Inspire Me Cahier

The aim of this journal swap is to inspire your partner. To play, you will need a large Moleskine Cahier, which you can buy singly or in packs of 3, they measure 13 x 21 cm and have 40 pages/80 sides. You can get plain, lined or square pages. In the UK they come with black or kraft brown covers, but you may find more colours in the USA.

You can work on one side of the page only if you want to as the pages are thin and there is show-through with some pens. But you must fill the book.

The journal is not profile specific, it's about what inspires you, not your partner, so you can start before partners are assigned.

You can inspire in ANY WAY you choose. You can make your own artwork, you could include artwork of your favourite artists and designers. You may read a zine that inspires you to make zines, include a copy for your partner. There may be quotes that inspire you to write a novel, a holiday photo that inspires you to relax, graffiti on a train that inspires you, you may have received a swap in a gorgeously decorated envelope today - stick it in. Enclose a packet of sweets that reminds you of your summer holidays when you were a kid. You could list books that inspire you. These are just suggestions, it's entirely up to you what you include. Just make sure you have a variety, so it's not 40 pages of photographs for example. Bear in mind also that this is an art journal group, so if you are filling a page with a quote, do it nicely, do it with letraset, stencils, alphabet stickers - make it gorgeous. You don't have to make this a journal with inclusions, you could simply make an art journal that would inspire your partner in its' own right.

You don't have to give details of what your page inspires you to do, or give any kind of reason or justification. This is not a diary or written piece of work - it will be a book that's alive with colour, pictures, art, photographs, life, positivity and smiles. What makes you full of the joys of spring?

The main "rule" is that you send a full book. I recently received a journal swap where the book was less than a quarter full and on the 20th page, my partner wrote "This is my 20th entry so I have now fulfilled the requirements of the swap so I can stop. I have ripped out the rest of the pages to make it cheaper to post." I was so gutted to receive a broken, half-hearted journal. If, like me, you have received more than your fair share of crappy swaps, swaps that get "lost" in the post, journals that are not even half full, you will understand. So this swap has a requirement that you fill the book, that you post the book and that you make a book your partner will be delighted with. And if you are happy making it, you will be more than half way there. If the book excites you, it will excite your partner.

To sign up, you need a rating of 4.94 or above and no 1's or 3's in the last 6 months.

Any questions, ideas for inspiration, or any other comments please write below.

And finally, my current favourite inspirational "quote" which was the headline in a magazine article - "The point is not to be beautiful, the point is to be yourself."