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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

how to: journaling with feathers

 Feathers are very nice.

 They're not very easy to find, but keep your eyes 
open when you're out in the yard. 
You will be sure to find some somewhere.
You can even buy them at craft stores (I think.)

 They make great accents on paint chips 
(this beautiful piece of art was made for me by birdandwillow)

 When paired with washi tape they 
make beautiful little journal accents.

And there are some ideas of journaling with feathers.

Monday, August 18, 2014

recent journal: may

Another installment of the recent journal excerpts
These are some pages from my May journal.
















Friday, August 8, 2014

journal or diary?

So what do you keep? A journal or a diary? Are the words interchangeable? Can you do both? Or do you need a separate notebook for each activity? I have wondered these things before.



I heard a good explanation once that said a journal and a diary are the difference between external and internal. A diary is like the external you--what you look like, what clothes you wear, your mannerisms. A journal is more of the internal you--your personal thoughts, feelings, emotions.

Take a look:


A diary, by definition, is a written record of events that happened during the day. Such as "Woke up this morning for a doctor's appointment. Ate at McDonald's on the way home". Sort of like a log book.

A journal, by definition, is more of a personal reflection, recording your thoughts and feelings. Deeper things.

I usually refer to my habit a journal keeping, but in reality, I do a mixture of journaling and diary writing. I often describe what happened during the day, but I also record my thoughts, feelings, and emotions at that present time. I also doodle in my journals, jot down inspiring song lyrics, glue in stuff I cut out from magazines, make collages, write poetry, and anything else that happens to strike my fancy. 

It seems to me that you can refer to what you do as either "journaling" or "keeping a diary". There aren't a lot of rules in the artistic realm. I found this post to be enlightening on the subject, if you would like to do further reading.

So what do you think? 
Do you use the term "journal" or "diary"?

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

an award



I have been awarded the Sunshine Award by Jameson over at Lovely Whatsoevers. Thank you, Jameson (and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get around to it!) 

Rules:
- Thank the person who nominated you.
- Answer the questions from the person who nominated you.
- Nominate a few other bloggers.
- Write the same amount of questions for the bloggers you nominated.
- Notify the bloggers on their blog. - Put the award button on your blog.


Jameson's questions:

 
1. Who is your favorite superhero? Why are they your favorite? I don't have a favorite super hero actually. I've never liked superheros; I always thought they were kind of silly, to be honest.
2. What is your favorite TV show?
I don't really watch that much TV, and not enough to have a favorite show.
3. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would you want to meet?
I thought about this for a while and I really don't know! Maybe someone who loves cats and journaling as much as I do. :)
4. Do you prefer baking or cooking? What is your favorite thing to cook/bake? I enjoy both, but I like baking a little bit more (you get to the lick the bowl and spoon). I like to bake cookies the best.
5. How would you rather spend the day: picnic at the park or movie marathon? I really can't decide very easily between these two...so I won't!
6. What are the five songs you have listened to most lately? Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie, Do Life Big by Jamie Grace, Thrive by Switchfoot, We Are Brave by Shawn McDonald, and some random smooth jazz and classical.
7. You’re going on an adventure! Who are you with and where are you going? I am backpacking across Russia with my cat!
8. Do you have a favorite book series? If so, which one? I really enjoy the Ivan series by Myrna Grant. It's about a boy and his family in Moscow in the 1970s. They are believers, so they face many struggles and trials because of their faith. The books are easy, short reads and very interesting.
9. What are three must-haves when you take a road trip? MP3 player, journal, and a pillow.
10. Do you have a favorite Biblical hero/heroine? Who? I like the apostle John best. His Gospel and 1 John are in my top favorite books of Scripture. 


My questions:
1. Have you ever built a sand castle?
2. Do you enjoy classical music?
3. What color is your comforter?
4. Have you ever written a poem?
5. Do you enjoy looking at the stars at night?
6. Have you ever seen a comet?
7. If you had to relocate to a foreign country, which one would you choose?
8. Chocolate or vanilla? 
9. Favorite breed of cat?
10. Do you enjoy snow?

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular; if you are a reader, feel free to snag these questions and the award and post about them. Let me know if you did!

Monday, August 4, 2014

where to find journaling supplies




Since I have done posts about how I use my supplies (part one and part two), I decided to do a post about where to actually find all of this supplies for journaling. I thought some ideas might be useful to you guys.

Target
What to look for: First stop is the dollar bins! I think pretty much all Targets have these. You can find notepads, note cards and envelopes, letter stickers, tags, labels, and even washi tape in the Target dollar bins. They are also of very high quality--not cheesy like some stuff you can find at other stores for a dollar. Target also has We R Memory Keepers journaling cards, as well as K Company's Smash Books and supplies. Plus tons of good journals and notebooks to choose from.   

Michaels
What to look for: Everything! Michael's has it all, and they have many different lines to choose from. They also have dollar bins and good clearance aisles, which can yield some cheap and good stuff.
 
Thrift stores
What to look for: Thrift stores are great places to find random things--from scrapbook paper to note cards and envelopes to actual journals. All of those things are there, but it's often hit or miss, and thrift stores tend to be really disorganized in this department. Keep an eye out also for magazines and old books. These can be incorporated to collages.

Library book sale rooms
What to look for: Most libraries have a room or a space designated for their secondhand book sale area. You can actually find journals here--I did once; brand new and never used. Also, book sale rooms are great places to find old magazines to cut up and use for collages, as well as those little themed Hallmark books; they have great quotes and pictures in them to cut out.

Lowe's or Home Depot
What to look for: The paint chip! And they're free. :)

I hope I've given you guys some ideas on where to find good stuff for your journals.  
Where do you usually get your supplies?

Friday, August 1, 2014

notebook review: ten thousand villages

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing a journal for Ten Thousand Villages. Ten Thousand Villages is a fair-trade company that has been in business since 1946. From their website:


"Ten Thousand Villages' mission is to create opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn income by bringing their products and stories to our markets through long-term fair trading relationships."
Michele from Ten Thousand Villages allowed me to pick a journal to review, and I chose the Kancu Leaf and Bamboo Journal, which is handmade in Indonesia. 

I am very pleased with this journal. It is incredibly lovely and very unique. 


 I really like the idea that someone from another country actually made it by hand, paper and all.


 The binding is actually quite simplistic, and allows the book to lie flat no matter what page it's opened to, as you can see below.

The paper is a light brown color and very smooth in texture.


 I tested all of my regular pens (except the Uni-Ball Vision, since I'm out of them at the moment.)


 There is no bleed through, except with the Sharpie permanent marker (which really is to be expected with just about all papers.)

 A close up of the leaves covering the journal. 

All in all, I must give this journal an A+ rating. The quality is very high, from the binding to the paper. I also appreciate it's uniqueness--you can't find a journal like this in a store. The only complaint I have is that when I got it out of the box it smelled quite "chemically". I'm assuming that it's the sealant they used on the leaves or something, or perhaps the paper. But a few hours airing out on the front porch took care of it nicely.

Check out Ten Thousand Villages:
Ten Thousand Villages offers way more than just journals and notebooks. They have all sorts of cool stuff like jewelry, purses, stuff for your house like lamps, rugs, and furniture, wall decor, and even kitchen items (and I haven't even included all they offer in this list.) You can buy all of their stuff online, or find a Ten Thousand Villages store near you. I was really surprised to find that they have a store in my city! 

I would like to extend a big thank you to Ten Thousand Villages and to Michele for providing me this journal to review!  

Disclosure: I received this journal from Ten Thousand Villages in return for my honest review of the product, and the opinions expressed in this post are my own. I was not compensated in any other way.
 

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