Jan 10, 2018 | Bible Journal
I’m so excited to be sharing more of my journaling bible after a long pause while I figured out the best way to share my photos. I didn’t write about it too in depth, but in the middle of last year, the site I was using to host my photos decided to completely shut down unless I was willing to pay $400/year (I wasn’t).
This post is currently the only one I have up on the topic of bible journaling, but I’m hoping to go back through and update some of my favorites with the pictures that below there. For the time being, I’ll give you a little peak at what I’ve been working on.
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Ecclesiastes is my favorite OT book. I feel particularly thankful lately for chapter three and knowing that there is a season for everything under the sun and find comfort in knowing that I’m not alone in each season. Lately, I’ve really been digging photos in my Bible. Even though I’m not exactly memory keeping here, it helps me to combine certain special moments directly with the Word. P.S. How amazing are these alphabet rub-ons from Studio Calico?
Esther 4:14
Fun facts: 1.) Esther was one of the first books of the Bible I ever read 2.) A portion of it was prayed over Kevin and I at our wedding. 3.) This verse has been on my mind a lot lately.
1 Corinthians 8:6
This is from the first day of Gratitude Documented, a monthly challenge hosted by Illustrated Faith in November. I started out strong on this project, but only made it through a little under two weeks before I hopped off the bandwagon. I tend to bible journal about verses as I’m inspired or as I’m reading, so having pre-set verses to do art and journal about can be really tough. The best part about following along is the community, the
shared posts are swoon-worthy.
Nehemiah 8:8
Gratitude Documented, Day 3! This is one of my favorite pages of the challenge, mostly because the colors were fantastic and reading is my favorite. I love connecting with the Lord through His Word and it was good for me to meditate on that before getting to work on this page.
Zephaniah 3:17
If you’ve been around here a while, you know that joy was my first one little word and has become my absolute favorite word over the last couple years. All of the verses related to joy get filled up pretty quickly when I start a new bible.
Proverbs 19:11
Kevin and I joined a couple’s small group last fall and this verse is one that we talked about at one of our first meetings in relation to the sermon we had heard that week. I had just gotten my tombow markers (*heart eye emojis*) and decided to just write the verse right on the page. I finished up with a prayer right around it.
I’ve been digging into Matthew with my church, my small group, and in my bible study. This one is from Matthew 1:21. “The description of the work of Jesus reminds us that Jesus meets us in our sin, but his purpose is to save us from our sins. He saves us first from the penalty of sin, then from the power of sin, and finally from the presence of sin.” (David Guzik) .
Bible study night means digging deep into the word and deep into relationships. I use two journaling bibles – one for notes and words and prayers and one for art and paint and stickers. Being in both is the perfect balance for me.
Thanks for stopping by!
Dec 29, 2017 | Memory Keeping, Photography
This Christmas was full of our favorite traditions. As usual, it was a whirlwind of all the family, all the preparations, and all the fun. Favorite parts: picking out our Hallmark ornaments, ice skating, Christmas eve with my parents and Kevin’s Mom and Scott, day after Christmas shopping, and my first ever candlelit church service.
Aug 16, 2017 | Memory Keeping
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Project Life has been a main staple in my creative process for the past four and a half years. Many things have changed in the way that I’ve completed it between then and now, but one thing remains the same – this project helps me get photos out of my camera and into physical albums. This is the primary way that I document our lives – all of the travelers notebooks and journals are gravy. Documenting my life in this way has followed me through some of the most exciting times of my life – graduating college, getting engaged, our wedding, the honeymoon, adopting our dog, buying a home and lots of daily life in between. We love cracking those albums open to take a peek at our memories and how much has changed in just a couple years.
I was originally introduced to Project Life by my Aunt who encouraged me to try out some of her supplies for an album of a trip to California. As soon as I started, I was hooked. For Christmas, I asked for all of the supplies – an album, pocket pages, and even Elise’s Seafoam Edition of the cards – so that I could get started on January 1st of 2013.
