Trying a Capsule Stationery Folder
Like many others in the analogue community, one of my goals this year is to use what I already have. I’ve seen a number of people share their “capsule stationery box” online in the past - creating a bundle of stationery supplies from their own stash and resolving to only use things from that box in their journals for the following month. Upon revisiting some of these posts, I was inspired to create a small capsule of my own, which brought about the idea of making a capsule stationery “folder.”
The specific types of stationery items I tend to hoard are:
Large stickers. These often come in a set (like the Traveler’s Company yearly stickers) or are gifts from friends. In the past, I only used these large stickers to decorate notebook covers. However, I’ve gone through considerably fewer notebooks in the past year due to zero traveling, which means a lot more of these have sat around my sticker folder than usual.
Happy mail bits. I especially have trouble using unique things that I get in the mail from friends. Stamped papers from events! Cute notecards and memo papers I’ve never seen before! The thought process is, “I don’t know where to get this from, so I should make it count when I use it.” At the end of the day, they’ll continue to sit in my stationery pile unless I make up my mind and use them in my spreads.
Scrap papers. I keep saving bits and pieces from packages for future use, but then I don’t end up using them often. I don’t layer a whole lot in my spreads, which doesn’t help. I used to stay away from using tip-ins and layers because I didn’t want my memory-keeping journal to get bulky - now that I have two 6-month notebooks for memory-keeping, though, I’m encouraging myself to experiment more with including ephemera and not being afraid of letting it bulk up.
I chose to house all of the items pictured above in a portfolio leather folder made by 1.61 Soft Goods. I have owned this folder for a few years and love how lightweight it is. The design is versatile as well - I’m using it as a folder for stationery goods, but I can just as easily transform it into a wallet since the smaller pockets in the front can fit credit cards.
I kept this folder in my brown To & Fro TN, which also houses Jiyu and Grid notebooks. I mainly use the Jiyu for creative memory-keeping, so I wanted to keep the stationery capsule with that particular notebook for ease of use. This way, I have no reason not to use the items in the folder!
On the left side of the folder, I reused one of the envelopes that I received from a happy mail friend to keep all the scraps and smaller stationery goods together. On the right side, I tucked in the longer sticker sheet from Traveler’s Company as well as washi sample cards and stamped papers. Additionally, I threw in a few scrap papers that are big enough not to fall out easily.
The smaller slots in the front hold a tiny Field Notes paper folder with a gifted washi sample and sticky notes, plus a stencil from Uchida for functional use.
Similar to the existing capsule stationery boxes that other creators have put together, my plan is to use these supplies as much as I can through the end of February. If I can’t find a way to use everything in my creative weekly spreads, then some of it might end up in a random insert somewhere as part of a junk journal spread. The point is, I’m making an effort to use things I’ve been hoarding for months. It feels good to take a step in the right direction in using up what I have, and I hope to make good progress on it over the next few weeks!
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