Maybe Dorothy was on to something when she said, “There’s no place like home.” Even if you can’t take an extravagant vacation right now, you can see the sights without breaking the bank — and create a fabulous travel journal to tell the tale.
Do you take your geographic location for granted? Are there places in your town you’ve never seen? It’s easy to get jaded when you’ve lived somewhere for years. But looking at your locale through the eyes of a tourist can be a boatload of fun. Creating a “travel” journal of the experience is even better. It can also re-ignite your love of your city and give you lots of new activities to enjoy.
The kids over at Problogger are featuring a little ditty called The 7 Links Challenge this week. It’s a way for bloggers to highlight some of their best material from the archives, as well as favorite posts written by others. I thought it was a splendid idea, so here’s my list.
1. Your First Post
That would be the Magic of Journaling by Hand, the post I wrote which made me realize I needed to build this very website.
2. A post you enjoyed writing the most
I enjoyed writing What Kind of Genius are You? quite a bit. Perhaps more than writing it, I enjoyed reading it to my Dad and hearing his reaction.
I got tons of feedback on 7 Ways to Attain Imperfection including retweets and folks writing about it elsewhere, like Sandy Ackers over at Strangling My Muse. I think it hit home for a lot of people, and as a result I’ve started writing an ecourse on overcoming perfectionism. (I think I might need to take the course in order to be able to finish it. If that makes any sense.) (more…)
If you put off journaling because you’re strapped for time, I’ve got the solution right here. Below are four ways to capture the daily essentials in under ten minutes a day. These tools will also come in handy if journaling just sounds like too much dang work.
Vertical Journaling is a great tool for those suffering from timus constraintitis. The set-up is easy: choose a tall, college-ruled notebook or blank journal. We’ll use one page per month. Number the lines, one for each day.
Each day, quickly write only the most important tidbits of information you’d like to mention. They’ve got to fit one line. (more…)
I went to the free art journaling demo at Daniel Smith Art in Seattle on Saturday and it was a total blast. Liesel Lund lead the demo and she showed us how to make our own journal. Then she talked about some of her favorite products and showed us a few techniques for art journaling. She even shared some of her art journals — all of which were amazing. My favorite was an underwater-themed art journal with cut-away pages that reminded me of books I had when I was a kid. The kind with holes in the middle that slowly reveal more of the picture. Very cool.
I’m definitely signing up for the hands-on workshop in August that she’s teaching there – Intro to Art Journaling. It seems right up my alley since I’m pretty new to the format as an actual genre (though I’ve been collaging for a hundred years). Liesel also hosts workshops at her home in Phinney Ridge and several of them looks fabulous. Can’t wait to dig in.
So I was going to take photos of the event to share, but there was a big “NO PHOTOGRAPHY” sign at the front of the room when we arrived. Not sure why, but I didn’t want to get kicked out so I obeyed. (For the most part.) But the set-up reminded me of a cooking class, with Liesel at the front working at a big counter, with an enormous mirror overhead so we could watch her work. (more…)
A coworker brought me a Peace Lily this morning. At least, I guessed it was a Peace Lily, based on the two remaining leaves that were curling crisply around a swiftly browning stalk. She was despondent. “I tried everything but it’s dying. I heard you’re the plant lady. Can you save it?” she asked me urgently.
“What did you do, put it in the window?” She nodded slowly, looking guilty without knowing why. I stuck my finger into the soil, which was dense and wet. “These guys don’t like direct light,” I told her. Never mind baking it the oven of a West-facing window. “And you need different soil.”
I took out my first aid kit and we went to work on the plant in ER mode. I knew we’d save the Lily; it just needed a little attention. (more…)
