Miniature Journal

 Do you keep a Miniature Journal?  A month or so ago, I found myself with ideas flooding in for a pumpkin fairy house.  So, I decided to break out a new notebook to write my ideas down in.  I even decorated the front of the journal and dedicate it solely to miniature ideas.  

While creating my pumpkin fairy house, I have found myself referring back to my ideas.  Last night I sat down with my pen and started checking off the ideas I had already created and it was so much fun!  I also needed a few more ideas for details inside the pumpkin and found some good ones that I could create!  

I feel I will be using this journal for future projects.  I have also printed a few pictures for other items to make for other projects.  I like to find inspiration pictures of life-sized items for ideas too.  

This is a drawing of the wood stove that I wound up creating.  

You can find the tutorial HERE

Do you keep a miniature journal?  Do you brainstorm and write down ideas?  It really is fun!

Thanks for your visiting today!

XOXO ~Laurie

music

I feel I've always had a love of music of all kinds.  I love everything from bluegrass, soul, gospel, 90's rap, hippie, folk, country, Sinatra ( who IS in a class by himself), Christmas music (which I have been listening to since June) and much more.  I pulled up folk on Pandora this week.  I found a new crush of genre.  My new favorite song, among others, is this.

I just want it to be a summer day.   Hot... barely swinging in my hammock in the Oasis listening to this.


I also found 98.5 FM on my radio.  A listener supported radio so no commercials.  LOVE that.  I hear anything from folk to bluegrass to The Band.  It eases my soul in traffic and sitting still.  I wrote this this week...

  I want to be comfortable in my own shell
  I want to be the skirted, long-haired gardener
  Comfortable, make my brew and drink it
  Live it always, give in to who I am - not go along
  Do what I want, breathe deeply
  Take it all in - my surroundings, my creations, may garden, my world
  Accept the calm and welcome it - settle down
  and be content, breathe the air
  Learn to listen to the wind, speak my language
  taste my sin, listen to the birds
  Allow for time to sit down
  let the stillness calm me
  to enjoy laid back music w/ no angst

It's a journal entry of mine.  It's not finished.  I will continue to add to it as I feel it.  It is written in pencil.  I love a good pencil entry in my journal.  It feels different somehow.  It's permanent, yet not.

8 etsy finds

what an amazing morning.  clear headed, light snow falling, dirty hair.  ive been hunting around on etsy this morning.  not really for anything in particular.  but oh the stuff you can find that makes you wish you had a five hundred dollar bill handy to get whatever. 

i did buy the black rose seeds.  and if you don't know why... you should if you know me at all.

the libra journal is precious.  i have bought other journals from her in the past.  love them!

the moon ring.  oh if only precious stones weren't so pricey.

if i could crochet i would buy this pattern and begin immediately.

sticks, stones, feathers, bones... these are 4 of my favorite things.  just look around my home.

fantastic leather sandals.  beautiful but too flat for me.  i still want them.

amethyst soap.  would look so lovely on my bathtub shelf with all the other crystals.

i once had a ring with a band like that.  i lost it at the beach.  never got over it.

i've missed you my darlings

neighbors

An exert from my journal dated 5/14/15.

Yesterday I spied two small groundhogs running in the back yard towards the house trailer next door to the day care.  I've known for a year or two that an adult groundhog lives underneath the empty house.  Today, as I finished my reading during naptime while working on my farmer's tan outside, I noticed a stumpy looking figure behind the air conditioning unit next door and knew it was the little scruff.  I got my binoculars out and watched him for a few minutes.  I felt just by observing him that he knew more about me that I did him.  He knows when we are all outside yet inside the playground fence and maybe that I am the adult and the kids are kids.  I wonder if they can tell the difference.  Maybe they have a name for me.  "Oh... no bother... it's just her."  I spy one now in the front yard.  He grabs something from the grass to eat and stands on his bottom to get a better look around as he chews looking for what I don't know.  Even though their home is below an abandoned trailer it is where they were born, as I came to work each day merely feet away... they were babies there.  They know the smells, where the back door is or an escape route to their place and where to get the nearest bite to eat. 

I've seen other animals go underneath the same home where the metal skirting is pulled away on this end.  Several cats, I've noticed, and one time a skunk.  Is the opening a portal to their underground get away system?  The reality is surely a damp dirt world with the smell of cat pee and who knows what else.  But what looks like a run down mobile home to us actually has residents that love it just how it is. 

