What I've Been Doing With My "Free" Time

Admittedly, I don't have a whole lot of free time these days. 

Having five kids alone puts a damper on "me" time. Add in normal family activities and other commitments, and yeesh, I am surprised I even get to go to the bathroom by myself these days.

{Oh who am I kidding, I almost never get to go to the bathroom without someone trailing behind me.}

I was pinning things the other day and saw this journal page:

                                                                                        Source: be-the-change.tumblr.com via Meri on Pinterest

I just fell in love with it. I  love the writing and the illustration, the simplicity of the black and white ink...all of it. After a few hundred clicks, I found this person's actual journal on Flickr and allow me to say, she is wonderfully talented. I have long been a fan of pen and ink and considered it my "specialty" in college. Plus, I am a visual learner, so it totally appeals to me to journal in this way.

I have been trucking away in my spiritual journal from Gadanke, and knew this would be a perfect place to experiment with this style of journaling.

I did use the above picture as a loose template of my first attempt. I am a LOT rusty from my college art student days (not much time for practicing technique when you are surrounded by little people), so no making fun. And definitely don't compare me to the above image! Ha!

(the little pink spot is from watercolor on the other side of that page)

Then I experimented with some watercolor crayons on a different page. I have never ever been much of a painter (it was my worst subject, paint hates me), so this is super simple color at its best:

Then I played with different "fonts"

I thought that the phrase on the right was pretty:

This one is another homage to a different page in Liyin the Designer-in-Pajamas's journal. Once again, mine is no where near her expertise, but it was such a striking page in her journal that I wanted a version for myself.

I have been adding a couple pages a day, and have been having so much fun testing new techniques or honing old ones. Love that the Gadanke journals are pocket size, so I can carry it anywhere without being cumbersome and getting some good thoughts and prayers and verses down where they are easily read. 

It is amazing what Pinterest can inspire!

Linking to Ma Nouvelle Mode's Liked It, Pinned It, Did It Party!

&
Super Sweet Thursday at Fabulously Flawed