Hey friends—This is my 1000th post here on rukristin.com, and I thought it was the perfect time to (re)introduce myself. Whether we’ve been internet besties for a decade or this is your first time, I’m so glad you’re here. This space has evolved a lot, and today I want to show you who I am, what I do, and why it matters—not just for me, but maybe for you, too.
Here’s what we’ll cover in this email:
Who I am, what I believe, and why creative journaling matters to me.
A behind-the-scenes look at my Daily Pages practice, plus how you can get involved.
Real talk—10 honest questions and answers about creativity, storytelling, and what I've learned after 1000 posts.
Who I Am & What I Believe
I’m rukristin: Feminist Scrapbooker. My IRL name is Kristin, and I’ve been scrapbooking my stories since high school. These days, I’m best known for my creative journaling practice called Daily Pages—my simple, accessible way to show up for your stories.
I’ve always been a paper person. I used to decorate my school notebooks and folders, color-code my class notes, and cover my books with layers of stickers and tape. So when I found scrapbooking, during a high school English project, it felt like home.
My work is grounded in my core values—community, creativity, transparency, problem solving, self-trust, and feminist resistance. It’s rooted in the belief that your everyday life is worthy of documentation, no matter what it looks like.
I live with two overlapping chronic headache conditions—migraines and paroxysmal hemicrania—which impact my ability to drive, work, and honestly, think clearly on any kind of consistent schedule. Daily Pages and creative routines have become one of the most important tools in my life. They help me show up, even when things are hard, which sometimes can be pretty often.
What Are Daily Pages?
Daily Pages are my personal creative journaling habit. It’s all about easy and accessible pages in small notebooks. The point isn’t to create a masterpiece—it’s just to show up and make something. Most days, it’s stickers and stamps. Sometimes it’s paint or gel prints. Always, it’s a low-pressure way to connect with your story.
I started this practice in 2018 during a rough season of burnout. I was doing a lot of freelance creative work for other people and realized I didn’t have anything that was just for me. Daily Pages gave me a space to play with new supplies, try new techniques, and practice without pressure.
Now, five days a week, I show up live on Zoom to create Daily Pages with my community. We’ve done more than 1000 live sessions together, and we’re still going strong. You can join us, too.
You can peek inside the archive here: 👉 Daily Pages Archive
💬 10 Real Questions & Real Answers With Kristin
1. What’s something you’re no longer doing that you used to feel pressure around?
Posting on Instagram or other social media sites these days. I'm just not into it. I hate the way it makes me feel, and nowadays, it's not really worth the time or the effort, even for the business.
I’ve always loved keeping in touch with people via email—so that’s a lot of what I’m doing these days (which is why I’ve set up shop here at Substack for now). I can pop into your inbox and we can chat without having to deal with the hassle and toxic vibes on the social media sites.
2. What’s your personal philosophy on documenting your life—even if you’re not going on epic adventures or producing capital-C Content?
Everyone is already doing it. It's happening all the time. When you're taking pictures of your food, sending texts to your friends, keeping your cool receipts or packaging—that’s documenting your story. That's telling the stories of your life.
Me headaches are a HUGE part of my story—they provide so much context to everything else going on in my story. But, in no way are they epic adventures, and it’s not really something that
3. How has your creative practice helped you navigate low-energy seasons?
It taught me to trust myself, believe in "one sticker, one page," and to create a place for practice and play. It also reminds me that my creativity won't go away forever just because I'm feeling shitty right now.
4. What does a typical day of creative practice look like for you—and how do Daily Pages fit in?
I try to get to my computer by 9am most days, handling any annoying tasks or important emails first. I usually have time for one good focused block of work before Daily Pages at noon. After Daily Pages, I work on the Daily Pages email, compress the video, write up some thoughts, and prepare everything for the newsletter. Daily Pages Monday through Friday is my minimum creativity on a normal week.
5. What’s actually inside your current Daily Pages notebook?
My current notebook has a ton of gel prints inside it. I'm in a big gel printing phase—I’m loving all the paints, textures, and layers. You'll always see a Currently List on Mondays, and I'm also doing a lot of scrapbooking orphaned photos as well.
6. Why do you think it’s powerful to tell “boring” stories—especially the beautiful, mundane stuff?
Because that's what so much of our life is. It's the context of our lives; it makes the stories of our big adventures stand out from one another. These little moments give depth and meaning to everything else.
7. How do you stay connected to your community without being glued to apps 24/7?
I show up at certain times, with my whole self, wanting to make genuine connections and actual friends. It happens slowly, but that's okay. I love keeping in touch via text messages and emails—that’s why I love Substack. I schedule live interactions, and when I'm done, I can shut everything off and go solo.
