Here are some more ideas for your Bullet journal. I have a challenge coming up regarding journaling to begin in the new year, but thise should help too.
Favorite Music
Foods I Would Like to Try
My Budget
Family Birthday List
Baby Names
Wedding Planning
Kids’ Milestones
Wish Lists
Honey to Do
Business Goals
Meal Planning
Books to Read
Movies to Watch
Did you have a favorite? Leave a comment and let me know.
I know how hard it is to keep a journal but I also know how important it is to record things in your life. Perhaps a bullet journal will help you to keep those memories. Here is a list of 10 things you usually need to write down anyway. One way to do this is to take one of those composition notebooks you get the kids before school starts and use it to write things down.. date the top of the page and write those notes. You will get a double benefit by doing this:
You will have a record of important triggers for other memories. The recipe you record today might be prepared for Christmas at some point. When you look back and see the recipe it will trigger the warm Christmas memory
You clear all those notes off your desk, table and nightstand. Everything will be in one place. Yes, I know you have a phone to put things, but sometimes you just need to put a pencil to paper and empty your mind.
Grocery List
Things to Do
Weight Loss Tracker
Holiday Shopping List
Kid’s Activity Schedule
Recipes
My Exercise Plan
Weekly Schedule
Community Service Ideas
Dream Vacation Spots
Feel free to share your thoughts on this method of journaling or tell me about your holiday shopping list. Tomorrow I will give you a few more to add to your list.
As I was sitting in the doctor’s office the other day, they had Christmas music playing softly in the background. Good, old fashioned Christmas music I grew up with, not the new modern stuff. I started thinking about how kids today have no clue who Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Perry Como, or even Bing Crosby. Now this was Christmas Music! My grandfather was a big music buff, with a pair of reel to reel tape machines front and center in the family room. He could always be counted on for wonderful music to be played in the background of our holiday get-togethers. I will have to ask my kids, and grandkids what their favorite Christmas son is,. and who sings it. I wonder if I will even know who the vocalist is…
Wondering where I am going with this? Have you taken the time to scrapbook and journal about YOUR holiday memories as a child? If we don’t take the time while we still have the memory to record these special moments, will they be lost in the history of our family vacations and such? I have a challenge for you today. take 10 minutes to sit and write about your favorite Christmas memory as a child. What gives you that sense of peace in your heart? I know, it’s a week day, a school day, a day in your busy week where you don’t have the time to sit down and scrapbook the event. I get that. But take just 10 minutes for you (and later your family) to remember and feel the warmth. Then while you are having your morning break, write it down.
If you are not familiar with our paper packs, you get 12 sheets of paper ( two of each double sided sheet) which are the perfect thickness for your paper trimmer or your favorite cutting machine.
I have left the box sizes off because you can vary them according to what photos you have available and size needed.
Happy National One Hit Wonder Day!
I was given the challenge to write a post about my favorite one hit wonder. Before I share my favorite with you, I want to explain what exactly what constitutes a one hit wonder for those of you who have never heard of this, especially outside of the United States.
Taken from Wikipedia:
A one-hit wonder is a musical artist who is successful with one hit song, but without a comparable subsequent hit. The term may also be applied to an artist who is remembered for only one hit despite other successes. This list contains artists known primarily for one hit song in the United States, who are described as one-hit wonders by the media. To qualify, an artist had to have – or sing on – just one national Top 40 Hit.
I had a good idea that the song I chose for my wedding in 1979, “You Light up My Life” by Debby Boone would be on there (#2) since I couldn’t remember anything else the artist did, and a secondary song, “Loving You” by Minnie Riperton, from our marriage was on there too. The marriage didn’t last either (things that make you go hmm.) I did a google search and found a website that listed the top 100 one-hit wonders (link at the bottom of this article). As I read the songs my youth flashed before my mind. So many of these songs I knew and sang along with too.
Do you remember the Macarena? Yep #1, and if you are older, like me you might remember a song called “Short People” by Randy Newman which in today’s environment would be very politically incorrect! Have some fun checking out these and more at http://forgottenhits.com/top_100_one-hit_wonders.
I told you I would share my favorite one-hit wonder with you, it was #42 Harper Valley PTA by Jeannie C Riley. I guess it shows a dark side somewhere in my mind LOL.
Leave a comment below and tell me what YOUR favorite one-hit wonder is.
The NEW Close to my Heart Holiday Expressions 2018 is HERE!
