Tuesday, January 22, 2019

January Junk Journal

Last year our faithart Facebook group decided to use one journal for everything for the whole year. I did it, with the exception of my Colossians Words and Advent Words challenges. Can I tell you how hard it was for me to just use one journal! So it seems that even art is about self-discovery. I learned through that challenge that part of what I really enjoy about art journaling is making the journals themselves. I love the creativity of making a journal or book. I like trying new ways to bind them. It actually inspires more creativity for me.

So, this year, I have a different approach. I've been following some people on Instagram who make junk journals and it really appeals to me. Junk journals combine using vintage papers and ephemera with the concept of a commonplace book. (For a definition of a commonplace book read this post or this post.) The appeal of junk journals combined with my enjoyment in making journals is going to be lived out this year with a monthly junk journal. This way I will get to experiment with making a variety of journals and sizes. Last week I shared about the January junk journal I made and how it served to break me out of the creative slump I was in.


Valerie Sjodin shared a post recently about making calendar pages in her art journal. I have watched over the years how she decorates her calendar page, but it just didn't seem my style. That is, until I started thinking about commonplace books and the purpose of writing down quotes and things you want to remember. So I made a calendar page in the front of my junk journal and have been adding things from books I'm reading, from podcasts, from my calendar, or just a Bible verse that was significant that day. 




Then I'm filling the pages with prompts from different groups or challenges, such as Life Documented and Junk Journal January. It seems that another bit of self-discovery is my need for variety when making art....a bit of a contrast to my daily routine driven personality!




What have you learned about yourself recently through art journaling or some other creative habit? Feel free to share in the comment section below.


Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group: Living Your Word of the Year
Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I facilitate a Facebook group about Living your Word of the Year. In it we share insights through blog posts and connect with other like-hearted and like-minded people who want to live out a word focus throughout the year. We offer participants a bi-weekly A-Z Inspiration to help prompt reflection and creativity. as well as other inspirational ways to connect with your word of the year. If you would like to connect with others in creative ways about living your word throughout the year, explore new ideas, record thoughts, prayers, and events, you are invited to join our Facebook group.

Please use #livingyourword2019 on social media.

Check out the other blogs:
Bernice: www.newlycreative.com
Valerie: 
www.valeriesjodin.com/blog


Monday, January 14, 2019

Living Your Word 2019: A is for Abide


A is for Abide


My desire this year with my word of the year, sacred, is to see every part of my life as sacred - to be used by and for God.




I'm especially trying to gain a better perspective of my body being a sacred instrument for God's use. So I have been working on seeing health as an issue of stewardship.

"We are the stewards, not the possessors, of health." ~Ed Young


In our Living Your Word 2019 group we are doing a bi-weekly A-Z Inspirational challenge to help us live out our word. For the letter A I chose "abide". The best passage of Scripture that explains the principle of abiding in Christ is found in John 15. Abiding is a word that describes our union with Christ. Jesus says in John 15 that we can doing nothing apart from Him. He is the vine, we are the branch that connects to the vine. When we continually remain connected to the vine, we are abiding, and we will bear fruit.




For my life to be sacred, I must continually abide in Christ. I must remain connected to Him through His Word and prayer, and draw my strength and power from His Spirit.


Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group: Living Your Word of the Year
Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I facilitate a Facebook group about Living your Word of the Year. In it we share insights through blog posts and connect with other like-hearted and like-minded people who want to live out a word focus throughout the year. We offer participants a bi-weekly A-Z Inspiration to help prompt reflection and creativity. as well as other inspirational ways to connect with your word of the year. If you would like to connect with others in creative ways about living your word throughout the year, explore new ideas, record thoughts, prayers, and events, you are invited to join our Facebook group.

Please use #livingyourword2019 on social media.

Check out the other blogs:
Bernice: www.newlycreative.com
Valerie: 
www.valeriesjodin.com/blog


Saturday, January 12, 2019

Hello January 2019

I so love the start of a fresh year. 

Nothing literally changes between December 31 and January 1, but there is a mindset or perspective change that a new year will bring a new beginning, a fresh start. And I fully embrace that each year.

At my job, we usually close the office for the week between the holidays. So I am able to begin the new year, and January, feeling rested and refreshed. This year has been no different. I feel rested. I feel refreshed. However, I also began the new year in a bit of a creative slump. One thing I have come to know about myself over the past few years, is that after a long daily challenge, like Advent Words, I tend to go into a creative wandering phase. It's almost like having creative attention deficit disorder, I can't seem to focus on one thing for very long. Over time I have found that there are a few ways to jump start my creativity when in a slump: play with art supplies and/or make a new journal. I did both!

I had already made an altered book signature journal for my word of the year and our A-Z challenge in the Living Your Word group. You can read about that in this post. But I needed to just make a journal to play. 

Since I like using vintage papers and found items in my journals I have been drawn to junk journals. There a few junk journal artists that pop up in my Instagram feed and on Pinterest that inspire me, so I decided to make a junk journal. I've had this conference promotional folder saved for a few years waiting for the right project. The graphics caught my eye and I held on to it. The front cover folded in half made a perfect size for a journal.



The back side of the journal ended up narrower than the front because I wanted to keep the full graphic in view. So I simply cut a piece of kraft paper cardstock, folded it in half and attached it to the narrow side, making them both the same size. 



I then took a mix of magazine pages, book pages, maps, etc. and folded them in half, sewing them into the fold of the cover.


My assistant felt I needed a paper weight for the pile of papers I was combing through, so he cheerfully gave me his assistance.


My junk journal has enough pages to have one for each day in January. I'm following along with the Life Documented project again this year after not participating for a few years. Plus, there are a few junk journaling challenges this month on Instagram that I am not going to follow religiously, but will borrow from their prompts when I need some inspiration. So I will use this journal for the art I make in response to those projects and anything else outside of my word of the year pages.




It was great to play with supplies and make a junk journal. I really enjoy making journals and bookbinding so I may just make a new one each month...just to play and spark my creative juices!




Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group: Living Your Word of the Year

Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I facilitate a Facebook group about Living your Word of the Year. In it we share insights through blog posts and connect with other like-hearted and like-minded people who want to live out a word focus throughout the year. We offer participants a bi-weekly A-Z Inspiration to help prompt reflection and creativity, as well as other inspirational ways to connect with your word of the year and your faith. If you would like to connect with others in creative ways about living your word throughout the year, explore new ideas, record thoughts, prayers, and events, you are invited to join our Facebook group.

Please use #livingyourword2019 on social media.

Check out the other blogs:
Bernice: www.newlycreative.com
Valerie: 
www.valeriesjodin.com/blog