Little Winter Joy - Day in the life...

To say that I am enjoying this little project so much is a huge understatement.  Every prompt has been thought provoking and challenging.  Every prompt has made me stop and look around and be so thankful for this amazing life that I have.

Week 4's prompt "a day in the life" did just that.  It made me stop, think and be thankful.  I have done a Week/day in the life many times but this is the first time that I really thought about each moment of the day as it passed.

To be completely honest I was not really into the prompt when I first saw it, mainly because of the time that I was going to need to document it.  I needed a way to get into the prompt, in a way that would work for me and one that I would enjoy doing.  I decided that I would simplify the documenting, really simplify it.  Recording the reality of our day, just as it unfolded.  The only way I felt I could do this was to "doodle" it, a technique that I learnt from Brandi and her Big Picture Classes "Doodled" (which I thoroughly recommend by the way).

With only my pen, roller stamp by Ali Edwards, stamp pad, pretty paper from Felicity Jane and free printables from the #littlewinterjoy class I recorded our day and it went a little like this...

I could not be more happy with how this turned out.  It really does show exactly what our day was like and I absolutely love it.

Love me :-)

#littlewinterjoy - Get into your story

At first I thought this prompt was going to be hard. Although I love journaling, sometimes time and perfection don't let me tell the whole story.

Last night I sat down to check out the classroom and to try and get some motivation to tackle this next prompt.  This is probably my favourite lesson yet.  The prompt details from Marie and the video's from Julie were so inspirational it really got me thinking and writing.  We all have stories, good, bad, happy and sad and if you are anything like me, you always tell yourself you are going to write that story down but it just never seems to happen.  Time is usually my first reason and then it's, as soon as I print that photo and so the excuses go on.

What I liked about this prompt was that it was all about the words, the story, just getting it down and not worrying too much about the photos, embellishments etc.  I also like the photo tips for this prompt, it made you tell the story first then worry about the photo later.

I had several stories from this weekend but no photos.  But after reading the class content I realised that I don't need a photo or that I can use another photo to tell the same story.  My first story was about my sons basketball game and his new shoes.  I didn't get a photo of the game or the shoes but I did have a photo of the shoes from several days before, which my son took just after getting them.  

The second story is about my difficulty is trying to choose a new case for my iphone and how my son helped me to choose which colour.  This story in particular, I know is a story that I would never have told if it wasn't for this prompt.  It's one of those little stories that I would have forgotton the details to and the story would have been lost.

I also realised that I could add some doodling.  Both of the stories that I have written so far were very text heavy and it was nice to break it up with a simple hand drawn picture.  I actually love that these doodles have the same effect as if I had photos.

I loved Julie's idea about creating a lift out page so much that I decided to copy it.  It also has allowed me to add an extra page into my notebook giving me more room to tell more stories.

I am loving this project so much and if you would still like to join it's not too late.

All the details can be found here at Little Paper Projects.

Love me :-)

#littlewinterjoy - be a tourist

I thought I would share my pages from my #littlewinterjoy travelers notebook for prompt two "being a tourist in your own home town".  

Last week my friend and I decided to create our own walking tour of Northbridge (right near the CBD) to find some street art and try out some new cafes.  It was such a great idea and the whole day was just wonderful.  

I have included my journaling below:

Today my friend Donna and I set out to try some new cafes and to find and check out some street art.  It was a beautiful Winter’s day, the sun was shining and there was no rain in sight.  We parked at the Art Gallery, then headed straight to “Lot Twenty” for coffee.  Wow! loved it. Loved everything about it.  We probably spent more time taking photos than drinking coffee but there was just so much to photograph.

We then started our own walking tour of Northbridge to seek and find some street art.  We were not disappointed.  We found lots.  Yes, we even ventured down alleys and dodgy lanes.  It was so interesting looking at the art pieces, all different and all unique.

Next stop was “Livingstone’s” for lunch.  There menu looked so nice and I struggled at first with what to order.  Alex’s friend Lilly was working there and  she suggested the “Raging Bull” – [slow cooked red wine braised beef short rib, balsamic caramelized onions and homemade cauliflower cheese in a toasted bagel] sounds amazing right, so that’s what we ordered.  And OMG words cannot describe how amazing this actually was.

After our yummy lunch we set out to find more street art, took heaps more photos then finished off our tour with total yum gelato from “Chi Cho Gelato”.

What a great day.  We did all this, and we only walked about one kilometre.  It’s amazing what you can find when you actually look around.

I decided to add a fold out page because I had so many photos but I didn't want to use up a lot of pages (my notebook has 32 pages not 64).  I also hand drew a basic map of where we walked, then stitched the route that we took.

on the back of the fold out page containing the map I added information about the two cafes that we tried.  I also added a business card from one of the cafes. I love to photograph food but I also love to photograph funky looking cafes and both of these cafes were so cool.  I could have taken photos all day.

We enjoyed this day so much that we are planning to do another one but in a different area.  I have already found an area with tons of cafes, a vintage shop, funky boutiques and some street art.  

Can't wait

love me :-)

Selamat datang - Welcome to Bali

In a few days our family is headed off to Bali for a long awaited holiday.  I have been obsessed by all the travellers notebooks out there and it seems like such a great way to document a family holiday.  It's been many years since I did a "scrapbook on the go"  so was not sure if it would work for this holiday or not.  I have so many holidays that are "yet to be" scrapped, but the reality is that I will probably never get around to it as it's just too overwhelming and there's always that "time" thing.

