LI'L JOURNAL PROJECT

October 18, 2012
Li'l Journal Project Week 6
(October 15-19, 2012)

Day 26- What Inspires You? Where does your inspiration come from? 

That's two good questions but first, that LIST thing again and how to do it in art form? I decided that a zentangle would work for me. At first it was just going to be a border around the page and then I spotted a stencil and started adding circles and well, it went on from there. 

Day 27-Word Association #4: ZOO, ELECTION, NEW YORK, POSTMAN, MERRY GO ROUND. 

Zoo: My grandmother lived across the river from the zoo and on very still nights we could hear the lions roar! My granny didn't drive so we would take a bus to get over to the zoo.  I remember riding the train around the zoo and looking at the animals and having ice cream with my granny. She loved the monkeys on Monkey Island and we would spend a good deal of time watching them. 
Election: Ok, to be honest I wanted to skip this word association because I'm not too political. But I will say that this is the first time I am voting by mail. Saving time by not standing in line, I get the opportunity to really read the amendments and Google the candidates for local office. 
New York: I've never been to NYC! So everything I know about NYC is from watching TV. I have been to Cooperstown, NY to the Baseball Hall of Fame. 
Postman/Mailman: My dog (Collie) Rex hated the Postman! He could hear him coming up the driveway and he would start barking and growling. Rex was a very docile dog until the Postman stepped up to the mail slot in the front door, if Rex could have gone through the mail slot....but Rex was a good boy compared to my Great Aunt's dog Frieda (doberman)! Frieda REALLY HATED the postman! In fact one day she jumped through a plate glass window to get him!! Poor Postman! 
Merry Go Round: Spinning around and around, holding on for dear life! 

Day 28- Childhood BFF-List your childhood best friends, details about each one and anything you can 
remember about them.

I had a few childhood BF's leading up to MBFF. We met in the summer between 7th and 8th grade and we are still really good friends after 45 years.  My mother once told me that I would have many acquaintances in life, a few close friends and only one or two very best friends. She was right!  

Day 29-A Quote Collage: Pick a favorite quote and make a paper background to put the quote on. 

 I chose this quote "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.  Mark Twain. I really like this page, it came together so easily with the paper collage of maps, nautical papers and a few stamps. My favorite stamp is the typewriter and the words: Write your own story. That's what I'm talking about! 

Hope you've enjoyed the stories behind the prompts on these journal pages. 
Until next week,
Go MAKE Art! 
Suzy

October 12, 2012
Li'l Journal Project Week 5
(October 8-12, 2012)
Warning: LONG POST


Day 21-Word Association: Bees, Motel, Fortune Teller, Pier, Factory. Bees:
Day 21 Word Association
I remember sitting at our 50's Formica top table eating biscuits and honey. The jar of honey had a honeycomb inside and I was totally fascinated by the pattern of the comb and the color of the honey. Motel: 1960 a trip across the U.S. from Florida to California with my Mama, Granny and brother. Stopping at a motel with big flashing lights.
Fortune Teller: I don't really relate anything to this one. Not a believer in FT or seeing into the future. 
Pier: We lived near the ocean and the Pier was a big part of my youth. Lots of memories! Driving on the beach, surfers, fishing, landmark, Coppertone, Beach music. Factory: Maxwell House Coffee factory is located in Jacksonville, Florida. My Granny only drank Maxwell House Coffee until I turned her on to Folgers! LOL! The slogan was "good to the last drop". 

Day 22-Mapping Teen Room Floor Layout:
Day 22-Mapping Teen Room
 This was a fun prompt for me recalling my teenage room and its furnishings. I was an avid rock concert goer and collected posters of rock groups and nailed them to the wall in my room. Thought my mom would have a heart attack when she saw them on the wall! She just suggested I used tape and not nails to hang them up. LOL! 

Day 23-Word Association: Roller coaster, Fort, Bully, Challenger, Flagpole.
Day 23- Word Association #2

Roller coaster: We rode a wooden roller coaster on the boardwalk in Jacksonville Beach in little red cars with a safety bar that came down over your lap. It was a blast! The best time to ride the roller coaster was at night, I felt like I could reach out and touch the stars! Fort: My brother was the master fort builder! He would use anything he could to make a fort. The best were the tree forts, he was a master carpenter even back then! Bully: I had a few of those in my time from neighborhood bullies to school bullies. Not good! My brother always took up for me, I could count on him to be my champion. Challenger: Still brings me to tears to think about that event. We live so close to the Space Center and have been there to watch launches. Flagpole: Fond memories of meeting at the flagpole in Junior High (7-9th grade). 

Day 24-Word Association 3: Bonfire, Eggs, Putt Putt, Lazy Boy, IHOP.
Day 24-Word Association #3

 Bonfire: Leaves burning. I think more of campfires and camping with my family and friends. Eggs: When we lived on the farm in NC we had chickens. Gathering eggs was a daily chore, the hens didn't like to be disturbed on their nests. I didn't like eggs then, especially fried eggs...eeewwh. Putt Putt: My fondest memory was playing Putt Putt with my children and my father in law. It was so much fun! After the game, we had ice cream and laughed all the way home. Lazy Boy: This prompt made me laugh. Just the name lazy boy is pretty funny to me. My Grandfather came to mind immediately and I could see him propped back in his chair! IHOP: Pancakes and yummy flavored syrups, lots of coffee and tons of bacon. Yum.

