Journaling the Constitution - Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 2

Hello and welcome! This is the fourth post in my series, Journaling the Constitution. I’m reading the United States Constitution step by tiny step and creating colourful printables as I go. 

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The second paragraph of Article 1, Section 2 would be a super simple list of qualifications for members of the House of Representatives — if it weren’t for all of the double negatives. There are oodles of them!

After creating a quick puzzle to record the paragraph, I made sure to include a double-negative-free zone to neatly recap all three qualifications.

If you’d like to journal this quick and colourful printable, you’ll find it — and all the other pages I’ve created so far — in my Constitution collection. 

See you back here soon with Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3. Representation and enumeration!

Journaling the Constitution - Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 1

Hello and welcome! This is the third post in my series, Journaling the Constitution. I’m reading the United States Constitution step by tiny step and creating colourful printables as I go.

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The first paragraph of Article 1, Section 2, is only one sentence, but don’t let that fool you. There’s more to it than you might think. It starts quite momentously, then it gets a little less momentous, and then there are amendments. It’s a whole thing.

The People

Paragraph 1 begins by giving the people of each state the power to choose members of the House of Representatives.

This was a big deal! Previously, positions like these were mostly appointed without giving people a say in it.

The Electors

Then, halfway through the sentence, the term elector is introduced. It threw me a bit at first. Wait, aren’t the people of the states the electors?

The answer reminds me of one of those logic statements from math class. All electors are people, but — and here’s the important part — not all the people are electors.

In order to be electors, and thus participate in choosing their members of the House of Representatives, the people need to have “qualifications requisite.” These qualifications are left to the states to determine based on their voting rules.

The result, early on, was that a great many people in the states were not allowed to vote, including African Americans, Native Americans, and women.

The Amendments

In the years since, four constitutional amendments have been passed to prohibit the denial of voting rights based on race, sex, the payment of poll taxes, and age. We’ll chat more about these soon.

Long story short, the paragraph stands, but the amendments explicitly guarantee certain voting rights.

Here’s a peek at the printables for Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 1:

There’s a new of puzzle for recording the paragraph and additional step-by-step prompts. There’s also a quick jumble at the end, just in case you’ve ever wondered which were the original “several states” at the time of the Constitution. I know I did!

If you’d like to journal theses printables, you’ll find them here.

See you back here soon with Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 2. Qualifications of Representatives!

In the meantime, if you have any thoughts, please comment below. I’ll be thrilled to chat. :)

Journaling the Constitution - Article 1, Section 1

And we’re off! With the Preamble journaled, I’m digging into the first of seven articles.

Article 1, Section 1 is pretty straightforward.

It tells us to whom the Constitution has given the power to make laws.

Even though it’s a short statement, a quick puzzle and fillable infographic helped me think through the basic structure of the U.S. Congress before diving into the nuts and bolts of how, when, and where the legislative branch does its work.

If you’d like to journal this printable, you’ll find it here.

Things will quickly become more complicated as we move forward. I’ve already made two pages for the first paragraph of Section 2, and there are five paragraphs in that section alone! Additionally, a part of the third paragraph was changed by the 13th and 14th amendments. I’m not sure how I’ll journal that yet.

Before I go, I want to mention a few resources I’m using so far.

For the text of the Constitution, I’m looking at the versions provided by the National Constitution Center and the National Archives.

Alongside these, I’m reading the handwritten original thanks to high-resolution images from the National Archives.

The Office of the Secretary of the Senate created an annotated copy of the Constitution in 1994, which I’m finding helpful, as well as the Common Interpretation notes from the National Archives.

For help with plain word meanings, I mostly use the online dictionary from Merriam-Webster.

As I find additional resources, I’ll be sure to mention them!

See you back here soon with Section 1, Article 2, Paragraph 1. The House of Representatives!

Journaling the United States Constitution: A Summer Project

It’s summer.

For me, summer brings a predictable lull in my various endeavours, a sense of restlessness, and, on the home front, schedule disruptions so massive that I wonder if life will ever be the same again.

And so, as usually happens around this time of year, my attention has wandered off in an entirely new direction. I’ve decided to turn that attention into a season-long project. 

Here goes nothing.

I’m journaling my way through the United States Constitution. 

You might be thinking one or both of these thoughts:

Wait, aren’t you Canadian? And also not involved whatsoever in any sort of Constitutional scholarship, battles, or intrigues? 

It’s true. I’m simply an interested person reading a historic document. (Although, it has been in the news A LOT lately.)

You might also be wondering what, on Earth, the U.S. Constitution has to do with journaling. I asked that of myself at first, too.

Why the interest?

I’m familiar with the U.S. Constitution, but at a pop-culture level, as an occasional movie-goer and reader of novels and articles that highlight the exciting parts and gloss over the dull stuff. I’ve never read it from beginning to end.

And even though I’ve just started, I’ve noticed some fascinating parallels with the journal-related principles I adore.

The Constitution is a document that sets out its signatories’ vision for their nation, what they wanted it to become. In it, they articulated their ideas, rules, and procedures for getting there. From a personal perspective, this is a huge part of journaling: exploring who you are, deciding what you want for yourself, and then figuring out how to make it happen. (Also, writing it all down and making adjustments as you learn and grow. So many parallels.)

I don’t want you to think I’m making light of the subject or the document.

I promise you I’m not. There is thoughtfulness here and consistency with my prior efforts and interests.

If you’ve poked around this website a bit, you’ll know I’m always looking for ways to make the hard work of reflective practice a little easier, more colourful, and heck, even fun.

I’m reading the Constitution in the same way — especially the long, complicated parts: puzzling it out, thinking about what the words mean, and learning one tiny step at a time. For now, I’m calling the results small-batch knowledge because the tiny steps are very tiny indeed.

Of course, there will be colourful, puzzle- and prompt-filled printables.

Making printables is a way in for me — a way to ensure I read every word without skimming through the details or avoiding unfamiliar terms or ideas.

I’ve started at the beginning, with the preamble. It’s thrilling to read that single sentence, filled with a vision of the nation to come and think about what it meant then and now.

Here’s a peek at the first two printables:

If you’d like to follow along, I plan to make pages and write posts as I go. If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them! Just leave a comment on any post, and I’ll be delighted to chat with you.

See you back here soon with Article 1, Section 1. Legislative powers!

Puzzles and Journal Prompts, Together at Last

I can’t tell you how often people ask me why there aren’t more puzzles in my journal pages.

Just kidding. Nobody ever asks me that.

But I love puzzles. Almost as much as I love journal prompts. When you think about it, they have a lot in common.

Knowing who we are, understanding why we do what we do, identifying meaningful goals and figuring out how to achieve them, making sense of what’s happening out in the world -- let’s be honest, these can be puzzling questions.

A little journaling can go a long way to finding the answers. My goal, always, is to approach journaling as an adventure and create printables that tackle the puzzling questions in our worlds joyfully and, whenever possible, in delightfully surprising ways. One of the best parts of the adventure is pushing the boundaries of what journaling can be.

Which brings me to my newest journal page, Puzzleflectives (with a new and playfully invented word at the helm).

The idea is to use a tiny puzzle to decipher each journal prompt and then use each prompt to learn a little more about yourself and your world. A puzzle within a puzzle.

Would you like to dive in and give it a try?

If so, you can download this page by clicking here or on the image above.* Once you’ve puzzled for a bit, I’d love to know what you think! Would you like to see more pages like this one? You can be in touch anytime, by leaving a comment below or dropping me a line via my contact page.

Until then, I wish you happy journaling!

* The pdf file for this journal page includes two page sizes: letter and A4. For instructions on printing one or more pages, visit my shop welcome page and scroll to the bottom.

Why Does it Feel Good to Make Things?

I know deep in my soul that it feels good to make things.

These days, I'm making stacks of capsule journals, one after another, for a little project I hope to share soon. Even though it's a super-repetitive process, it's a thrill to add each new colourful journal to the stack.

Seeing these journals come to life — not to mention opening their tiny pages, reading each prompt, collecting my thoughts, and jotting down my observations with colourful markers – feels so good.

But why? Is it just me, or are there bigger forces at play? I went on a search for answers, and here's what I found.

Five reasons making things feels good:

1. Research has shown that a wide variety of hands-on activities, such as knitting, gardening, and playing a musical instrument, can improve memory and attention and decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression.

2. There is joy in the process of making things that you can't get from a finished product. Participating in the process of creation makes us feel vital and effective.

3. We value things we make ourselves, even when they're easy, as long as we finish them. They become a labour of love.

4. A little creativity every day helps us flourish.

5. Engaging in arts and crafts can help us relax, build skills, and experience a state of flow during which we are able to give our full attention to a rewarding activity.

Deep in your soul, maybe you already knew this too: making things is good for us. It stimulates our brains. It makes us feel accomplished, alive to the possibilities around us, and aware of our own strengths and abilities. I hope you'll go out and make something today!

If you're looking for inspiration, why not try making your own capsule journal? I’ve posted the printable template for my Your Day in Moments capsule journal and step-by-step instructions for putting it together here on the blog. You’ll also find an ever-growing collection of quick and colourful capsule journals in my shop.

In the meantime, I'd love to know what you think! What sorts of things do you love to make?

Make Your Own Capsule Journal

Capsule journals are my love letter to a joyful, fulfilling journal practice.

They combine the benefits of journaling — seeing and understanding who we are, recognizing what’s important to us, and taking action that makes a difference — with playful moments of papercraft and creative making.

These tiny, handmade treats keep me coming back to journaling, even when I feel like I have nothing new to say, when I’ve been away for a time, and especially when I need a little inspiration and encouragement in the middle of a busy life.

Here are three delightful reasons to give capsule journaling a try:

1. Capsule journals are tiny — in both size and time commitment.

These journals measure 2.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall and use only one sheet of paper printed front and back! They can be made — and journaled — in just minutes.

This is why their name feels perfect to me. Capsule journals explore one idea from beginning to end in the tiniest of packages. And, as you cut, sew, and write, each one becomes its own rewarding, handmade object of self-expression and discovery.

2. Capsule journals put your creative and reflective energies to good use.

When you’re craving a few moments of creative rejuvenation, crafting a capsule journal gives you something to focus on: a tiny book you’ve made with your own two hands and a collection of lighthearted journal prompts to tickle your imagination and inspire your next steps forward.

And, since they’re printables, you can make new capsule journals to write about your days and explore your bright ideas again and again.

3. Each capsule journal becomes part of a growing library of your life story.

As it grows, your collection of tiny volumes tells the story of your days, your experiences, your memories, and the meaningful steps you’re taking toward the things that matter most to you.

If you’d like to try one for yourself, the printable template for my Your Day in Moments capsule journal and step-by-step instructions for putting it together are below! You’ll also find an ever-growing collection of quick and colourful capsule journals in my shop.

Your Day in Moments

This cheerful little journal is all about noticing the meaningful details of your day and the insights you gathered along the way. It ends with an invitation to choose one moment from your day that you want to remember.

Step 1 - Download your capsule journal template

I’ve created two different files depending on which size paper you’re using:

• Your Day in Moments Capsule Journal Template - For Letter-Sized Paper

• Your Day in Moments Capsule Journal Template - For A4 Paper

Step 2 - Printing

Print just the first page of the template. Then, turn your printed page over, put it back into your printer’s paper drawer or feeder, and print page 2 on the other side.

The images below show the front and back of the single-page template.