I love the look and feel of a travelers notebook.  It seems like such an authentic way to document an adventure or holiday.  A few weeks back I did an online class with Kerry Bradford called "Weekend workshops - Getaway" and that is what finally helped me decide to do a travelers notebook for Bali.

This class was so so good and although it's a class using the Silhouette software you do not need a cameo if you are prepared to cut things out by hand.  All off the printables you see below were all printed and cut by hand without using any silhouette software at all.  And this is only a sampling of the digital/pdf  files that are included in the class.

The photo below is pretty much all that I am taking away with me to help document our holiday.  I have put tape adhesive on the back of everything so all I have to do is peel off the back and then stick it in my notebook.  Even the three paper bags that are holding my printables have tape added to the back so that I can add them to my notebook if I want to hold things in pockets etc.

My notebook cover was made by editing a vintage map of Bali (instructions included in the class) then printed on kraft cardstock.  The vintage postcard (made using silhouette software but cut out by hand) is one of my favourite things that I learnt how to make in the class.  My notebook has aprox 44 single pages and at the moment is being held together by an rubber band.  I am a little unsure as to how I want to bind my notebook but leaving it together with the band means that I can move pages around or add pages while I am away.  It stays together really well with the band so I may just leave it that way.

I also printed a coloured map of bali onto white cardstock to create a page in the notebook (when you look at it from this angle you can see the right hand side of the map.  When you get to the back of the notebook you see the left hand side of the map), hope that made sense.  I then cut a piece of vellum the same size as a double page and slipped it through the rubber band on top of the map.  I stamped this wonderful quote that I found thanks to Elise.

So all that's left to do is grab some adhesive, scissors, a few stamps and an inkpad an I am ready to document.  Can't wait.

Love me :-)

Hello #littlewinterjoy

I am so excited to be apart of this wonderful project again this year and I am so excited to be documenting my favourite season, Winter, in a travelers notebook.  This is my first time using a travelers notebook so I am looking forward to the challenge and looking forward to documenting our story in a different way.

I am using a notebook from Felicity Jane which I love, love, love.  #littlesummerjoy, or in my case #littlewinterjoy is a class my Little Paper Projects and you can get all the details here.  This class has been design with a 64 page travelers notebook in mind, however my notebook has 32 pages so I either need to add more pages or condense how I am gong to document.  There is a guideline for how to set up your notebook here and while I am following this guideline I am also going to be changing it a bit, taking some things out and adding some things in.

For this project to be successful for me, I need to keep it simple and not make it too complicated.  The beauty of this project is that it will suit which ever way you feel is the right way for you.  I love projects that can be adapted and changed depending on each individual person.

Inside the front cover of my notebook I have added a pocket where I will keep my "to do" list and any other bits and pieces that I want to keep on hand.  I have added a 3x8 page protector where I have added a bit of a blurb about this project and why I am joining in.  On the back I have left this blank at the moment.  I will probably add a quote or something later but at the moment I am happy to leave it blank.

As I said earlier, I am excited to get into this project and I can't wait to see what you all do and how you document your summer or winter.

Happy Summer/Winter
love me :-)

LittleWinterJoy To Do list...

One of the things that I have added to my #littlewinterjoy #travelersnotebook is this "to do" list of sorts.  Although I have made a manifesto (which I will be sharing soon) I wanted to have a place where I can make notes and list ideas of things that I want to try, do or see etc.  This compliments my manifesto if you like.

For example, one of the things on my manifesto is to "drink hot chocolate" ( I am a serious coffee drinker so I thought I would try something different).  I saw a post recently on Instagram of a cafe that is serving special hot chocolate's that I thought would be great to try.  So I don't forget, I have added it to this "to do" list under the "try" heading.  

I think it will be fun to have a place to jot things down as the season goes by.  

I used the new "slim jim" clear alpha stamp set from Kellie Stamps which you can pre-order here.  I then hand drew lines to make little boxes to create little sections for each heading.  I have made a pocket at the front of my travelers notebook where I will keep this list and any other fun things that I want to try over the winter season.

Can't wait for this class start!  Remember if you sign up before 30 June you can save $5 dollars using the code save5.  Link in side bar.

I will be back on the 1st July to share what I have done so far in my #littlewinterjoy #travelersnotebook.

Love me :-)

Little Summer Joy...

Little Summer Joy - So excited to be a part of this wonderful project again.

Little Summer Joy is a course about capturing the best parts of this season.  With tools, tips and techniques you can use to bring the essence of summer to life.  Little Summer Joy will explore different techniques, photo ideas, and how we can invite Joy into our lives.

This paid course is a compliment to the free #littlesummerJOY blog series that will run from 1 July to 15 August 2016.  The course includes video lessons, prompts, example albums and specific techniques you can use to create a gorgeous memory keeping album of your summer.

The course will also dig deeper into joy with complimentary further reading and discussion topics.  It is a passionate, open exploration of joy and summer and what you can bring to your life, and your album in summer.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I live in Australia and right now we are in Winter not Summer.  So I will be doing this project from a Winter perspective.  I love winter, in fact its my most favourite of all the seasons.

This is also my first time using a travelers notebook so I excited to see where this new creative venture will lead me.

If you sign up before the 30 June 2016 you can save $5 off the course price by using the code save5 - follow the link in the side bar.

Have a great week and keep cool/warm!
love me :-)