A New Year...a new adventure!!!

I pray for all of you a wonderful and blessed 2013!!!

May you grow in grace and beauty.

May you lavish your love on all those God has given you.

May your relationships be beautiful and sweet and fill you with healing and peace.

This crafting world that we are a part of is so supportive with such a positive attitude on their blogs.

I follow quite a few of my favorite designers, and there are so many more that I am not even aware of,

but it's so good to see everyone sharing their knowledge, their creativity, their spin on things...

Most share freely, spelling out everything they have done so those of us who want to learn more can do so.... Even to having some free wonderful classes (or at a small cost).

I am so EXCITED!!! I saw a class that was being given "Creative Jumpstart 2013 Summit" by N*Studio

and it started on Jan. 1.  It was free but you had to sign up (I don't know if you can still sign up or not).

Anyway, there are many designers who are participating and it's so exciting to have an email class every morning when I get up.  This morning it was HEIDI SWAPP!!! My absolute favorite from the time I started in scrapbooking (back in 2005) and she is just so creative...you just can't help but want to get up and go MAKE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL!!!

So now I want to tell you about a very new adventure for me.

I started a Life/Prayer Journal.

I know, I know, the whole crafting world out there is into life journals...

And after reading about all these themes of "make sure you get yourself into pictures",

"journal about your dreams, your wishes, your life", it finally started to sink in that that's a world

of scrapbooking that I had never really thought about.

I think I even felt self-conscious of even wanting to scrap about me.

But the more I read about it, the more I wanted to do it!!!

Then it hit me, I wanted to document my life as I really am and want to be...

       a Christ follower...a daughter of the King...a lover of the LORD of my life.

I actually got my first page while I was visiting my daughter last September. 

I hadn't brought any materials with me, but I was bored while she was studying and decided it was the time to start.

We went shopping at a Michael's (in Virginia Beach)...got some great buys, beautiful paper and enough stuff to work on my first page.

What fun!!! 

I was happy!!!

Now, the one I am showing today is not my first page but it is so appropriate for the theme of the new year...I called it "I See Beautiful"  sounds weird, doesn't it? But the phrase comes from a music album by Tammy Trent, done a few years ago. She did a concert at our church and she called it "I See Beautiful". And that just never left my head. I loved it!!!

So, I see beautiful too...beautiful Scripture,

      beautiful people,

      beautiful things...

I added some of my favorite Scripture on the page (in my own handwriting, of course...gotta do that to be journaling about me, right?) and made the page beautiful (at least in my eyes)...and that's what counts, right????

Here's my layout: 

Here's a closer look so you can read the heading easier:

The paper is from a pack I bought that I just love. It's called "Lost & Found" by My Mind's Eye.

    The big beautiful pink flower is from a magazine. I saw that flower and  instantly knew that I needed to do a page on beautiful things that I see. The colors are just so striking. And I am a person who is totally passionate about color. It's what I see.  It always has to do with the color.

     Then I wanted to set off the title and I used my Cricut for the word.

      I cut some flourishes with the Cricut and also used other flourishes, flowers, the butterfly and other embellishments from my stash on hand.

I am entering this on these challenges:
http://zeusandzoe.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-challenge-your-word-for-2013.html ... My word for
         2013 is I see Beautiful.  It is what I will live by and make it a practice to see the world through
         God's eyes
http://berry71bleu.blogspot.com/ It's all about me.
http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/ Trust in the Lord...My focus is to see my world through God's
          eyes.

Ok...one last bit about this journal.

Working on these pages somehow is different than working on my other projects.

I think it might have something to do with emotions. 

These pages are about my feelings. My passions. What is important to me.

I leave a hunk of me on the page.

Not that I didn't invest myself into the other projects. I did. 

I never stopped making cards and albums of trips, gatherings, etc. and I enjoyed doing them very much.

The memories were great and it was fun.

But this journal is more than that...

If you have not started one yet...try it, you'll like it!!!

Many blessings,

e