“Since I’ll be looking at my planner everyday, I decided to spice it up with really colorful stuff and artistic scribbles just to make myself happy.”
Jane Lee, graduate in tourism and freelance wedding photographer, decided to expand her artistic skills and creativity into her daily planner. We first came across her creative scrapbooks on social media, as her artistic layouts and cheerful chapters of life are captured so well on Instagram.
“I collect materials like pictures, receipts like a movie ticket, bus ticket, airplane ticket, or even traveling brochures.”
“The best part is that crafting doesn’t really have a fixed method, as long as it’s something that we like doing and enjoy.”
Collecting little things that one would normally throw away, Jane found sentiment in every pocket-sized item that was once a memory she had experienced and finds a place for it in her extraordinary planner.
Jane explains that every individual may favour a specific industry – travel, food, fashion, art, which is why for them, memories may come in different forms such as fabrics, scents, currency and even recipes.
“It does not need to be a specific type of book – for me, it’s a planner but really, this technique can be used for just about any book whether it is a recipe book with squiggles of food, or just doodling. It’s a healthy hobby. It’s like therapy.”
Known for capturing the varieties of emotions expressed by the bride and groom whom Jane photographs at any given wedding, she has an eye for capturing just the right moments for her personal planner as well.
“After 20 years nobody will still able to see the photos we posted online or any other social platform, why not just get them printed and then add them to a journal?”
“I’m a photographer. So naturally, I really love taking photos to capture the moments. Think of it this way, after 20 years nobody will still able to see the photos we posted online or any other social platform, why not just get them printed and then add them to a journal?”
Jane’s creativity extends beyond her planner. Writing letters and postcards may seem like a lost art but Jane regularly writes to strangers from across the globe to share and learn what it’s like on another state, continent and country.
“I approach people on social media. All I do is ask them if we can exchange letters or postcards. I have also tried writing through this website, www.postcrossing.com. I get to write to random strangers in the world and receive postcards in return – It’s amazing!
Despite the overwhelming digital media available, it seems that letter-writing and scrap-booking are not lost arts. These arts are repetitive, stubborn and mysterious – and Jane Lee is definitely on to a very interesting chapter.
Kathryn Rao
Photos by Jane Lee
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Related links: A Passion For Print
