My Happy Book 2019.

Just wanted to share with you what I'm using the food packaging for -- not just for artist trading cards, but also to decorate a journal that my therapist doctor encouraged me to make -- one filled positively to the brim with goodness, kindness, and joy! She said to add in my doodles, scriptures because she knows my faith is important to me, and good memories. 

I purchased a Composition Notebook and began adding in dividing lines with skinny washi-tape (planner format) and decorating the sides plus adding days and dates, but when I went to write on the pages, the pen poked through the thin paper. So before adding in any more washi tape section lines or to the edges of the paper,  I cut down some single sheets of notebook paper and glued it onto the front and back of the pages. It helped a lot! This is what it looks like to washi-tape the edges of the pages. I think it will not only pretty up the pages, but help strengthen the edges as they get thumbed through everyday.  

So here's January's pages -- to enlarge the video, click on the little box in the bottom right hand corner of the toolbar on the video screen. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

I've uploaded a new video for February and added it to a new playlist here: DJR: Positivity Journal 2019. Enjoy! 

Almost had a ink disaster. Hubby purchased two new ball point pens for me and unbeknownst to me, one developed a leak in the crock I'm using for a pencil holder and the ink traveled everywhere, all over my hands, up my arms and on the notebook cover every time I pulled something from the crock. I also learned that the ink wasn't permanent -- a drip of glue blurred some of the written words inside the notebook. Learned a good ball point permanent ink pen or fine-line marker should be used to write with. 

Happy to share some of what I've written in my notebook with you here. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~
My March journal video is happily uploaded to YouTube! Check it out! Happy Easter! 

I've got an idea for another journal, so I reviewed the lessons from Stephanie Ackerman's online doodle and Bible journaling classes last week and am beginning to read her book this week -- Faith Journaling for the Inspired Artist. The link to her book is up on the left hand side menu if you are interested. She's also featuring her doodle class again, if you are interested in that too. Just click on her button on the side menu and it will take you to her website where you can sign up.  Here's the new playlist for my Doodles -- a notebook full of doodled scriptures. Part One consists of one doodled verse from each of the first ten books of the Bible. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~ 
I'm learning to smile through April Showers -- see me grit my teeth together -- 🤪. I uploaded my newest video and YouTube slapped me with a music copyright infringement claim. I haven't taken the video down as I'm claiming a grandfather clause -- that music is on my Microsoft video editor under another name and has been there for two years. It was pre-installed on my computer when it was given to me as a Christmas gift in 2017. About time I learned to use it huh? I've made the proper feedback to both Microsoft and YouTube and I'm letting them duke it out, so before I'm told to take it down, if you want to view it, click here! Add a like too for good measure. Thanks! 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Another copyright infringement again, for the month of June. Again, I made the proper feedback and told Microsoft I wish that they would find some music for me that won't ruffle YouTube's feathers. Found two ladies who LOVE Mary Engelbreit like I do and added their videos of a Mary Engelbreit journal that one of them made for the other on my YouTube playlist. Check out my list of videos if you want to see the journal over on my side bar! Someone asked me if I was enjoying making my positivity journal and I said YES! 

I've added cards from my sisters of my heart (girlfriends) and decorated them without obscuring their handwritten names, because I want to remember who gave me the cards. After I used a Christmas card from a girlfriend at church (Princess Sister), she got up in our Gratitude testimony time to tell everyone about my positivity journal -- I happened to have it with me because I wanted to show her, her card in my journal. smile! Well, that was a good lead-in, so I got up and told everyone the purpose for the journal. I got some very positive comments after the service and that made a happy memory for me! 

I also show in my video this month how fat my composition notebook is getting to be and it's not even to the middle of the one signature yet. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~


Just uploaded my second doodle video tonight after finishing up Joanne Sharpe's lettering book and her free tutorials -- see the link lists on the left side bar for links to tutorials and video playlists.  For the next ten doodles, I plan to read this book with contributing artist, Valerie Sjodin.  