8. What role have internet friendships played in your creative life?
Almost all of my friends are from the internet. I have a handful of friends I met IRL, but the majority of my besties I've met online in one way or another. These friendships have been foundational for both my creative practice and life.
I also just love interesting people, and it’s so much easier to find people that have stuff in common with you, but with a totally different life-experience online.
9. What’s something you’re seriously proud of after writing 1000 posts?
Just showing up—creating art, making friends, saying hi. Continuing to put myself out there and stay consistent over so much time. And honestly, more than anything…being okay with not doing it perfectly. Are there days where I forget to send out my Daily Pages Archive email? absolutely. Are there weeks where I don’t get my newsletter out? Of course. But, learning to show up imperfectly has been a really wonderful gift to myself.
10. What’s one tiny but mighty idea you want everyone to take away from your work?
Your story matters, and you should tell it whatever way works best for you. There’s no right or wrong method. The important thing is that you start, keep going, and have fun doing it.
🎙️ Podcast, Projects & Offerings
You’ll find lots of ways to connect with me:
💌 Saturday Newsletters: Every weekend, I send out a longer letter (like this one) where I teach you how to document your life through creative journaling.
📓 Daily Pages Archive: Daily inspiration + process notes + optional long-form recordings for paid subscribers.
🎙️ Crafty Ass Female Podcast: Weekly episodes on creative journaling, feminist scrapbooking, and life with chronic illness.
📖 Daily Pages Notebook Flipthroughs – I go through my finished notebooks live on Tuesdays (when it’s not too hot for my camera!), showing you how this practice has evolved page by page.
🌟 Daily Pages Inner Circle: Join me live Monday–Friday to create your own Daily Pages in real time. We build pages together, and then share what we made.
💌 Awesome Ladies Project: My cozy, feminist scrapbooking community (on it’s own exclusive website) full of real stories and amazing humans. It’s a no-drama, ELE1 zone. Join me here for challenges, a place to share your projects, and our amazing Sticker Club!
✨ Why This Matters
Storytelling isn’t just for the big moments. It’s how we remember, process, resist, and connect. It’s a radical act of claiming space—especially when you live a life that doesn’t fit into a traditional box.
I document my story even when it’s boring. Even when I don’t leave the house. Even when I feel stuck or foggy or off. Because that’s still my life. That’s the context for everything else.
And you don’t need to be more interesting to start telling your story. That’s a moving goalpost. There’s no such thing as “interesting enough.” You’re already interesting. You’re already telling your story—through your texts, your photos, your grocery lists, your notes-to-self. This is just a way to do it with more intention and maybe a little more color.
This newsletter is about helping you start—with whatever time, energy, and supplies you have. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to show up.
Weekly Resource List:
Podcast Episode: Rest Is Part of the Work - My favorite recent podcast episode.
33 Questions About My Life - A Birthday interview from 2019
Daily Pages 101 – Free mini-class to start your own creative journaling practice
Notebook Flipthroughs – Watch my pages evolve in real time
Substack Notes – Follow for snippets, quotes, and selfie stories
Currently List – My favorite weekly prompt to get back into creative flow
Sponsored by: Find Your Voice Summer Camp
If this post resonates with you, I’d love to invite you to Find Your Voice Summer Camp—a cozy, six-week creative journaling course I’m hosting this July and August.
You can participate for free, or upgrade for a deeper experience and more interaction. It’s designed to help you tell your story, even if you’re busy, stuck, or brand new to creative journaling.
This version is special. It’s the first time I’ve built the course (and I’ve been teaching this one since 2012) specifically around creative journaling—with audio lessons, hands-on projects, and flexible vibes that work even if you’ve only got 10 minutes a week.
More info here: ⛺ Summer Camp Signup
Here’s what we covered today:
Your life is worthy of creative documentation—no matter what it looks like.
Daily Pages are a powerful, flexible way to build your creative routine.
You don’t need permission or perfection to start telling your story.
Action step: Pick one tiny story from your life this week—and give it a page of its own. One sticker. One sentence. One step forward.
Hit reply and let me know even more about you and your (future?) creative habit!
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.
ELE is a term that I’ve stolen from my cousin Kevin and his “Chili Wednesday” live experience. It stands for Everyone Loves Everyone and that’s the vibes that I keep in my community. It’s not about toxic positivity, it’s about keeping the community the kind of place you want to come back to time and again.
Congrats on reaching this milestone! And thank you for the reminder that all stories matter.
I love this, Kristin! “There’s no such thing as interesting enough.” That one hit