Step 3 - Gather your other supplies

You’ll need:

• scissors (or a paper trimmer)

• something pointy for poking holes (I use my little red sewing awl)

• a sewing needle

• a 10-12 inch length of thread (I use embroidery floss)

• a pen, pencil, marker, or colourful pencil for journaling!

Step 4 - Check to make sure your pages are aligned

After you’ve printed your template, you’ll notice a blue dot in the upper right-hand corner on the cover side. When you turn your page over, there should also be a blue dot in the upper left corner. If you hold them up to the light, they should be back to back so you know your pages are correctly positioned. (Don’t worry if the dots aren’t perfectly aligned. Mine never are! The dots just make sure your pages are all facing the same direction when you put your journal together.)

Step 5 - Cut out your pages

Using the edge of the cover page and the grey boxes around the remaining pages as guidelines, cut out all four page sections. I like to cut just inside the edges of the cover page and grey outlines.

Step 6 - Fold and place your pages

Fold your page sections in half so the front cover and pages 1, 3, and 5 are on the top half of the fold (as shown below). Then, place the pages inside the cover.

Step 7 - Make three holes for sewing

Use your awl to make three holes in the middle fold of your stacked pages. I start by estimating the centre of the fold and poking the hole there first, then adding one hole below and one above.

Step 8 - Bind your journal

To sew the binding:

1. Holding the journal open in front of you, pass your needle and thread through the front middle hole, leaving a tail you’ll use later to tie a small knot and bow. (Image below, top left).

2. From the back of the journal, pass the needle through the bottom hole to the front of the journal. (Image below, top right).

3. Pass the needle through the top hole to the back of the journal. Ensure your tail is to one side of the long stitch you’ve just made (Image below, bottom left).

4. From the back, pass your needle back through the middle hole, this time coming through the front on the side of your long stitch opposite to the tail (image below, bottom right).

Step 9 - Complete your binding with a bow

Separate your needle from the thread and tie a knot in your thread on top of the long stitch in your journal’s binding. Tie a lovely little bow and snip the ends of the thread. As an extra step to keep the bow from loosening, you can add a tiny dab of glue to the knot.

Your journal is now completely assembled and ready for journaling! I hope you fill it with oodles of observations, reflections, and memorable moments from your days.

Happy journal-making!

P.S. If you’d like to make more capsule journals, visit my printables shop for more tiny templates!

How One Quick Journal Prompt Can Inspire Three Surprising Results

I thought I had today’s And Other Things journal page all figured out.

It was filled with all the things you’d expect, including colourful prompts about things that go together and afternoon treats, and a playful twist in the word search list.

Little did I know that one sneaky prompt held a triple surprise. I can’t wait to tell you all about it — and in a brand new way!

But first, if you’d like to download this page for yourself, you’ll find it right here.*

Okay. Now that you have your page, let’s chat about that sneaky prompt!

I recorded my first ever voice memo on that very subject and sent it out with my newsletter, where I first shared this page.

It's unscripted and off the cuff – a peek at the joy and inspiration that can emerge while discovering new things in your journal.

Click below to listen!

P.S. If you have any difficulty playing the audio file or would prefer to read my message, I've included a transcript of the voice memo below.

P.P.S. If you missed the first three pages in my And Other Things series and would like to try them, you'll find them here, here, and here!

* The pdf file includes two versions of this journal page (colourful and greyscale) and two page sizes (letter and A4). For instructions on printing one or more pages, visit my shop welcome page and scroll to the bottom.

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Voice Memo Transcript

Hi there, it's Christie.

Welcome to my first ever Newsletter Voice Memo!

Today I'm sharing a few thoughts about the newest page in my And Other Things printable journal page series where I'm taking a playful approach to the serious reflective work we do in our journals.

I hope when you see this page for the first time the playful part will jump right out at you. It's super colourful and filled with hand-lettered prompts that explore lots of different ways we can reflect on our days and get to know ourselves better in our journals.

If you'd like to download a copy of this page for yourself, you can! It's available right here in the newsletter. You just need to click the link above the image.

