A bit of journalling!

It is that time of year- graduations!

So this is not my own journaling which has been reduced to penciled entries.  :{

So here follows a brief selection of photos.  I used a heavy scrapbook paper for the cover and a narrow duct tape to reinforce the spine.  The inside paper is a pad of medium weight kraft paper I got and wished I'd got the other pads.  Super useful for homemade journals so I'll be looking for a roll of the stuff as the grand kiddies need nature journals for next year.  This journal just has one signature.
 

The young fellow's favourite colour is red so...

 His graduation present is a trip for he and his teacher (mother), from his principal (father).

 His brother graduated last year.

 

 I have tried to incorporate his likes.

 He is a great reader...

and a hard worker!

I have tried to leave lots of space for his own thoughts.

And of course lots of pockets for memorabilia. 

Making these journals is so much fun and no matter how busy I like to do them.  Now to get ready to add some more to my own journal as I get ready to travel again!

That kind of day

My Memory Keeper is keeping up.    Not quite finished the week but I was on a roll.  It has been an eventful week so I'll just hope for an uneventful weekend.  ;^)  

Was a week behind waiting for white printer paper but I'm printing away.  Ink is now low though.  lol 

The planner is such fun.  No stress and no planning.  I also got a download for art room planning and it confirms many of my own thoughts so I feel validated.

I am ready to tackle the archetypes journal and have a bit of a start planned.   I see the mask is upside down but I 'like' it!   All the news stories have been rather gloomy so I was happy to make art as light bulbs turned on as I worked!  Letting my light shine!

PS:  I read that making art releases endorphins; those happy feelings.  I'm a believer!

Around Town

Of course, I have to be able to get to town.  They had really hoped for frozen ground/grass but that is not happening.  They are even pumping water from one dammed spot to the other.  And ha! you can take that any way you want!  lol

But I did get to town.

My friend feeds me a lovely breakfast and then we work on our project.  I had found a great tutorial for an easy journal.

 I really liked how tidy it was and learned a few things that were new to me.

 I'm not sure about the embroidery floss that holds the signatures.  I maybe have it too loose.  But all in all, my journals are looking better and that is a good thing!

This next stop could end up being too much of a good thing but...

There is a new store in town-  Needle Crafts and Studio!   She is a modern gal and I like that.  She also is carrying LOVELY wool!  I have picked up my crochet hook this last month so this is great.  I am self taught and my beginnings are not so good.  She  offers classes for knitting but maybe she could add a beginners class for crochet.  That would cause me to hit the road for sure!

  And of course a little fabric inspiration could have me heading off to town as well!   ;^)

The flakes are flying!

It doesn't even look like a tease but the real deal.  Winter is beginning!

I have last week's memories recorded.  The grand kiddies spent a couple of nights to check out our new kitties and the roadway project.

So their journal page included heavy equipment. No surprises!  Josh's is loaded with detail.  Eliana's is sporting a colourful paint job.  And Jolina is working on a driver who surely resembles the new kitty!  lol

The art lesson showcased three ways to portray horses. Paintings which use various lines, colours and have backgrounds.  Line drawings are flat with straight and curving lines but no background.  Finally sculptures (or statues) which have dimension, curvy and straight lines but no background.  This seemed a good time to play with polymer clay and make some charms.  We didn't try to make horses though.  ;^)  I expect next week we will be bending end pins and stringing cord for fun accessories!

Papers were also flying as I sorted through my neutral papers to add a few more signatures for a journal I'd made but not really used. It has mostly neutral pages with texture and some have text.   It seemed skimpy and the spine needed more to fill it out.  I needed two more signatures to make up a journal to explore my 7 main archetypes.  I am kinda excited about that.  :)

I can't wait to fling a new way to make a journal to hold the papers my friend  and I made mono printing last week.

I'll hope for less flakes tomorrow but more fun flinging creativity around.  :)

Falling behind, no no NO!

Fall is upon us.  My fall anemones have been in bloom for some time.  I hope they continue as I wait for the daisies, turtle heads and monkshood to join them.  But no time for slacking.  Winter is coming and I have every intention of being up to date and on top of my game.

So it is back to The Next Thing First.

Art 101 and Literature Appreciation start Monday, Sept. 26.  I need to return the last school journal and set the plan for this coming school year in motion.  DD#2 has a calendar for the school kiddies.  So I won't be making them a smash book this year and frankly they are incredibly labour intensive (times three)!  But they do have their planners and at the beginning of every month I shall hand them a monthly calendar, extra pages and a plastic photo sheet.  I will still print photos for them.  They will be on their own.  And that will be in the spirit of KISS!

I am also determined to contain journal planning in the one room it is allotted to.  It forces me to keep things a bit more organized and tidy.  I am happy to report that I stayed within the space and stayed relatively organized.  The floor has cut scraps but the only piles are under the appropriate stool.  :)

I was happy to discover I wasn't quite as behind as I thought I was.  Only 2 months and summer holidays.
 

 All the photos are glued and I'll take stickers and stuff for personalizing.

The planners need a front page for the year.  Since we are starting late I didn't print the monthly calendar.  Just photos and some blank pages.  Next month should go quicker as I have things set aside in a drawer just for the kids.

September is all gathered together and ready for putting into the Grand Kiddies binders from last year.  They are all different in their styles and personalities so I try to customize somewhat and hope as they mature this will be less of me and more of them.

My printer has run out of yellow ink.  :(  I still need a few more photos but I put slips in for reminders.  There is the front page with the date.  A personal page like the stuffed animals for the youngest and then a few photos of the cousins from late August.  Then the September divider begins this month.  I photocopied the divider from my Unplanner which hasn't proven to be my own favourite way of working so...

Josh's colour matches the original Unplanner.  The girls can colour their copies which will appeal more to them.  Again, a  plastic photo insert, some one sided designer paper and a lined sheet for notes.  And hopefully, away they will go!

 And October is gathered in the drawer and;  pant, pant,  I am caught up!  woo hoo!

Time lost

Getting the grand kiddies Smash books up to date made me realize how far behind I really am.  Somehow I lost an whole month.  gee!

Everything seems to be yes, no or maybe so.  This applies to Spring, health and energy levels.  But it is definitely time to embellish and move on.

 Josh spent an eventful week and I had to add pages.

Eliana packed in a lot of good stuff during her stay.

Jolina was a part of some important decisions.

We have pages for all the important holidays.

And some of the everyday life stuff!

They have some room for personal reflections.  But it is time to move on because the swimming suits are replacing the skates and the calendar pages are a flipping.   Now what is next???

The art of work and play

I have had Joshua, my grand kiddie here for a goodly number of days.   He is home schooled so we do have to do some academics   But he is keener and we'd actually get a lot more done but for his questions.  ;^)  He is all about the 'why' and wants to know all the details.  So it was only natural that he would appreciate a planner to keep track of ideas and plans.

And we had to do some custom work on his dividers.  I had found an old 5 x 7 binder and we recycled some file folders, cardboard, and extra journal pages.  He picked the style of his printables and has already set things up different from mine but then that is what a personal planner is all about.  And he is definitely different that me.  lol

He is fascinated with the Titanic and the Eiffel Tower.  He is contemplating having a line in his new bedroom so he can see the Titanic when he comes in and then the Eiffel Tower.  LOL  His favourite colour is green.

 The watery theme also includes pirates and a page or two of the smash book are devoted to the swashbucklers!

 We gave a dip pen a try and did some dabbing with a sponge thru a stencil.

We also include sketching in our monthly art schedule so we watched some basics from Danny Gregory

And then we spread some paint around with a big brush!   It has been a good mix of work and play!