The way that Becky Higgins intended it and the way that many of her creative team members use the system, is on a weekly basis. While there are a lot of options when it comes to the sizes of pocket pages, the main pages are 12 x 12 and have spaces for 8 – 4×6 inch photos or journaling cards and 8 – 2×3 inch photos or journaling cards. Many people use a card a day in the middle row and then a coordinating 4×6 photo but I was just finding that it wasn’t working for me. There were three major things that were holding me back: 1) my life isn’t that exciting, 2) printing photos is expensive, and 3) space is limited.
The other two points aside, space and clutter are issues for me as I tend to be more of a minimalist than most scrapbookers. The idea of having multiple albums for a year terrifies me, so I had to find a way that worked for me that still documented my life in a way that was meaningful yet, more realistic for me. As you will notice in the pages below, instead of doing it on a weekly basis, I just do one spread for each month and then if we go on vacation or there are extra photos, I’ll simply add another page. This has allowed me to fit about two years in each album which is a significant win in my option.
Since I use a month format, I have a lot more photos to choose from than I would if I were just working with a week at a time. I try to include photos that go well together, but also ones that tell full stories. I use a piece of scrap paper to plan my layouts so that I’m only printing the photos that I need. From there I grab a bunch of supplies in similar color families and then use each pocket opening as if it were it’s very own scrapbook layout. As a more visual person, I tend to hide a lot of my writing. I generally use a card to write “highlights” for the month and then include specifics, such as names of friends, places, and events, on the back of the photos.
At the beginning of this year (my 5th doing Project Life), I started considering alternate ways to document our lives – possibly something online. Obviously, I decided to keep going but my thought process changed a couple months ago when I plugged in my external hard drive to back up my iPhone photos, only to discover a blank folder where all of my files once were. All of a sudden, well over 50,000 photos were gone. I couldn’t help but feel SO thankful that I had a few Project Life albums full of our memories.
I’m not sure how long it was later (it felt like hours), but we finally were able to get the files to show up. I virtually thumbed through my photos feeling reassured that, indeed, the best ones were printed. It was a good reminder, that photos are a priority to me and that I cherish documenting my stories and my life. I care about it so much that even now when I’m at my parent’s or grandparent’s homes, I’ll look through family photo albums that include everything from travel to family history and everything in between. I can’t imagine not having my own stories to share with… well, basically anyone who’s interested.
Needless to say, I’m not giving up on Project Life anytime soon and I might even share it here more frequently.
How do you document your story?
May 6, 2017 | Traveler's Notebook
watercolor | paperclips | photos | page markers | ephemera | charms
Last October, I purchased a new traveler’s notebook from Chic Sparrow. It’s a beauty, but I bought it in a pocket size (3.5″ by 5.5″) because I wanted something less heavy for my EDC (every day carry). I filled it up with notebooks – both purchased and handmade – but often felt myself wanting to go back to the larger more creative-feeling standard (4.5″ by 8.25″) size.
For Christmas, I asked for monthly planner notebooks made by Moleskine as well as some Field Notes journals to fill it up and get me inspired, and started doing research on how to make it the most functional for me. After falling through the black hole of set up videos on YouTube, I found that a lot of people have cute and functional accessories that help them get the very most out of their notebook regardless of what they use it for!
After ample research, here are my favorite accessories. Ones with * denote the ones that I currently use, all others are things I’ve tried previously or are on the to-buy list!
Notebooks:
- Field Notes* – these notebooks have quickly become my favorite I’ve used. The paper is good quality and I love that their website has lots of cover design options. I’ve seen some TN folks cover the front with scrapbooking paper, which always works as well. These have 48 pages and don’t allow much bleed through on regular pens.
- Moleskine* – these notebooks are a quick go-to that are ALWAYS available to me at local stores such as Target and Barnes and Noble. They come in a three pack and the pocket size is the one that fits the pocket sized TN. When I used a regular size or the “narrow” I bought the large cahiers and trimmed the edges so they would fit. These are a great option but I find that there is often bleed through with my favorite inky pens.
