add a bit of freshness and spontaneity! 😀

July always feels like a transition month for me. It is mid-year and includes a transition from summer to autumn, from busy working days to vacation months, from longer sunny days to shorter sunny days. Transition always makes us feel a bit more reflective than usual. It’s the mid-point when we’re rethinking where we go from here.

Thus, the design prompt for this month is: Light and Dark.

This month, create a page in your journal where you combine something light and dark in your page. Think of making gradients from light to dark or from dark to light. You can also incorporate some elements or supplies that have a “light” feeling on your page and combine them with something that is “darker” or feels heavier and more substantial. Try combining dark inks with light inks… the possibilities are endless, depending on your interpretation!

As you create your page, think about balance. Consider how you can befriend light and dark and find the point where you’ll be content with both. Joy can be found in light, sunny days, where everything is sparkling and bright, yet calm and solitude can also be found in the darkest nights, where everything is silent and still.

We’re curious to see your take on this challenge! 😀 If you join this #caprojectme24 challenge, you can also share the story about the creative process behind your spread!

These are some July writing prompts you can choose for the #caprojectme24 (you can select one or work on all of them weekly):

1

How can I find a sense of balance in my daily life? What balance would look like in my planner or to-do list?

2

What feels excessive in my life at the moment? What feels intrusive, too much, or too strong? What can I do to reduce it?

3

What feels lacking in my life at the moment? What are the things I repress, put aside, or make a second priority, even though I feel like I need them? What can I do to prioritize them or make time for them?

4

What advice would I give a friend or someone I love when they are going through a significant transition in their life, whether related to their career, relationships, or other areas?

If you are doing this #caprojectme24 at the end of July, you can also write down a recap of your month, highlighting essential events or life lessons you’ve experienced. Feel free to be creative and choose/translate/modify the prompts as you like!

You can tag us with #caprojectme24 to share your page with our Cafe Analog community! Have fun whether you’re now in summertime or winter time, on a busy working day, or on vacation… remember to look for the tiny joy in these moments—as one day, you may look back and realize how much you miss it! 🙂

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash