Journal Bliss

I bought Journal Bliss by Violette on journaling a few years ago and love how she shows creative ways to fill your journal- doodles, collage, image transfer, backgrounds, etc. Very inspiring and creative!

There are also some excerpts from the book on the Creativity Portal website,which has a lot of ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

In a Google search, I also found images from the book if you want to see how it's illustrated. Maybe you will be inspired to start your own journal (if you're not already).

Stormy Letters

Earlier this week we had an eerily lit yellow sky that turned pink and then black. No rain came but there was a lot of humidity and also tornado touchdowns in northern Minnesota. What better way to spend the night than catching up on personal letters? Exactly!

Besides writing letters I also found some new websites that discuss letter writing, pen pals and mail art. Check these out if you're so inclined. You don't have to wait for a stormy night when you're tucked safely inside, but you could!

Vieux Fleur
Prone to Wander
Mommy Coddle
I Love Letters
All This is Mine
All Five Horizons
Good Mail Day

Fun Mail

This fun little packet came in the mail earlier this week after I signed up at the Good Mail Day post 'Call for Scribblers, Mail Artists and Pen Friends'. I've been busy working on my return card and envelope to Christine from Edmond, WA, but haven't finished it yet. I don't have quite have the knack for mail art, but I do like trying new things and being creative and I have a TON of paper- old books and magazines, notebooks of various sizes and colors, maps, calendars, scraps, stationery, scrapbooking paper, recycled paper, advertisements, fliers, graph paper, used stamps, stickers and more.

Visit the Good Mail Day blog and read through the comments to see if there is someone you would like to send something to. Or leave your address with a list of what kind of what kinds of mail speaks to you. Make it a Good Mail Day!

Signed Miniature Sketch Cards $10 (Helping Animals in the Gulf)

"A small sketch-- a small donation-- each small act helps. Together we can cause a ripple in the oil soaked waters of the Gulf."

This is the introduction on Ripple where you will find an assortment of colorful illustrations to choose from for your $10 donation to one of two organizations as listed on their site.

The illustration in this blog is by Christina Rodriguez, an award-winning childrens' book illustrator who also happened to create the compellingly inviting cover for Letters & Journals.

Almost all of the artwork is original one of a kind and signed, so you need to find one you like that isn't sold. Kelly is posting more as they come in, so check back to the Ripple site for updates.

The Fantatstical Postcard from Jennie

This fantastical B&W postcard came in the mail this week from the talented Jennie Hinchliff, co-author of Good Mail Day. Possibly you're familiar with Jennie's blog, Everyday Should Be a Red Letter Day,  or maybe you saw the fabulous article she wrote for the Letters & Journals website.

Jennie's article, Stationery Secrets of the City by the Bay, featured three of her favorite paper stores in San Francisco. I can hardly wait to visit them! Here they are:
Paper Tree
US Stamp Co
Patrick and Company

Prize Basket Filled with Stationery Goodies

The June prize basket at Letters & Journals will have its random drawing on July 1, 2010. The winning entry will be drawn from the list of people who have signed up for LetterNews, the e-newsletter for Letters & Journals.

The list of goodies can be found here. For photos of each prize, please go to Flickr.

Letters & Journals will have a new drawing each month. Here are some of this month's contributors:

Crane
Private Reserve
Sakura of America
Art & SoulWorks
Flying Wish Paper
Xonex Pens

Keeping a Monthly Journal

I'm not always good about writing in a daily journal, but I have found a way to keep track of the highlights of the month. I find a photo that I like in a magazine, on the web or just one of my own and I insert it into a word document, add some blank lines and a month/year and PRESTO!

I've been doing this since 2006. I start with a new folder each year for the current months, but when the year is over I add them to a folder that contains all of the previous years.

The monthly highlights journal doesn't have a lot of detail. Some of the entries might read:

• David's Graduation
• Fenced our yard
• Olivia Grace was born 
• Start planning for Australia 

As we get older and the years and events blend together, I have found that this is a useful and creative way to track the highlights of our month/year.