While i
t may seem early, I love when the new Holiday Expressions comes out! Christmas is certainly my most favorite holiday to decorate and craft for and this catalog is no disappointment. We have five new paper packs with an additional “Seasons Mix In” with complimentary papers to round out all your paper packs. This is the first time I have seen a package like this and they have done a good job putting this paper pack together.
Introducing our new Mix-in papers designed to coordinate with every other paper collection in this idea book, giving you added flexibility and creative freedom in all your crafting projects. Available in a pack of six 12″ x 12″ patterned paper sheets and a custom cardstock pack. To see these beautiful papers just click here.
I especially like the grey fence paper in the bottom left, perfect for masculine birthday cards and the blue watercolor just above it. I see so many possibilities with these papers, I look forward to sharing them with you in the next several months. I think it is always important to see what else can be created just by thinking a bit outside the box. What I mean is, just because it is a Christmas Paper Pack, it doesn’t mean it can only be used for Christmas. As you can imagine, I have a LOT of patterned paper and I really want to use it.
As a result of having so much paper, I am bringing back Throwback Thursday. I will be creating with older paper packs and some older colors that are no longer available. I am happy to sell these colors if someone is looking for a specific color or falls in love with an older one. I am also going to use some older stamp sets. These will be for sale here on the website as well.
This Holiday Expressions Idea Book also brings us a new medium to Close to my Heart, texture paste. I used this any years ago at a Creating Keepsakes crop I attended with my daughter and it is lots of fun. I look forward to sharing those ideas with you soon.
There is also a new Cricut digital collection for Christmas!
If you would like your own copy of the Close to my Heart Holiday Expressions 2018 Catalog, drop me a note. I would be happy to send you one. One thing though ~ please include your phone number so I can give you a call a few days after you receive it to help you get your items ordered. Buying and sending catalogs can get costly, but I don’t mind if you are thinking there will be things you would like. This is also a great way to start your Christmas list. After Thanksgiving I will start making calls to people on your list you would like to give you Close to my Heart products. Don’t worry, they are usually very happy to hear from me as they are stumped on what you really want for Christmas or Hanukkah.
Don’t you just love this card! This Sea Glass color of the year is so popular and lends itself well to the winter feeling. In this card the Sea Glass cardstock in layered with Chocolate cardstock and 1/4″ spacing which really makes the image stand out. This stamp set is called Snow Shadows (A1194) and is from the Holiday Expressions Catalog. There are 5 stamps in the set, the trees, the boy, girl dog and dots used as snow here. I think the twine ribbon from the Rustic Home Ribbon Pack finishes the card off nicely. Leave a comment below and tell me what you think!
Whether you need a gift for your mom, your bestie or even your co-workers Close to my Heart has put together the perfect package because you know… it’s the little things that tug at your heart.
This month only, we are offering the Mini-Album Package and it is LESS THAN $20 bucks and you have options too! Whether you’re looking for a meaningful gift idea or a treasured keepsake, these mini albums are fast and easy . You can choose to fill it with pictures, or leave that to your recipient either way they are sure to be a winner. I told you that this offer came with choices so let me tell you about them!
Blue Jean Mini-Album Bundle comes with 
This would normally cost you $27.75, but since that is over that $20 limit you set for yourself, we have reduced the price to $18.95 through Dec 31, 2016.
Blush Mini Album Bundle
1– Instalife™ Blush album
1 – pack of #Life™ Hello Gorgeous cards (40 cards total)
1 – pack of #Life™ gold overlays(16 overlays total)
1 – pack of mini 4″ × 4″ Memory Protectors™ (10 protectors)
1 – pack of mini 2″ × 2″ Memory Protectors™ (10 protectors)
Adventure Mini Album Bundle (6″ × 8″ Memory Protectors™)
****This size is perfect to put all the kids school pictures for grandma****
And to top off this great deal, Close to my Heart has found the perfect place to get your perfectly sized photos. Come back tomorrow and read all about Persnickety Prints.
If I can share with you one tip above all others, invest in a good paper trimmer! I am talking about a full 12 x 12 minimum size. Not something that only trims papers, or a paper cutter, but a normal paper trimmer like Fiskers SureCut Paper Trimmer (Z1783). While it seems like a hefty price at 34.95, you can take a craft store coupon and get one for less. You will find this tool indispensable. Did you know you can also use it to score your cardstock?
There are two ways to accomplish this, purchase the scoring blade (Z1785) or remove the blade and place your cardstock in as you would if you were cutting, then using your bone folder or a dry embossing tip, gently run down the cut line. This is a great tip when you want to score the entire 12 x 12 piece of cardstock.