- Tomoe River Insert* – I bought my Tomoe River insert through Chic Sparrow when I purchased the notebook cover. The paper is absolutely delicious, especially with watercolors, but it bothers me that I can’t use ephemera without worrying that I’ll rip the page. These notebooks are also twice as expensive (if not more) than the ones listed above and I found myself being hesitant to write in it because of the price.
- Yellow Paper House – I am a HUGE fan of the inserts that YPH produces. The variety is unparalleled and I’ve used many different ones from the coloring book to the mixed media insert. I can’t say enough good things! The downside and why I’m not using them right now, is simply the price since I use about one per month.
- DIY Notebooks* – I used the video linked to create some of my own inserts. I went through all of etsy one day looking for an editorial calendar insert and ended up making my own. I thought it was going to be pretty tough, but you should be fine as long as you have access to word and a printer. I generally print on copy paper (because the inserts I created are only meant to last a month) and use a stronger card stock for the cover.
Notebook Accessories:
- Dashboard* – I bought this recently to add to my field notes/pocket size and I’m a huge fan. Basically this is just a clear plastic cover that you can slide pictures/scrapbooking paper into. I like to put it around my most used notebooks to protect them and give homemade ones a little more stability.
- Felt Paperclips – Although I don’t own any of these, I absolutely LOVE them and have seen them recommended a lot.
- Adhesive Card Pocket* – I purchased this recently but haven’t decided what part of the notebook I’m going to attach it to. I’ve see it done onto the inside of the leather and on inserts. This is particularly great if your TN doubles as your wallet.
- PVC Pouch – I purchased one of these for my narrow sized traveler’s notebook and it was a game changer. I didn’t have a pen loop, but because of the size, I was able to zip a thin pen right in the pouch. Many also come with card slots as an option.
- Folders – You can either check out all of the options for pre-made ones or you can did what I did and use a tutorial to make your own.
- Charms* – there are a TON of planner charms on the internet, but I purchased one from Hobby Lobby. The clip at the top looked super awkward, so I removed it by separating the jump rings using a pair of needle-nose pliers. There are a ton of ways you can make your own, but I liked all of the charms, so why not stick with something simple and use a 40% off coupon while I was at it!
Page Supplies:
- Washi Tape* – Washi tape is my favorite thing for just about every project. Sometimes I use it for tip ins and sometimes I just use it for decoration. Linked is my current fave.
- Watercolors* – As I mentioned above, I love using watercolors and tend to use them the most behind general writing to make the pages pretty.
- Photos – This probably goes without saying.
Pens:
- Ball Point – I’m the most boring person ever for listing a ball point pen as my favorite. I particularly like this one because it has four ink colors in one pen and I really like to write in red at work. Someone the other day told me that they hadn’t seen a multi-ink pen since 1st grade. I felt so cool.
- Rolling Ball – I’ve been using this pen in the fine and extra fine point since college. I love the way it writes and always get compliments when people borrow these.
- Fountain Pen – I purchased this about a year ago and am absolutely obsessed with it. This pen with the Tomoe river paper is the best combo. If you have one of these or are considering buying one, I would definitely look at the care instructions. I went way too long before cleaning mine which resulted in a super mess.
Have a favorite accessory or notebook that I don’t know about? Let me know, I’m always looking to add to my collection!
Dec 22, 2016 | One Little Word 2016 | Nourish, Traveler's Notebook
It’s hard to believe it’s the end of my one year journey with my word, nourish.
To keep track of my adventure this year, I’ve been using a traveler’s notebook Art Journal insert from Yellow Paper House that fit right inside my beloved Chic Sparrow Maverick in conjunction with Ali Edward’s One Little Word Course. I love the traveler’s notebook style (as opposed to the one Ali and many other people who take the course choose to do) because of how simple and compact it is. Because I don’t have a ton of space in the book to complete the prompts each month, I don’t have to feel like I need to have more words than I do, because I don’t and that’s stressful. It’s all stream of conscious writing, so it flows out and then I close the book for the month, putting into practice whatever the prompt was from Ali’s class. In addition, I’ve been really into watercolors this year and this journal has been a really great outlet for that.
Here’s how the journal turned out.
