2016 Documented Life Project: January

January 1

Along with trying to finish up my 2015 Documented Life Project, I'm chugging along with the 2016 DLP, called the unPlanner. The Art to the 5th gals put yet another twist on the 2016 project, creating individual pages in a binder. They've added in challenges for little cards and thoughtful prompts, and I'm figuring out what works for me and making it my own as I go along. The first binder you see above contains January-April. Looks like I'll be doing three volumes!

January 2

My goal for this project has been to use what I have, don't stress, and make it easy on myself so I can actually keep up! My spreads have been pretty simple (I'm doing the messy, more detailed spreads as I'm finishing up the 2015 book!),  and I'm incorporating all sorts of bits and pieces I have lying around. This was a card I received from Brave Girls Club that I added some simple swirls to and made the opening look at this first volume.

January 3

The first week's challenge was to use "2016" in some way, so I created this little 4 x 6 postcard, above. As I've gone along, I've started carrying out the challenges on the backs of the weekly calendar instead and adding in pops of things here and there to mix up the sizes.

January 3a

Yep, using what I have around! I cut the heart on the left out of some deli paper underpapers, and the purple scrap down the side is from the last of my sidekick from way back in Orly's class at An Artful Journey. It's on the back of the 2016 Choose Happy card. And on the right, that's a sweet message from Kelli May Krenz I received in a little piece of art I purchased from her. I thought it was so cute, I just had to save it and use it in something. This spread was the week of Dec 28-January 3, when we were still freshly navigating Benny's recovery from his quintuple bypass.

January 4

Week 2's prompt was to choose your favorite quote. I came across this "Do More of What Makes You Awesome" stamp and had to have it. We are full of all sorts of awesomeness around here. :-) I tried using the page inserts this week, but in the long run, I'm not really crazy about them. In the future, I'll likely just use them for pictures of the week.

January 5

More of Week 2's spread here. The girls and I helped out with Tallahassee Pet Adoptathon that weekend.

January 6

Something new the gals have added this year is this Dare 2 Be card. I'm using it some months, not others. Mine was Dare to be RESTED, and figuring out how to get more rest. The art prompt was to use text from a magazine or flyer. Not sure I did that here, but the background paper on the left came out of a Somerset Studio magazine. Does that count?

January 7

Look at those sweet faces. Sarah (on the right) had a field trip to the courthouse this week. This was a selfie she took with some friends.

January 8

Another new addition this year are these "List Ten" cards. These are kinda fun. This month was your 10 favorite books. I had a hard tome coming up with 10 off the top of my head; I've read and loved so many! The Book Thief and The One and Only Ivan both made me cry like a baby, so they are my top two for now.

January 9

Totally did not follow this week's prompt, which was to add a receipt. Instead, I added cookies. I saved the recipe on the back. :-)

January 10

And lastly for January, in the spirit of using what I have on hand, one thing I always have on hand is magazines (it's a sickness really), so in the spirit of also simply making this easier on myself at times, I'm pulling out magazine pages that speak to me and adding them in for easy color. I did doodle on this one! This was the week of our State Music Symposium, held at University of North Florida, so I got to spend a few days back home in Jacksonville and get into the shelter for some pics. Missing those pups!

Thanks for stopping through this week. I'll post one month at a time until I catch up to where I am. Learn more about this project here on the Art to the 5th blog!

Blessed

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Hide tide was mid-morning today, so the girls took the opportunity for a swim. I sat out on the dock with them, just watching the river go by and thinking about how our summer is going. Going into our move last August, we really questioned whether or not to rent out our home in Jacksonville.  We actually had something lined up with a friend, but it fell through, so we decided that was a sign. We'd make a go of it. It's been a stretch financially, but we are making ends meet. And by making ends meet, we're able to come home and enjoy our home whenever we have the opportunity.

This has been blessing. If my husband had to have a heart attack, I'm glad that it happened here, where our biggest support system is. And now that we are home for the summer, I'm so happy we did it this way. The girls are loving being home. Benny's loving being home. I'm loving being home (though I still have to travel back over to Tallahassee occasionally, it's great to be able to work remotely for the most part!) Heck, even the dogs and cats are loving being home!

So while I was sitting on the dock today watching the girls swim, the dogs lounging in the shade of the boat house, I responded to a few emails as a pod of dolphins swam by, and I said an extra thanks to the Man upstairs for allowing us the opportunity to live this life. We are blessed. We're home.

