Good morning everybody! I started out early this morning doing some housekeeping here on the blog & website, and then had to stop for a bit to do some housekeeping here at home! Now that the washer and dryer are contentedly humming away and things look a bit more presentable (including myself!), I thought I could pop back in and post.

Subject of the day… Art Journaling!

Oodles of years ago, the subject of journaling and recording life events kept coming up in my life. I heard about artists that had kept journals of their sketches, thoughts, and inspirations. I read about nature journaling, and found some wonderful examples of people long ago that kept beautiful nature journals. I kept finding these great “around the year” types of books that chronicalled each month of the year with seasonal activities, poems, artwork, and such. We began doing a newsletter at the store with the same idea, filled with seasonal celebrations, recipes, and decorating ideas from our customers. And then, at a homeschooling conference, we sat in on a workshop about art journaling by Barry Stebbing of How Great Thou Art. I was hooked! That particular conference always falls on Mother’s Day weekend, and my hubby and girls saw how excited I was about getting into art journaling and making it part of our homeschool curriculum, so my Mother’s Day present that year was Mr. Stebbing’s book on art journaling, a brand new sketchbook and pen, and matching sketchbooks for the girls! We were inspired ready to go, and made a valiant effort at filling those sketchbooks. (The girls were faster than dear old Mom… I’m still working on mine! Poor thing, it’s been drug all over the place, and is really beginning to show some wear and tear!)

Somewhere along the way, I got the bright idea to combine what we were doing in the store’s newsletter with the idea of art and nature journaling to make a booklet for homeschoolers that would encourage them to journal themselves by giving practical “journal starter” ideas based on a monthly theme. There were grand plans for it, and we recruited help from friends near and far to send in sample drawings. And then, as many things in life often do, the booklet set aside, filed away, and forgotten. BUT… an old friend reminded me of it not too long ago, and this week I went searching for it and found it!

So… the plan (read that as “hope” … if the Lord is willing, and if I don’t forget or get sidetracked or overwhelmed with life) to pull out those monthly pages, post them on the blog to inspire others, and slowly work on beefing it up a bit. This year, the original prototype will be here free for anyone who would like to print it out (I’m going to try to figure out how to make it a printable file!?). IF I can keep up with it, and if there’s interest, we may compile it into an e-book for sale at the end of the year.

And… most importantly, your input is greatly appreciated! If you have any budding artists of any age at your home, and would like to e-mail me with artwork that goes along with any of the monthly pages, please send them! I’d love to include them in the finished product! Also, if you have any additional ideas for journaling subjects, we’d love the help! (Please send a statement along with the artwork or submission giving permission to publish the artwork on the website and to use it in the e-book, as well as contact information for your family. ) Any family that participates will recieve a free copy of the completed year of artwork, provided we encounter no unseen disaster!

Feeling artsy?

P.S. Just to be on the safe side… please keep any submissions “rated G,” and  appropriate for conservative homeschooling families with small children! Of course everyone that visits here would never think of sending anything of a questionable nature, but due to a few bad internet experiences, we thought we should add that disclaimer! Thanks for understanding!