January
January was all about getting acquainted with nourish by writing down the definition, why I chose it, action items, and a quote. I love including the pocket with pictures to help remind me what I was doing and how I was feeling in that season. I always get super pumped about my word at the beginning of the year and as that feeling wears off, looking back and monitoring where I am in my goals is always a good tool to help me get back on track. As I completed this portion of the Ali’s class, I was also in the middle of the book The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, which encouraged me to pause and consider each of the following areas of my life: family and friends, personal development, spirituality, finances, career, marriage, fun, giving, physical environment, and health and fitness. In a one to ten fashion, I rated each one and made comments so that I could compare. This is how I chose the goals on the page above and came in really handy now that it’s the end of the year and I’m starting to think about a new word and new ways to move forward. This was by far one of the most rewarding goal setting experiences yet.
February
In February, we chose a practice to do each day for the month that would, in turn, help us create a habit. Unfortunately, I didn’t watch the prompt video until the second week at which point I decided to choose the act of journaling in my bible as my goal for the month. Since I had been dating them, I was able to go back and mark down which days I had done it. I think if I would have known ahead of time, I would have choose something a little more personal/self-care related, but it ended up working out just fine in the long run. I was still able to knock out 20/29 days – not too shabby.
March
In March, I created visual mood board for my word. This was another time that the smaller size was convenient. I’m generally not the type to have a lot of magazines or things I want to tear up laying around the house, so I was able to just grab one magazine to complete these pages which is much more manageable than the 8 ½ by 11 size that I had done in the past. I totally love how the colors played out in these two pages. Just as a sneak peak, my one little word for 2017 is on this page. It’s crazy to look back and see that march is when my next word started showing up.
April
This month, I wrote about things that make me feel nourished so that I could work on making them a more regular part of my life. Here’s what I wrote: “I feel nourished when I’ve had enough sleep. I feel nourished when my quiet time has been relaxed and slow paced. I feel nourished when I eat foods that are good for my body. I feel nourished when I’m praying. I feel nourished when I’m singing to Jesus. I fell nourished when I move my body. Yoga is my favorite. I feel nourished when I spend time on myself. I feel nourished when I’m blending watercolors. I feel nourished after spending time with family and friends. I feel nourished when I’m being creative. I’m feeling nourished when I take naps. I feel nourished when I drink plenty of water. I feel nourished by the sun. I am nourished by good books and my favorite characters. I am nourished by God.”
May
This month was all about taking some photos of things/places that described my word. This was our first month in the new house, which probably explains why all of the photos have to do with that – our bed, my office, and our roses.
June
In June, we reflected on the process and the progress. At this point, I was already feeling like my word was so fulfilling and really enhancing my growth. The highlights of this page are the three things that I had been enjoying about my word:
- The amount of grace this word encouraged me to give myself.
- The encouragement I felt to treat my body better based on how I feel as opposed to how I look.
- Treating myself with nourishment also inspires me to treat others with nourishment as well.
July
In July, I had to remind myself to slow down. After a little getaway for the long fourth of July weekend, I felt like I was in a rush to get back into the swing of real life. I just wrote myself a reminder and included that sweet picture of my family.
August
August was one of my favorite months and talked about seasons of life – where we are right now, what we are struggling with, and what we are celebrating. I waited until the end of the month to complete this one and I’m so glad that I did because a lot of what was going on revolved around my new position at work. I love that my family and real life is weaved in and out of these pages.
September
This was a big one – a prompt about contemplating rest, pace and joy as well as documenting 30 things that bring me joy. I questioned a lot this month if I really know what rest looks like. A reoccurring theme this year is my pace and how I’m either going 100% or I’m sleeping, even when I’m sick or need a break. I think my Type-A personality requires me to feel like I need to be extra productive and to-do list oriented otherwise I feel like my time is being wasted. One of my goals for the end of this year/beginning of next year is to have a binge netflix session because it’s not something I generally do. I’ll keep you posted on that one.
