We Have Winners

Thank you to all who participated in the Journal page contest. Thanks to all who thought about it and either chickened out or timed out. Next time, promise?

Our winners are......

Paula aka Sweet P from Coffee Time Quilt Studio sent a wonderful color page from one of her journals. Plus, she sent in a page from her quilt planning journal. I think the two pages illustrate the two wonderful parts of her creative brain. The color page enchants me!


Paula says....Here are two photos from two of my journals. The first one is from a stitched book I made in a book making class four years ago. The book is made from Japanese paper. I did this one by letting watercolor paint drip from the brush onto the paper. I haven’t looked at it in a long time. I had forgotten how pretty this page is. I may have to frame it.

The other photo is a page from my quilt planning journal. You can see how I make notes when I first start planning a project. If there is math involved you would be able to see my calculations done by pencil.

This is a great contest. I can’t wait to see what others send you. You’ve inspired me to start picking up my Prismacolor pencils and drawing journal and start doodling.

Donna NM sent in a page of poetry and drawings from one of her journals. I love words and images combined on a page, don't you?

Donna says....Why do I like this page in my journal?
Well, I liked this poem enough to write it down....because I loved the simplicity of it; in that it reminds me to treasure the most simple, yet most beautiful and cherished, of what the Lord has blessed us with.......nature.

Truly, some of the most precious times with Him, the times when I have felt most grateful, most awe inspired, and most blessed, have been when I was outside in nature.
Not necessarily someplace magnificent....but even simply in my own backyard, tending my own little garden, early in the morning, when no one else is around.
Those moments are the moments when I "feel" Him, deeply & gratefully.
Moments only my heart can understand, moments when there are no words that I am skilled enough to use that would be able to accurately express the majesty of His creation and/or the peace and contentment it can offer me when I take the time to simply “see” it, “appreciate” it, and be “aware” of it.

I also like this page in my journal because of my little drawings. I have always loved art/drawing and have always longed to draw with mastery and skill. Unfortunately I have never had any “real” skill, talent or training in that area. But that doesn’t stop me from making feeble attempts and amusing myself with doodling here and there. ( I am grateful and bl essed now to see my children so inspired to draw. So, I encourage it muchly, and ooooo, and awe and melt over their precious artwork.) I admire, appreciate and cherish artwork, and can smile and feel satisfied when making my own little attempts at it.

And, lastly, I like this page in my journal because of the simple quote at the bottom, that says, “I am a Sparrow, a stay at home bird”. I have felt that way most of my life.
While others have been out galivanting, exploring, and/or adventuring, I have usually been a stay at home person. I do love to travel, but have not had many opportunities to do so. And, it seems I have always had a lingering sense of lonliness in my soul….which I also felt was expressed in that little quote. Thanks, Deb!

Have some fun in your journal today. Even a doodled on grocery list can be a creative moment and in a few years, a piece of everyday history.

Thanks for playing the game, everyone! Paula and Donna will be getting a prize package including a new journal, a set of my photo notecards, and a few extra goodies I've gathered.

Contest!

Let's have some fun!

I gotta enough zing out of the comments on the Notebooks post that I've devised a fun little contest for us. Influenced, no doubt, by watching the Olympics...going for the gold and all that. You have some terrific journals cooking in your lives and I want to see the best of the best.

Send me a photo of your favorite journal page and a quick paragraph telling me why that page is meaningful to you. My trusty staff (me, the cat and maybe some of my human companions) will pick a winner and a runner-up. You know, in case the first journal page is unable to fulfill her duties. The winner will get a new journal, a set of my notecards, and.....whatever else strikes my fancy (chocolate?) between now and the deadline. Putting together a winner's basket will be fun! Naturally, we won't leave the runner up without a prize package, either.

Artists, you have it easy, if you keep a sketchbook. Writers, pick a particular page that expresses something about your work. Photographers, those photos can be artfully arranged on a page, don't you think? Quilters, gardeners, I've seen some awesome pages in notebooks. Whether you keep a notebook of nature studies, a garden journal, or a list of every book you read, I want to see the page that lights you up inside.

Send a clear photo and paragraph in the body of an email (no attachments without prior approval) to: deb s muse AT 1scom DOT net. You know how to squish and translate that, right? Put journal contest in the subject line.

Nothing R or X rated, please, I'll blush. Like anyone reading Creative Soul would, but ya never know who is reading.

The deadline is August 27th. Meaning, of course, that you have time to create something new. Or dig around in the attic to pull something out of a notebook from fifteen years ago. I can't wait to see what your fertile minds produce.

Ready, set......

GO!

Notebooks

My notebook is full.

Imagine my surprise when I turned the page to take notes yesterday and found there were no more pages in the book. I completely lost the train of thought from my phone call for a moment.

How can this notebook be full already?

To be creative, one must have a system in place for capturing great ideas, silly suggestions, and random weirdness. For me, a notebook fills the bill nicely. Plus, it is nice to have a place to doodle during a tedious meeting. The notebook I just finished is filled with odd bits of poetry, incoherent ramblings while listening to a read at my writer's group, and plans, plans, plans. I think well on paper. Any project of mine gets serious when I start jotting down notes. The windy flurry of a storm of the brain captured in ink on paper.

My friend Chuck has a voice recorder he carries in his pocket. It means he hardly has to break the stride of a conversation to whip out the small instrument and speak a quick note into it. It is a good idea, that one. And one I may consider in the near future. Excellent for reminders and business meetings, quick ideas. For now, I love the tactile pleasure of pencil or ink on paper.

My notebook is full, but I have a new one with fresh, clean, purple pages waiting on the bookshelf. It is large enough to write on comfortably, but small enough to tuck into my purse.

I wonder what fun I'll have within the leaves of this notebook.

Where do you record your brainstorms, creative thoughts, or mundane ramblings?

Ideas

Pressed down, shaken together, overflowing. This Bible verse expresses well the abundant ideas flowing today. More than I can keep up with….exciting. Character thoughts, an idea for a writing seminar, thoughts on making the porch prettier, blogging ideas….

Time to capture them in my notebook or here on the computer. If these ideas are captured, they can often be tamed. It takes persistence, good care, kindness, firmness and love to win their hearts, but the process is so worth it. Once tamed, an idea becomes your friend, a guide, an inspiration.

What ideas are running wild through your mind and heart? Corral them in your notebook for future consideration. Give them time to settle, grow, and mature, then explode them into your life. At the very least, tag them so you can follow and observe them in their natural habitat. Observe, remember, compare…you never know when one idea will bounce into another to create something totally different.

I love new ideas. They are like bright blooming flowers in my heart, full of potential, magic, and charm.

Which ones shall I work on first?