Five Years of Daily Pages: Seeing Growth in Your Creative Practice
Kick off 2025 by learning how Your Story Matters
Hi friends,
Early next month we’re celebrating something big: five years of Daily Pages Live. That’s five years of getting on camera and making a Daily Page at Noon ET, every Monday through Friday. Five years of stickers, washi tape, and figuring things out on the page. Five years of showing up, even when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make.
And here’s the wild thing—I never set out to create a years-long archive of notebooks. When I started, I wasn’t thinking about consistency, growth, or long-term change. I was just trying to put something down on paper each day.
Turns out, that was enough. Five minutes a day. One sticker. One screenshot. One little thing. That’s all it took to build a habit that completely changed the way I approach creativity.
✨ Today, we’re looking back at that journey
The early books: Where I just focused on showing up.
The middle books: When I found my rhythm and started playing more.
The recent books: The confidence that comes from doing something over and over again.
If you’ve ever wondered whether small creative habits actually add up—spoiler: they do. Let’s get into it.
The Early Books: Just Getting Started
Before Daily Pages Live became part of my routine, I struggled with consistency. I loved making pages, but I didn’t always make time for them. My early books? Super simple.
Stickers, washi tape, a screenshot, or a quick note.
Not overthinking—just doing something.
Proof that creativity doesn’t have to be elaborate to be valuable.
Looking at them now, I love that they exist. I love that they hold snapshots of my life. And I love that they remind me that you don’t need a ton of time to start—you just need to show up.
🎥 Watch the video of my early Daily Pages:
📝 Your Turn: What’s the simplest creative thing you’ve ever done that ended up meaning a lot to you?
The Middle Books: Building a Strong Habit
Once Daily Pages Live became part of my schedule, everything shifted. Having a set time each day made it so much easier to be consistent. No more wondering when I’d fit it in—I knew exactly when it was happening. And that changed everything.
At this point, I started naturally spending more time experimenting. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to. A half-hour felt like the perfect amount of time—enough to settle in, make a page, and give myself a chance to play around and experiment.
I went through so many creative phases:
✂️ Stacking and layering solid color washi tape in new ways.
📓 Stamped backgrounds—playing with repeating patterns and textures.
🎨 Right now? Gel prints. And that has been a whole journey of its own.
The more I showed up, the easier it was to try new things without overthinking them.
🎥 Watch the video of my middle Daily Pages:
📝 Your Turn: Have you noticed a shift in your creative habits when you set a dedicated time for them?
The Most Recent Books: Confidence & Experimentation
One of the biggest things I’ve learned from five years of Daily Pages? Growth isn’t always obvious when its happening.
When I first started using gel prints, I had to dedicate an entire evening just to making them. The setup, the experimenting, the drying time—it took effort. Now? I can make a gel print during my Daily Pages session without thinking about it. It’s just part of my process.
The only reason it feels easy now is because I kept showing up. I didn’t notice it at the time, but all that practice built up my creative muscles.
✨ That’s what consistency does. It turns “I don’t know how to do this” into “I can do this without even thinking.”
🎥 Watch the video of my most recent Daily Pages
📝 Your Turn: What’s one creative skill that feels easier now than when you first started?
The Invisible Growth You Don’t See (Yet)
There’s this idea in gardening that before a plant grows up, it spends time growing strong roots underground. You don’t see anything happening at first, but it’s happening. And then one day, the plant starts growing above the surface, and it’s solid because of all the work it did before you could see it.
That’s exactly how creative habits work.
Even if you don’t feel like you’re making progress, you are. Every time you show up—whether you’re scribbling in a notebook, sticking down a single piece of washi tape, or writing a couple of words—you’re building a foundation.
And one day, you’ll flip through your old notebooks and see it.
Weekly Resource List:
📓 The Basic Guide to Daily Pages (7-minute read): Everything you need to get started with Daily Pages.
📓 Your Story Matters Journal (5-minute read): “Daily” not for you? Check out the YSM journal and tell your creative stories your way.
📝 Currently List Free Printable (digital download): A quick and easy way to document your right now.
📆 Daily Pages Masterclass Homepage (for paid subscribers): Dive deeper into Daily Pages topics with me once a month.
🎧 CAF Podcast Episode: Original Daily Pages Interview (2020): Amanda asks Kristin all about the Daily Pages project and how it’s been keeping her creative through the pandemic.
🎧 CAF Podcast Episode: How I Do Daily Pages (2021): A solo Kristin episode talking all about the Daily Pages project.
🎧Daily Pages Topics with the Community (2022): A three part series talking about different aspects of Daily Pages with members from around the world. Check out episodes 179, 180, and 181.
BONUS: NEW Daily Pages Podcast Episode Drops Monday!
Daily Pages 5th Anniversary Celebration
Mark your calendar! On Saturday, April 5th at Noon ET, we’re celebrating FIVE YEARS of Daily Pages with a big, free event. 🎉
💡 What to expect:
✨ A look back at how Daily Pages has evolved over the years.
✨ Special surprises + creative inspiration.
✨ A chance to make a Daily Page together, live!
This is an open-to-everyone event, and I’d love for you to join.
Here’s what we covered today:
The evolution of my Daily Pages—from simple stickers to full creative confidence.
The hidden growth that happens even when you don’t see it.
How to spot your own progress by looking back.
Action step: Take five minutes today to flip through an old notebook and notice the growth.
Talk to you next week!
xoxo,
Kristin
P.S. If you’re enjoying these newsletters, please consider sharing this edition with a friend who might need a little creative boost today.
And if you want even more, there are 3 ways I can help you build your creative habit:
FREE Daily Pages 101 course (get the basics down).
Newsletter Subscription (live sessions + masterclasses).
Awesome Ladies Project (challenges, free stickers, and creative friendships!)
I really love seeing your work. It is deeply inspiring.
Just to say thank-you as I came across this post this morning and it was just what I needed to make a start because I didn’t know where to start! After some heavy material study, I had a go this afternoon and really enjoyed myself 🙂 Penn x