But here I am!

I mentioned in a previous post an article in Somerset Studio by Kate Crane, featuring her beautiful calendar journals, and how inspired I felt to make my own.

That was in December, when I was too busy with holiday preparation to start anything. I started working on it on New Year’s Eve; it was very slow going and I was afraid it would be February before my January page was done!

But I finally finished it…and here it is.

I’m very happy with how it turned out. I wanted the colors and feel to be wintry, but not just white. I wanted a little color. The photos don’t quite do it justice.

The background is several layers of paint and rubber stamping. The squares are 1.5 by 1.5 inches, and are scrapbook paper, dry-brushed with gesso and edged with gold or silver ink. I used German scrap along the edges and corners; it was originally gold but I painted, stamped, and inked over it.

As I was working on my journal, I made notes as to what I wanted to write in it for each day. After a couple days I started to worry a bit about how much I really had to write about. Let’s see, I woke up, exercised, went to work, came home, made dinner, did some laundry…exciting stuff!

Then one night as I left work I caught a glimpse of the full moon – it was huge and orange and looked so cool. And it occurred to me that I could write that in my calendar journal. The journaling doesn’t necessarily have to record what I did that day; it could be a thought, an observation or impression, song lyrics, or whatever I feel like writing.

I was relieved, because otherwise I might have a lot of blank squares in my journal!

And I’ve started the February page. Hopefully it will be done before February starts!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoDawne

Here were my favorite occasions:

1. Celebrating my 40th birthday with my family at one of my favorite restaurants, Fountainside.
2. My niece Gwen’s 5th birthday party.
3. Our anniversary dinner at Augusto’s – delicious!
4. My son Julian’s 20th birthday dinner at another favorite restaurant, Maggio’s.
5. Camping at Black Moshannon with my dad’s and stepmother’s families.
6. My daughter Lily’s 5th birthday party at Bounce U.
7. Lily’s graduation from pre-school.
8. My cousin Carla’s wedding (to husband Curt).
9. Going to Dutch Wonderland with our brother-in-law Ed and niece Gwen.
10. Staying at my dad and stepmom’s cabin in Dushore, and checking out the Dushore Days festivities.
11. Attending the Bezel Boot Camp class, taught by Kim St Jean, at Bead Fest.
12. Our mini vacation in Ocean City MD.
13. Lily starting kindergarten.
14. Thanksgiving – one of my favorite holidays.
15. Seeing Tori at the Academy of Music.
16. Winning the Cornerstone award at work.
17. My brother-in-law Darren’s cd release party, and the dinner that I treated Marc to at Chifa beforehand, to celebrate his birthday.
18. Christmas – my favorite holiday.
19. Celebrating my nephew Owen’s first birthday.

And so here we are. It would seem that 2011 was pretty good then. And 2012? I am still working on putting together my goals, but I expect great things to happen, for all of my family and myself. I can’t wait to see what the days hold!

Wishing you a very happy New Year!

xoDawne

Is it old-fashioned that I still write everything down? From birthdays and anniversarys to my weekly goals to the chores I need to get done on the weekend…it all goes into my calendar book, handwritten in purple ink.

I don’t care if it’s old-fashioned. I simply love the act of putting pen to paper and forming letters. Plus I have a thing for notebooks. And pens.

I suppose it would be easier to use technology to keep my life organized. For one thing I wouldn’t have to write down all the birthdays and anniversarys every year. Then again, I might not remember them otherwise.

I also love writing lists, and scratching items off of my to-do list. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.

I love my new calendar book. It’s so pretty. I can’t wait to see what the pages become filled with. Probably nothing very exciting. But there’s always the possibility….

xoDawne

-Jeanette, Isabella

Merry Christmas!

xoDawne

Here is my list of necessary holiday viewing:

1. Elf – this movie has, quite deservedly, become a classic. It’s wonderful, and Will Farrell is perfect as Buddy the Elf.

2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – I love Clark’s never-ending quest to give his family the perfect traditional, old-fashioned, Christmas. The mix of silliness and sweetness is perfect.

3. It’s a Wonderful Life – this is what I watch on Christmas Eve, after everyone has gone home from our annual Christmas Eve get-together. I do find it to be a bit long and tedious. But the ending is totally worth it, and Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed are so great together.

4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – only the original will do, from when I was little. The story of a reindeer and an elf who simply want to be accepted for themselves. Pure classic.

5. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town – ditto.

6. Peanuts Christmas – what’s a holiday without Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and the rest of the gang?

7. A Christmas Story – simply the best. It just is not Christmas without this movie. It’s such a lovely, heartwarming story, and it’s set in the 40s so I love all the vintage stuff. And the ending…it doesn’t get any better.

Christmastime is here.

No matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year, I hope it’s a joyous one.

xoDawne

So I’ve been making bows from old magazines. I have probably well over 100 magazines – almost every issue of Bead & Button, plus all of my Stampington magazines. I’ve realized that I simply can’t keep them all. One idea I found to use up old magazines is creating bows. It’s so easy! The most tedious part is cutting all the strips of paper. But once that’s done, you can make a bow in just a few minutes.

I use four different lengths of paper, and a brad to hold it together.

Isn’t it cute? So far I’ve made three. Not very many, but it’s a start.

If you want to make your own, here’s how:

I use strips in four different sizes – 3&7/8″, 3&1/2″, 2&7/8″, and 2&1/4″, approximately 3/4″ wide. Once I have those cut out, I gently bend each strip in half and use a 1/8″ hole punch to make a hole close to the ends. When that is done, take a brad (you’ll need a larger size to fit all the paper strips on) and bend each strip in half and insert the brad through the hole. Start with the smallest size. I string 6 to 10 strips of paper, depending on the length of the paper (I string 6 of the smallest size and 8 to 10 of the largest). When you are satisfied with your bow, fold over the prongs of the brad and voila! A unique and pretty bow.

Have a lovely day!

xoDawne

But as I get older, I appreciate the ideals that Christmas celebrates more and more. Choosing and giving gifts, spending time with loved ones, spreading a little cheer and kindness. And of course I love the decorations, the tree, wrapping gifts, and baking.

To me it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

I also love love love Christmas songs. No matter what kind of mood I’m in, Christmas music makes me feel so happy. It’s all I listen to from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

These are 10 of my favorite songs, in no particular order:
1. Christmastime is Here – Vince Guaraldi
2. Happy Christmas (War is Over) – John Lennon (I like Sarah McLachlan’s version also)
3. The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
4. Happy Holidays – Andy Williams (it’s not Christmas until I hear some Andy Williams)
5. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
6. A Wonderful Christmas Time – Paul McCartney
7. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee (best version!)
8. Silver and Gold – Burl Ives
9. that song without words from the Peanuts
10. O Holy Night – Josh Groban (so beautiful – gives me chills)

I’m also listening to Midwinter Graces by Tori Amos. It’s a great seasonal album, with a wide range of songs and musical styles.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

xoDawne

I love this so much – after doing my Halloween inchies, the little squares that she used for her journaling are very appealing! I want to do this.

I just love Ms Crane’s artwork – the colors are beautiful. I already bought a watercolor pad to use. I think this project would be a great way to experiment and play. I’m not sure if I can do it everyday, but I sure as heck want to try!

She made the pages ahead of time, so all she had to do was the daily journaling. The squares are 1.5″, so there’s only room for a sentence, which is good for me! That probably will be all I have time for. I like how she drew pictures in her squares too. It makes it more interesting.

I have to wait until after Christmas though before I can prepare my January page. I have no time right now for anything other than holiday preparation. The only creative things I’ve been doing is making some bows and some decorative bags for gift-giving.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoDawne

She came out in a long, flowing, pink satin gown, metallic pink leggings, and glittery silver high heels.

I very much enjoyed the string quartet, Apollon Musagete – they brought so much energy and it was fascinating to watch them play. They sounded great with Tori.

She played several of my favorite songs from Night of Hunters – Shattering Sea, Nautical Twilight, Fearlessness, Carry, and – Star Whisperer! You may remember from a previous post that I have claimed Star Whisperer as my song. I did not expect her to play it, because it is rather long (almost 10 minutes). She did speed up the first part a bit, but she played the whole thing, and it was wonderful.

She played with such energy and passion, and it was a great concert. Standouts for me: Velvet Revolution – I always loved this little song, and she played it with such passion. Hey Jupiter – I didn’t recognize this song until she started singing; I loved the new arrangement, and the quartet was great. Cruel – absolutely incredible; the quartet – I didn’t know strings could make sounds like that!

And, she played one of my most favorite songs – Cloud on My Tongue. The quartet played with her, and it was wonderful.

She also covered Joni Mitchell’s A Case of You; and really, all of the songs were done beautifully.

The time just flew by. It was a fabulous evening. I think Tori is simply amazing and brilliant!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoDawne

Much to my surprise, these were on page 98…

My Edith Wharton-inspired tags! I had originally submitted them for the literary-themed issue of Somerset Studio. I had no idea they were going to be published in Somerset Studio Gallery!

What a wonderful surprise, especially since I thought these tags had turned out so well. I’m glad they have their chance in the spotlight! The magazine did a great job with the layout and photo too.

I had never looked at Somerset Studio Gallery before, and I must say I’ve been missing out. It is chock full of wonderful creations, and is very fun and insiring to page through. It’s amazing, all of the ideas artists have for things to create.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoDawne