July at a glance

I absolutely loved working on these tags this month...they were quick and easy...also since they weren't bound in any way they were very portable and easy to manipulate...here is the month at a glance...

 

There is a story, or sugnificance behind each of these "journal entries"- and I love having a record of what was going on in my head...in my life at this time...are you journaling your "life" in some form or another?  I highly recommend it.  :)

And this is the paper bag that holds all the tag "pages"...

hmmm...I wonder what August holds...

 Hugs!

instead of a post-it note

So...as I am getting better, but STILL not feeling great...I needed a reminder.  A reminder that each day is a gift.  So intead of slapping a post-it note on the fridge to "cheer up"  :)  I slapped this journal "page" together.  It was simple, but very meditative to take the time to cut out the little flowers and the party hat...and then mindfully focus on the CELEBRATE acrostic as I printed it on the tag...

For me, the CHOOSING is key!

And the "work" of creating this page, the processing, and the page itself resulted in a visual picture, both in my journal and in my memory, of this reminder.

Go ahead...CHOOSE to CELEBRATE this day!  :)

it just takes a minute

Out walking my son's dog :) I was thinking about how much I enjoy where we live...very green and "natural"...(one of my girlfriends laughs at me when I say it feels like we live in the country...but compared to LA, hey! this is country)...anyway, I thought to freeze and capture the moment...

Look up...

 

Look down...

Look all around...

These pictures definitely are not going to win any photo awards but it was such a fun exercise in enjoying the moment...in appreciation...in gratitude...

And so, I encourage (challenge?) you to take your camera outside and look up, look down, and look all around on one of these beautiful summer days and SEE what you can SEE, and...enjoy the moment! :)

encouragement

encouragement...from The Word...for all of us...journaled to help me remember :)...

NEW hope, NEW mercy, NEW grace for this and each NEW day!

Blessings!

Practicing Mindfulness

I'm back!  I have been under the weather for a bit...couldn't find the focus to even "show up" here...but, hopefully, things are getting back to normal...

I haven't shared my July journal yet...under the circumstances I have had a slow start.  Several weeks ago I found (buried on my desk) a "card" that I had made a while ago, and I realized that it would make a fun July journal...red, white, blue, and kraft...plus it would be a fun challenge to work in a different format...This is the "card":  a cute large tag in a kraft bag...

Since each "page" would be a tag that would go into the bag, I cut more tags out of scrapbooking paper in my color scheme...

Now I could begin!  And because this is what I have been "thinking" lately...I began with this...

 

I lightly gessoed the tag to soften the pattern of the background paper...cut out the image I wanted (I think it was a magazine ad).

 

Next I glued her down...added the text "Practicing mindfulness" and fun tapes.  All that was left to do was to journal on it...

Super simple, but a good reminder to keep practicing mindfulness...to set my mind on things above...it's a good thing.

Hope you are "mindful" to enjoy these summer days!  :)

how???

how do we keep plugging along...keep putting one foot in front of the next when it seems like it is all too hard, too much?

I'm not sure what the answer it, but I DO know that it seems that God keeps impressing on my heart, keeps whispering, and somehow it is encouraging...it is NOT easy, but it is simple...the answer is always JESUS...The Way, The Truth, The Life...

...so to help me process...to help me get it down under my skin...guess what I did?  You know it!  I gathered my "stuff"...

I wrote what was on my mind...

Then I added clip art of a "one way" sign...a perfect visual reminder.

Finally, I lettered a quote on the page with a the brush tip of a distress marker...

I decided that the lettering needed a little"help", so I outlined it with a Sharpie pen...much better...

And so by the GRACE of God, I keep putting one foot in front of the next...  :)