He is now on the trailer hitch and is braving the daylight.  He hangs out there a few minutes before almost gleefully jumping off into the grass when he feels it's safe.  He rested his head atop the trailer hitch and through the binoculars I watched him rub the side of his face on it like a cat.  He's back on the hitch after his snack and watching me like a hawk.  I think his twitching nose is curious about my garlic pretzel chips.  I wonder how keen his eyesight is.  And now there is two.  These chips must smell good!  While I am watching these two (and they are watching me) I back up my vision and spy another groundhog behind the house.  How big is their family?  Is Grandma cooking supper in the underground kitchen and Grandpa reading "The Under Ground Hog News?" 

Directly, he's had enough and trots back under the house.  The second one I call she.  She seems to be
just as interested in me as I am her.  Maybe she was babysitting or watching the other one.  Maybe she's thinking "what the hell is the chick in the hat looking at?"  Maybe she's looking to see if I leave my bags of pretzels.  Maybe I will. 

I haven't had my computer here for two weeks.  The eye gets keener and curious when it stops to look around.  Truthfully I haven't missed it much. 

journal pages

I still carry my inspiration journal.  Truth: I attended a health food seminar last winter in which I needed a piece of paper for the hostess to add up my beef purchase.  I peeled a sliver of paper from my journal and after the gal said "don't forget your inspiration journal" with a funny look on her face as if teasing me.  Maybe if I let that thought go I could say Inspiration Journal without thinking about it.  Anyway... I've been inspired by a few new-to-me blogs the last couple of days, made a collage for my journal and thought I would share.

The passage: MysticMamma

The pics: originally from other sources but found on BohemianHomes

Originally inspired by: frommoontomoon

I am dreaming of hanging plants in my bathroom above the claw foot tub when it's time to bring them back inside for the cold winter months.  I expect tension from Shaun about poking holes in the ceiling.  My answer will be... build me a greenhouse.

The passage and pictures will be cut out and glued into my inspiration journal.  You may browse the blogs mentioned to get the whole stories and larger pictures.  

I was overly touchy and slightly grope-y over the weekend after reading this article.

Find more about my journalling here and here.

I am craving a new book to read... got any suggestions?

Eating Journal

Ever tried to figure out what foods or drinks are triggering an allergic reaction?  I have spent the past several years of my life trying to figure the cause of my skin condition.  This year I decided to look to the inside for clues.  I have seen a nutritionist GP that got me started and have read and read and even had some food allergy testing done of which I showed allergies to so many things.  It is hard to change my way of eating and take out certain elements that I have been used to my whole life.

When I was in my twenties I kept getting mouths sores inside my mouth like ulcers.  They hurt and bothered me whenever I ate anything.  I decided I needed to cut some things out to figure out what was causing them.  I changed my toothpaste, stopped drinking coffee and orange juice, cut out berries and all sorts of things.  I decided to cut out all soft drinks completely and to my surprise my sores went away.  I gradually added the other things back over a few weeks and didn't get another sore.  One day I drank a Coke... nothing.  I started feeling silly until another day I had a Pepsi to drink.  Within just a few minutes I could feel a tingling in my mouth and knew that a sore was coming on.  I haven't drank a Pepsi since and luckily haven't had a mouth ulcer since either.  Something in the chemical make up of that soft drink triggered the allergic reaction.

So why not my skin?  Something is bound to be causing my breakouts.  And I know they say that psoriasis is an auto immune disorder and people who suffer from it know it will never go away.  But!  Since my diet changes and herbal detox from my doctor, I do feel better.  My skin isn't as aggravated and mean feeling as it has been and patches on my arms and torso have gone away, just leaving white "scars".  My main problem is patience and sticking with my diet changes.  I assume it is like any diet you go on.  But my cravings are still there for junk food.  Junk food meaning simply things that are or contain items that I have "cut out" and showed allergies to.

I made myself a little journal the other day, tailored to my needs, thinking that if I made myself write down it might be easier to stick to.  Also, I have an area where I log how my skin looked and felt that day and how I felt that day.  This part stemmed from making a casserole Sunday night that included beef and lots of dairy and my skin feeling like it was on fire the next day.  I'm just a few days in and already I feel better and a little proud of myself for taking action and forcing discipline on myself which isn't easy to do.  I am the first one to say "awe... that delicious casserole isn't going to hurt you that bad!" but it did.

It's a work in progress.  My skin problems didn't come up over night therefore will not go away over night!

Seriously... if you like the way my journal looks and thought to yourself "now that's what I need"... message me and we will create one for you.  It's simple really and I was able to print four days on one sheet of paper and simply fold and string them together with a piece of card stock as the cover.  Mine has enough room for 28 days.

I modeled my journal pages after the one I found HERE.

