Friday, November 19, 2010

Wednesday journal page . . . on Friday

Update: The journal page in this post is no longer available for download. For a selection of free, printable journal pages, please visit my Printable Journal Pages collection.

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Hi all!  I seem to have run out of week here and I have about three minutes to write this post, so I'm stopping in ever so quickly to drop off this week's journal page.

As usual, the photos are not what I'd hoped they'd be, but I love this section with random questions and odd shapes in which to answer them.  (Is it a bird with wings outstretched or maybe a corncob still in the husk or flower petals? Not sure.)  It reminds me of the week I've had . . . random, but kind of fun too!


There's also the usual spot for your to-dos.  I love to cheat on my lists every once in a while, so there's a spot there to check off something you've already done . . . because you work hard.  Why not pat yourself on the back for something that you've already accomplished this week!


The whole page looks a little like this . . . 


and you can find it here (the no border, no colour version) and here (the bordered, colour-it-yourself version) and here (the colourful, bordered version.)

Happy weekend friends!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

How do you journal?

About a week ago, the lovely Michelle Baylor sent me an email describing the way that she'll be using my journal pages in the coming months.  She has since given me her permission to share her note with you, so here it is:
Thank you so much for the journal pages you continue to share! 
A friend of mine recently moved far away, so for Christmas I have printed a set of the pages for her and a set for me.  I've put them in stamped, addressed envelopes labeled with dates througout the year.  As we finish the pages, we will mail them to each other so we can continue growing in our friendship even from far away.
Hopefully you are encouraged to know that your hard work is helping people to connect and invest in each other.
Again, thank you.
Michelle Baylor
Photo courtesy of Michelle Baylor

I am so thrilled and grateful for such wonderful feedback, and utterly inspired by Michelle's creativity.  Just as I am whenever you share tantalizing tidbits in the comments about the ways in which you incorporate my pages into your creative journals.  In fact, as this project progresses, it has become quite clear that you are breathing life into these pages in ways I haven't begun to consider.

So I ask you, how do you journal?  To whatever degree you're comfortable sharing, I'd love to know!  Perhaps together, we can make it a regular feature -- a creative resource of new ideas and inspiration.

If you'd like to share your journal tips, tricks and secrets -- even if they don't involve my pages -- send me an email at christie (at) graceisoverrated (dot) com and I'll post them here.

Happy Tuesday friends and stay tuned for a brand new journal page tomorrow!  . . . looking more like Thursday now . . .

Monday, November 15, 2010

Hand lettering by Alex Savakis

Remember that discussion we had the other day about leaping?  Well I took a little leap last week and I'd like to tell you about it.

Ever since I began creating my journal pages, I have wanted to include hand lettering along with my other hand drawn elements, but I have not been confident in my lettering skills.  That is something that I think is about to change and it's all thanks to an artist named Alex Savakis.

Last week, I visited Savakis's blog, Handlettering Cite, after reading about it at Oh So Beautiful Paper.  This is just a small sampling of the beautiful words I found there:



Not only does Savakis post his own stunning hand lettered pieces, but he links to other lettering artists, gives his readers a peek into the work and processes of those artists, and encourages readers to submit their own designs.

I left a comment on a particularly fitting quote by Van Gogh that he'd lettered -- "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it." -- and he invited me to submit a design.  Just like that.  And I thought, yeah, I'd really like to do that.  Except that I have zero hand lettering experience and probably an equal amount of skill in that regard.

I spent all of my spare time over the next two days -- two days -- drawing on my pen tablet; starting with cursive handwriting, discarding it, and ultimately deciding on a super simple (and much neater) variation of my own printing.  Then, not entirely sure that it was a good idea, I sent it off to Savakis with an email describing my beginner status and welcoming any and all words of advice.

You know when you hit that send button and then you think what, on earth, did I just do?  Well, he posted it.  But better than that, he sent me the most gracious email in reply with advice and some concrete starter tips and words of encouragement that made me feel like this was a good leap after all. 

Thank you, Alex Savakis.

To see more of Savakis's work, check out his website agsavakis.com.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Wednesday journal page

Update: The journal page in this post is no longer available for download. For a selection of free, printable journal pages, please visit my Printable Journal Pages collection.

~~~
I was so excited about today's page.  Scratch that.  I am excited about today's page, but I am also (and may forever be) stumped on how best to present my pages here.

Today the sun outside my window had that wonderful autumnal glow that is ideal for taking wistful photos of milkweed pods.  It turns out, however, that that very same glow turns the bright white paper on which I've printed my pages the colour of murky bilge water.  All of which is beyond discouraging after spending so many hours producing something I'm quite happy with and very eager to share.  So I just opened up the aperture, hoping that an abundance of glow would produce some sort of photographic magic and that you'd consider the resulting blur to be, you know, interesting or something.

Moving on.

This first section incorporates a doodle that's been hanging around in my "doodly possibilities" file for ages.  I wanted to write about dreams this week and finally, those little guys -- buds or seedlings or dreams in their infancy -- found a home.


And then there's this week's quote.  I love this quote by Cynthia Heimel.  It reads:  "When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.  There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth.  So what the hell, leap."

I don't know about you, but I don't own a home microscope, so I never really know whether I'm on the side of brilliant creativity or gigantic idiocy.  Yet, really, I think she's right.  Leap anyway!


And here, friends, is the best shot I could muster of the whole page.  I snipped around the border with a pair of round-tipped, yellow plastic scissors because the edges of the page just seemed too straight today. 


You'll find all the usual suspects here (no border, no colour, and anxiously awaiting both) and here (a border, but no colour) and here (bordered and coloured in digitally.)

How about you?  Do you leap?  And where are you on the path to realizing really big dreams?  Any and all tips, tricks and anecdotes will be greatly appreciated!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Photos from a mid-afternoon walk . . .

Met some lovely friends for a walk this afternoon.  Snapped a whole bunch of pics of children running from the camera and these when the sun peaked out from behind the clouds . . .

Friday, November 5, 2010

melancholy


waiting on some test results.  trying to adapt to the darker days and nights that fall brings.  spending precious free moments on new projects, then scrapping them.  avoiding capital letters.

but there's a sweetness to melancholy too, isn't there?  a quiet thoughtfulness that settles in, an opportunity for sober reflection.  an appreciation of small things.  then even a wisp of a smile feels so good.

what do you do with your melancholy?

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wednesday journal page

Update: The journal page in this post is no longer available for download. For a selection of free, printable journal pages, please visit my Printable Journal Pages collection.

~~~
Dropping by quickly today with a new journal page.

There are a whole bunch of new (and odd) decisions to be made in the lightning round . . .


and the usual spot for your to-do list . . .


The whole page looks a little like this . . .


and is available in all of the usual varieties here (border-free) and here (borderful and colour-free) and here (borderful and colourful.)

Happy Wednesday friends!