2015 Documented Life Project: Week 22

Week 22-2

Still playing catch up with Documented Life Project 2015! This was week 22. If I remember correctly, the challenge was textured paper. Across the center of this spread is a cream piece of handmade textured paper I had in my stash. There's a piece of a coffee filter peeking in from behind it, and I've added stamping and other bits and pieces of papers I had around, including a paint sample! The little butterfly near the bottom left had been flitting around my work table for a while, a little pretty I made from some scraps lying around, so I glued her in there on a whim. She has three layers to provide some lift and more texture.

Week 22-3

This has been our first full week back home in Jacksonville for the summer. I'm back on the road for another work trip next week and I'll have a few days here and there over in Tallahassee throughout the summer, but for the most part, we're home! This week, we've just been absorbing that fact and enjoying every minute of just being here.  See more of my 2015 Documented Life Project pages here.
  Week 22-1

2015 Documented Life Project: Week 21

Week 21-2

No, that's not a typo. It really does say 2015 up there in the title. I've been working through the Documented Life Project 2016: The UnPlanner pretty steady but haven't shared any photos yet. And then I realized I still haven't finished the Documented Life Project 2015 (I'm a chronic late project finisher...but I always do my best to eventually finish what I start!).  When I pulled this journal back out, I remembered how much of a love/hate relationship I had with the size (9 x 12 for a single page or 12 x 18 for a double spread like I'm doing them), but now that I'm back to working smaller for 2016, I kinda like the larger size!  I'll work to finish this one by the end of 2016 and then hopefully have two finished projects done at the same time before I start 2017.

Documented Life Project - Week 21

This is week 21 from 2015. The challenge was cheesecloth, which I incorporated near the bottom under the houses. Though I actually used drywall tape instead of cheesecloth. :-) When in doubt or without, improvise with what you have! That Daily Telegraph up at the top and all the text in the background is actually deli paper from a restaurant up in Fernandina. When the waiter brought me my lunch, I liked the deli paper so much, I asked him if I could have some and he brought me a whole stack (though I'll admit he looked at me a bit strangely...)  I'll continue to share 2015 pages as I finish them and start sharing 2016 pages.  To see more of my 2015 Documented Life Project spreads, click here.  The 2014 Documented Life Project was the first and my favorite so far. Click here to see those.

Best Shot Monday: Boca Grande 2016

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We had a wonderful week down in Boca Grande last week, so I wanted to share a few photos with you to document our week! Sarah discovered sun block with zinc oxide in it, so that's why she looks a little ghostly white in some of the shots! She's very diligent about her sunblock, so when she discovered this stuff, she was very happy and not the least bit embarrassed by her white face. She's doing her very best to preserve her freckles just as they are. :-)

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My friend Vanessa and her sweet daughter Blaine spent part of the week with us, so we had to catch a girly shot by the famous pink gas pump in front of Hudson's Grocery.

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My husband HATES to have his picture taken so we were lucky to catch him in a few shots, above with Sarah and Blaine.

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Our traditional night before we leave photo shoot on the beach, Sarah styling with her zinc oxide sunblock ... and this was AFTER we tried to get some off with a washcloth and water. :-)

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Our three mermaids on the bow of the boat heading to Cabbage Key.

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Vanessa and me.

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And our gang at Cabbage Key.  It was such a treat to have Vanessa and Blaine with us!  Hopefully we'll start some new traditions together! 

June Free Bling Friday

June Free Bling 
Time for Free Bling Friday! Congratulations to Debbie from Jacksonville, Florida, for being the lucky winner of May Free Bling. This month, I picked up two pretty little magnesite stone beads that have been sitting on my work bench for a while and added a little bling to them. The stones are a tad smaller than a dime, and they are highlighted with sterling silver and tiny little Czech glass beads.

To get your name in the hat, leave me your first name, city and state, and a way to contact you in comments below no later than midnight ET Thursday, June 30. I'll pick a random number winner on the first Friday of next month, July 1. New to commenting on Blogger?  At the very bottom of this post, under the "You Might Also Like" section, you'll see a post date (6/03/2016) and "comments" in hot pink. Click on the "comments" and a comment box will open.  Open to U.S residents only.  Please help me spread the word and share this post!

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