~~ <> @ <> ~~
I uploaded July's section of my Happy Book and it has a small tutorial on how to make an envelope pocket at the very end. I even figured out how to add text with the video editor. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

August 2019 - This month's section of my happy book is in honor of our son and in memory to my friend, Karen Lange. The words, saying, quotes, and scripture that I used in honor of our son is located here and at the end of the video is a small memorial for Karen. A homeschooling friend introduced us as she was a leader for our homeschool support group a few years prior to us joining the group. She continued teaching Spanish to homeschooled young people and at our local community college, was a rubber stamping buddy, got some of her cards published in Just Cards magazine, followed Documented Faith with me for a couple of years and we enjoyed swapping song bites via text with each other. It's her voice at the end of the video along with a photo of her this last Mother's day. 

I really learned a lot editing this video with Microsoft's Video Editor App. I had to figure out how to convert Karen's song from one format to another and then send it to my laptop so I could complete the video. I also learned that seconds count when compiling a video, so when one bit stops, another bit begins and I am trying to learn to do it as smoothly as possible. 

My therapist suggested this next month's theme, so I will be adding in representations of all my other friends! So be forewarned! grin!

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Have you heard about the FREE Online Bible Journaling Conference? I attended Be The Light-Bible Journal Conference. To Inspire and Encourage Christians to Grow in the Word Creatively on October 16-18, 2019. To learn more, click here.  

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Drum roll please! :) I finally finished up September's positivity journal section. Yay! It's to introduce you to my friends which are all represented by paper dolls. And tomorrow begins the Bible Journaling Conference at 10:00 AM CST. Stephanie Ackerman is going to be interviewed on the third day of the Conference. If you want to see her interview, better sign up tonight, just a' sayin'!

~~ <> @ <> ~~

Here's Stephanie explaining what five products she uses to Bible Journal with - water-colors, photos, pens, highlighters, and a white pigment pen. She said she gets overwhelmed with too many product choices and is basically a simple gal. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

October has been a busy and stressful month for us. Our hot water heater died and yay! we have a new one as of today (11/16/2019). Our new-to-us, but used pretty red Jeep needs repairs, which we are going to have to save the money for because we've learned our lesson about the credit card trap (too easy to overspend), and we need new medical devices, and my husband's father passed away plus I really had to dig for cottage, home, and house memories quotes, sayings and scriptures, but today, I'm glad to say that I uploaded a video to YouTube and published the words to my gratitude blog. Whew! We survived and lived through another month with its ups and downs and God was the friend who took our hands,  stood by us and saw us supportively through. Thank you, Jesus! Now on to November! Oh, and by the way, even though I'm a little behind everyone else, I've been following Marsha Baker's 21 Day Sketch-note Challenge on YouTube. I took her workshop at the Bible Journaling Conference and thought it would help me organize my sermon note-taking. If you are interested, click here. 

~~ <> @ <> ~~
November arrived and went and here it is the middle of December, but I finally got November's section of the Positivity Journal completed and the video uploaded to YouTube. YAY! ✨  ✨  ✨

~~ <> @ <> ~

I'm so proud of myself. I've struggled the last three months, October, November, and December, to get my journal chapters done  in a timely fashion,  but they are finally complete! For the WHOLE YEAR! Yay! 

My therapist wants me to continue with the Positivity Journal in 2020, so you will see a new post about it before long.  Click here for video. 
The words are still available over on my gratitude journal blog here. 

I've learned some new things along the way -- for one thing, new technology, like using an video editor app and video chat. That was fun! 😁 And I'm thinking of changing up the format of the journal a bit. I know there will be some more of my doodles, because I'm planning for that to go along with Marsha Baker's 365 Days Doodle Challenge. And I'm embarking on a new venture - sharing my doodled scripture sheets with my spiritual family. Thank you, Jesus! I'm praying that I can get a scanner up and working and figure out how to use that online cloud space. If Stephanie Ackerman can do it, so can I! 

Blessings to you all and a very HAPPY, POSITIVE NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!

Homeschool Arts and Crafts

I homeschooled our son on a shoestring budget. His 3 public school experiences was rife with tensions because he was different and an easy target for bullies. So we brought him home to school in his 5th grade year. We were able to join a local monthly support group and I got involved in being educated to teach our son and other children, while our son had his social needs met by joining other families in co-op classes, field trips, and play time after school work for the day was completed. 

