Give Thanks

Good advice any day--but especially today. Wishing all my friends in the US a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A Poetic New Journal

The minute I picked up this old paperback book, I knew I wanted to turn it into a new journal. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color and pattern on the cover.

I filled it with a tan colored cover stock that I've had forever. I used a corner punch to round the corners of each page because I thought it just called for rounded corners.

I glued the book covers to another piece of card stock to give them a bit more weight and rounded those corners too. Then I glued a piece of soft black leather to the covers and bound it all together with some gifted thread using the long stitch. I made a mistake and the pattern on the back cover ended up upside down--oops.
 

I considered cutting out the title to make a window opening for my own title, but then decided to leave it as is. How could you not love that old penguin logo on a book called "The Metaphysical Poets?" Really, what does that mean? I gave myself about ten minutes to figure it out then realized I really didn't need to know in order to just appreciate the graphic beauty of this old book.

I plan to use this as a note taking journal and a place to scribble down whatever is inspiring me at the moment. Who knows--maybe I'll even manage to include a few metaphysical poems.

When Housework Pays Off

For me, housework is a necessary evil. I only give it my full attention when either 1) company is coming to visit or 2) I just can't stand the mess for one more minute. Either way, I'm a half-ass housekeeper at best. Good enough is alright by me and I've been known to quickly stash things away just to get them out of sight.

A few weeks ago I was in a I-can't-stand-the-mess-anymore mood, so while I was stashing some things away I found a couple of doodles that had been stashed on a previous cleaning spree.

Finding these again made me smile and was well worth the price of tidying up. Now I want to get out my doodling supplies and make a new mess.

An Adventure So Big It Needed Its Own Journal

Last month I went on a grand adventure to visit my daughter in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though she’s been living in Thailand for over a year, it was my first trip there. (or anywhere, for that matter.) 
 

 

Before I left, I made a journal and filled it with a variety of papers and bound it with a long stitch binding.

The image on the cover came from an old book I rescued from the landfill.

I packed a small bag of art supplies that included markers, glue sticks, a travel watercolor set, a burnisher, washi tape, a ruler, and a tiny pair of kid’s scissors which was confiscated by security on the way home. 

I journaled every single day and included whatever ephemera I accumulated or found while I was there. 

 

The more I wrote, the easier it became and the more I wanted to write. 

 

I did a good job of estimating and rationing the pages because I ended up filling the book without running out or having too many empty pages.

It truly was a grand adventure, and one that I can relive over and over whenever I page through my journal.