If you really want to read more about my skin you may do so HERE , and a little bit on my diet changes HERE.

recipes i want to try

I have been craving some really odd foods lately.  Not odd to everyone, just to my normal or "used to" diet.

1.  This Pizza Bread by Tidymom.net looks fantastic!   Although I would probably leave the chicken out for me.  I am in need of a baking stone.  I broke my stone from Pampered Chef some years ago and am wanting a new one with all the bread baking lately.

2.  The Ultimate Leaning Bellini from Macaroni Grill is one of my favorites.  I have to try this recipe especially since I have my new Vitamix in my hands!

3.  I had my first falafel burger at the Pharmacy in Nashville not long ago and have been looking at recipes to make my own ever since.  This recipe for falafel from Gourmandelle looks easy and very good!

4.  This winter has been a long and cold one it seems and soup has been on the menu in our house quite a bit.  This lentil soup from The First Mess seems very rich and divine tasting that I cannot wait to make it soon.  And it will be soon because Spring is on it's way... yay!

Hey you guys... I also found a daily food journal that is pretty cool that I am going to try myself and thought I would share it with you as well.  I like that I can log what I eat, glasses of recommended daily water and exercise which I badly need to begin again.  

I found the food journal at ThirtyHandmadeDays and just love it.

BTW, Happy Birthday to my sister Marty!!!

journal pages

I generally keep a journal.  Although I don't write in it every day, I do enjoy looking back at things I wrote, pictures I printed and pasted, recipes, feelings, etc.  It helps sometimes to get those sort of things out and my journal is the perfect place.  Last year I called it my "Inspiration Journal."  I made it a point to print out pictures and cut out beautiful images that served as a moment of inspiration.  That way if there was a craft I found or something about the garden, I would have it with me when ever.  When I borrow images from the internet (telling on myself here)  I simply copy and paste them into a program on my pc and when I get a page full I print it off, cut the pictures out and glue stick them into my journal.  I have loved this process.  I even print out some of the collages that I make for this blog.  They are so pretty and I love making them and sharing them with you.  I thought it might be fun to share a page from my journal once in a while with you.  So here is my first.  I will have a list of the items after the images so you can be directed to the interesting things and where I found them online.  Thanks for playing!

This cubby hole cabinet is on sale and would be handy in my craft room!

While checking on how much a subscription would be to bon appetit magazine, I ran across this article.  I used to get this mag.  Although I never remembered ordering it, I got lots of tips and recipes from it and miss it terribly.

I think the eyelike reusable stickers would be a lot of fun around the dc.  Especially the garden ones!

If I was a mom and had friends who were willing... this sounds so much fun!  This post recommended The Goldfinch.

Pretty neat and free 2014 Stargazing printable.

I completely got stuck on this blog last week.  Having a glimpse into a beautiful life so different from my own always inspires me.

My doctor has recommended I change my diet considerably.  I have to cut meats down from 3 a day to 3 per week and so on.  This website I feel will serve as a big help.  They have tons of recipes.

This documentary, Blood Brothers, on Independent Lense that aired Monday night on NPT channel 8, opened my heart and made me feel selfish about my own physical issues seeing what these kids deal with every day.  What a heart Rocky has.

WANTED Camper Journal

So... we just got our camper a few weeks ago.  I have been mentally ready to hit the road for much longer than that!  Although we have been camping tons of times, I feel like a new journey is beginning since we got our 1987 Scotty.  It will truly be our "home away from home".  So I want to start a journal of our travels in our Scotty from the get go.  I have browsed through journals for sale and scrapbooks online and simply cannot make up my mind on what the most durable, sensible, long-lasting selection will be for us.  I still have not rock solid decided which of these to choose but have at least narrowed it down to these four. 

I love the handmade one from etsy that come personalized with our names.  It has 80 pages, is 5 x 8 1/4 inches and is handmade.  $18.00

The biggest one comes in at 7 x 9 inches, has 144 pages and is a durable leather.  I really like the way it folds over to close.  From paper source. $18.95

I like the Red Robin eco-journal from ecojot.  It is 6 x 9 inches and has 150 pages.  I like the round binder edge which would allow me to insert as many pictures and findings as I want.  $17.00

Lastly... I can always use a 100 page, composition notebook, that I already have, and decorate it myself.  I do run more of a risk of the pages yellowing with time as some of my journals have.  But, it's cheaper and will have my own personalized touch.  $.50  bought during school supply time.

I think it will be oh-so-neat to document when and where we went, what we did, notes about the campground, funny things that happened and even who went on the journey with us.  Maybe even a good recipe I used, a picture or two, trail maps and good times.  What fun!