Day 25-Family Tree Careers: Make a Family Tree of Careers and occupations. 
Day 25-Family Careers
At first I was a little stumped as to how to make this page come alive. I didn't want to make a list, but I did on the back of a piece of paper, starting with my Maternal Great Grandfather in late 1800's, Grandfather during the Great Depression, Parents in the 1950's, and worked my way to 1970's to present day;  later I took the list to my computer looking for graphics and clip art. I LOVE clip art! You can see the various jobs and interests of the generations. This was great fun to put together! 
Have a great day and go make some art!! 
Suzy

October 2, 2012
Li'l Journal Project Week 4
(September 22-27, 2012)

Day 16-Draw a Job Time Line.  I'll start by telling you this was not my favorite prompt but it did help me realize that I am not defined by job status or money. The jobs I love best (Wife, Mom & Mimi) don't pay anything in dividends, unless you count kisses as payment (I do)! I still have a little work to do on this page, it stuck to the previous page and there's a hole in the middle of my time line. Oh Well. How many hats do you wear? 
Day 16-Job Timeline

Day 17-Magazine Subscriptions. Instructed to go online to look at magazine subscriptions and pick the ones we would subscribe to if money and time weren't an issue. Here's the link in case you want to try this exercise: 
www.magazines.com  This was so much fun for me because I LOVE magazines! There was a virtual feast of subjects to choose from; I picked 66 magazines and began making my list on my journal page. 
Day 17- Magazine Subscriptions
 While writing the magazine names down I realized that every magazine chosen was about travel, art and or related to home. It really was an "aha" moment for me to discover what these magazine choices said about me, "I have an adventurer's heart in a home-bound body with the soul of an artist".  What do your magazine choices say about you? 

Day 18-GPS Tracking/Mapping your daily route. Another eye opener.  Tracking my movements would show I spend a great deal of time at the computer, in the kitchen and in my studio on a daily basis.
 My trips from home (base)would include Church several times a week and babysitting the grands weekly. This mapping made me realize I need to get out more into the community!  
Day 18-GPS Mapping
Day 19-A Family Vacation or Trip. 

Down on The Farm is about going to my Great Aunt Alma's house out in the country with my Granny. Aunt Alma was Granny's sister, one of many. She lived on a farm in Georgia, she lived alone. Aunt Alma had chickens in the yard, veggies growing in the garden, clothes on the line in the backyard. She wore her grey hair in a bun on the back of her head, she dressed each day in a cotton "house dress" with an apron around her waist. She could crochet like no body's business,she made my little doll a crocheted bikini (it was the 60's)! Each day I would go outside and walk down the long driveway to the mail box and check out the blackberries along the roadside to see if they were ready to pick. Aunt Alma made blackberry pies!! 
One day Auntie asks if we'd like fried chicken for dinner, "oh yes!" so she proceeded out the back door and started chasing the chickens around, putting them under a basket and then chasing them again! I thought that was great fun, until she grabbed one and wrung its neck. Let's just say, I freed the other chickens from the basket and didn't eat dinner that night. City girl comes to the country learns about life on the farm.  


Day 20-Social Network. Draw circles on the page that represent your social network.
It was an interesting prompt and exercise to see how everything is connected in our lives. I see God as the Creator and the Director of my life. 
I hope you've enjoyed this week's prompts and I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks. 
Bee Creative
Suzy

Li'l Journal Project Week 3
September 17-21, 2012

Day 11-Draw a map of your neighborhood.
Day 11-Neighborhood Map
I drew the neighborhood we moved to the summer I turned 12. It was a beautiful old neighborhood with lots of trees and big homes.  I met my best friend that summer, we're still friends after all these years. 

Day 12-Children's Books. 
Day 12- Children's Books
This was a nostalgic look back at the books we read as children. This exercise led me to my favorite poems written by A.A. Milne called Now We Are Six and Halfway Down The Stairs. These poems were part of a Children's Literature book my great aunt gave us as a Christmas gift. 
Day 13-Add papers and memorabilia to your pages



Ok, I misinterpreted this prompt and made a two page collage layout. Yes! Paper love. I've collected a large bin of paper tidbits, receipts, tickets, scraps, etc. and love any excuse to use them. It makes me smile. 


Day 14-Make a Family Tree.

 I got a little caught up in this prompt and made another two page layout. The Family Tree is stamped with the titles of family members and relationships. That lead to the opposite page that has more personal information hidden under  a taped on page on which I describe the names of my Great Grandmother, Grandmother, Mother and me.
 
