I've been wanting to compile Shannon Green's En Masse journal for some time. She based it on another gal's paper scavenger hunt journal and suddenly it was a thing on YouTube. Linda's Mixed-Up Mess and I are each doing one. So, I've been working on compiling a list of my Favorite Things. Finally completed it tonight. (Click here)
Some gals on YouTube said they just couldn't get into it, and I told them that perhaps they didn't have the right list. Perhaps if they wrote down a list of their favorite things, perhaps they could "go for it" better. 💡😁
So, I'm preparing another composition notebook, adding washi tape to the edges in a rainbow fashion. My list begins with a rainbow of colors - first the three primary colors, then the 3 secondary colors, and black and brown. The composition notebook has 100 pages, so I divided up the pages for the eight colors and then found a Bible verse that mentioned each of the eight colors. For that page, I'm creating a coloring sheet to illustrate the verse. Perhaps I'll even color the page in.
Learn from a mistake I made today (3/9/2022) -- print off a sheet of your categories and glue it inside the front cover of the notebook before you begin, then be sure to write down what you are collecting for each page lightly in pencil. I goofed today and forgot a category. I had to add it at the end, because I have already begun gluing stuff into the book and I couldn't pull it up, because most of the glue had already set. Having worked as a volunteer page in a library, I like working in alphabetical order and have all my categories typed in alpha order. Or maybe I'm just OCD! 🤓
I've gotten all the washi tape added to the edges of the paper. The reason I add washi tape is to strengthen the edges as they get thumbed through a lot. I allowed 1 sheet of paper for each of the categories and guess what, I've got left over paper, so put on my thinking cap and decided to add "two" more gluebook ideas I've been batting around.
When our son was of preschool and kindergarten age, I was a volunteer page at our local small town library and community center. We got involved in almost all the activities that went on there which included a children's literary reading club. Our son asked me to teach him to read before he went to kindergarten, so to begin, I purchased a "school kit" consisting of a writing tablet, a No.2 pencil, glue, markers, a magnetic alphabet, clear contact paper, and several pieces of colored poster board which I cut down into 13 "place-mats." I knew in order for him to read, he needed to know his alphabet. He wasn't much into coloring books, but he loved stickers and rather than having stickers he was rewarded with at Sunday School all over our walls and frig, he had a safe place on the place-mats to put them. I wrote one letter from the alphabet on each side of the place-mats and when he received a sticker, he had to tell me what that item was and then find the appropriate place-mat to stick them down on. When the place-mat was filled with stickers, I covered that side with clear contact paper, so that he could use it under his plate or bowl. He was so proud of those place-mats. And he was ahead of his kindergarten classmates for I learned that the school system where we lived then, didn't teach the children to read until their first grade year.
So, to take that idea, I decided to create an alphabetical sticker-book in the 2nd part of my composition notebook, one letter per page. I have a bunch of stickers left over from other projects and then bought more at ScrapsKC.com, so if I get tired of the one En masse glue book or run out of stuff to glue in, I can have a sticker-book to work on too.
I counted pages and I have a few left, so my third idea was create an Americana glue-book. YouTuber Heather C. has an Americana junk journal that she is creating for a friend's July wedding, so...have to flesh out that idea a bit more, but on that patriotic theme.
My husband likes the idea I fleshed out for the Americana part of the book. We have a postcard show coming here to this area in June and he found 2 postcards, one from two states, at our local Crackerbarrel Restaurants, so I shall be collecting postcards and stickers from each of the USA states and US territories until I run out of notebook pages. I've already begun adding red, white, and blue washi-tape to the edges and scrapbook paper to the pages as background. I also compiled a little checklist to add to the pocket in the back of my en masse book. I compiled it, not in alphabetical order, but as they came into the union. It's called Country Pride!
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I need to finish my "Doodling Through the Bible in Black and White" Journal. (playlist here.) I ended with Amos and the next "chapter" of coloring sheets runs through 10 more books of the Bible. I have the first two coloring sheets done. Just need to get on the stick and finish.
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I've been really enjoying creating my Dolly art journal pages, so think I'm going to continue making those. I bought an old planner that was on clearance somewhere and I'm going to use it for my zetti-doll art journaled pages. (Flickr album) I've been collecting a whole stack of Dolly dresses from throw away can labels and small boxes, arms and legs from woman's clothing catalogs and I keep playing with a Photo Booth App to create funny faces for Dolly. I also have been collecting sayings and quotes from books and the internet that would be appropriate to go with Dolly's dresses. Finished uploading my last one in my positivity journal Saturday evening. I get tickled every time I see the one above and my husband enjoyed it as well -- telling everyone at our last family get-together that I was going to use it on an art-journal page. They all rolled their eyes. Of course, with the Rush men, you've got to be a little bossy, or you'll never get anything done around the house, cause they have their own agenda which doesn't include the four letter word home W-O-R-K. You know, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! 😁
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I also thought about doodling an alphabet book based on Bible verses, similar to the "R" coloring sheet that's in part 3 of the "Doodling Through the Bible in Black & White" playlist. (see above for link to playlist). I don't know if and when I will get that done, perhaps after the other Bible Doodle Journal is completed.
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Well, this is a good start for 2022. When you want to know when I upload my next video, be sure to subscribe and click on the notification bell "all" on my YouTube channel and YouTube's notification bell system will let you know when I've uploaded a new video for your watching pleasure. Be seeing ya!