October
These are my favorite quotes that are related to the word Nourish. Because I always make a pinterest board for my word of the year, I had already accumulated quite a few quotes that I felt related perfectly to my word. My favorite one:
“When we nourish ourselves with good people, projects, surroundings, scenery, love, music, beauty, and self-care, we radiate light into the world and continually sharpen our vision, perception, and clarity all at once. This in turn spreads even more. Remember that one tiny drop can raise an ocean. Keep wanting. Desiring. Doing. Breathing in sweet things.
November
November was fun because I got to try a new technique with my watercolors and tissue paper as well as include one of my wedding photos of just myself. I reflected on what I believe, what I love, what I know and what I’ve learned. Conclusion? I’m pretty dang hard on myself.
December
Finally, a good ole wrap up and another picture of me. We separated out our reflection into facts and feelings and I realized that’s something that is REALLY hard to do.
Facts:
- In 2016, I improved and grew as a human.
- Nourish reminded me to consider how I felt about decisions, events, and feelings.
- Nourishing myself is hard.
- What I want nourishment to be and what it really is are different.
- I am proud of myself and what I have accomplished.
Feelings:
- The term self-care makes me want to vom – so cliché and can easily be overused as an excuse not to try hard.
- I feel great about the goals I completed – there are quite a few.
- You can be nourished and struggling at the same time.
- The act of progress and growth are so much more fulfilling than being perfect.
- Journals have presented themselves as the only outlet for me to clear my head and heart.
- Slowing down and adding time to relax into my calendar is the only way it will get done and now I know that about myself.
- All things are possible with Jesus. (Also, on a related note, I saw a quote the other day that said “All things are possible, but everything isn’t”. LOVE.)
I finished off the year by writing a note to my word and recapping my goals. I used to love crossing things off, but it feels so much more positive to highlight them instead. Even though I still have a lot of room for improvement in the nourish category, I’m so impressed with how much I’ve accomplished.
Each year, I add my word to a list of other epic words that I’ve carried with me for a year. Now nourish can join the ranks of joy (2013), rooted (2014), and adventure (2015).
I can’t wait to share with you what next year’s word will be!
Aug 15, 2016 | Traveler's Notebook
It took me a while, but I finally think I found a perfect (and inexpensive) on-the-go travel case for my journaling supplies. I had been on the hunt for a while, trying out different pencil cases and bags but none of them seemed to be a good fit for what I was looking for – big enough for my supplies but small enough to carry everyday. Last year, when we went to Chicago, I took a deep pencil case, trying to fit all of my necessary supplies and it turned out to be quite a hassle, which resulted in me dumping out the contents any time I needed to use something. Fast forward to this year, I was looking around on pinterest when I found myself clicking through to this Travel Organizer. I am under the impression that it’s intended to be used to carry a passport and boarding documents for trips, but it seemed to be perfect for a couple packs of stickers and photos. I bought, filled it, and manage to carry it with me almost every day. This is about the same size as my Chic Sparrow “Narrow” (which also happens to be the standard midori size), so carrying the two together works brilliantly. This also zips, keeping all the junk contained perfectly inside.
Here’s what I carry:
Left Side (from top to bottom):
- Peerless Watercolors – I bought a pallette of Peerless watercolors on Etsy, but it looks like they have all been taken down due to copyright laws. Here is a tutorial on how you could make your own.
- Word Stickers – that I downloaded from this free printable
- Random Alpha Stickers – favorites are from Studio Calico and JoAnn’s
- A small pair of sizzors and a piece of cardboard wrapped with washi tape (here’s a tutorial)
- Tiny Teresa Collins Alpha Matchbook – here: http://www.allaboutscrapbooks.com.au/shop/scrapbooking-ranges-papers/teresa-collins/basically-essentials/teresa-collins-basically-essential-matchbook-alpha-white
- Brass embossing stencil – Emma Lowercase – I use this for tracing letters
- Page Flags from the Target Dollar Spot
- Post its
Right Side (from top to bottom):
Pen Loop
On Top
- The Tape Runner – this doesn’t fit in the pockets, but I can set it on top and zip it up without it going anywhere.
Since it’s already set up and ready to go, I don’t even have to think about what I need to add before I hit the road, coffee shop, or couch. This kit allows me to turn any space into a creative one and that’s important to me.