Day 15-Draw with Non-Dominant Hand. My dominant hand is right so I drew with my left hand an arrangement of orchids. I used watercolor, pencil and  ink. 
Day 15-Non Dominant Hand 
I've really enjoyed the prompts and I can't wait to share Week 4 with you! Be sure to check back next week for more Li'l Journal Project pages inspired by Ashley Hackshaw over at Li'l Blue Boo. 
Happy Journaling! 
Suzy

Li'l Journal Project Week 2

September 11-14, 2012
Day 7- Cars in Your Life- cars you remember you and your family having throughout your life. 
Day 7-Cars in Your Life
 I concentrated on our family cars from my youth, since I didn't get a driver's license until I was 29 years old!  This was such a fun assignment because I called my brother (I'd not talked to him in awhile) to fill in some details and we had a great time talking about our childhood memories of these cars! 

Day 8 Prompt: Color Palette Exercise-
Day 8-Color Palette 
Make a color palette and come up with creative names for each color.  This was a fun exercise!  I often make color palettes in my journals but I have never given them names other than what they are called by the manufacturer, so this was fun. I'll admit I was a bit obsessive because I did two pages! One palette (left) is made with oil pastels and the other (right) from crayons (see I CAN follow directions!) and both were melted with my hot mini iron! Using the hot iron, makes the colors more intense and seals them on the page (that's important with oil pastels, otherwise they smear). My favorite names are Mojito, Swimming Pool Blue, Sea Breeze and Tidal Pool. 
Day 9 Prompt: Group Photo-remember the people, events, etc.
Day 9-Group Photo
I've had this picture on my refrigerator for a few years and decided it would be perfect for this project.  It is a group of my sisters in Christ, the event was when we traveled to a Women of Faith conference together. 

Day 10 Prompt: Jewelry or Trinket Treasures-special items sketch. 
Day 10-Treasured Trinkets

This was one of my favorite prompts this week to sketch the special pieces that have been given to me or that have special meaning to me.  I chose to sketch a lot of items from my Grandmother, my skate key, a jade heart, key chain and my daughter's charm bracelet. This assignment brought back lots of wonderful memories for me, being a sentimental person I was hard to chose from the collection of trinkets I have saved. 

Thanks for stopping by, please come back again! 
Bee Creative!
Suzy


Li'l Journal Project Launch Week
September 3-10, 2012

Following Ashley Hackshaw's Li'l Journal Project page Prompts on Day One: write with non-dominate hand the following. Sketch your writing instrument, date page. 
Day 1-Non Dominant Hand



Day 2: Draw a map of the first classroom you remember.  
Day 2-Classroom

This was a challenge for me because I remember bits and pieces of kindergarten but not so much detail of the classroom. I chose 4th grade because I distinctly remembered the wall I sat next because that is where the teacher displayed our art work! I can't remember the teacher's name but I remembered a lot of details of the playground and recess. I added a few stickers too just for fun. 

Day 3: Write a list of moments of Joy. (this might be paraphrased, Ashley, sorry.) 
Day 3-Joy List

I made a short list but I will continue to add to this as time goes on. At the bottom I added a quote  "Simplicity of life, even the barest, is not a misery, but the very foundation of refinement; a sanded floor and whitewashed walls and the green trees, and flowery meads, and living waters outside...." by William Morris. 

Day 4: People Watching 

Day 4-People Watching
I love to People watch and often my husband says to me "what are you looking at?" and I just shrug and say "people watching".  There are such interesting characters wherever you go, human behavior is what surprises me.  I guess that is why I do like to watch some reality TV shows, it is a form of people watching. The above page tells of an encounter at a local thrift store in the book aisle.


Day 5: Practice your handwriting. 

I printed out the page from Li'l Blue Boo prompt page and just taped the page in with a note to self to practice later...I kinda liked it just the way it was. I do think the washie tape looks good, don't you?



Day: 6 Draw your neighborhood from childhood. 

This was my favorite page prompt! Our Dad was in the military so we grew up in several neighborhoods, in several states, but this was the one I remember the most because it is where my baby sister was born, that was 50 years ago today! Happy Birthday little sister!! This was the neighborhood where I learned how to ride a two wheeler, I learned about people and friendships, I became a Brownie and learned the Brownie Pledge. We went bare foot, played outside and came in when it was dark. It was a great place to be a kid. 

This is so much fun! I hope you will come back to see more pages next week! Please stop by and say hello to Ashley at http://www.lilblueboo.com

Tell her Suzy sent you! 

Have a blessed day and Happy Journaling! 

5 comments:

janice smith said...

Love it that you're still having fun with the prompts. I am, too. It's really helping me stay on task with my journal. I can't wait to see what's in store for us next week!

Chattahoochee Valley Daily said...

Thx for stopping by and leaving a comment. Love your pages and I look forward to checking your work and others for continued inspiration.

Anne Payne said...

Oh.My. You are such a beautiful artist, my beloved sister! I love them all...but did you REALLY have to tell my age?! ;) My favorite car was Momma's red & white Camaro...vroom vroom!!!

Anne Payne said...

I don't really mind you telling my age :) And no, I didn't wreck the Camaro. She bought that when I started high school and it was the first car I officially drove after getting my driver's license! She let Jerry & I drive it on our honeymoon, too :)

♥ I miss my big sister hugs ♥

Anne Payne said...

Cool pages! ♥ Life on the Farm, and our old neighborhood :) I went to school in that elementary bldg! My bff was right across the street from our house. Cathy Blanton, remember?