Gratitude Art Journaling in my Travelers Notebook

Bloom where you are planted. Bloom and grow and spread your wings and fly. Don't let anyone or anything hold you back. Dream it and do it. Go ahead, you can do it, don't be afraid.

THIS WEEK IN MY GRATITUDE JOURNAL

After participating in the Art + Creativity challenge last week, I've had the hankering to be artsy and so I decided to pull out the watercolors. Well, they're really the girls' watercolor set - they've since upgraded to a fancier brand - but for me their old set suits me just fine. 

In My Travelers Notebook Gratitude Journal:

I prepped this spread in my travelers notebook some time ago by glueing down an old book page. Then at another time, I stamped the page with this jumbo flower shape in a very bright magenta. Then, while I was printing off this set, I got the bright idea of punching out the "bloom" word phrase with one of my flower punches.

Ta-Da! And I love it! I could have gone all kinds of directions with this page, but decided to journal my thoughts on our two girls and how they continue to amaze us. We are so very lucky to have been blessed with these two joyful beings after trying so very hard for so many years.

I outlined the stamped flower shape with a black gel pen and then used a foam dot to apply the "bloom" die cut word shape.

After reading this next journal entry, I think you'll agree that it's a great capture of what real life is...compromise and going with the flow. And by the way, we finally were able to go to Chesapeake's and enjoy a lunch date!

Shipping Tags

Sometimes it's just fun to play with craft supplies and pretty paper. Sometimes, all I do is journal my thoughts and feelings and be done with it and then there are times that I go the extra mile and create for the joy it brings me.

Here, I used one of the new tag pockets and used my feather punch for the "i am grateful for" word phrase from this set.

The fun thing about these pockets is that you can tuck in a shipping tag to keep your journaling private, if you wish, and then also embellish the outside of the pocket. I drew some circles with watercolors as a background for my page and then also on the feather die cut.

The travelers notebook Gratitude Journals come in 6 sizes and can be found here.

In My Original Mixed Papers Gratitude Journal:

I didn't let my creative juices stop there, though. I pulled out the watercolor set for this page, too, in the spiral bound flagship journal I also use:

I watercolored and then used some gesso over that. I realize now that the gesso was not clear, but it's all good, I'm happy with the results.

I grabbed my label puncher and upcycled a gift bag and added the labels to the outer left and right edges.

WHAT IS #ILOVETHURSDAYTHANKS

What is #ilovethursdaythanks? It's a way for me, and you, to connect with other like minded souls. Those of us that find joy in documenting our thankful thoughts and grateful moments. Those moments that sometimes could be so quickly forgotten, those thoughts that haunt us and won't let us go, those words that touched our heart when we needed them most, those people who made a difference just by being there.

Join us over on Instagram and share your #ilovethursdaythanks.

the 2019 Gratitude Journal

For 2019, I decided on the Things I Am Grateful for In 2019 cover because I knew that I wouldn't be journaling exclusively in this journal, nor every single day. This cover choice gave me the freedom to go at my own pace without the "guilt" of having to keep up with the '365' promise. You can choose from 4 different cover designs, whatever makes you happiest.

reduced pricing for partial year journals  |  May - December is only $28

WHAT I USED

Travelers Notebook Gratitude Journal

"bloom"  +  "i am grateful for" word phrases

Original Gratitude Journal

30 Days of Lists | March 2019 Roundup

You know that I love a mini book, list prompts and finding a little time each day to be crafty. Well, for me, the 30 Days of Lists challenge is a perfect mix of all these things all rolled into one project.

I generally use a mini book from the shop, using the embellishment kit that comes with them to fancy up a few pages before I even begin listing.

I like {love} the process of coordinating bits and baubles to my page designs. And of course I'm always on the hunt for even more goodies to make my texture-loving and layer-loving heart happy.

MINI BOOK SMORGASBORD

The mini books I've listed below have 30 pages, but if you're not opposed to using both the front and back of your journal pages, most any of the mini books in the shop would be fun choices. I've even used a travelers notebook for one of the December 30 Lists challenges, read all about that here, thinking it would be more streamlined for me during a busy time.

List Challenge Smash Book with Rings

Listing Challenge Junk Journal

Mixed Media Journal

Stripes + Glitter Junk Journal

With each new 30 Lists challenge, the next one is in September, I create a unique 30-page journal for me to use and then several more for sale in the shop. So, no worries if there's not one in inventory that you are loving  right now...new journals are always being listed. The journal I'll use for the September challenge will be available for purchase beginning July 30th.

GETTING MY JOURNAL PREPPED

See that folded over kraft bag? I like to tuck a "this is me right now" type of card inside.

Art and Creativity Challenge

I just finished up a free five day online Art and Creativity Challenge hosted by Marieke Blokland. Each day Marieke prepared a video explaining the day's inspiration, her thoughts and methods of interpreting the piece of art all while she shared herself doodling away on her project.

While I don't consider myself artistic, I do think I'm a bit creative. I am certainly no doodler, so this project was definitely outside my comfort zone.

I used a travelers notebook from I Love It All and added a watercolor tag to the cover and inside cover page and then added some embellishments my friend Jeanne gifted me in a birthday goody package.

ART AND CREATIVITY CHALLENGE

Day 1

I had fun interpreting Miro's style into my own style and can see myself doodling away again. I feel that I need to loosen up and let go of perfection. Not that this is perfect, but I was striving more for something perfect and pleasing rather than just going with the flow.

Day 2
Today's doodle project was probably the one that I most resonated with. I liked the search process for inspiraiton, I enjoyed the time I spent interpreting my inspiration piece and I loved adding all the texture.

This is my inspiration:

And this is how it translated to paper:

Day 3
Collage art as inspired by Romare Bearden. If I had spent more time, my interpretation could have been  more artsy, but for now I'm pleased and it put a smile on my face. Personally, if I'm going to play with paper, this would not be my preferred method.

Day 4
Faces have never been my forte, nor my style. Obviously.

Day 5
Blech. I least enjoyed this lesson and didn't really understand how the lesson correlated with the inspiration piece. But, like I said, I am no artist and probably just didn't follow the thought process.

In conclusion, this was a fun, short project and I got to explore some new-to-me art mediums. And that's always a good thing!

Read more of my Art Journaling posts.
Find travelers notebooks in sizes from Micro to A5 in the I Love It All shop here.

I Remember When

I remember when these two beauties wore perfectly pressed cotton Easter dresses with ankle socks and matching Mary Jane shoes.
I remember when the bows in their hair matched their dresses and were {too} big, but so much a part of who they were then.
I remember when we had to pick them up and snuggle them in our arms for a family photo.
I remember when they didn't wear wedge heels or lip gloss.
I remember when their shoe sizes weren't almost the same as mine.

And I will remember this day, too, sometime in the much too near future, when they still lived at home, when they were still my "little" girls and when I was still taller than them.

Trillium | Smoky Mountains

See you next week with another The Sunday Quote!

For the last several years, I have curated the Sunday Photos series, featuring one my photographs  along with a quote or some inspiring words that touched my heart. This year I changed it up to The Sunday Quote, but I do kind of miss sharing photos, too. So, today, it's a photo!