City Sidewalks can be a very versatile, Here is a card inspired by a snow globe. Using Cricut Design Space basic shapes to cut the snow globe (circle) and base (triangle). The remaining images are from City Sidewalks. To make the card more dimensional without getting too thick to mail, I used the thin 3D foam tape.
The City Sidewalks cartridge has lots of great Christmas images that mix tradition with whimsy. Over the next few days I’ll be sharing a few more projects using the City Sidewalks Paper Pack and Cricut Digital cartridge on my Facebook Page. Here’s a look at everything you get on this “virtual” cartridge:
Many of these images can really be used all year long,Also, keep in mind that this “cartridge” is only available through December 31 and you can buy yours here.
**Note that the City Sidewalks is a virtual cartridge and must be downloaded. This means it will only work machines that use Design Space (all variations of the Explore).
Have you wanted to learn to scrapbook but wished you could give it a try before buying a bunch of stuff? Beginning November 29th I will be offering a Basic Scrapbooking Class here at the Creatively Carol Craftroom. We will go over basic scrapbooking tools and techniques and everyone will make a scrapbook page. The craft room will seat 12 at a time, so call to reserve your spot today. I will be hosting the basic class once a month to accomodate anyone that would like to learn the art of scrapbooking. We will also talk about the different ways to scrapbook, including pocket scrapbooking ie: Picture my Life (similar to Project Life), mini-albums and more.
Good Afternoon,
So I am curious, how many of you did your work from the sketch and how many were waiting to see what I did with the sketch? As I explained earlier today, this was done from a scrapbooking challenge I was given to create a page using flowers. I was not contented to just put a flower on the page and call it good so I used the flowers to encircle my 
daughter’s senior class portrait. As you can see, I used the two extra flowers at the bottom right to give the photo a sense of grounding instead of floating on the page. I think it also draws your eye from the top left where I put the flower on the strip of paper and guides it to the bottom right where the two “anchor flowers” are located.
While I did this page many years ago I see now I broke a cardinal rule in scrapbooking. I know I say ” there are no rules in scrapbooking” but can you tell me what is missing in this layout?
If you guessed a title and journaling then you are absolutely right. This would be one of the pages that someone 100 years from now would say “this person looks familiar, but who is it”. This child is actually a great example of how two people can look so much alike – but I will save that for another day.
Having said that, I will have to go pack and add a title and journaling to the page. Am I worried that adding these important scrapbook elements will distroy the look of the page…not really. I will try to find this paricular layout and add those elements and share them with you on my Facebook Page. If you have not already liked my Creatively Carol Facebook page please do that while you are there.
Today will be a busy day here in our little piece of heaven, Veterans Day 
means many different things to my husband who served during the Vietnam War. Since he didn’t hear thank you’s when he came home (he still thinks about it 40+ years later) his heart swells with gratitude because he is often thanked now. I am so glad the soldiers of today are much more appreciated than back then.
For Gary, today is a day where he can eat free all day long if he wants. So many places offer veterans free meals today in appreciation for their service. I believe his plan this year is to go to Denny’s for breakfast, Sizzler for lunch and Red Robin for dinner! I feel stuffed just thinking about it. There will be aching feet after hours of lines by the end of the day, but then I think about how long soldiers are on their feet all of their military career. Whether it be boot camp marching in formations or raging into battle.
We have many that have served in our family tree going back many generations. I will post pictures on my facebook page today. I honor them today along with all the men and woman who have served this country and made us safe.
Thank you for your service. Any veteran or military wife active or veteran will receive a free gift when ordering on my website today. Thank you for your service.
I for one am very glad this election is over and we can go back to all the other intrusive commercials 🙂 I expect that we will now start seeing all the Christmas ads more frequently now.
This country was very divided in this election and whether you were a supporter of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or Gary Johnson it is important that you take time today to journal your feelings. This was a historic election in so many ways and your feelings are important and there will be someone in your family tree that will find your thoughts interesting.
I have a scrapbook that I keep of just my own likes, dislikes, thoughts and feelings. We, as scrapbookers tend to not make the scrapbooks very often because we are usually behind the camera so I think it is important that there is some documentation of my own life as well.
I am going to re-start the “Daily Journaling Question” on my twitter feed every morning. You may not be able to write about it right away, but put the question on the top of your page to write about later, or even a post-it note to write about when you are stuck and don’t know what to write about.
Do you have a scrapbook or journal about you? If you said yes what do you write about or if not, is this something you would be interested in starting? Leave a comment below and you might win a journal to begin your journey with!