I wanted to chat with you today about one of the prompts on this journal page that really surprised me. And, of course, it wasn't the one that I thought was going to surprise me.

There were two prompts I was super excited about sharing. The first is at the top of the page. It's a new prompt called things that go together and I was excited to share it with you because it's one I haven't used before. I haven't used anything like it before in my other journal pages, so I was really excited to share it in this page.

There's also a word search. There are other word searches in this series, but this one has a bit of a twist. I've mixed up some of the words in the word list, so you'll have to put them back together before you can find the words in the puzzle.

But neither of those two prompts is the one that surprised me!

For a little bit of background: in each of the pages in this series, I've tried to include at least one prompt that reminds us how strong and capable we are, how much we do every day, what our strengths are. I try to do it in a way that's super specific because I think it can be really difficult – for example, if someone asks you, “hey, what are you good at?” – it's hard, on the spot, to come up with an answer. But if someone asks you something very specific about one of your skills, sometimes it's a little bit easier to reflect on the question.

The prompt that surprised me in this page is: When your day is super busy, one thing you're good at.

The prompt looks for you to imagine one of those super busy days where there are a million things happening at once and you're running in all sorts of different directions. And on those days, you know, what are the parts you're really good at?

When I answered this prompt, I came up with two answers. One was calming myself down when I get a little bit flustered during a busy day and the other one was finding perspective, finding perspective in terms of, what are my priorities for the day? What do I really need to get done? And making sure that at least those things get done even if the rest of the day is very difficult to navigate.

I wrote those two answers down in the prompt and finished the rest of the page. Then I sat back to kind of reflect on the page, review it, and think about what my takeaways might be. And when I looked back on this one prompt, it dawned on me that, yes, these are the things that I think that I'm pretty good at in the middle of a busy busy day, but they're also the things I need in the in the middle of a busy day.

When it's super busy, I need to find ways to calm myself down, I need to be calm in order to navigate it well. And I need to know what my priorities are. I need to have a good perspective on what I want to accomplish on that day. That was part of the surprise of this prompt. It turned out that it wasn't just a prompt about what I'm good at. It turned out to be a prompt about what I need as well.

And then when I took another look at it, I realized there's a third aspect to this prompt. It's kind of a how-to. I've kind of given myself, with those two answers, a little bit of a how-to on a busy day – how to make the most, how to get the most out of a busy day. One is to make sure that I'm calm, that I go into that day calmly and continue calmly through it as much as I can and the other is to make sure I have a good perspective on what I want to accomplish.

So, you know, when I started answering this prompt, it was super simple. It was just trying to reflect on the things that I'm good at. But when I saw it on the page, when I sat back and really looked at it, I saw there was so much more to it.

It reminded me what I need so that I can remember that on busy days and it gave me a little bit of a an action list of things that I can do when I'm in the middle of a busy day and find myself flustered or overwhelmed. 

I wanted to share that with you. I'd love for you to journal this page for yourself and see which prompts surprise you. I hope you'll love journaling this page, and I hope you'll let me know how it goes for you!

How Changing One Word Can Make a Huge Difference in Your Journal

Let's talk about the difference a single word can make in your journal.

One changed word or turn of phrase can transform how you see an experience, how you remember it, and, ultimately, what it means to you. (Needless to say, this is what I absolutely adore about journaling!)

With that in mind, I'm experimenting with a new, two-part prompt in today's And Other Things journal page. It begins with one thing about your day, then asks you to change one word or phrase and write your answer again.

Can one word really make a difference?

Let's try it right now!

Here's one thing about my day so far:

This morning, I took my pup for a lovely walk in the cool air.

Okay. Let's change one word.

After reflecting on our meandering journey through the woods, here's my new answer:

This morning, I took my pup for a lovely wander in the cool air.

You know what? This is much more accurate! She's always wandering off the trail and into the brush, following her nose and ears. (Plus, I loved using wander as a noun!)

