A Creative Journal Journey

"Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special."– Isabel Allende

I have been known to save things like fancy china, a new dress and even underwear "for a special occasion"...and it seems like that special occasion never comes! I was always afraid the kids would break the china plates or I'd spill something on my new dress, and who know WHAT I was thinking about the underwear!?...so when I saw the above quote on a friend's Facebook page, I knew it was for ME. It's a reminder to enjoy every passing moment and not wait until a future, undetermined event to come along. To MAKE today special. 

Thus, it may not seem so funny that I've had a blank book that Stampin' Up! gave us at leadership LAST JANUARY to use as a creative journal, still in shrink wrap on my stamping table. So today I opened it and decorated the front in an effort to start the process of figuring out a little more WHO I am and what makes me tick when I'm crafting. And it tickled me that it turned out so....Me!

I broke out my favorite (retired) Designer Series Paper from last year's Sale-a-Bration and went to town with ribbon, flags and this stamp/saying (From My Heart catalog pg 139) that will remind me to enjoy the passing of time, each and every moment of it.

Along with the blank book, SU! gave us a list of ideas and challenges to get us started in our creative journal journey and I'm going to be sharing them~ one every week~ with my friends on my SU! Facebook Page so that we can do this together! As with any journey, it is always sweeter with friends.

So grab a blank or old book you've been thinking to alter and pull out your favorite supplies and decorate the front in preparation for this fun journey...then share a picture of your own "creative journal" below before and one lucky "traveler" will win a grab bag of many of the supplies I used on my creative journal :) Don't forget to "Like" Creative Juice by Loni on Facebook to travel along with the creative challenges, too: The first one will be posted Monday, January 14 which allows you time to embellish your journal and share it here first! Can't wait to see what you make today!

UPDATE 1/17/13: Congratulations to Shelli S for sharing her Creative Journal on Facebook and winning the grab bag!