What Makes You Smile?


What makes you happy? What makes you smile? What's stopping you from creating a journal documenting exactly that?

Well, nothing now!

4 x 4 SQUARE JOURNAL
I love putting together curated collections of pretty paper and eclectic ephemera packs. Each of these kits is equally awesome and adorable, but slightly different but maybe a little similar, too. 




You can use these DIY journal kits to:
Collect your favorite quotes, one liners or even print out all those Instagram photos gathering dust on your phone and add them to these fun little journals. It's so easy...document all those zany memories with words and pictures by using all the fun embellishments included with your mini book to personalize your collection of papers making a one-of-a-kind journal. 

EPHEMERA PACK GOODIES
I've even included a fun ephemera pack with word phrases, die cuts, tickets and more...you could even use this as a mini Gratitude Journal, too!



CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE
Choose your favorite kit, the ephemera kit is included.


You also get to choose between punched or unpunched pages and even two 1" or two 2" binder rings.

MORE CUTIES


use the code FRIENDS30 to save 30%

Kind Words

#The Sunday Quote #kind words #Mother Teresa #quote #quotes #gratitude #thankful #mindfulness

They may be unkind to you, they may be sarcastic, they may ignore you, they may spread rumors about you, they may be vindictive, they may be eternally grumpy, they may be jealous...be kind anyway.

They may have silent battles and secret wounds we don't see, our kind words may be the only sunshine in their day. Be kind. Always.

See you next week with another The Sunday Quote!

Free Hello May Journal Card


Around here, Spring doesn't last for long before the heat and humidity slaps us in the face but we always say hello to May with a calendar full of activities. We begin school in August, so school lets out before the month of May even ends! That means we have sports banquets, Awards Day assemblies, Choral concerts and end-of-course testing.

Which for us means that saying Hello to May is also saying hello to summer vacation!

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS
I love this floral design so much! In fact, I loved it so much that I decided that I needed to create a whole set of journal cards, word phrases and a page tab, too. 

We've had a ton of rain this month and my flowers {and weeds, too} are peeking through, blooming and making this Mama smile a great big smile! Aaaaah, all those lovely, glorious colors after the dark of winter. Love it!
MORE HELLO JOURNAL CARDS
Take a few moments and document how you will greet May, how you will treat the next 31 days and how you plan to take this year and make it yours.

My plan is to document my year by capturing precious moments in words. Photos are worth a thousand words, yes, but writing it all down has to be worth at least a million words, right?



#hello march #free download #journaling card #march #pocket pages #pocket scrapbooking #Project Life #memorykeeping#hello march #free download #journaling card #march #pocket pages #pocket scrapbooking #Project Life #memorykeeping#hello march #free download #journaling card #march #pocket pages #pocket scrapbooking #Project Life #memorykeeping

FREE DOWNLOADS
Download your free Hello May journal card.
Find other free downloads from I Love It All here.
And for more Print At Home ideas: journal cardsplanner pagesart prints and tags, tabs and labels areall  in the I Love It All shop as instant downloads!

Gratitude Art Journaling in my Travelers Notebook

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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. 

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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.

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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.

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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!

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful
#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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.

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful
#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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.

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful
#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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:

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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.

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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

#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful
#Gratitude Journal #I Am Thankful #Gratitude #Journal #Travelers Notebook #art journaling #thankfulness #grateful

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

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.





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

#trillium #wildflower #smoky mountains #wildflowers #nature #woodland

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!

The Possibilities are Endless | This Week in My Gratitude Journal

#journaling cards #kissing birds #gratitude journal #stay grateful #grateful  #scrapbooking #memorykeeping

What a great reminder...the possibilities are endless. We have so many choices, so many options, and there so many different directions life can take us. It can get overwhelming. One thing we can do, though, is to choose joy...and that's when we see how endless the possibilities are.

THIS WEEK IN MY GRATITUDE JOURNAL
In my Original mixed papers journal:
Yay for Mom, she loves being able to see again! And what a blessing it is to have talented doctors and amazing technology that as soon as she woke up, she could already see.

#journaling cards #kissing birds #gratitude journal #stay grateful #grateful  #scrapbooking #memorykeeping

This page comes in the journal with the "possibilities" stamp already on the page for you.

#journaling cards #kissing birds #gratitude journal #stay grateful #grateful  #scrapbooking #memorykeeping

I decided to add some washi tape at the top of the page and was really hoping that the red was more of a magenta like my stamped image. But it wasn't.

#journaling cards #kissing birds #gratitude journal #stay grateful #grateful  #scrapbooking #memorykeeping

I used a marker to make bullet points for 3 things I was grateful for.

#journaling cards #kissing birds #gratitude journal #stay grateful #grateful  #scrapbooking #memorykeeping

In my ring bound journaling card mini:
I've been loving the freedom of journaling a short note, punching a hole and adding it to my ring. These two kissing birds seemed sweet {and the perfect choice} to document that my and my sweetie finally had a chance for a date together. Even if it was only lunch. But wow, was it good!

#journaling cards #kissing birds #pocket pages #scrapbooking #memorykeeping

You can build your own journal like mine with this fun kit to get you started, each kit has a different collection of papers, but they're all fun and colorful. There's even an add-on kit if you're a fan of even more tags and embellishments.

#paper pack kit #journaling card kit

You can see a few more posts showing how I've used the Paper Pack Kit and journaling cards here, here and here.

In my Filofax planner:
This was me trying to be all cool and use the timer feature on my Apple watch to take a photo using my iPhone, which is in a camera grip above my head looking down. Close enough, I say, for the first time!

#filofax #malden #printable planner pages

I keep a small collection of printable planner pages in my Filofax for those times that I have an extra minute or two and can journal on-the-go. See, it jumps from February 4th to March 26th. Nothing wrong with that, I say.

#filofax #malden #printable planner pages
#filofax #malden #printable planner pages

WHAT I USED
These personal size planner inserts for my Filofax.

WHY I'M USING IT
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.

It's never too late to start journaling. And now, the May - December journals are just $28.00.


join in
Want to document your own #ilovethursdaythanks? Write down what you're thankful for, it doesn't have to be in a journal or notebook, just list it and then head on over to Instagram to post! Be sure to use the hashtag #ilovethursdaythanks so I can take a peek!