Now that I think about it, there's one more change I can make that truly describes our experience this morning:

This morning, my pup took me for a lovely wander in the cool air.

This is such a fun way to remember our walk – I mean, our wander! I know it will make me smile when we head out together again. Maybe I'll even have a little more patience for her inevitable detours.

Want to try another one?

I do!

Here's another thing about my day so far:

While I was out and about, I ran into someone I hadn't seen in years, and we had a wonderful chat.

This entry is a little more complicated than the morning walk because it was such a surprise, and it evoked forgotten memories and emotions.

Here's my answer again with a change of phrase:

While I was out and about, I ran into a person I hadn't seen since before Covid, and we had a wonderful chat.

Here's one more change I made after thinking a little more about our chance meeting.

While I was out and about, I ran into a person I hadn't seen since before Covid, and our wonderful chat brought back precious memories and sparked new ideas about future adventures together.

I love how this prompt gave me a second chance to look at two small parts of my day. I pulled out my journal to write more about the unexpected meetup and my feelings around the slow return of some extracurricular activities that used to be a huge part of our lives. In the end, I felt an enormous wave of gratitude for the chance to reconnect!

Overall, it felt like a playful approach to serious work. :)

Now it's your turn!

Here's a peek at today's page, the third in the series, with our “change one word” prompt in blue toward the bottom:

If you'd like to play with this page, click here to download it now.*

And if you're keen to share your thoughts, I'd love to hear them in the comments below! Let me know what you think about the page, or share how changing one word made a difference in your journaling.

P.S. If you missed the first two pages in my And Other Things series and would like to give them a try, you'll find them here and here!

* The pdf file includes two versions of this journal page (colourful and greyscale) and two page sizes (letter and A4). For instructions on printing one or more pages, visit my shop welcome page and scroll to the bottom.

Using Your Journal to Bring Your Days and Intentions into Focus

A few weeks ago, while brainstorming the good stuff of journaling, I jotted down a quick list:

• noticing the rarely noticed

• celebrating the rarely celebrated

• remembering the rarely remembered

• defining the rarely defined

I came across my entry again while writing this note and realized it captures much of my thinking around the title of my new series And Other Things.

What are the Other Things?

They're the sights, sounds, thoughts, and feelings we capture in our journals that we might not have noticed if we weren't paying attention.

They're the little joys – the tiny things that go exactly as planned, the parts we get right and do well, the good stuff happening around us – that are easy to overlook in the rush of a day but wonderful to savour with a few lines in our notebooks.

They're the meaningful details of the moments that matter that are easily lost to time and distraction when they're not documented.

They're in our understanding of the words we use every day – like purpose and friendship and success and love – that we can thoughtfully explore so we know what we mean when we use them.

The Other Things are important parts of our everyday lives, but sometimes they're slightly out of focus or pushed to the sidelines of our attention.

Why journal the Other Things?

Because in your journal, they help to bring your days and your intentions into focus. They complete the picture.

And with the focus your journaling brings, you can make a practice of:

• noticing wonderfully new details in familiar scenes,

• finding joy right there in your everyday life on a regular basis,

• recognizing how much you do every day and how very well you do it,

• remembering the moments filled with love or deep meaning,

• being able to say precisely what you mean exactly when you mean it.

Oodles of aha moments and insights are waiting for you in your journal!

That's what fires me up every time I sit down to write: the surprises, the discoveries, the pure awe in seeing my regular, everyday life in a kaleidoscope of colours and perspectives. That's what I hope to share with you in my journal pages. :)

Today, I'm thrilled to share the second page in the series. It's just bursting with colourful details!

If you'd like to play with this page, click here to download it now.*

And if you're keen to share your thoughts, I'd love to hear them! Let me know what you think about the page, or share one of the colourful details of your day in the comments!

* The pdf file includes two versions of this page (colourful and greyscale) and two page sizes (letter and A4). For instructions on printing one or more pages, visit my shop welcome page and scroll to the bottom.