Journals ~ With an Ending, Also Comes a New Start

My last entry completed my road trip to my beloved Telluride summer-before-last, and it also finished out the final pages in that journal. Sort of a sad, but exciting time to this journaler. Especially because this next journal is one I actually made myself. Yep, I've been taking on bookmaking - - with none-but-the-best bookmaker, Denise Kester!! I'd been all too long drooling at the amazing books Denise makes and finally took the leap of joining one of her all-to-rare classes. To date I've made three books and this next journal was my very first.

In planning the book, I decided to challenge my ole'

journaling habits. Before even going to take the class I talked with my wise instructor. I wanted some pages to be watercolor (140 lb.), both hot and cold press alternating with some of Denise's standard writing papers and other, long-in-my-flat-file-drawer papers. With all that together ... I headed to the two day class.

First day is deliciously messy, gooey and magnificently freeing!! We make Paste Papers for the cover and inner signatures. Slather on paint
and through a plethora of techniques, remove, create pattern, layer! Yep, that's it in a nut shell. Then, overnight these all dry.

Second day, is the actual bookmaking. You select the dried Paste Papers you want to use for where and what, trim, shape and get into position for the bookmaking. WHAT a process - boggled my lil'
mind! But here you can see in brief, my putting together the book, from scratch!

You start with the backbone of the book, begin covering with beautiful materials (that you made the day before), and lastly stitch in your book signatures with your paper in them, tenderly into place. WELLAH!! Here's my book, who came to be known as my "HeartBook". From it's imaginings, it began to take on personality and even the beads I choose were meaningful. Once

I began working in it, friends gave me different quotes, this one in particular spoke to me and became part of this books story.

So now that you've see "her" birthed ... you'll begin to see what her inner workings begin to reveal ... in the next post! I have to say, this book has stretched me, and witnessed me stretch in ways I could not have imagined ... stay tuned ...

Holidays Close Out 2012

These last two pages of my 2012 journal happen to tie the year up with both Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays often are turbulent for my mind and heart ... my mind thinks I need be disappointed that I don't have that Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving Dinner and that I don't have oodles of family around for Christmas. But my heart knows those things are mostly an illusion painted by movies, television and marketing firms. I try to spread my spirit of "Christmas" and "caring" through out the year, rather than save it up for one month. I feel it's more realistic and certainly what my lifestyle accommodates more comfortably.

But we still have the celebratory Turkey Dinner ... often it's just Roland and Cody and I. This year friends couldn't make it so it was a quite feast of gratitude and acceptance. My aim was to remember how fortunate we are compared to so many families (especially those who'd just experience the Hurricane Sandy). So my journal page is a slice (oh my, pun not intended) of our delicious dinner, prepared mostly by my honey (who loves to cook) while I assisted in things like chopping etc. T'was a peaceful, yummy time.

Now Christmas was also a mental parade. I tried to stay on board with with a surprisingly energetic program Roland invented for seeing several Christmas Parades in the area. Our Jacksonville Parade was sweet, although sporadically spaced. I heard others inquiring if the parade was over several times. But the music was joyful and being out in the chattery crowd stirred "visions of sugar plums dancin' in my head". And that's a good thing. Here, I did my best to replicate one of the bands.

When it's the end of my journal I've taken to choosing a quote and sometimes an image to close out the collection. I try to sum up what I most feel or need at that time in my life ... for this ending ... "The light, always follow the light" was fitting for me. Happy New 2013 is on it's way.