Later on, I was asked to join several panel discussions during the educational portion of our support group meetings. One topic involved time management and organizational skills. Now, mind you, I was diagnosed with ADD by Dr. Grace Ketterman when our son was of elementary school age and ADD people aren't known for their organization, but I was highly motivated to learn all I could about organizing myself, so I read everything I could lay my hands on at the time. 

One of my suggestions on my hand-out from the panel discussion was what I called a Bits, Bobs and Pieces Basket. It involved a rectangular laundry basket at my house then, but now almost all of my paper bits have ended up in transparent zip sandwich bags stuffed down into a metal 3 tier Ikea utility cart. I kept small containers of all sorts in the basket such pill bottles, cardboard tubes, construction paper, crayons, fabric scraps, felt, glitter, glue, paint brushes of all sizes, art postcards, potting soil, popsicle sticks, seeds & beads of all kinds, stickers, wire, woodies, and yarn. Sure came in handy when our son had art or science projects he was assigned to do for his school classes. 

So anyway, I'm compiling some of my educational arts and crafts posts together like I've done for the Church Craft  article and my Best Tips one. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Arts and Crafts Curriculum

Art Museum Field Trip (8/12/14) =

My husband's nephew is really into reptiles and Greek and Roman history and while he was up in the city visiting his grandparents this summer, we invited him to a day of museum and nature center field trip tours. He had never visited an art museum before, so we took him to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and spent several hours there. They have built onto the museum and have much more to go through then the last time we visited with our son back in our homeschooling days. If you decide to visit, be sure to grab a map at the door, because you can easily get lost in there! If you have ever visited a hospital and gotten lost, you will surely understand what I mean! *smile*

I was hoping to be inspired by all the great artwork because I had been invited to a shoebox card party. In the end, I made "happy mail" business-sized envelopes as sample/door prizes using one of Tim Holtz's techniques that he uses on his tags called "Wrinkle-free Distress." Sorry, I don't have a sample for you to see of the ones I made, since every one of them went home with new owners, but they were just like the tags using his second technique displayed in the video below. I also used similar stamps in black ink on the front and backs of the envelopes, then filled them with little goodies to use on cards. I believe everyone enjoyed theirs, 'cause I heard lots of oohs and ahs when they ripped them apart! *wink* It was almost like Christmas!

Tim Holtz's Wrinkle-free Distress Video

For your info, sometime ago, I posted a link list of Midwestern Art Museums. I haven't visited many of these, but thot I might throw it out there if you would be interested. I believe my hubby's nephew enjoyed himself and got lots of walking in. I poohed out after the art museum and the Mo. Conservation Discovery Center, so I sat in the car while they visited the Lakeside Nature Center. After all that walking, we were starving, so we went to a little Greek restaurant my hubby knows about and had some very good food. Afterwards he bought us a variety of heavenly baklava for dessert. All of it was so GOOD!

Button, Button (4/7/2010) = 

Recently, my hubbin and I visited a new Bass Pro shop and it was family day with lots of activities for children. I've made many of the crafts offered, but one caught my eye that I haven't done before and that's making buttons from deer antlers. 

Many years ago, before our son was born, we were members of a hunting and fishing club in the town we lived in at the time. They were big into historical reenactments too and I had a blast learning about the period items I could make like calico prairie dresses, shirts, and leather possible bags with beadwork. I felt my son for the first time when he kicked me in utero after several cannons went off at a rendevous. You know, boys and their toys! *smile*

This was a popular class - Christmas Cottage

Easy Peasy Tabs

Decorate a Journaling Jar

My First Signature Sewn Notebook

Paper Cutting Techniques

Sew placemats and other home décor for this Hospitality Unit Study

Paper Postcard Unit Study

Rainy Day Puzzle

Sewing patches to fabric from Scouting and Passport Programs

A Sunbonnet Card -- Laura Ingalls Wilder is a popular living history homeschool unit study.