I made a new to us recipe on Saturday. I had gotten a copy of the Magnolia Home Winter Journal in the mail, and this recipe sounded so good. I had only about half the ingredients. There were a few substitutions that were made. It was a lot of work, more than the recipe as written required but I was starting from scratch with several items. I will tell you it was really, really good. But I've no idea if the recipe as written is good because it really just ended up being the jumping off place of inspiration for me.
After I'd put the recipe in the oven I started working on an art project. I've been intrigued of late by Smash Books/Junk Journals. They do not resemble a journal in the traditional sense, though I do believe some use it as a true journal. It has many forms, but it's open to interpretation. Like the recipe I made that day, I've no idea if it's good by the 'rules' but I think I've gotten a really good start on something I'm going to enjoy making. One blogger gathered many examples, so you can go look at how interpretative it can be.
I chose to make my own cover and binding for the journal, but I've been watching videos and looking at blogs and you can use a variety of items for covers. One woman had used cracker boxes that had a vintage look to them. Another woman used a file folder that she covered with wrinkled brown craft paper then layered gesso and paint over that. Still another found an older book at a thrift store that bore her given name in the title. Possibilities abound.
My own is two pieces of cardstock I glued together for sturdiness, then covered with scrapbook paper that I liked. For my first Junk Journal my focus is Christmas. I don't really know what all will end up in it or how big it shall be or if it will be completed this Christmas or carry over into next. I basically have no clue about what I'm doing but from what I can tell, this is one art form that is wide open as far as technique, materials, etc. There's no 'wrong way'.
I think it was the vast array of how these journals could be assembled and used that appealed to me, but I confess it was the idea of knowing I didn't have to be perfect, that I couldn't break rules that didn't exist or be called out for using a wrong technique that appealed to me most of all.
After looking at the myriad examples online I've found myself collecting odd bits of paper, leaves, labels, stamps, etc. that has caught my eye. I've always kept a scrap file of images that resonated with me for whatever reason and this type of journal is the perfect way to capture what has inspired me.
My plan is to work on it throughout the month of December, and we'll see how it goes.
I have just finished off the 12th week of The Artist's Way. One of the last weeks' tasks was to read through the whole of the Morning Pages and note any observances, breakthroughs, ideas, etc. that we'd had.
What came up in my notes over and over again was the realization that I needed more balance in my life that I was too often caught up in the work side of life and seldom followed through with what would feed my soul. The need to allow writing to be a priority in my life was also a repeated theme. the number of times I wrote of distractions and interruptions which finally culminated in my realization that I needed my own space to work in where I could avoid interruptions. And eventually, I realized that I didn't really want to completely abandon Blue House Journal but instead I needed to bring balance to that space in my life.
The pages also were rife with doubts, worries, fears.
But it also proved that I was on the right track as I wrote how pretty I'd felt in certain new to me outfits I'd worn, of my increased sense of joy and contentment, of dreams I didn't even realize had been sleeping under the surface and were still very much alive. Probably the most powerful moment though came when I ceased referring to the inner child as she and said "I". I realized that after years of ignoring that portion of myself, I not only had finally begun to acknowledge her, I accepted that she is me and I am her.
November (when I'm writing this it's November 30) was an awesome month.
We had one of the most relaxing and lovely vacations we've ever had. The trip to Florida was free of anxiety for John which meant my own anxiety levels remained very low. The weather was perfect, sunny and breezy, just cool enough to truly enjoy. I swam and played in the pool which I pretty much had to myself. I played with my camera and was looking forward to uploading photos to my computer when I got home, but when I was reviewing photos, I hit a button that deleted every photo...Not a tragedy, but a disappointment.
I finished more than half my Christmas shopping, had a lovely Thanksgiving, got to see my Kingsland Trio of grandchildren and spend a little while with them. Katie had a family gathering on Wednesday and we took the trio of kids from The Manor House over with us. It was the first gathering of my grandchildren with their cousins in over a year. And I didn't get one photo! Not one.
I played in the kitchen this month. I made my first attempt at a sweet roll dough which I rolled up with an apple filling and then sliced and baked (AWESOME!). Made a Walnut pie for Thanksgiving that we all loved. Honestly...Might be even better than a pecan pie! I like how crunchy the nuts remained. I found that recipe at simplyrecipes.com
I completed this course I started at the beginning of September and learned a great deal through the fall.
I've made my goals for December which mostly involves relaxing into this last of year holiday season and enjoying it. I've pushed pretty hard from September through November and feel I deserve the break this month.
And that's got me all caught up with you all once more, I think. I hope you have a lovely holiday season.