Let The Inspiration Begin

I have created a new journal to lug around!  In addition to my normal journal, that lacks about six pages of being full, I have made myself a different kind of journal.  The kind of stuff I will be saving shows up in my journal already, but there's a lot of talk in between.  So I have dedicated this journal for pictures and ideas for decorating, lifestyle and crafty things.  So whenever I see pictures in magazines I can cut them out or when I come across inspiration on blogs and pictures on the internet, I can print them for my use.

I have a little area on my PC here where I keep these items now.  And I know a lot of people "pin" things, of which I am not into.  I just can't get the hang of it.  This journal and way of keeping inspiration that I want to go back and look at any time where I can put my hands on it and look back.

As I said before, I already keep tidbits in my regular journal, but this idea came from the blog herlibraryadventures.  I get really inspired by her vignettes and pictures and also their sister blog.

I made my journal with, of course, ModPodge.  A product of which I am dedicated to.  I covered the outside of a composition notebook with floral pictures from the Burpee seed catalogue.  Then I started glue stickin pictures and making notes.  Also leaving room on certain pages for future inspiration on the same subject.  It is going to be a lot of fun.

Little Journals

You are never too young or old to begin a journal, in my book anyway.  Whether it is something you write in everyday, an art journal with drawings or a style journal (which I am desperate to begin for myself) a journal is a great way of tracking... well... yourself.  In this case, we are at the day care.  I had the thought a couple of days ago that instead of throwing away old colorings or storing them in a box, wouldn't it be neater to let them begin a journal?  That way when the notebook is good and full of whatever we want to put in it we can see how far they've come with their drawings, colorings and even writing.

I am super excited about this idea.  These books will eventually go home with the kids so that their families can see how far they've come.  And the notebooks are cheap.  I actually bought these around back-to-school time for seventeen cents a piece. 

This morning, we broke out pictures, stickers and glue sticks and decorated the outside cover of the kid's journals.  I made sure to pick a color that each of them would like.  They do have their favorites.  For story time today we read a library book called "All Kinds of Families" by Mary Ann Hoberman.  We talked about what a family is and named people in each of our families.  Then we broke out our journals and filled up the first page with pictures of people in our families.  They did great. 

I am looking forward to filling up these books with the kids and seeing how far they've come by the end of the book. 

Garden Planning

I love spending Winter thoughts planning a Summer garden.  Dreaming about it's outcome.  Not knowing what the following Summer may hold for us.  This past year was very dry and we had to water yet our yield of some was higher than the year before. 

Sometimes I plant things that I don't use.  Things that go to waste and make me feel like I shouldn't have planted so much.  Or sometimes the weeds take over and I loose interest in what I once thought I would enjoy, mainly because I can't find it.  Even though we both do our fair share of hoeing and weeding.  It still gets away from us at some point and time.

Another snafu that I harbor is seeing seedlings come up from the previous year's seed drops and not having the ability to pluck them.  Therefore areas of our garden grow wild.  Especially through my herb and flower section.  It is a beautiful sight and wild and unruly is definitely a part of me and my garden will probably always grow this way... but.

This year, my list of plants to grow from seed, includes my intentions.  While making my list of vegetables and herbs, I noted where they are needed.  Mostly what our freezer is low on already and will need to be replenished.  I have not listed a few of our garden staples like green beans and corn.

 This is from my journal.  2013 Garden Plans.

 

This is from the next page and what I would like to make for my eggplant plants which are experimental in our garden this year so why not experiment with keeping them under control?

I got this idea/picture from the etsy sight that I ordered the seeds from, myvictorygarden. 

 

Over the last several years, I have become a journal person.  I keep notes on books, quotes I like, gardening, recipes and jot things down just to get them off my chest.  I have looked back on my journals on many occasions just for memory's sake!  If you aren't a journal keeping person, consider it.  It is a valuable possession to have.

 

What are your current garden plans?

A Good Place To Take Note

Or maybe a good time to start taking note. Last year Shaun and I had our first garden together and I wound up with the desire to learn how to home can our produce. I canned tomatoes, salsa and lime pickles that Shaun loves. I never expected that he would have opened our last jar of pickles this year in May! As many as I felt I made and canned last year it looked like to me they would have lasted us the rest of our lives! Which led me to wonder just how many jars I made. I really have no clue.



This year I have started a home canning journal to keep log of what I have canned and how many jars I have made. So next year I will know long they have lasted us and know how many cucumber plants to grow next year. This year from the 3 plants that we have I am on my sixth batch and each batch uses 7 pounds of cucumbers. That doesn't include the cukes that we have given away to friends or eaten.



In conclusion, journals are great for keeping record of more than just daily stuff. Love it!